Michael Larkin

Michael Larkin’s path to becoming a go-to zoning lawyer for South Florida took a necessary detour through sea turtle country.

The Coral Gables native studied at Georgetown University but missed the deadline for law school and worked for a year at a sign company in Stuart, Fla. He traveled throughout rural Martin County taking pictures of signage on banks and meeting with town administrators, in the process learning about the particulars of zoning rules within historic districts. And he got involved with Stuart’s efforts to revive its downtown by offering economic incentives to attract new tenants.

“Cities that have historic districts encourage you to re-create signage, and the benefit is if you reconstruct the signage it doesn’t count against your square footage for your business,” Larkin said. “They want to restore the authenticity of these buildings.”

Larkin entered the University of Miami’s law school with a focus on zoning. He clerked for an appellate court judge and worked for firms with a strong land-use practice before ending up at Bercow Radell Fernandez Larkin + Tapanes in 2000. He concentrated on projects in Miami Beach, which experienced explosive growth while managing to preserve a coherent style.

“Miami Beach is not the most welcoming city to development. But, if you really are thoughtful in your design, how you’re adaptively reusing buildings, and how much thought you put into your development, it’s embraced by the board, staff and even elected officials,” Larkin said.

He recently worked on a 200-key Miami Beach hotel proposal on Washington Avenue where he settled a dispute over development rights between his client and an adjacent property owner by suggesting they create a joint venture and expand the project. The historic preservation board approved the proposal in February.

Larkin is bullish about Miami’s ability to attract newcomers and greenlight projects to serve them.

“There are other good cities in Florida, but Miami has an excitement,” he said, speaking of the region as well. “Many first-generation immigrants come here, they do well, and work hard; and there’s a positive energy that flows through the city. It’s a very special place to be.”