Aventura planning panel recommends 30-year amendment to Gulfstream Park development agreement allowing 1,633 residences

The Local Planning Agency of the City of Aventura voted unanimously to recommend adoption of a second amendment to the development agreement between Gulfstream Park Racing Association Inc. and the city that would extend the agreement’s term to March 4, 2055 and allow the development of up to 1,633 residential units and related commercial uses.

The recommendation came during a quasi‑judicial hearing in which the city attorney notified attendees that “the quasi judicial procedures of the city shall be invoked for this item.” Kevin Klop, the city’s community development director, described the package as a development agreement paired with rezoning to a new Town Center 5 (TC‑5) district and asked the commission to review details ahead of the city commission’s March 4, 2025 public hearing.

Why it matters: The amendment would permit higher‑density, mixed‑use development on a roughly 26.5‑acre tract north of Northeast 200th and 213th streets east of Biscayne Boulevard. The proposal sets a maximum building height of 30 stories, allows up to 62 units per acre under TC‑5 zoning (the basis for the 1,633‑unit total), and specifies nonresidential entitlements including 50,000 square feet of office, 300 hotel rooms, about 300,000 square feet of commercial uses and a commercial floor‑area ratio of 2. The draft also includes a land‑use tradeoff matrix, a maximum traffic generation limit and three unrestricted roadway access points to Northeast 213th Street.

What was said: Klop told the panel, “It’s apropos that you had the minutes from October 17 … because October 17 is when we first had a hearing on the related items to this development agreement.” He also described the rezoning step that will accompany the agreement: the city commission will be asked on March 4 to rezone the property to the TC‑5 designation and to approve the development agreement together.

Public comment was limited. Resident Marjorie Zblatt of West Country Club Drive asked aloud, “Have we ever had 30 years before?” The city attorney replied during the hearing that state statute allows for 30‑year development agreements and reminded speakers this was a comment period rather than a question‑and‑answer session.

Action and next steps: The Local Planning Agency made a motion to recommend adoption of the resolution and voted unanimously to forward the item to the city commission for final action at its March 4, 2025 hearing. The draft development agreement in the agenda packet was described by staff as a draft with only minor anticipated language changes to be resolved with the developer prior to final reading.

Additional details: The development agreement the panel considered references an original agreement dated Nov. 8, 2006 and a first amendment dated Dec. 21, 2017; the current item is presented as a second amendment. The parcel proposed for the agreement is approximately 26.5 acres and is currently zoned medical office (B‑2); the amendment would create and apply a new Town Center 5 zoning district to that land. Staff said design guidelines and a general plan of development will be required under the zoning.

The Local Planning Agency’s favorable recommendation does not itself enact the rezoning or the amendment; the matter will return to the City Commission on March 4, 2025 for the required public hearings and final votes.