47-story Edgewater residential tower wins board approval

A new mixed-use residential tower planned for Edgewater is bringing needed affordable housing to Miami, along with ground floor retail.

Tulip Developments Group LLC is the owner-developer of 3350 Biscayne, designed for a vacant property at 280 NE 34th St.

The tower is to rise 47 stories and be home to 499 residential units, 5,555 square feet of commercial-retail space, parking podium for up to 620 vehicles, and related amenities.

The city’s Urban Development Review Board recommended approval of the project as presented.

Carlos Lago, an attorney representing the developer, said the property fronts Biscayne Boulevard to the east and Northeast 34th Street to the north.

The site is surrounded by multi-family residential, office, and commercial uses. The property is also near the Wynwood, Midtown, and Design District neighborhoods.

In a letter to the city Mr. Lago wrote, “The project will significantly enhance this currently vacant land and will contribute to improving the area’s urban fabric including the improvement of Biscayne Boulevard. The project has been designed to prioritize pedestrian interests along the ground floor.

“The project’s landscape design provides an inviting public sidewalk which is activated by active habitable uses including retail and office lobby uses,” he wrote.

Mr. Lago said the project will use density incentives under the state’s Live Local Act and therefore 40% of units will be affordable housing.

He wrote, “The project will provide additional affordable housing in an area of the city that is in great need of additional housing opportunities, including affordable housing.”

To qualify under the Live Local Act, a project must be in a mixed-use, commercial or industrial district and set aside for 30 years at least 40% of its units for residents earning up to 120% of area median income.

Mr. Lago told the board that 200 of the residential units will be dedicated to affordable housing.

The developer is requesting a waiver to the zoning code for up to a 30% reduction in required parking spaces, allowed for a site within a transit corridor.

He said the property is within both a transit corridor and an Opportunity Zone.

“The project is also located within a short walking distance of multiple stops for the Miami Trolley’s Biscayne and Wynwood routes and multiple bus stops serving the Edgewater area. As such, the project will encourage the use of mass transit for residents and visitors,” he wrote.

Mr. Lago said the design by Kobi Karp Architecture and Interior Design emphasizes the pedestrian realm and shows how good design and affordable housing can co-exist.

Mr. Karp presented details to the board and said the development team intends to “create a destination second to none on Biscayne.”

The project will include amenity areas on the top of the tower and the top of the parking pedestal.

Board member Manuel S. Gallardo said, “I like the building. It looks very slick, very sensual. I think you’ve broken your building into very simple elements that make it kind of light and very attractive.

“You kind of united the top and the base very nicely. A very smooth transition … I like the drop-off area, and everything you’ve done. There’s nothing for me to criticize,” he said.

Board member Dean B. Lewis said, “Well worked out … there’s a little more taming of the podium to tower than I would have preferred. I’d like to see that tower come down into the architecture of the podium, so it’s a little more traditional in that regard, but definitely well worked out.”

Board Chair Ligia Ines Labrada said, “I think this tower, what you’ve done with the balconies is wonderful. I love how you accentuated the corners.

“I would have loved to have seen you bring that down somehow with some vocabulary. I like that your balconies wrap around the corner.”

Ms. Labrada added, “Circulation on the ground floor works, and having eyebrows around the corner on the ground floor are also important in Miami, and especially bringing more walkability into that area.”

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