Extra stories key to Grand Avenue agreement

Community activists negotiating with Grand Avenue developers disclosed the builders' demands Monday and tried to reassure nervous renters.

BY LAURA MORALES
llmorales@herald.com

Developers would pay up to $2.5 million into a fund for the Village West area of Coconut Grove in exchange for community support for seven-story buildings along Grand Avenue, according to a proposed agreement revealed Monday night.

Unlike previous versions of the community-developer covenant, the latest one spells out what developers who plan to construct six mixed-use buildings along the thoroughfare want from locals -- including support for:

• Seven story-buildings, plus amenities like pools, gyms or clubhouses on top of the seventh story. Only five stories are allowed under the current code which aims to preserve the community's character.

• Reductions in parking and setback requirements for the buildings.

• The transfer of green space requirements from one project to another, or to 3310 Grand Ave., the space which the Farmer's Market occupies on Saturdays.

In exchange for the local support, developer Julio C. Marrero and his partners would pay $2.5 million, with $100,000 paid at the outset and $100,000 paid whenever a sixth- or seventh-floor condo is sold. They estimate that there will be 24 such units.

If the developers sell any of the properties, any money owed on that property would be paid at the time of the sale. The money would go into a community fund that leaders say would go to after-school programs and paying to relocate some residents who will be displaced.

The allocations aren't specified in the proposed agreement.

Even if both sides agree, the city commission would have to approve any changes to the code -- including the ability to build up to seven stories.

The document, unveiled at a meeting of the Cocoanut Grove Village West Homeowners and Tenants Association, stipulates that if the city does not settle current litigation with Marrero or if the commission denies the extra stories, the agreement would be nullified, said the local group's attorney, Luis F. Navarro.

Marrero's group, which originally wanted to build 12-story projects, sued the city after it adopted a conservation measure limiting building height to five stories, hoping to be ''grandfathered'' in under the old code.

Johnny Winton, the Miami city commissioner whose district includes Coconut Grove, said Tuesday that he is worried about relaxing the five-story limit, adopted by the commission in January.

''The concept is a good one. As far as going up to seven stories at their two biggest sites goes, I'm not opposed to it,'' Winton said.

But he added that, in his view, a canyon of seven-story buildings along Grand could hurt the area in the long run.

Gary Hecht, a Grove councilman, told Navarro and the association that developers ought to be helping the displaced renters even if they don't get to build the extra stories.

Association president Will Johnson explained that this will happen. ''The Tenants Transition Team is there to help the displaced no matter how many stories are allowed,'' he said, adding that part of the impact fees collected from builders by the city and county could also be used to help dislodged renters.

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