Attachment - 3THE SHOPS AT SUNSET PLACE
5701 SUNSET DRIVE, SOUTH MIAMI, FL
A DEVELOPMENT BY FEDERAL REALTY INVESTMENT TRUST, GRASS RIVER PROPERTY AND COMRAS COMPANY
CITY COMMISSION SUBMITTAL – 10.16.2017
SUBMITTED ON 10/16/2017 BY:
46 SW 1ST STREET, THIRD FLOOR, MIAMI, FL 33130
TEL. 305-381-6060 / FAX 305-381-9457
WWW.SHUBINBASS.COM
PROJECT NARRATIVE AND OVERVIEW
1
PROJECT: OVERVIEW
The redevelopment of The Shops at Sunset Place (“Sunset Place”)
is an exercise in transformational placemaking. It seeks to inject
life and dynamism into a vitally important but underperforming
commercial shopping center that has repeatedly failed to integrate
into the South Miami community – much less invigorate it. The
goal is to transform the existing shopping center into a lively mixed-
use, urban district featuring the addition of a substantial residential
component, a hotel, restaurants, rooftop uses, cafes, retail, offices
and a series of outdoor planted “living rooms” accessible for
community gathering and suitable for hosting community events.
We seek to remedy the past failures of the site and ensure its future
success through two principal strategies. The first is a design
strategy that seeks to demolish and rebuild significant sections of
the existing shopping center in order to open it up and connect it to
South Miami’s existing hometown fabric. We highlight the design
strategy in the sections that follow and in the full set of drawings
that accompany these applications. The second is a use strategy that
seeks to add a true resident population – together with a hotel and
offices – to animate and populate Sunset Place and South Miami with
a robust burst of new life both day and night. The residential use
strategy differs in a very meaningful way from prior iterations of the
shopping center. We believe that the addition of “heads in beds” at
Sunset Place will confer a significant and sustained economic benefit
to South Miami’s existing merchants and restaurant operators by
expanding their customer base within easy walking distance to the
City’s existing Hometown.
The site is wonderfully suited to accommodate the project. It is
located within the South Dixie Highway transit corridor with close
proximity to the multimodal transit center known as South Miami
Station as well as the soon to-be-constructed linear park known
as the Underline. By placing new residential, hotel, and office
development in close proximity to the Metrorail, we responsibly
propose a transit oriented development (“TOD”) that seeks to
decrease reliance on the automobile, reduce reliance on single-
occupant automobile trips, and encourage walking and bicycling in
a pedestrian friendly environment.
“Great cities are not static – They constantly change
and take the world along with them.”
EDWARD GLAESER, TRIUMPH OF THE CITY: HOW OUR GREATEST INVENTION MAKES US RICHER,
SMARTER, GREENER, HEALTHIER, AND HAPPIER 162 (2011)
Figure 1.
Sunset Place:
Redeveloped,
Reimagined, and
Revitalized.
2
“Not only is shopping melting into everything, but everything is
melting into shopping. Through successive waves of expansion –
each more extensive and pervasive than the previous – shopping
has methodically encroached on a widening spectrum of territories
so that it is now, arguably, the defining activity of public life.”
PROJECT ON THE CITY 2: HARVARD DESIGN SCHOOL GUIDE TO SHOPPING (CHUIHUA JUDY CHUNG ET. AL. EDS., 2002)
THE PHASES
The project is designed in two phases divided
along the property’s north and south sides as
illustrated in Figure 4.
PROJECT DESIGN
Sunset Place accomplishes its placemaking objective by creating
new public spaces and organizing its complementary mix of hotel,
residential, retail, office, and restaurant uses around a series of
public gathering spots with vastly improved connectivity between
and among its elements and the surrounding fabric of South Miami.
Importantly, Sunset Place seeks to significantly engage and animate
Sunset Drive and Red Road through a host of design improvements
including the introduction of exterior facing storefronts and
revitalizing façade improvements as illustrated in Figures 2 and 3.
Figure 2. Sunset
Drive and 57th
Court.
Figure 3. Sunset
Drive and Red
Road.
Figure 4.
Proposed Project
Phasing.
3
Figure 5. Sunset Drive and 57th Court.
The pedestrian entrance at Banyan Court
is enlivened with a new façade and
updated public gathering space.
Figure 7. Phase I Demolition.
Figure 8. Red Road and San Remo
Avenue. A portion of the current
shopping center, the pedestrian bridge
on San Remo, concrete guardrail, and
decorative columns will be demolished.
Figure 9. Interior of current shopping
center at San Remo Avenue. The
pedestrian bridges, escalator, and a
portion of the current shopping center
will be demolished.
Figure 10. Interior of current shopping
center at Grand Stair. The Grand Stair,
third floor cinema entry arches, and retail
facades will be demolished. A portion
of the elevator bank structure will also
be demolished along with stair
component.
Figure 6. Sunset Drive and Red Road.
The introduction of exterior facing
storefronts on Red Road re-knits Sunset
Place to the surrounding neighborhood
while façade improvements create varied
storefronts reflective of the diversity
of frontages seen throughout the
neighboring Hometown.
Phase I – The Renewal of the Existing Shopping Experience
Phase I represents a substantial re-invigoration of the south section of the property by strategic
and selective demolition together with the substantial re-design of the existing commercial
space. As any passerby would note, people are not shopping at the existing shopping center. It
is suffering in a serious and significant way. Stores are closed and closing, sidewalks are empty,
and most shoppers buy most things elsewhere. We seek to change that by creating a lively,
dynamic place for shopping, dining, work and entertainment that connects to the fabric of the
South Miami community in an organic way.
It is vitally important to note that Phase I does not include the addition of significant leasable
square footage. To the contrary, the goal of Phase I is to fix the broken aspects of the existing
shopping center that fronts Red Road and Sunset Drive, humanize and activate those frontages,
and better connect them to the adjacent community. Illustrations of the Phase I improvements
are shown in Figures 5 and 6.
In terms of data, Phase I comprises the demolition of approximately 94,147 square feet of existing
construction – including approximately 39,257 square feet of existing retail and restaurant space
– and the construction of approximately 53,633 square feet - including approximately 32,840
square feet of office space. The proposed Phase I demolition is illustrated in Figures 7-10.
“Cities were created to bring things together. The better
they do this job, the more successful they become.”
JEFF SPECK, WALKABLE CITY: HOW DOWNTOWN CAN SAVE AMERICA, ONE STEP AT A TIME 105 (2012)
4
Phase II – The Gateway
Phase II is the design engine that drives the transformation
of Sunset Place and ensures its continued success. It is
also the financial engine that allows the renovations and
demolitions proposed within Phase I. Put simply, the two
phases are interdependent – Phase I does not work without
Phase II.
Phase II involves the complete demolition of the structures
within the northern portion of the site and the construction
of three new buildings together with the creation of new
public realm spaces, street level retail, cafes, and restaurants.
The proposed Phase II demolition is illustrated in Figures
12 and 13.
Phase II includes the addition of two residential buildings
with approximately 414 units combined and a hotel with
approximately 182 hotel rooms. The Phase II buildings are
designed to sit atop an underground parking resource; two
new levels are expected to be added to the existing parking
structure during Phase II.
Figure 11. Red
Road and South
Dixie Highway.
Stunning
architecture, an
expansive 7,400
square foot plaza,
and a new vibrant
view corridor
greets residents
and visitors alike.
“We must increase the open spaces and decrease the
distances to be covered. Therefore the center of the
City must be constructed vertically.”
LE CORBUSIER, THE CITY OF TOMORROW AND ITS PLANNING 167 (REISSUE ED. 1987)
Figure 12. Phase II Demolition.
Figure 13. Red Road and South Dixie
Highway. The north block shopping
center building fronting the corner of Red
Road and South Dixie Highway will be
demolished along with a portion of the
interior shopping center on the north side
of the property.
Figure 14. Red Road and South Dixie
Highway. Existing shopping center.
Substantial study went into the design and layout of Phase
II. The goal is to create spatial channels between the three
new buildings, the existing commercial structures, and
the surrounding neighborhood streets. This approach
promotes the circulation of people, light, and air. We see
the intersection of Red Road and South Dixie Highway as
a “Gateway” into the City of South Miami. The corner at
that intersection therefore represents a critical opportunity
for a significant architectural statement to announce the
entry into the City of South Miami. After much thought
and careful study, we are proud to show our design for this
signature corner in Figure 11.
The new Gateway invites people into South Miami’s vibrant,
engaging Hometown. A stark contrast to the “bunker” that
exists at present at the corner of Red Road and South Dixie
Highway. See Figure 14.
5
“Living at high densities and walking
is a lot more environmentally friendly
than living in a low-density suburb
and driving everywhere.”
EDWARD GLAESER, TRIUMPH OF THE CITY: HOW OUR GREATEST INVENTION
MAKES US RICHER, SMARTER, GREENER, HEALTHIER, AND HAPPIER 267 (2011)
Figure 15. Public
Realm Space:
Existing and
Proposed.Figure 18. Public
Benefit: Plaza
at San Remo.
Figure 16. Existing San Remo and Red
Road.
Figure 17. Proposed San Remo and Red
Road.
The New Square
Through strategic and selective demolition and
design, Sunset Place includes the creation of
substantial public realm design to enliven both
its core and its edges. Specifically, the project
proposes the demolition of approximately 29,907
square feet of existing retail and restaurant space
to create a new public square that symmetrically
integrates with the existing urban grain at the
intersection of San Remo and Red Road. The
existing conditions (Figure 16) is contrasted with
the new enlivened public square (Figures 17 and
18) in the adjacent images.
URBAN FORM — PLACEMAKING
Sunset Place is conceived as an antidote to suburban sprawl. It is a decidedly urban project with a
synergistic mix of uses designed to place density adjacent to a multi-modal transit station. Its goal is to
create a wonderful place where people can live, shop, eat, gather, and work or conveniently commute
to work on the Metrorail.
Public Realm Improvements
To accomplish this goal the project includes
significant public realm improvements –
including the creation of new public spaces and
an improved network of sidewalks – designed
to promote civic engagement and improve the
pedestrian experience. We are building a new
public gathering “square” at the intersection of
San Remo and Red Road as more particularly
described in the next section. Additionally, we
seek to vastly improve the sidewalk treatment
along South Dixie Highway. Existing and proposed
public realm space is illustrated in green in Figure
15 below.
6
The New Edges
There is a significant expansion of the adjacent sidewalk network
along South Dixie Highway that wraps around the corner to the
major intersection with Red Road where shade and canopy trees
create a true urban gathering spot. These improved edge treatments
are illustrated in Figures 19-21.
Opening up Sunset Place to safer, more pleasant access by
pedestrians, bicyclists and transit riders is one of the significant
goals of our redesign. The goal is to reflect the emphasis on walking,
biking and transit found in South Miami’s Intermodal Transportation
Plan. We have arranged the physical elements of our redesign at
Sunset Place to seamlessly integrate with South Miami’s existing
street and sidewalk network.
Figure 19. Public
Benefit: City
Gateway Plaza.
Figure 20.
Proposed Plaza
and Sidewalks
at South Dixie
Highway.
Figure 21.
Public Benefit:
City Gateway
Plaza.
7
Figure 23. Expanded height step
down from proposed hotel (South
Dixie Highway) to nearest single story
residential property (77th Terrace).
Figure 22. Height step down from
proposed hotel (South Dixie Highway) to
existing shopping center (Sunset Drive).
The Vertical Transition and Step Down
The massing for Sunset Place was designed to
step down from South Dixie Highway to Sunset
Drive. The taller residential and hotel buildings
are located on South Dixie Highway close to the
Metrorail and then the heights elegantly transition
down towards Sunset Drive where massing and
elevations remain relatively unchanged. The
vertical step down is shown to scale in Figures 22
and 23
8
Landscaping
The landscape plan for Sunset Place features
large native trees, mixed shrubs, and understory
plantings that create an abundance of shade and
visual beauty. At the same time, our specimen
selection and planting strategy seek to lower
ambient temperatures, promote human comfort
and, importantly, to draw native fauna, such as
butterflies, lizards, and dragonflies, back to the
space.
Sunset Place will be transformed by an unrivaled
specimen selection of high quality native trees
including gumbo limbos, live oaks, sabal palms,
bald cypress, and mahogany varieties. An
assortment of large and noteworthy palms will be
framed by authentic details like hanging native
orchids and air plants.
Our landscape plan represents a substantial
departure from and improvement to the current
landscaping at the existing shopping center.
We will be removing the perimeter palms and
replacing them with live oaks. We will create a
manicured and formal lawn at the newly created
public square at the intersection of San Remo
and Red Road. Our landscape plans are detailed
within Section L: Landscape of our separate design
submittal that accompanies these applications.
An illustrative example of our Landscape Plan is
set forth in Figure 24.
Figure 24
Illustrative
Landscaping Plan.
9
Figure 25. Plaza
at Red Road and
San Remo Avenue.
Figure 26. South
Dixie Highway. A
channel of light
and air will pass
through the
property creating
a view corridor
from South Dixie
Highway to Sunset
Drive.
Massing – Alignment
The existing shopping center does not connect well to the surrounding
neighborhood. The massing concept for the redeveloped Sunset
Place creates spatial channels that cut through the property from
north to south and east to west, to break the scale of the project at
the pedestrian level, and to align it with the existing neighborhood
streets.
In contrast to the sprawl-style, broad-shouldered shopping centers
that are oriented parallel to South Dixie Highway, or the “bunker”
that exists at present at the corner of South Dixie Highway and
Red Road. The new buildings will show a slender profile to South
Dixie Highway with an axial configuration that synchronizes with
the existing urban grain, inviting pedestrians to enter and drawing
them through Sunset Place and into South Miami’s Hometown. See
Figure 26.
We also seek to improve the alignment and increase connectivity
to the community with the significant demolition of existing
retail space along Red Road to create a grand, public space at the
intersection of San Remo and Red Road. We illustrate this improved
alignment and connectivity diagrammatically in Figure 25.
“The walkable streets tend to be the environments where households and business and institutions prosper…
[t]hey tend to be the ones where investments in infrastructure and property are rewarded with revenue.”
VICTOR DOVER & JOHN MASSENGALE, STREET DESIGN: THE SECRET TO GREAT CITIES AND TOWNS 35 (2014)
10
Street Design
Lively beautiful streets are a signature of a great
city. As discussed in the previous section the
interior pedestrian street – commonly referred
to as “Banyan Court” – will be extended to South
Dixie Highway. Together with the addition of a
new pedestrian entrance at the Gateway Plaza a
view corridor will be created through Sunset Place
from Sunset Drive to South Dixie Highway. Of
equal import, Banyan Court will be re-designed
to eliminate the obtrusive curbs so all pedestrian
activity occurs on the same grade.
Because pedestrians experience the street and the
materials on it in a very palpable way, we have
retained the services of a nationally-recognized
design firm – Street-Works Studio – that uses a
time tested and proprietary approach to invigorate
and activate streets. Through the strategic use
of proportion, material selection, tree selection,
signage, and tenant program, we seek to transform
street life within and around Sunset Place. An
example of an award winning design by Street-
Works Studio is shown in Figure 27.
Figure 27. Street-Works Studio’s
sophisticated street and sidewalk design
allowed the redevelopment of Bethesda
Row in Bethesda, Maryland to fit
seamlessly into the surrounding cityscape
and community.
“Traditional principles of urbanism say
that the most comfortable streets are
1-to-1 or 1-to-1 ½ width to height. ”
VICTOR DOVER & JOHN MASSENGALE, STREET DESIGN: THE SECRET TO GREAT CITIES AND TOWNS 18 (2014)
Height - A Traditional Rule of Proportion
A traditional rule of architectural proportion
dictates that the height of a building should be a
function of the width of the adjacent roadway.
Here, the width of the South Dixie Highway
right-of-way – including the Metrorail right-of-
way – is approximately 206 feet. As illustrated in
Figure 28, the design of the hotel respects a ratio
of approximately 1:1. This ratio provides further
confirmation that the site is suitable for the design
proposed. By way of interesting historical fact,
when George Merrick created the first zoning
code for the neighboring City of Coral Gables, he
dictated a 1:1.5 ratio for purposes of setting the
heights of buildings along South Dixie Highway.
Figure 28.
Traditional
1:1 Ratio of
Architecture. The
proposed hotel
building respects
this traditional
ratio.
11
“With rare exceptions, every transit
trip begins and ends with a walk. As
a result, while walkability benefits
from good transit, good transit relies
absolutely on walkability.”
JEFF SPECK, WALKABLE CITY: HOW DOWNTOWN CAN SAVE AMERICA,
ONE STEP AT A TIME 140 (2012)
MOBILITY – CIRCULATION – PARKING
Transit Oriented Development - Metrorail
The introduction of a residential component
to Sunset Place is strategically designed to
integrate with Metrorail and our community’s
significant public investment in it. By organizing
its proposed residential, retail, and office uses
in close proximity to transit, the project is what
is commonly referred to as a Transit Oriented
Development (“TOD”). The project is designed
to limit vehicle trip generation by the inclusion
of mixed-use development programs that benefit
from the substantial public investment in the
rapid transit infrastructure known as Metrorail.
The goal of Sunset Place is to create a sense of
place that is not dependent upon single-occupant
vehicle trips. This is in contrast to the majority
of development within the as-built environment
along South Dixie Highway. The site is appropriate
for the uses, densities, and intensities proposed by
virtue of its proximity to Metrorail. See Figure 31.
In 1972, following more than a decade of public
study and debate, multiple county-wide referenda,
and a federal-state-county funding partnership,
the citizenry of Miami-Dade County committed
to fund the rapid transit system now known as
Metrorail. Specifically, at a county-wide election
the electorate approved the bonds for the “Decade
of Progress” which was – at the time – the single
largest general obligation bond issue in the nation
at over $500 million. The electorate approved this
substantial commitment to rapid transit by a vote
of 2-1. That vote set the stage for Metrorail.
Since that time, Metrorail, together with
Metromover and Tri-Rail, has grown to include
connections to the urban centers of Miami
International Airport, the Civic Center (Jackson
Memorial Hospital Campus), Downtown Miami,
and Brickell. Further connections exist to the
northern neighborhoods of Hialeah and Medley
and to the southern neighborhoods of Coral
Gables, South Miami, and Dadeland. Ridership
on Metrorail in general, and at South Miami
Station in particular, has grown substantially in
recent years as illustrated in Figures 29 and 30.
The Underline
The project strategically benefits from the
Underline – a new, visionary linear park that will
span over 10 miles beneath the Metrorail right-
of-way. The Underline will serve as a regional
recreational green spine to the greater Miami
area. Importantly, it will link South Miami
Station (and several other Metrorail Stations) with
verdant bicycle, exercise, and pedestrian trails.
All of the municipalities along the Underline
parkway are participating in the planning
process and have incorporated the project in
their respective comprehensive plans. More
information about the Underline is available at:
https://www.theunderline.org/
Figure 31.
Sunset Place
location in
reference to
nearest Metrorail
Stations.
Figure 29. Total
Annual Boardings
from South Miami
Station.
Figure 30. Total
Annual Boardings
for all Metrorail
Stations.
Source: Miami-Dade Transit Ridership Technical Reports, 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015.
12
Site Access and Circulation
Connectivity is the theme that animates our site
access and circulation plans. We hope to vastly
improve how people arrive at, move within,
and exit our property. We also seek to re-set
the balance of power between pedestrians and
motorists so that they too can more safely and
efficiently co-exist. We illustrate these principles
in Figures 32 and 33.
Figure 33.
Vehicular
Access.
Figure 32.
Pedestrian Access.
Parking
Sunset Place will integrate and improve the
existing parking garage. Importantly, it also seeks
to integrate with several publicly accessible off-
street and on-street parking resources that exist at
present within close proximity to the Sunset Place.
Depending on final programming, it is anticipated
that 2 new floors will be added to the existing 8
story garage. There will be approximately 2,137
spaces provided in the expanded garage and 16
on-street spaces adjacent to the site. Sunset Place
is also expected to include new underground
parking to serve the new residential and hotel
buildings within Phase II. The proposed new
underground parking comprises approximately
216 spaces in 1 level under the residential and
hotel buildings.
13
THE APPLICATIONS: OVERVIEW
Several City actions are necessary for us to develop the project.
First, we will need to create a new category within the City’s
comprehensive plan in order for us to develop the residential
density, height, and intensity that will make the project possible.
We refer to this action as a text amendment to the Future Land Use
Element of the City’s Comprehensive Plan. After the City creates
the new land use category, we will need to amend the City’s Future
Land Use Map (“FLUM”) to designate the property with the new
category. We call that action a FLUM amendment.
Next, we will need to create a new zoning district to accommodate
the uses, densities, and heights that we propose. We call this action
a zoning code text amendment. Once the new zoning district is
created, we then need to apply that zoning district to our property.
That action is called a rezoning or a zone change.
With these four actions in place, we will need the City to approve
our initial site plan. The initial site plan approval will set the stage
for our new development.
Figure 35.
Proposed
Zoning Map.
Figure 34.
Proposed Future
Land Use Map.
The Comprehensive Plan Text Amendment and FLUM Amendment
Our first request is for a small scale text amendment to the City’s
Comprehensive Plan to create a new category called Dowtown SoMi.
Broadly summarized the Downtown SoMi category is intended to
provide for the establishment of place-making development that
is urban in scale. This category will authorize a mixture of uses,
densities, intensities, and heights that will contribute to a vibrant
urban experience in South Miami within walking distance to rail-
based rapid transit.
Our second request will be to re-designate our property from
Mixed-Use Commercial Residential on the City’s FLUM to the
newly created Downtown SoMi land use category as illustrated in
Figure 34.
The Zoning Code Text Amendment and Rezoning
We will also request that the City amend its Zoning Code to establish
a new zoning district that will accommodate the redevelopment we
propose. The newly created Downtown SoMi district will allow us to
create an active, urban and vibrant pedestrian friendly community
in South Miami. The text amendments we request will establish
district regulations for the new Downtown SoMi district and will
amend various other sections of the Land Development Code to
fully incorporate this new district into the City’s regulations. The
text amendment will be consistent with the new land use category. It
will provide Sunset Place with the ability – within clearly established
parameters – to flexibly address changes in market conditions that
require corresponding changes to the development program.
Our fourth request will be to rezone our property from Specialty
Retail (SR) to Downtown SoMi (DS) and to remove the Hometown
District overlay (HD-OV) from our property as illustrated in Figure
35.
Initial Site Plan Approval
An initial site plan approval from the City will also be required
in order to fully implement the new Dowtown SoMi district
regulations. The Downtown SoMi district regulations will
encourage creativity and flexibility in site design and our site plan
will reflect the innovative intent of the new district.