Historic Preservation Board continues Tropic Air site review, asks for revisions on western facade, signage and ground-level treatment

The Historic Preservation Board on its February meeting continued review of HPB file 200431, an application for a certificate of appropriateness and several variances for a four‑story mixed‑use project at 88070 First Street (the former Tropic Air site), asking the applicant to return with detailed revisions addressing the building’s west‑facing facade, how historic signage or a commemorative plaque will be integrated, and how the raised ground‑level “understory” will be finished and screened.

Board members and staff said the project’s massing and overall design show promise but want clearer resolutions for three items staff flagged in its report: the western parking/active‑use liner, the roof‑level landscape plan (to be finalized administratively) and how mechanical and underside elements will be treated so the raised ground plane remains a public‑facing, durable space.

City planning staff described the project as a 4‑story mixed residential and commercial building with two commercial pavilions, a residential lobby, 10 ground‑level parking spaces, 36 residential units and a rooftop amenity deck. Staff recommended support for most of the requested variances (rear setback, rear yard lot coverage, maximum projections and unit minimums) on the basis of lot configuration and practical difficulty, but asked the applicant to resolve an outstanding “active use liner” gap at the Bay Drive parking entrance.

Applicant representatives told the board they had withdrawn the variance for the active‑use liner after further study and planned to provide habitable space there and a plaque on a publicly accessible face of the building recounting the Tropic Air structure formerly on the site. Ethan Wasserman (attorney for the applicant) said the team had coordinated closely with planning staff and with the Miami Design Preservation League and described additional resiliency measures, a raised first‑floor planning strategy and a “jewel box” of small retail pavilions to activate the corner.

Public testimony included support from Daniel Ciraldo of the Miami Design Preservation League, who urged that “a plaque be placed on a publicly accessible wall denoting the Tropic Air…including a brief history and historically accurate image of the original building.” A representative of the Normandy Isle homeowners said the project would “enhance our Normandy Circle fountain” and urged approval once outstanding design items were resolved.

After board deliberation the HPB voted to continue the application to the March 8 meeting so the applicant could return with revised plans showing the western facade treatment, a proposal for signage/plaque placement and a revised treatment of the undercroft and mechanical elements. The motion to continue passed with the board present at the meeting; a recusal for one board member (on other grounds) and one absentee were noted in the record.

The board’s direction emphasizes: (1) reduce visible glazing and add shading/solid elements or obscured treatments on the west elevation; (2) provide a concrete proposal for a Tropic Air historical plaque or a vertically oriented sign in a location sympathetic to the original Tropic Air signage; and (3) provide durable, weather‑resistant detailing for the raised ground plane so service equipment and pipework are concealed and the understory reads as public, pedestrian space. The HPB set a return date for March 8 and encouraged staff‑level coordination in the interim.

Votes at a glance: the motion to continue the item to the March 8 HPB meeting carried (majority; one board member absent at the vote).