Real Estate / The House that "Nambies" BuiltBY Deserab E. del Campo
_I 'N Ifs ' L a
e
Grove residents are close to putting anti- McMansion home on the market
igger does not always mean better. At least that's how Coconut Grove
developer and real estate broker Andy Parrish feels about McMansions
— those big, looming, cookie - cutter houses that tower over Miami's
smaller, quainter and older homes.
Cropping up throughout South Florida, they are widely disliked by many neigh-
bors, who say they eat up the landscape, strip neighbors of privacy and are overly
obtrusive.
Like most longtime residents, Parrish and his wife Ellie: Haydock were tired of
watching older homes in Coconut Grove bulldozed to make way for McMansions.
Out walking the dog one day a few years ago, the couple passed a "For Sale by
Owner" sign in front of a quaint 1950s ranch -style home. Suddenly a light went off
in Ellie's head and NAMBIES (Neighbors Against McMansions: Big Invasive
Eyesores) United was born.
The group consists of 16 neighbors who joined forces to save the property at
1670 Onaway Dr. from possible McMansion development. They
pooled $250,000 to buy the $470,000 property, borrowing the rest
from Coconut Grove Bank.
! Now, instead of a McMansion, there is a unique, modern, 3,700
square foot home designed by award winning architect Roney J.
Mateu. The L- shaped house was built around the trees, which were
allowed to remain where they grew.
Featuring four bedrooms and three baths, the home is well under-
way; a pool and cabana bathhouse are under construction in the
backyard. The NAMBIES plan to sell the home for $1.85 million
this spring. "We are hoping to make a reasonable profit because this
was an expensive house to build," Parrish said.
"McMansions are a national problem," says Miami architect Max
Strang, "and we are fighting them on the front lines here in the
56 FEBRUARY 2007 / MiamiMonthlyMagazine.com
Grove. It's great to see people take mat-
ters into their own hands by building a
home that fits the neighborhood. I hope
they are rewarded existentially and finan-
cially."
Other communities are also finding
ways to deal with McMansions. Last sum-
mer Coral Gables passed a zoning ordi-
nance that reduced the height limit of
new homes to 29 feet from 34 feet after
residents complained that houses built in
the 1940s and 1950s were being torn
down to make way for McMansions.
Developers are also barred from building
too close to adjacent homes. Gracious
front lawns and plenty of backyard space
are required.
South Miami officials have also heard
complaints. "There are a number of resi-
dents concerned, not so much about the
large homes, but with the homes in pro-
portion to the lots they are being built
on," said Mayor Horace Feliu. Other con-
cerns include the destruction of landscap-
ing and trees, and lack of privacy.
Neighbors even object to the architectur-
al style. "They want to retain the charac-
ter of South Miami, which is one reason
they bought in the neighborhood," Feliu
said.
In September 2004, when NAMBIES
held its design competition for the prop-
erty, "there were only two requirements:
that the house had to look like it
belonged in the neighborhood, and that
anyone walking by it would want to know
who was the architect," Parrish said.
"You know you're looking at a
McMansion when no one bothers to ask
who is the architect... and, of course,
McMansions all look the same." Part of
their popularity, he says, is that they are
less expensive to build. "They are built in
a square. It's cheaper to build a box than
it is to build a home in any other design."
Parrish does not consider himself "the
fashion police of good architecture,"
however he does think people should not
view their homes as an investment, but
rather as a place to raise a family and
plant roots.
"I'm a believer that everyone working
in this country should own their own
house," he says.
In the mid- 1990s, Parrish — president
of the brokerage and real estate property
firm Wind & Rain — was responsible for
building 16 homes in the West Grove,
then a blighted area overrun by drugs
and neglect. He saw potential and decid-
ed to invest in the area and turn renters
into homeowners.
It was because of his efforts that the
City of Miami developed its First Time
Homebuyers Loan program. "Owning
your own home does build wealth for
your family, but most importantly it
builds a future," he says.
Before the West Grove homes were
built, there had been no development in
the area for 50 years. "In a way we creat-
ed a lot of change and so did the home-
owners. The area had the worst drug.
infested lots in the Grove, and as soon as
we built two houses and brought in two
new homeowners, the drugs were gone.
That's the power of homeownership,"
Parrish said.
With that power comes responsibility.
In addition to keeping neighborhoods
clean and safe, good neighbors work to
preserve the character of their neighbor-
hoods. Which is what NAMBIES set out
to do.
Having made their point, it is not like-
ly they will undertake another project.
"A year ago we were getting calls from
all over asking us to come and visit other
neighborhoods and do the same kind of
project because the same situation was
going on there," Parrish said. "We have
always said 'no, do your own neighbor-
hood.' We did this for our neighborhood,
but we are not going to do another one.
"The overall plan was to design and
build a house, sell it to someone that was
going to be our neighbor, and make a
modest profit. Those were our goals and
that is what we hope to accomplish."