Washington Avenue apartment plan would allow buildings up to 150 feet, returns Nov. 18

A plan to remake Washington Avenue with apartments goes back before the Miami Beach City Commission on Wednesday, Nov. 18, after more than two years of committee and Planning Board review. It would let qualifying apartment buildings between 5th and 17th streets grow to as much as twice their current size and, in some spots, 150 feet tall.

The two ordinances, items R5 AI and R5 AJ, are set for first-reading public hearings at 4 p.m. and 4:01 p.m. Because they raise allowable floor area, they need six of seven commission votes to pass, the city manager’s memo says.

What would change

The incentives apply only to non-transient apartments, not hotels or short-term rentals, on Washington Avenue properties zoned RM-2, CD-2, CD-3 and C-PS2, according to the memos. Among the key changes:

• Size: maximum floor area ratio would rise from 2.0 to 4.0 on most eligible lots and to 3.25 in the CD-3 district. Density would rise from 100 to 106 units an acre to 175.
• Height: apartment buildings could reach 75 feet, while the limit for hotels would drop from 75 to 50 feet. Projects that skip on-site parking and join a public micromobility network could add 25 more feet, to 100, or 75 more in CD-3, to 150.
• Parking: minimum parking for these projects would be eliminated, and residents of the new buildings could not get zone 2 street parking permits.
• Limits: units could be no larger than 1,500 square feet, lots at least 6,500 square feet, and no more than 1,000 units in total could use the incentives. Projects would have to pull a full building permit before the incentives sunset.

The memos also list mobility-fee relief and faster permitting for qualifying projects, and would let the Historic Preservation Board consider waiving front and side setbacks.

Why now

Residential use has long been allowed on the avenue, with a small existing bonus, but the city says developers have shown “little interest.” The proposal, sponsored by Commissioner David Suarez, failed at first reading on Feb. 5, 2026, and went back to the Land Use and Sustainability Committee, which added the unit cap, larger units and smaller lots. A September hearing was not reached.

The Planning Board recommended it 7-0 in November 2024, and also urged a share of below-market units and a transfer of development rights program, the memo says; the ordinances described in the memos do not include an affordability requirement.

An Arquitectonica massing study in the packet uses 705–739, 930, 1260, 1261 and 1359 Washington Ave. as examples. The city notes no projects have been filed for those sites.

If the ordinances pass first reading, the city’s rules require a community workshop before a second vote. The staff memo, written for an earlier date, also asks the commission to waive the annual zoning calendar so the final vote doesn’t have to wait until April 2027. The commission meets at City Hall, 1700 Convention Center Drive; comments can be made in person or on Zoom.