Gray look wins OK for Cymbal DLT Midtown development

A developer who plans to bring new workforce housing to Miami with a new tower between Midtown Miami and Wynwood is now advancing after a redesign of the project.

Owner-developer North Miami Avenue LLC proposes a 35-story building at 3466 N Miami Ave. with 598 residences, 18,108 square feet of retail and 4,547 square feet of offices, plus a large parking podium for more than 650 vehicles.

The original design for Cymbal DLT Midtown met opposition from the city’s Urban Development Review Board, with members critical of a striking series of black-and-white bands, making wave patterns on all sides of the large podium and the upper floors.

A representative of global architecture firm Arquitectonica had said the wave pattern was designed to show movement, with opposite colors converging, with a band of windows to break up the massing.

The developer chose to voluntarily withdraw the item. After an alternative design was made, the project was back in December to get the board’s blessing.

The board unanimously recommended approval of the project with its amended design as reviewed by city staff and presented to the board with new documentation and renderings. The motion also asks the developer to reexamine the spacing of vertical columns.

The project will include a significant workforce housing component, allowing it to qualify for height and density increases under the state’s new Live Local Act. A qualifying project must be in a mixed-use, commercial, or industrial zoning district and commit to restricting a minimum of 40% of its units for residents earning up to 120% Area Median Income for 30 years.

Anthony De Yurre, an attorney representing the developer, helped present the alternative design, explaining that a major change was made in the color palette, going with a gray instead of black.

“A gray palette will withstand (the weather) elements and maintenance will be much better. Gray fades to gray, and is used consistently in urban design,” he said.

Review board member Ligia Ines Labrada said, “The color palette for the alternative (design) is an improvement. The black and white was a little too in your face, and it made the massing that much bigger and busy.”

Board member Francisco Perez-Azua said, “I appreciate coming back with a color palette that should sustain the weather … it’s a great project.”

Board member Anthony Tzamtzis said, “Thank you for coming back with an updated solution to the project.”

Board Chairman Ignacio Permuy said, “I think it’s an improvement from the previous submission. I like what you did, I like the fenestration. I commend the entire team on a job well done.”