UDRB approves 41-story Wynwood tower under Live Local Act with design conditions

The Urban Design Review Board voted to approve a 41-story residential tower in Wynwood (file 17494) that the applicant designed under the Live Local Act, subject to a list of design conditions that the board attached to the approval.

Carly Kochel, representing the applicant AG Wynne LLC, told the board the project had been redesigned to eliminate previously discussed waivers and that the application before the board required no parking or setback variances. "All the waivers that were just announced have been designed out of the project and what is before you is a project that does not include any of the waivers that were read into the record," Kochel said during the presentation.

Design lead Eric Valle described a program of 234 residential units, about 17,800 square feet of commercial space at the base, and 257 parking spaces. The team showed a tower massing with stacked balcony elements and an artist-driven color palette carried on the underside of many balcony recesses. The podium was described as two stories of active retail and separate residential and retail entries; an easement in the rear setback constrained the buildable footprint and required the team to push portions of the building forward.

Board members praised the project—s use of the Live Local Act to provide income-restricted units—Kochel told the board a minimum of 40% of units will be income-restricted to 120% AMI—but several members expressed concerns about the tower—s visual aggression: heavy color use, an apparent solid mechanical/party wall condition at certain elevations, and a podium that some members felt read as an undifferentiated mass. Members asked the applicant to revisit the podium articulation, reduce or rework the color treatment so the architecture can read clearly in monochrome, and study balcony geometry to reduce an overly angular appearance.

Member Zamstas moved to approve the project with the conditions listed by board members; Member Behar seconded. The motion passed on a roll call vote recorded as 4 to 2. Conditions included reworking the color palette, studying balcony shapes and articulation, revisiting podium integration and ensuring east/west facade treatments allow for future adjacent development and avoid party-wall-like solid faces.

The applicant committed to work with staff to implement the board—s conditions. The project team noted the site—s NRD-2 context, proximity to transit and highway ramps, and that the design complies with applicable NRD setbacks and Live Local Act provisions. No waivers were required for this submittal, and the design will proceed through standard permitting steps following the board-directed refinements.