Design Review Board approves revised five-story apartment at 780 Second Street with variances and conditions

The Miami Beach Design Review Board on May 2 approved design review for a new five-story multifamily building at 780 Second Street, granting three variances and one waiver and directing the applicant to work with staff on multiple design and landscape conditions.

The board voted 6-0 to approve the design and later approved all three variances 6-0. City staff had recommended approval of the revised design in its draft final order, subject to conditions addressing balcony composition, ground-floor screening of parking and landscape details.

The project, presented by attorney Michael Larkin on behalf of Biscayne Point Developments LLC, proposes a five-story, 14-unit building with 14 parking stalls. Architect Jean Francois Gervais described the building as “a modest project” that emphasizes exterior terraces and glass balconies; he said the team revised the design after an earlier continuance to “visually reduce the massing of the balcony.”

Staff summarized the relief requested: a design waiver to reduce garage clearance from 12 feet to 10 feet; a variance to lower the required minimum average unit size from 800 square feet to an average of 784 square feet; a variance to reduce the tower setback above 50 feet from 22 feet to 21 feet; and a variance to allow one parking stall to be 16 feet long instead of 18 feet. Michael (city staff) told the board staff is supportive of the variances and the revised design shown at the hearing.

Board members praised the revisions that lightened the façade and introduced more glazing and staggered balcony lines. Board member Jason said the changes made the building “much lighter, much more dynamic, much more interesting.” Several board members and staff asked the applicant to refine the front elevation so that the final submittal combines the preferred elements of the original and revised versions shown at the hearing.

Landscape and parking issues drew substantial comment. Landscape architect Michael Grossworth and board members discussed visibility triangles, the number and type of street trees, the size required for specified trees, planter depths and irrigation. The board required the applicant to revise the landscape plan to show required visibility triangles, provide the required count of canopy trees (palm species do not substitute for required canopy trees), and meet the city’s minimum tree sizes. The board also required internal drainage and irrigation details for the 2-foot-deep planters introduced to reduce the appearance of heavy balcony bands.

On the ground-floor parking screening, the applicant presented a combination of a low solid wall with a higher perforated screen above; staff asked that the final design include louvers or a solid wall tied to soffit/slab elements to shield garage lighting. The board’s approval is conditioned on the applicant working with staff to ensure the garage screening both blocks vehicle light and fits the façade composition.

The board’s approval included a requirement that the applicant work with staff to: reconcile the submitted hard-copy and on-screen elevations so staff and the public have the same final set; refine balcony proportions and horizontal lines as discussed in the hearing; provide the landscape corrections called out by staff (street trees, planter details, irrigation and visibility triangles); and show final garage screening details in the permit drawings. The project team indicated they will provide irrigation drawings and drainage sections as part of permit-level submittals.

The applicant team noted North Beach context and said the building will have approximately 30 percent lot coverage (the code allows up to 45 percent) and a measured building height of 52 feet (below the 55-foot maximum cited in the presentation). The applicant also said the average one-bedroom unit is about 660 square feet and the project includes two larger units (a three-bedroom at about 1,300 square feet was cited during Q&A).

With the conditions imposed by the board and the staff-supported variances, the application was approved. The board advised the applicant to continue refining material finishes for the stair-tower wall, to finalize the balcony-notching scheme that preserves the horizontal emphasis while avoiding heavy bands, and to coordinate landscaping and irrigation details prior to permit.

Votes at a glance: Design approval — passed 6-0; Variances (garage height, average unit size, tower setback and a single reduced parking stall length) — passed 6-0.

The board’s next meeting was announced as June 6.