Owners of South Beach’s Ritz-Carlton Win Approval to Add 15-Story Condo
By Julia Echikson October 10, 2023 6:18 pm
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The Miami Beach Historic Preservation Board approved a controversial plan to add a 15-story condo building at the oceanfront Ritz-Carlton hotel on the city’s Lincoln Road shopping promenade.
Critics — which included preservationists, the owner of the neighboring National Hotel and some residents of the DecoPlage condo — had objected to the height of the 182-foot tower, believing it would be out of character and create a shadow over the beach.
“We’re going to have Brickell East, if this goes forward,” Daniel Ciraldo, executive director of the Miami Design Preservation League, said at a previous meeting in September, referring to Miami’s high-rise-filled Brickell neighborhood.
The owners of the 250,000-square-foot hotel — a partnership among the Lowenstein family’s Lionstone Development, the Kanavos family’s Flag Luxury Group and the Ben-Josefs — argued that the addition of the residential component was crucial to reviving eastern portions of the promenade, which has become afflicted by crime and homelessness.
The approval will allow the developers to apply for building permits. But the board members, who voted 7-1, ordered the developer to set back the condo tower by 15 feet. The building, designed by Kobi Karp, will rise between the Ritz-Carlton and the neighboring Sagamore Hotel, which the partnership also owns. The hotel room count will decrease by 43 to 434 rooms.
As part of the proposal, the owners also proposed upgrades to the block, which included widening the pedestrian section and building a new archway that would pay homage to famed architect Morris Lapidus. The board pushed back the vote on those features to next month.
Since June, the owners of the Ritz-Carlton have been negotiating with city officials on a public-private partnership to beautify and upgrade the infrastructure of Lincoln Road’s eastern portions.
The works are expected to cost $12 million. Under the proposal, the hotel owners and the city would each pay $4 million, while the developers would cover the cost of hiring lobbyists to persuade the State of Florida to pay the remaining $4 million.
Julia Echikson can be reached at jechikson@commercialobserver.com.
