Expansion of Standard Hotel In Miami Beach Paused After Local Pushback

An entity led by real estate billionaire Barry Sternlicht has withdrawn an application to expand the historic Standard Hotel in Miami Beach and add a condo component, designed by star architect Bjarke Ingels. 

The pause followed pushback from some locals and Miami Beach Commissioner David Suarez, who took issue with the expansion and the development team’s $1.2 million donation to a neighborhood association. 

Miguel Isla — CEO of Nomade Lido, a group affiliated with Sternlicht’s Starwood Capital Group — requested to have the Standard Hotel application withdrawn at a on Sept. 17 commission meeting to “stop the political gamesmanship that the project has unfortunately been caught up in,” according to a representative for the Standard Hotel. 

The Business Journals first reported that the plan was withdrawn.

The owners were not seeking a density boost, but rather a code change to introduce residential dwellings into an existing hotel, the representative added. The developers plan to resubmit the application, but did not clarify if they would change parts of the proposal. 

In 2022, Sternlicht’s family office, Jaws Estates Capital, purchased the 100-room waterfront hotel for $62 million. Built between 1953 and 1960, the 2.5-acre property sits on Belle Isle at 40 Island Avenue. 

Investors in the venture include high-profile individuals, including Ingels, tech billionaire Peter Thiel, former SoftBank CEO Marcelo Claure, investor Martin Franklin, and Antonio de la Rúa, son of the late former Argentine president Fernando de la Rúa, according to a filing made to the City of Miami Beach.

Two years later, the owners filed plans for the $61 million redevelopment project. The east wing, which houses a collection of hotel bungalows on the ground floor, would be transformed into a five-story building with a parking garage, 50 hotel rooms on the second and third floors, and six luxury condo units on the top two floors.

The west wing, another three-story structure, would be reconfigured with larger hotel rooms. The three-story structure at the front of the property, which houses the main entrance, would remain as is. 

Last week, the development team withdrew its application before the Miami Beach Commission after some Miami Beach residents opposed the project. 

“Architecture is frozen poetry. You can see it through the low horizontal profile that keeps the building grounded in a human scale,” said Brian Ehrlich, who’s running for a commission seat. “That is why the betrayal of this project cuts so deep.” 

Some residents took issue with the development team’s $1.2 million donation to the Belle Isle Residents Association (BIRA). In return, the association would be obligated to support the redevelopment before having informed Belle Isle residents of the deal, according to Commissioner Suarez. 

The Miami-Dade County Commission on Ethics and Public Trust also sent letters to BIRA board members over their failure to disclose communications with city officials, per Suarez. The ethics commission ultimately found no violations, said Miami Beach Commissioner Laura Dominguez. 

Representatives for BIRA could not be reached for comment. 

“We stopped The Standard’s upzoning scheme,” Commissioner Suarez wrote on his social media accounts. “Residents spoke out, the truth came to light, and once exposed to public scrutiny, the developer backed down.”

In recent months, some Miami Beach residents and preservationists have felt somewhat under siege in trying to retain the historic character of the city. Last year, Florida lawmakers passed a law that makes it easier for property owners to demolish historic oceanfront buildings deemed structurally unsafe. 

Proponents argued that changes were needed after the deadly collapse of the Champlain Towers South building, which had structural issues. But critics fear the law will be used as a pretext to tear down historic buildings to make space for new developments.

Julia Echikson can be reached at jechikson@commercialobserver.com.