When will the new Belle Isle apartments open? Maybe late spring? Maybe not….

Nearly four years after demolition, Belle Isle Key’s replacement remains a work in progress.

Here’s what Bella Isla looked like on Jan. 26.

If you live on or near Belle Isle, you’re likely wondering when tenants will begin moving into the the glass and steel apartment complex at 31 Venetian Way.

The old 120-unit complex, called Belle Isle Key, closed in 2017 and was demolished in early 2018. The master permit for the new project, called Bella Isla, was issued in April 2018.

Nearly four years later, information from the developer, the EuroAmerican Group, is hard to come by. Calls to EuroAmerican’s offices this week yielded only vague information. Apartments may be available for rent “in late spring,” a receptionist said. No pricing is available. Can you get on a waiting list? You can fill out the contact form on the website, callers are told. When we know something, we’ll call you….

This project has an interesting history. Belle Isle originally was home to lavish estates, including the summer home of retailer J.C. Penney (now the site of the Nine Island Avenue condo).

The first apartment units on Belle Isle were not really apartments at all, but barracks built in 1931 to house troops. Those housing units at 31 Venetian Way later became low income housing and were renovated into 120 apartments known as Belle Isle Key in the 1970s.

For more than a dozen years, the owners of the old complex, the EuroAmerican Group, sought to replace the bayfront apartments with modern steel and glass units.

Before the wrecking ball came, Belle Isle Key Apartments, 31 Island Ave.

In 2009 and 2010, EuroAmerican went to the city with designs that called for 181 apartments in two five-story buildings,  including a 315-space parking garage topped by two tennis courts. The city Design Review Board approved a plan that trimmed one floor from the easternmost building, and eliminated eight apartments.

The developer appealed to the city commission in November 2010.  EuroAmerican wanted the fifth floor, The company sued in January 2011, but Miami Beach prevailed in court in January 2012.

They came back in May 2015 with a new proposal, with 172 units in three buildings. A variation of it eventually was approved by the city. Residents of the existing complex fought fought a demolition permit but failed, and the buildings were demolished by Spring 2018. A higher seawall was built and contractors began filling in the land to raise the height of the ground floor.

In July 2018, demolition was done and seawall construction was well underway.

The result — ground floor raised by about eight feet and five floors instead of three — is a set of buildings considerably taller than the previous complex. Just ask a neighbor in a north facing apartment on the south side of Venetian Way.

You’d think in four years the apartments would be built, rented, finito. But construction at Bella Isla has moved painfully slow. Blame it on the pandemic, supply chain, issues with underground utilities or God knows what else. When the units will be completed,, marketed and rented remains an unknown.

There are many aspects to the complex that have not been completed or received final inspections, said Miami Beach Building Director Ana Salgueiro. Among them: gazebos, trellises, stair railings, the roof top terrace, the sprinkler system, plumbing systems, elevators — it’s a long list.

So what’s a best guess on completion and occupancy?

“Based on all of the permits in applied status, I would say it is quite a bit away,” Salgueiro said. “The contractor would have a better idea as they should have the timeline and plans.  I have not been approached regarding a TCO (temporary certificate of occupancy) and usually on these projects I am approached when they are about 4 to 6 months from applying for TCO to make sure that they get to that goal on time.”

On the Bella Isla website, you can see floor plans for the apartments. There are one, two and three bedroom floor plans, ranging from 717 square feet to 1,606 square feet (again, no rental rates).

On the Bella Isla website, you can see the site plan as well as floor plans, but no prices.

One question circulating among Belle Isle neighbors is whether EuroAmerican has decided to change the use of the units from apartment to condominium. In city files, “there does not appear to be any revisions which show a change of use,” said Miami Beach spokeswoman Melissa Berthier. To may that change, EuroAmerican would need to apply to revise its plans.

And just like that, back on the Belle Isle beat…

t’s been five years and six months since our last update, and so much has happened on Belle Isle and surrounding neighborhoods

We’ve seen all kinds of development, from the demolition of the Belle Isle Key apartments and the seemingly never-ending construction of its replacement, to new spaces in Sunset Harbour and the building boom (hotels and retail) in the triangle framed by 17th Street, Dade Boulevard and Alton Road.

We’ve endured lane closures on the Venetian for sewer line blow ups and bridge fixes. And we’ve witnessed the pandemic’s impact on our neighborhood restaurants, shops and fitness centers.

We wound down the blog in August 2016 when work and other commitments simply made it impossible to provide timely posts on the issues and hidden secrets of our neighborhoods. But circumstances have changed, and we’re back to try to provide insights and updates about what’s happening in this corner of the world.

We’ll be spending the next few weeks cleaning up and updating the site, as well as tackling a variety of topics that affect our neighborhood. Generally speaking, we consider that to be Belle Isle, Venetian Way and its islands, Sunset Harbour and the West Avenue corridor.

To help get us started, please share your questions, observations and tips. We’ll do our best to follow up.

Belle Isle Residents Association meets tonight

Here’s a reminder: You can meet your neighbors and learn about key issues facing the neighborhood when the Belle Isle residents Association holds its annual meeting, tonight in the card room at Belle Plaza, 20 Island Ave.

The gathering starts with a wine and cheese reception at 6 p.m., followed by a business meeting at 7 p.m.

We’ll get an update on ongoing and future road projects (get ready for bridge construction at West Avenue), the proposal for an five-story apartment complex on the Belle Isle Key site, progress on the Venetian Causeway and more.

The association will also elect new officers and hear from you about your concerns.

 

 

Starting your Belle Isle morning in the pink

A cool Belle Isle sunrise while the Northeast braces for a blizzard

Looking east on Jan. 26, 6:45 a.m.

Pink skies on a holiday week morning

It’s a pink champagne sunrise over Belle Isle and South Beach.

As Alton Road construction winds down, plans for West Avenue gear up

The city of Miami Beach is holding a public meeting Monday to share construction plans for West Avenue between Fifth and 17 streets.

Please don’t tell us you thought the completion of work on Alton Road would end the west side disruption on South Beach. Nope.

The meeting starts at 6 p.m. at City Hall, 1700 Convention Center Dr. It will be in the city manager’s large conference room on the fourth floor.

City engineer Bruce Mowry is supposed to provide an overview of the West Avenue Neighborhood Improvement Project, which includes the elevation of streets and sidewalks and drainage initiatives to deal with flooding issues.

 

The next 600 Alton Road reveal: the traffic plan

Crescent Heights development, which owns the abandoned South Shore Hospital and surrounding properties between Alton Road and West Avenue, has scheduled another session with West Avenue residents — this time to outline  the traffic plans for the proposed apartment/retail complex it calls 600 Alton Road.

The meeting happens Thursday, Feb. 21, at 6 p.m. at the Miami Beach Golf Course clubhouse. The West Avenue Neighborhood Association asks that you RSVP if you plan to attend.

At a meeting in January, Crescent Heights showed a proposal for a sleek complex that included 440 rental apartments above 60,000-square feet of retail space and parking for 1073 cars.

The configuration of the retail at street level included open air walkways under the building, and green space (described as a mini-park) facing Fifth Street. Parking was underground, an interesting challenge given the frequency of street flooding in the area.

There were many questions about traffic impact during that meeting, and Crescent Heights promised to follow up with a session with the traffic plan — and this is it.

Meanwhile, Crescent Heights is scheduled to appear at the Planning Board on Feb. 26 and the Design Review Board on March 5.

On Saturday, go for a South Beach bike ride — or avoid getting caught in one

The monthly Miami Beach Community Bike Ride happens Saturday morning between 9 and 11:30 a.m.

It’s a fun event for participants — and a wise thing to plan around for errand-running South Beach residents.

For Belle Isle and other Venetian Causeway dwellers, it’s important to know that the last leg of the ride takes riders down Alton Road from Middle Beach and then east at 20th Street to Dade Boulevard and the Convention Center area.

The ride starts at Fifth Street and Washington Avenue. Here’s the general route, for planning purposes:

• Fifth Street from Washington Avenue to Ocean Drive
• Ocean Drive from Fifth to 15 streets
• 15 Street from Ocean Drive to Collins Avenue
• Collins Avenue from 15 Street to 87 Street
• 87 Terrace between Collins Avenue and Harding Avenue
• Harding Avenue from 87 Terrace (to Indian Creek) to 63 Street
• 63 Street from Indian Creek to North Bay Road
• North Bay Road south from 63 Street to 45 Street/Alton Road
• Alton Road from 45 Street to 20 Street
• Dade Boulevard from 20 Street to Convention Center Drive
• Convention Center Drive
• 17 Street from Convention Center Drive to Washington Avenue
• Washington Avenue south from 17 Street back to Fifth Street

West Avenue neighborhood fights liquor license sought by Bikini Hostel

On its website, Bikini Hostel sells skin.

You may not know it, but there’s a youth hostel down the street on West Avenue with a name you might expect more for a soft-core movie than a lodging residence: Bikini Hostel.

If it sounds a little scandalous, here’s a snippet from the About section of the Bikini Hostel website:

Party! Party! Party! You will be able to party all night long and then sleep any time in quiet and comfort…Staying at the Bikini Hostel Resort, you are across the street from the intra-coastal water way views of Miami Beach—tropical palm tree islands, downtown Miami— nightly lit up skyline and the weekend DJ pool parties at the Mondrian Hotel – where the hottest beautiful bodies groove to the sexiest music and play in the sun all day long!

Well, then.

The Bikini Hostel is comprised of an apartment building at 1247 West Ave., and two adjacent homes, at 1255 West Ave and 1234 13 St.

More from bikinihostel.com

The West Avenue Corridor Neighborhood Association isn’t exactly thrilled to have the hostel in their hood. And even less thrilled with the prospect of the place getting a liquor license.  What to do?

They are petitioning to block the request. The petition says, in part:

The Bikini Hostel is a nuisance as it is but adding a license to alcohol will only make it worse. The hostel is incompatible with this highly residential and stable community. We oppose the Bikini Hostel’s application for a liquor license.

Of course, there are several places to buy beer, wine or hard liquor near the hostel — certainly within a three block walk.