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Board backs large‑scale renovation and rooftop pool at Riviera Plaza; members praise restoration work
Summary
The HPB approved a comprehensive restoration, partial demolition and reconstruction plan for the Riviera Plaza (337 20th Street), including a rooftop pool and restored lobby features; the board, staff and Miami Design Preservation League lauded detailed historic documentation and the applicant’s structural plan.
The Historic Preservation Board voted to approve a certificate of appropriateness for a major renovation of the Riviera Plaza (337 20th Street), a 1924 Mediterranean‑style contributing building, that includes partial demolition, structural stabilization, interior demolition and a new rooftop pool and decks.
Debbie (planning staff) said the applicant provided unusually comprehensive historic documentation for such an early building, including a 1929 photograph and a detailed historic resources report. Staff recommended approval, noting the proposed rooftop reconstruction would better match the 1920s character than an existing 1988 rooftop addition and that the existing lobby, including a pecky cypress ceiling and original fireplace, would be restored.
Alan Schulman, design architect, and Michael Larkin, counsel for the owner, walked the board through the proposal, which converts the building from an apartment building back into a hotel and adds rooftop amenities, a Ground Floor outdoor dining terrace and a reconstituted Fourth Floor rooftop volume wrapped in terracotta screening that is intended to be visually recessive from surrounding streets.
The architects explained a structural approach: exterior unreinforced terracotta walls would be tied to new reinforced concrete liners and new piles and foundations would support new slabs and decks; structural engineers present described soil improvement and new piling where required. Board members asked detailed technical questions about foundation work, floor elevations relative to base flood elevation, and the location of exercise and rooftop areas. Doug Wood, structural engineer, said approach followed precedents on similar Miami Beach renovations and that reinforcement would both protect the retained exterior walls and meet current code.
Public comment included support from the Miami Design Preservation League and one member of the public who urged care about the loss of residential units in the area; several board members acknowledged the tension between converting housing and preserving and restoring aging buildings.
After an extended technical discussion and positive board comments about the quality of the historic documentation, a motion to approve staff recommendations passed on a roll call vote.
