This Is Louis Vuitton’s Towering Future Design District HQ

The new goodies suggest that the luxury meter in the Design District may need a new ceiling. These particular buildings certainly did when the zoning map was altered through a Special Area Plan (and an expansion of said plan) to allow more floors at that exact location. Just glance at the updated zoning map and the aforementioned revision will stick out like a Walmart in Midtown. The original Miami 21 zoning boundaries were specifically changed for these structures and have allowed the buildings to rise far higher than their neighbors. The larger structure was even granted special permission to rise above the T6-12-O zoning limit of 12 stories through a bonus for providing “public benefits.” More details please.

Designed by architect Carlos Ferrator, this portion of the Design District redevelopment promises approximately 46,285 square feet of leasable retail and 85,035 square feet of sellable residential space (80 condos). It also includes 52 hotel rooms. These partially European designed and inspired edifices appear to be among the larger scale developments within the Miami Design District Special Area Plan. While they surprisingly appear to appeal to the pedestrian and bicyclist before the automobile, I would bet on a large parking structure very nearby.

Though this is only a small portion of the Special Area Plan approved for the Miami Design District, the scale of these plans (and a look at the zoning map) suggests a grand corridor along N.E. 1st Ave. This should merge quite nicely into the larger scale of adjacent Midtown to the South.. except for that wonder of the world known as the I-195 overpass.
—José Shakespeare