La Baia North condo returns to Bay Harbor Islands board with permit-stage changes

The developer of La Baia North, a planned 57-unit condominium at 9431, 9461 and 9481 E. Bay Harbor Drive, is asking Bay Harbor Islands’ Design Review Board on Wednesday to re-approve its site plan after town staff found that the building permit drawings had drifted from the design the board approved, according to the board’s agenda packet.

The eight-story building, seven floors of homes over a ground-level lobby and garage, would rise to 75 feet above base flood elevation on a 0.775-acre site, with a rooftop pool and gym, the staff report says. Units would range from about 1,434 to 2,109 square feet of air-conditioned space.

The changes found during permit review include a larger mechanical roof and reworked pool deck, a single central ramp in place of two, more louvers and vents, and a redesigned entry plaza. A drop-off lane that cut into the landscape buffer along the street has been eliminated, which staff calls a positive change. Staff found the changes generally consistent with the approved design and recommends approval with conditions.

Parking is the open question. The town code requires 114 spaces for 57 units. The plans include 47 permanent spaces, and a 24/7 valet plan that the applicant says could fit up to 75 cars. Because the code does not allow valet to count toward the requirement, the report says, the developer would pay the town’s parking trust fund for the remaining 39 spaces, about $780,000 at $20,000 a space, or the board must approve the valet arrangement. The board also must decide whether a partly enclosed breezeway meets the code’s goal of breaking up a large building.

The site was first approved for 72 units in 2012; a new developer cut the project to 57 units in 2021, according to the report. The project relies on 31 purchased development rights, and the developer must show it holds them before building.

The board also reviews a storefront change at 1025 Kane Concourse and two house renovations. The meeting is at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 4, in the Council Chambers at the community center, 1175 95th St., and the public can also comment by Zoom, according to the agenda.