430 new Seybold Canal residences to include 37 micro studios

A developer is proposing a new mixed-use residential project that will include some micro living units near Spring Garden and the Health District, and in the shadow of the 836 highway.

Owner-developer 1010 Spring Garden LLC plans the structure at 1150 and 1180 NW 11th Street Road, and 1080 Spring Garden Road, in Miami.
The waterfront site is on the Seybold Canal, north of the Miami River.

The working project name is 1010 Spring Garden, and the owner-developer plans two connected 12-story buildings with up to 430 residential units, of which 37 will be micro dwellings as small as 400-square-foot studios.

The project is to include commercial-retail uses and parking for up to 621 vehicles.

The city’s Urban Development Review Board unanimously recommended approval with two recommendations.

Carlos Diaz, an attorney representing the developer, said the narrow, irregularly shaped lot on the north side of Wagner Creek (also known as Seybold Canal) fronts Spring Garden Road between NW 11th Street and State Road 836.

The property is at the intersection of the Health District and the Overtown neighborhood.

In a letter to the city, Mr. Diaz wrote, “The project’s design responds primarily to human scale and pedestrian interests. The project uses its waterfront location to provide enhanced public access to the waterfront.

“The project will provide more than 900 lineal feet of inviting public waterfront walkway with landscaping, seating, lighting and other improvements in accordance with the city’s waterfront design standards. The proposed walkway creates a unique public space which promotes pedestrian interaction.

“The project provides a large, strategically placed open space along the property’s north side directly abutting the 836 highway which connects to the proposed walkway and the crossblock pedestrian passage located at the now under construction Soleste Spring Garden Project,” he wrote.

Mr. Diaz said the project will provide 232.5 feet of open-to-the-sky view corridors and three crossblock passages connecting Spring Garden Road to the proposed waterfront walkway.

The site is mostly vacant land and outdated structures that will be demolished for the project. It’s within a half-mile of a Transit Oriented Development centered by the Culmer Metrorail Station.

Project architect is Caymares Martin Inc.

The developer is requesting an exception to permit a lot area larger than allowed, and a warrant for the construction of micro-dwelling units.

The developer is also seeking waivers to allow:

■A 10% reduction in required parking spaces.

■Up to a 10% reduction in the drive aisle width from 23 feet to 22 feet.

■A 10% increase in the maximum building floorplate length above the eighth story from 180 feet to 198 feet.

■Substitution of one industrial loading berth for two commercial loading berths.

■Above-ground parking along the secondary frontage to extend into the second layer beyond 50% of the length of the frontage, if an art, glass, or architectural treatment is provided.

■Above-ground parking to extend into the second layer along the primary frontage, if an art, glass, or architectural treatment is provided for 100% of that portion of the façade.

■Up to a 50% reduction in the minimum required waterfront setback for lot configuration conflicts.

Mr. Diaz told the review board of challenges the developer’s team faced due to the property being very narrow and long.

Board member Fidel Perez agreed, saying, “It is a very difficult site. I think you need more connectivity on the riverwalk.

“I understand your issues, but you need to look at this,” said Mr. Perez. “The reason for the walk is to move people, and you have the opportunity to do something within that property that will create more of that movement.

“I understand how difficult this is to do, at this point, because the neighborhood is not there yet – but it will be,” said Mr. Perez, suggesting more commercial-retail uses along the waterfront walkway.

His other comment was about the size of the structure, the massing.

“I think the building is too long. You have an opportunity to break up the building … I know that it’s challenging, but you need to look at it.

“When you look at it from the river, I think it’s going to look too massive. It’s not really massive, it’s just a long building. So I think you need to look at this again and see how you can break this long building,” said Mr. Perez.

Board member Anthony Tzamtzis said, “I congratulate the architect. Very nice. The drawings are beautiful and very detailed. It shows the architect’s love for showing the relationship of the building to the outside.

“I like the playfulness of the building,” said Mr. Tzamtizis.

Acting Chair Agustin Barrera said he liked the ground floor plan and the introduction of the green space and the paseo leading to the waterway, which adds a nice feature.

The motion to recommend approval includes two recommendations to the developer’s team: look at ways to break up the massing, the articulation, so it doesn’t look like one massive building; and explore adding more commercial-retail uses along the waterway.