Miami Beach board pauses Lenox Avenue renovation after neighbors and preservation groups object to modern accessory building

The Miami Beach Historic Preservation Board continued action May 13 on modifications to a previously approved renovation at 1300 Lenox Avenue after neighbors and preservation advocates objected to the design and scale of a proposed detached accessory building.

The owner seeks to modify a 2022 certificate of appropriateness for partial demolition, restoration, attached and detached additions and several variances for a one‑story contributing house in the Flamingo Park historic district. Staff recommended approval of most changes but flagged new, floor‑to‑ceiling windows on the east facade and a small increase in the rear accessory building footprint, which requires revised variances from lot coverage and rear‑yard landscape open space.

Why it matters: Neighbors said the redesigned two‑story accessory building will be visually dominant, out of scale with nearby 1930s Mediterranean Revival houses and will reduce privacy and daylight for adjacent properties. The board signaled concern about the accessory building’s contemporary aesthetic and whether the project team had meaningfully engaged neighbors after the 2022 approval.

Board and public comments focused on three practical issues: whether the 2022 approval remains valid after a multiyear lapse in building permits; the scope and visibility of newly proposed windows on the primary house; and the massing and materiality of the detached addition. Attorney Tucker Gibbs, speaking for a neighbor, argued the 2022 order may be void because a building permit was not obtained within an 18‑month window and because an emergency extension relied on a governor’s order that he said did not apply under Florida Statute 252.363. The applicant’s representatives and architects said the proposed accessory building occupies the same footprint and height as a previously approved rear structure but replaces a flat‑roof concrete design with a pitched‑roof, wood‑clad concept intended to reduce perceived bulk.

Action and next steps: After discussing options — approving the main house modifications while holding the accessory building to the earlier approved design, a full denial, or a continuance to allow neighbor‑applicant talks — the board voted to continue the entire application to the July 8 meeting. Staff told the applicant to meet with neighbors and city staff before the July date. The board emphasized that any demolition still requires board review and that the accessory building design will need substantive revision to receive a favorable vote.

Context: The property is inside the Flamingo Park Historic District; the board noted an incentive proposal under study could raise lot‑coverage allowances for historic properties, which, if adopted, might affect variance needs. The applicant said the change to keep the main house at its existing finished floor elevation (rather than elevating the structure) reduces intervention to original fabric but raises flood‑resiliency considerations to be resolved with the Building Department.

Board direction: The board asked the applicant to explore restoring window sill proportions on the Lenox (east) elevation to match existing patterns and to rework the accessory building massing and materials with neighbor input. The item was continued to July 8 for a fuller hearing.