WDRC recommends approval of 12‑story office project at 161 NW 20th Street with design and pedestrian‑activation conditions

The Wynwood Design Review Committee voted to recommend approval of two waiver requests for a proposed 12‑story office building at 161 Northwest 20th Street, after extensive design review and staff discussion of façade treatment, pedestrian activation and rooftop landscaping.

Javier Rivera, principal of Parma Studio, presented the project on behalf of the applicant and described the building as a roughly 12‑story office structure of just under 50,000 square feet on a long, narrow site comprised of two 50‑foot lots. He told the committee the site straddles two transect/zoning conditions: the front half is in the T6/NRD‑1 area and the back half is in T5/NRD‑2. Rivera said the design includes a double‑height lobby, stacked parking with car stackers accessed from the rear, amenity spaces on the ninth floor and terraces on higher floors; the distinctive base would feature a ceramic mosaic artwork rather than a painted mural.

The two formal waivers under consideration were a 10% increase in maximum lot coverage (an option available under Miami 21 provisions) and a 30% reduction in required parking spaces (requested because the site lies within a transit corridor). Staff confirmed the waivers are within the zoning mechanisms under Miami 21 and that parking waivers may also be analyzed by zoning for alternative compliance or fee options.

Committee members generally supported the project’s massing and the commitment to an artful base but asked for stronger articulation of the larger glass façade and suggestions to improve the pedestrian environment on the building’s secondary frontage (Thirtieth Street). Specific requests adopted as conditions included: introduce more movement and dynamics into the façade glazing (for example, varied glazing planes, screening, or articulation that avoids a uniformly flat glass wall); crop or reduce elements so the proposed blade/graphic elements at the base are proportionate to the parapet and storefront datum; accentuate and detail the pedestrian access on Thirtieth Street rather than leaving a long visible parking wall; prefer cast‑in‑place or precast concrete treatment for the projecting “shadow box” frame rather than a painted stucco finish; integrate interior ceiling/lighting treatments into the façade design so nighttime interior lighting produces a coherent exterior appearance; and include rooftop landscape elements for the amenity terrace.

The design team recorded a shadow‑box depth of 3 feet 2 inches for a primary façade element, and Rivera described the upper office floors stepping back above the ninth level with side setbacks of 10 feet. Staff and commissioners also discussed the project’s constraints due to the applicant’s 50,000‑square‑foot target, which the applicant said limited how much of the rear lot could be developed and forced a parked stacker approach.

After discussion, the committee voted to approve the waivers and recommended the design conditions noted above; staff will follow up with the applicant on detailed drawings and material selections.

The committee motion to approve the waivers passed with conditions; staff will work with the applicant to refine façade articulation, roof landscaping and pedestrian activation on Thirtieth Street prior to final sign‑off.