New beachfront tower to be the future of Miami as three-story walk-ups demolished

A 19-storey tower on the beachfront at Miami will be approved by council despite almost 400 objections from nearby residents.

The council has approved a 19-storey Miami beachfront tower, despite being higher than the area building code and almost 400 nearby resident objections.

All the councillors at full council meeting on Monday backed a recommendation for approval by officers for the 30-unit apartment building on The Esplanade, north of Burleigh.

Officers had recommended approval despite 374 objections, the majority from unit owners at a nearby building.

Planning chair Cameron Caldwell said he’d visited the site several times and realised slender towers were replacing old three-storey walk up buildings built in the 1960s.

Councillor Caldwell noted the proposal was 6.5m above what was allowed under the building code, and it would be “a nice coastal addition to the skyline at Miami”.

“We are seeing an evolution of old three-storey walk-ups being replaced by taller towers,” he said.

None of the councillors spoke against the approval motion.

The developer in talks with council officers in the past 12 months has slightly scaled it down, reducing height from 21 storeys but it still remains above the suburb’s level under the City Plan.

“The building height was generally retained at 19 storeys and 59.6m — the reduction in height in metres is resultant of the upper level floor to floor height slightly reducing,” the officers report noted.

Developers also agreed to recentre the building, allowing for increased setback to the north and south.

“Although the development includes a building height exceeding the Building Height overlay map, the proposed built form and scale have been designed to respect the adjacent sites to preserve the amenity and local identity of the area,” officers wrote.

“The proposal will contribute to the sense of place by providing quality landscaping consisting of a feature tree, ground covers and tower to ground planters within the central core of the building.”

The body corporate spokesman for the nearby Mariner Shores apartments said: “The applicant correctly indicates that 255 individual Mariner Shores’ owners lodged objections, and states that ‘these objections do not constitute a consensus among the Mariner Shores owners.

“This is fundamentally incorrect, as the Board of Mariner Shores lodged a properly made submission on behalf of all owners. This should not be overlooked by council.

“Further, all owners at Mariner Shores, regardless of their geographic residence, have a long-term vested interest in the fabric, longevity and ambience of the resort and the North Burleigh area.”

The body corporate argued 61 of its building’s units were occupied year round by the owners who outnumber any full occupancy of the proposed units at the new project.

“The Esplanade is a narrow street that carries a substantial amount of traffic throughout the year,” the body corporate spokesperson wrote.

Concrete trucks delivering to the nearby “Miami Ice” construction site had highlighted the possibility of serious traffic accidents.

“We respectfully request the developer provide a management plan for traffic along The Esplanade for the construction period and this plan be approved at the same time as the Development Application,” the body corporate spokesman said.

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