MIAMI BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - Owners of the iconic Clevelander Hotel on Monday submitted project plans to turn the famous party destination into affordable housing, but some controversy has surrounded the transformation.
“The city, I think, fairly despised the first proposal and ought to despise the second proposal, they’re horrible proposals,” said Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber.
The apparent despisable deterrent for Mayor Gelber and many others, is the height that the owners of the Clevelander Hotel and Restaurant want to build it up to.
The Montreal-based company who owns the hotel, Jetsa Group, submitted a proposal to build a restaurant and 18-story high housing development, which is shorter than the original 30 story plan.
According to Mayor Gelber, the new plan still falls short to keep Ocean Drive’s iconic skyline.
“The Clevelander owners, who are foreign owners, who could really care less about our city, who are trying to use a state statute to preempt local control over this plot of land that they have there,” he said.
The Jetsa Group wants to create 137 news homes on the one acre property with 55 of those homes to be considered workforce housing. And under the new Live Local Act, they believe they can do it.
That act allows for projects with at least 40% of the units designated as workforce housing to be as tall as local zoning allows within one mile.
“If they’re able to do that, then they could go with a very high height, 200, 300 feet, and if they can do it, then the other parcels in the area could do it as well, and might do it, so what you will see is the end of Ocean Drive as you know it,” Gelber said.
If it’s up to Mayor Gelber, the proposed transformation would not happening, but he’s pretty confident that even without him, the Clevelander won’t shoot up to 200 feet tall.
“I don’t think they can do without city approval and I’m pretty confident this commission in the next commission would not approve what they want to do,” he said.
The Jetsa group said the Clevelander and the Essex building would be fully preserved.
The new 18-story high structure will rise on a portion of the Clevelander annex, which the Jetsa Group said is not historic.
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