Aventura approves Gulfstream Park zoning, development agreement and land for new school

The Aventura City Commission on a unanimous vote approved a package of ordinances, rezonings and a development agreement that clears the way for redevelopment of about 26.5 acres on the north end of the city and for the city to acquire roughly 3.7 acres for a new school.

The package — approved during the commission’s March public hearing on zoning items 6a through 6f — creates a new Town Center North Plan Development district called TC‑5, redesignates the Gulfstream Park parcel from business and office to Town Center on the future land use map, rezones the parcel to TC‑5, rezones the city parcel to Community Facilities to allow a school, amends a long‑standing development agreement, and removes a covenant to allow three access points from NE 213th Street.

City Community Development Director Kevin Clop described the actions as the culmination of more than a year of work that began with a letter of intent in December 2023 and subsequent public workshops and resolutions. Clop told commissioners the measures set development parameters rather than an exact plan of development, and he summarized the main limits and tools the agreement creates: a maximum density of 62 units per acre for TC‑5, a maximum building height of 30 stories, a trade‑off matrix tying additional development to traffic‑generation limits, and a 30‑year window for implementation.

Under the development agreement approved by resolution, the Gulfstream Park tract would be developed under flexible allowances that the agreement caps and trades off by traffic generation. The agreement text included specific ceilings cited at the hearing: authorization to develop up to 1,633 residential units on the two parcels combined; 30‑story maximum building height; up to 50,000 square feet of office; up to 300 hotel rooms; up to 300,000 square feet of commercial uses; and a commercial floor‑area ratio (FAR) of 2. The agreement also authorizes up to three unrestricted roadway access points to NE 213th Street and requires traffic mitigation as design and permitting proceed.

Clop said the city parcel to be used for a new Aventura school was increased during negotiations from an initial 3 acres to 3.7 acres to allow a better school design. The city will hold and zone that smaller tract as Community Facilities to permit school construction.

Mayor Howard Weinberg disclosed ex parte contact on the record, saying he had approached the property owner in 2022 about deeding land to the city for a school. “I asked for 3 acres of land to be deeded to the city at no cost to the city, contiguous to our existing high school so that we could build a new school,” Weinberg said during the meeting; he told the commission those discussions were the genesis of the current package.

There were no public speakers during the hearing on the zoning package; commissioners proceeded to vote after staff presentations and routine procedural disclosures from the city attorney and clerk. Each of the items in the Gulfstream package passed on roll call by a unanimous vote of commissioners present.

What the agreement allows and what will be built remain subject to later design submissions, permits and required traffic mitigation. Clop and staff emphasized the development agreement provides a flexible matrix so future adjustments tied to traffic generation and use mix can be made without returning to the commission for small changes.

The commission authorized the city manager to execute the amended development agreement and the related covenant amendment that enables the roadway access. Implementation will depend on later approvals, site plans and permit reviews by staff and, where applicable, subsequent commission review of any required land‑use applications.