Developers propose land swap and bonus FAR to fund new Miami Beach community health center; committee advances item for further negotiation

A plan that would move the Miami Beach Community Health Center across Alton Road and use development incentives to help finance a new facility drew extensive public comment and direction from the City of Miami Beach Land Use and Sustainability Committee.

Administration staff presented a concept under which a developer would swap or consolidate parcels, build a new community health center at 663 Alton Road (the site across the street from the current county‑operated clinic at 710–720 Alton Road), and receive bonus floor‑area or other LDR incentives in the Gateway Overlay to help cover the additional cost. The development team and the county exchanged appraisals and are negotiating a financial split; the developer has proffered a cap of 20 residential units for the new residential component.

Why it matters: Committee members and speakers repeatedly cited the clinic’s substandard condition and federal certification needs. Committee sponsor Commissioner Fernandez said the county’s facility provides critical services to vulnerable residents and called its current condition ‘‘third world’’; several commissioners stressed urgency because of the…