South Beach hostel serving as homeless housing could make way for high-rise

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – Representatives of a developer who person been moving to person the metropolis of Miami Beach to amend a zoning regularisation truthful it tin build a high-rise luxury tower astatine 1250 West Ave. are adding a constituent of persuasion.

Attorney Melissa Tapanes said astatine a Wednesday nighttime metropolis committee gathering that the improvement “will effect successful the imperishable elimination of the Bikini Hostel,” describing the South Beach tract arsenic a “plague connected this assemblage for a fig of years.”

The connection is pitched arsenic a nationalist benefit, with plans to get a parcel crossed the street.

The Bikini Hostel, erstwhile a younker hostel, present lodging Miami-Dade Homeless clients, has been criticized during nationalist comments arsenic hostile to the area’s prime of life.

“The Bikini Hostel has been a scourge and a blight connected the vicinity for 15 years now, agelong earlier its existent iteration arsenic a makeshift stateless shelter,” Jessica Davis, the president of the Bay View Terrace condominium board, said.

Miami-Dade Homeless Trust Chairman Ron Book said that the owners of the Bikini Hostel, presently lodging astir 90 to 100 people, had resisted acquisition offers.

Now, with accrued density, the developer tin spend to conscionable its terms tag.

Book said that the hostel opened its doors to Homeless Trust clients successful precocious October erstwhile the spot was successful request of beds owed to a simplification successful exigency structure beds astatine Camillus House successful Miami and compliance pressures from the state’s unauthorized camping and nationalist sleeping law, effectual Oct. 1.

It’s the lone spot successful the metropolis lodging Homeless Trust clients.

“The metropolis of Miami Beach doesn’t deliberation it has a stateless occupation and doesn’t person immoderate work to beryllium portion of the effort to location oregon structure radical connected the land itself,” Book said. “They deliberation that load falls connected the different 34 municipalities successful Miami-Dade County.”

He added, “Some radical don’t person a bully representation of unhoused individuals. I can’t assistance that.”

The owners of the Bikini Hostel told Local 10 News they felt similar they were doing a bully deed erstwhile they responded to a telephone from the Homeless Trust asking if they could assistance location radical amid the structure furniture reduction.

Book said the Trust “needed the beds.”

An lawyer representing the Bikini Hostel released a connection to Local 10 News saying that the owners “have remained committed to ensuring that nary 1 forcibly displace the antecedently unhoused individuals who person been welcomed by, and presently reside, astatine the Bikini Hostel.”

The connection notes that the acquisition includes a “compassionate relocation plan.”

“The owners of the Bikini Hostel mean to usage portion of the merchantability proceeds to acquisition a caller installation that volition proceed to supply lodging for those individuals and others experiencing hardship,” the connection reads. “This represents a constructive and humane solution, demonstrating however the backstage assemblage and section authorities tin enactment unneurotic to lick intractable societal problems portion preserving law rights.”

Book assured, “We are surely not going to dump radical retired connected the streets.”

The projected improvement woody volition spell earlier Miami Beach metropolis commissioners again successful May.

Related links:

Miami Beach ordinance

Project memorandum

Massing study

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