Design Review Board approves North Beach community complex design; west elevation art and landscaping to return for review

The Design Review Board on May 15 approved the design concept and variance requests for the City of Miami Beach's proposed North Beach Community Complex at 70 Second Street — a multi‑program facility that will contain a library, community center, aquatics center, fitness amenities, retail and parking — while placing conditions that the western elevation art/mesh and the final landscape plan return to the board for detailed review.

Staff summarized the large bond‑funded project and said updated plans were submitted to preserve sea grape trees along Collins Avenue where possible and to address FPL transmission‑line constraints that limit tree plantings on the west side. The staff presentation noted the project will remove some existing sea grape canopy in places but that the revised design incorporates additional planting to mitigate the loss.

Jason Jensen of Watermaker Jensen Architects presented the concept — a terraced, cascading park and program sequence that places active green space and two small fields across Collins Avenue and stacks the aquatics, community rooms and fitness functions to provide views to the water. Jensen described the rooftop pickleball court and convertible parking deck and said the design aims to hide parking below usable park and program spaces.

Public comment included support from neighborhood representatives but also pointed to concerns about the long western wall along Harding Avenue, the difficulty of undergrounding high‑voltage transmission lines and pedestrian safety crossing Harding. A neighborhood commenter urged the board to treat the Harding elevation carefully because the massing will be highly visible to traffic along the state‑maintained corridor.

Board members praised the overall programmatic consolidation and the cascading park concept, and asked the applicant to return with additional detail addressing the west (Harding) elevation, including proposals to break up the long wall with public art and materiality and to refine the retail activation along 70 Third Street. The applicant said seven artist proposals have already been received for the open screening and that each submission was encouraged to be dimensional, porous and durable.

The board voted to approve both the project design and the requested variances, while adding clear conditions: the final treatment of the west elevation (art/mesh) must return to the DRB for approval; the applicant must submit a final landscape plan (including planting proposals compatible with FPL constraints) and the fencing/park edges for board review; and staff will ensure final shop drawings and engineering are consistent with the approved concept. The board emphasized that the project will proceed to detailed design and permitting but that those specific items must be returned for final DRB sign‑off.