The city of South Miami has approved the demolition and construction of the Shops at Sunset Place, which for years sat desolate as a ghost town with fewer and fewer people walking through. A unanimous vote by city officials on Tuesday resulted in the construction of 1,000 residential units, bars, restaurants, a movie theater, shops and a hotel that will give the area a new look.
After several years of constant attempts to change the landscape of Sunset Place, it seems that the authorities are trusting the last owner of the complex. Last September, a project planned by Midtown Opportunities that plans to demolish the structures and build them from scratch with the support of the honored Heatherwick Studio.
South Miami Mayor Javier Fernandez said one of the problems with the project is that even though the urban foundations exist in the city, there are not many people who agree with this idea. After it is approved by the city commission, a second review of the development agreement will be done and the plan approval will return in November for the final decision.
"Our hope is that within five years, the average person will be able to start enjoying something on that site," Fernandez said of the investment.
Alex Vadia, director of Midtown Development, a division of Midtown Opportunities, said the goal was to create an enclosed mall with a vision to “energize” the ground floor and in tune with the city environment by providing a network of pre-selected retail stores and other open spaces that interact with the community.
Architect Thomas Heatherwick, in a YouTube video, stressed that the idea is to radically reclaim the streets and that in this sense, within the complex there would be streets where only pedestrians could walk while deciding which store or restaurant to visit. “When you ask people if they like the old or new part of a city more, in general, people always say that they like the old part. Why? I think it’s because the old parts have more variety, more texture, more human scale and they fascinate you more,” said Thomas.
The project was not exempt from criticism and dissatisfaction from some people specifically regarding the amount of traffic it would generate in the area, however, others were largely in favor, which resulted in the approval of the new construction.
The mayor wants to pressure Midtown Opportunities to strictly comply with the construction plans within the agreed-upon timeframes. The company could get the buildings as tall as it wants if it meets the terms, otherwise it can only build up to 17 stories.
Midtown Opportunities, together with the designers at Heatherwick Studio, have been evaluating the place for some time, which has lost its charm over the years, until in 2020 they purchased Shops at Sunset Place from the former owners for a value of 65.5 million dollars. Currently, it has not been established when the developers will begin the construction process, which will take several years.
The hotel, condominium and some streets may be fully completed within five years. Fernandez noted that there are already lease termination agreements for all current tenants. The entire development is expected to be completed in 20 years, which represents a reduction from the typical 30-year plan.
