Low-Income Housing Project Gets OK
City Board Approves Complex for the Elderly in South Beach

“They’ll need exercise, mobility and access to computers. Isolation is a killer for elderly folks.”

By Randy Abraham

The Design Review Board approved a revised proposal from the Miami Beach Housing Authority for a 21-unit residential complex for low-income seniors on a vacant lot at 234-246 Jefferson Ave.

Supporters of 234-246 Jefferson hailed the project as the first of its kind to go forward in almost 30 years. Not since the 400-unit Rebecca Towers complex was developed in 1979 has a low-income senior residential complex been built in the city, said Housing Authority Executive Director Miguell Del Campillo.

Previously, in September, the DRB continued the application and encouraged the applicants to meet with neighbors who objected to the complex’s design. That occurred two weeks ago, said project architect Ari Sklar. Since then plans for a partially covered courtyard were modified in favor of a more open layout conducive to gatherings and social events, and a parking facility was reconfigured to eliminate the need for a parking variance. The building footprint was pushed back 35 feet, and redesigned to provide a “more community feeling,” said Sklar.

However, board member Janet Grant Hyman questioned why the project does not include a lunch room, a place where seniors could check their Medicare or other social service programs, or other such amenities. “They need services,” she said. “Socialization is extremely important. They’ll need exercise, mobility and access to computers. Isolation is a killer for elderly folks,” she added.

Del Campillo said the project’s size limited the number of services that could be provided, but added that eligible seniors would be able to access lunch programs and other services offered at Rebecca Towers. “It’s only two blocks away, within walking distance,” he said.

Board member Gabrielle Redfern recommended that an exterior staircase be enclosed to make it more passable in the event of an emergency, rather than obscured behind metal grillwork. “In a hurricane, if it’s open, people can’t traverse it,” she said.

Also, board member Clothilde Luce questioned the lack of a front porch. Sklar responded that he tried to include as many spaces for social interaction as he could, but that city codes requiring building fronts to be no greater than five feet from the front setback line complicated those efforts. Board member Tom Deluca noted that an open front porch might pose a security risk to seniors. “Sad as it is, we have to consider security,” said Deluca.

Del Campillo said he hopes to break ground on the senior home in a year. Rental prices and eligibility for the apartments have yet to be determined, he said, and hinge on the level of subsidies the Authority receives.

However, board members voted to continue a hearing for another Housing Authority-proposed low-income seniors housing complex, featuring two four-story buildings containing 32 units, a couple of blocks away at 321-327 Michigan Ave. and 927 Third St.

Project architect Ronnie Mateo said he tried to maximize the number of units in a utilitarian design, but board members expressed concerns about several design elements. The design, which featured an open front porch, runs counter to city codes requiring a solid front façade. William Cary of the city’s Planning Department said that, historically, residential complexes in the South Beach area that featured a front porch also featured a spacious lobby. “They have always been backed by a common space,” said Cary. Mateo disagreed, arguing, “The need for social outdoor spaces doesn’t go away just because it isn’t an exact duplicate of Art Deco hotels.”

Luce said she hoped the city could be more flexible in regard to the front porch, and Cary responded that the designers needed to make the front porch “successful, not a liability.”

Staff recommendations included converting the proposed front porch into another dwelling unit to continue the front façade wall down to ground level.

Board member Mike Steffans noted that the front porch layout didn’t seem conducive to socialization and would serve more as an entrance. And area activist Frank Del Vecchio said the design doesn’t seem to meet the stated objective of promoting social interaction.

Redfern also questioned the placement of a ground floor entrance elevator that appeared exposed to the elements, which she said could lead to frequent maintenance problems and repairs. “Every time it rains your [elevator] pit is going to flood.”

Steffans also questioned the safety of an elevator off a back alley. “Is the Housing Authority not concerned with two open elevators here, and one off the back alley?”

Mateo said the elevators actually would be located off non-air-conditioned lobbies.

Redfern moved to continue the hearing to the board’s January meeting, but Mateo asked to have the item taken up in December. He was told he would have to submit revised plans addressing the board’s concerns no later than Tuesday, Nov. 14. Mateo said he would meet that deadline.

In other business, board members postponed a decision on a revised proposal to construct a four-story complex of six townhomes at 845 82nd St. and 8225 Hawthorne Ave. The item brought out more than a dozen local residents, including several from the recently established Biscayne Beach Single Family Homeowners Association.

Association President Leonor Hernandez criticized the modern styling of the proposed complex and recommended a Deco-modern or Mediterranean style with additional open space as more compatible with the neighborhood. Leonor also said she opposed the encroachment of additional multifamily housing in the traditionally single-family area, and said the townhomes should be more individualized.

Developer and local resident Rosa Martinez said she had attempted to discuss the proposal with her neighbors but that “it’s been difficult.” Martinez noted that of the six proposed units, four would be for her family members and only two units would be put up for sale. Zoning attorney Michael Larkin noted that Martinez hired noted architect Les Beilinson to conceive a more favorable redesign.

Larkin also criticized association leaders for excluding condo and townhome owners from their group, a move he called “divisive.” Redfern agreed. “It’s discriminatory and very disappointing to me,” she said.

Beilinson said that individuality is built into the design and noted that different facing materials would break up any potential monotony. He described the project as “attached single-family homes” with individual roofs separated by walls.

But local resident Theresa Sutter, who lives across the street from the proposed complex, criticized what she called a “cookie cutter” design.

Redfern agreed, saying the design’s “repetitiveness breeds institutionality.” She then urged Beilinson, who has designed a number of recent projects in the area, to “be the genius that we know that you can be” and to refine his design to satisfy the board’s and neighbors’ concerns.

Comments? E-mail letters@miamisunpost.com.