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Home My WebLink AboutSubmittal 4ARTHUR J. MARCUS ARCHITECT r.A. 1450 LINCOLN ROAD #806....MIAMI BEACH, FL 33139.... T 305-674-8945 email: marcus aC'bellsouth.net March 10, 2005 Miami City Commission 3500 Pan American Drive Miami, Florida Re: 5301 and 5501 Biscayne Boulevard Commissioners; As a professional Architect for over thirty years with a far ranging practice, I am supporting the appeal by the Morningside Civic Association, of the City of Miami's decision to permit the two condominium projects proposed to be constructed at 5301 and 5501 Biscayne Boulevard. Through my involvement as a member and Chairman of the Miami Beach Design Review and Historic Preservation Boards, I have learned that critical issues such as neighborhood context, building height and massing, open space between buildings, contextual scale and the ability to see the sky, do matter deeply to our residents and can have long ranging effect upon the quality of life in our neighborhoods. We have also learned that over -development can be truly detrimental to a community's health and well-being. The existing predominantly one and two story scale of this charming residential neighborhood, zoned as R-1, will be irrevocably altered by the abrupt intrusion of these approximately 100'-0" tall buildings along its immediate periphery. New construction in such a low scale neighborhood, should respect and take design cues from the surrounding urban context. Through the use of a series of stepped building blocks, the transition from one and two story residential neighborhoods to high-rise structures lining a commercial corridor should indeed form a gradual transition; and not a virtual wall of building. These proposed projects fail to respond to the architectural and urban context of the Morningside neighborhood. They fail to create an urban design transition of building mass and scale which respects the existing surrounding streetscape, rather than smothering it.. SUBMITTED INTO THE PUBLIC RECORD FOR or oogy, s„o,;;;4g a, ors ITEMz ;t ON . MIAMI CITY COMISSION March 10, 2005 Page 2 This principle of transitioning building mass and scale is supported not only by commonly accepted contemporary urban design practices; it is also supported by your own governmental advocates: • The Miami -Dade County Planning Department's `Urban Design Manual' has already illustrated examples of the proper scale for the juncture of such residential and commercial corridors. • The new City of Miami SD-9 Overlay District Regulations also clearly. illustrates this transition as a 45 degree angle line of stepped development. • And Florida case law has supported height limitations in order to preserve and protect the integrity of residential neighborhoods adjacent to similar large scale development. It is unfortunate that the City of Miami has overlooked its very own criteria with respect to relative building scale. Thus I recommend that you not only listen to the arguments of your own residents and constituents; listen to your own governmental zoning experts, in limiting the maximum building height to 35 feet, as the appropriate height for buildings proposed to be sited adjacent to these historic residential neighborhoods. And remember that you set the precedent for this back in November of last year, when you as a Commission, unanimously decided to send the proposed projects at 5101 and 5225 Biscayne Boulevard back to Planning & Zoning for redesign according to the SD-9 Overlay District regulations. And one last point needs be addressed regarding the design of the eastern facades of both of these buildings which face directly into the neighborhood, These east facades appear far too corporate and monolithic to respond to the charms of Morningside. And these east elevations merit the same type of attention that has obviously been shown on the western sides of these buildings. Right now these buildings literally turn their back on Morningside. The design elements on these eastern facades should be loosened up and be made more neighborhood friendly. This is not a government or corporate building. I invite you to stand in Morningside next to one of the adjacent one story residences; and all you are going to see is a wall that is 45'-0" tall, and that looks just like the parking garage that it is. And that will not be a pretty sight. Submitted Into the public' record in .connection with item Pz - 1 on 3 - Io ' O Priscilla A. Thompson City Clerk MIAMI CITY COMISSION March 10, 2005 Page 3 The Architects for these buildings are certainly talented enough to further study these designs, and create a garage / back -of -the -building fagade that responds much better to the adjacent neighborhood context. Right now this elevation looks like a suburban shopping center garage. And a suburban shopping center garage is not appropriate in the middle of an Historic neighborhood such as Morningside! In closing, I strongly recommend that you too return both of these projects to Planning & Zoning, so that they may properly apply the Design Review criteria outlined in section 135.2 of the Zoning Ordinance. Submitted Into the public record in connection with item PZ• I on a-lo•os Priscilla A. Thompson City Clerk ARTHUR J. MARCUS ARCHITECT P.A. 1450 LI1NCOLN ROAD #806....MIAMI BEACH, FL 33139.... T 305-674-8945 email: marcus a0bellsouth.net Registered Architect with diverse national clientele, directing design & management efforts in the development and successful completion of architectural. interior design, renovation and restoration projects for a varied clientele. * Brings excellent skills in coordinating clients through the planning, design and construction processes, to assure that the final product meets project needs in terms of superior aesthetics, quality control, cost and scheduling. * Concurrent with multi -task project management and specific phase responsibilities, his experience ensures an ongoing senior level involvement with client, consultants, engineers. realtors & government officials. Continuous monitoring of delivery systems and general trouble -shooting ensures a close working relationship with both Owner and Contractor, value engineering costs while maximizing design potential from available dollars. Selected experience includes: URBAN DESIGN & MASTER PLANNING Bridgeport Landing, Bridgeport, Connecticut (1) 2001 Master Plan/Urban Design of 50 acre mixed use development to win RFP proposal Lincoln Road Design Competition, Miami Beach 1992 Urban Design competition entry ARCHITECTURE & HISTORIC PRESERVATION 1491 Lincoln Terrace Miami Beach, FL Historic restoration of Igor Polevitsky building Miami Beach Community Development Corporation Renovation of The Westchester Apartment Building @ 516 15th Street in Miami Beach Collins Park Historic Hotel Village, Miami Beach, FL Renovation of new unified seven building complex around interior -of -block Park David A. Klein Orchidarium @ Vizcaya Museum & Gardens, Miami New Architectural Design & Documentation of 4,000sf Orchid Museum & Education Center Palm Court Office Building, 309 23`d Street Miami Beach, FL Historic Renovation (25,000 sf) & Architecture for new 10,000 sf building addition Four Columbus Circle Office Building, New York, NY FL (3) Architecture & Interior Design of new office building Victoria Hall Office Building, Hamilton, Bermuda (3) Architecture and Interior Design for new office building Cartier Building, 52nd & Fifth Avenue, New York, NY (3) Restoration designs and new additions to noted landmark headquarters building Metropolitan Opera @ Lincoln Center, New York, NY (3) Interior Architectural Design and Construction for interior back stage areas & offices Balch Ethnic History Museum, Philadelphia, PA New design and construction of museum INTERIOR ARCHITECTURE American Media Inc. Boca Raton, FL (1) Architecture, Interiors Design and site planning for renovated 50,000 sf office building Galloway II Medical Office Building 7400 S.W. 87 Avenue, Miami.FL FL (1) Architecture & Interior Design for new Medical Offices Merrill Lynch Private Client offices: FL (1) Interior design of Coral Gables, Naples, Sarasota, West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, FL offices UBS Warburg, Miami. FL (1) Interior Financial Offices renovations Johnson & Higgins International Headquarters, New York, NY (3) Interior Architectural Design and Construction (424,000 sf) & 900 person cafeteria First National Bank of Chicago, New York, NY (3) Submitted Into the public Interior Architectural design of 100,000 sf regional offices record in connection with item Fz-- on 3 ' 10-oS Priscilla A. Thompson City Clerk LEGAL FIRMS Bratter Krieger Attorneys, 500 South Pointe Drive, Miami Beach, FL Interior architecture for new legal offices Kozlowski Law Firm, 927 Lincoln Road, Miami Beach, FL Interior architecture for new legal offices Ferrell Schultz Carter & Fertel Attorneys, Miami, FL & Aventura, FL FL (1) Interior Renovations and New Construction for five separate projects totaling 60,000 sf. Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP Attorneys, Miami, FL FL (1) Interior Design of renovated offices Rudin McCloskey et al Attorneys, Ft. Lauderdale, FL FL (1) Interior Renovations Graham & Dunn Attorneys, Seattle, WA., FL (2) New 50,000sf. attorney offices NAACP Legal Defense Fund, New York, NY FL (3) Interior Architectural Design and Construction for non-profit Philadelphia Legal Defenders Office, Philadelphia. PA Interior Architectural Design and Construction of public defender agency RESIDENTIAL NEW CONSTRUCTION & RENOVATION Residential Rooftop Deck, 100 Lincoln Road, PH-3, Miami Beach New 2 level 5,000 SF-17th floor fantasy outdoor residential deck overlooking the ocean with 85'-0" long reflecting pools, hot tub and trellis / canopies with waterfalls. 12580 Old Cutler Road. Pinecrest, FL Additions to existing residential compound Helmsley Residence Star Island, Miami Beach, FL Schematic Design & Strategic Planning for 20,000 sf private residence Norcross Residence. Sunset Island #2, Miami Beach, FL New construction & renovations for 4,500 sf private residence 5625 Pine Tree Drive Miami Beach, FL New construction & renovations for 12,500 sf private residence & associated buildings 4965 Pine Tree Drive Miami Beach, FL New construction & renovations for 10,000 sf private residence 5369 Pine Tree Drive Miami Beach, FL New construction & renovations for 8,000 sf private residence 6570 Allison Road Miami Beach, FL New construction & renovations for 7,500 sf private residence 2012 North Bay Road Miami Beach, FL New construction and renovations for 6,000 sf residence 6390 S.W. 113th Street Pinecrest, FL Additions and renovations to 3,500 sf residence 1214 Pennsylvania Avenue, Miami Beach, FL New additions and renovations to historic residence ADDITIONAL PROJECTS Romanoff Boutique, Bal Harbour Shops, Bal Harbour, FL Interior design & construction of 7,500 sf womens' couture fashion showroom & retail store Pacific Northwest Ballet, Seattle, WA New dance studios and office interiors Stella Blue Restaurant & Bar, Miami Beach, FL New restaurant and bar adjacent to Lincoln Road Galloway 11 Medical Office Building, Miami, FL New Construction and renovation of former office building into medical offices Downtown Seattle Association, Seattle, WA (2) New interior office design and construction Kafka's Cybercafe, 15th & Washington Avenue New retail bookstore and cafe including historic facade renovations Submitted Into the public record in connection with item FL. 1 on 3 -10 -OS Priscilla A. Thompson City Clerk PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE Arthur J. Marcus Architect P.A. 2003 - present Swanke Hayden Connell Architects, Miami, FL 1999 — 2002 (work completed indicated as (1) Arthur J. Marcus AIA Architect, Miami Beach, FL 1991 — 1999 Callison Architects, Seattle, WA 1988 — 1991 (work completed indicated as (2) Swanke Hayden Connell Architects, New York City, NY1983 —1988 (work completed indicated as (3) EDUCATION Master of Architecture / 1973 / Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA Bachelor of Arts / 1970 / Temple University, Philadelphia, PA Post -Graduate studies: Harvard University Graduate School of Design, Cambridge, MA New York Institute of Photography, New York, NY Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis, MN Temple University Real Estate Institute, Philadelphia, PA LICENSED ARCHITECT Registered as an Architect in Florida, New York, Pennsylvania, California and Washington state, and member of the NCARB, through which registration may be obtained in all fifty states. PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS Member, American Institute of Architects (AIA) Member, American Planning Association (APA) Member, National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) COMMUNITY AFFILIATIONS Board Member, Miami Design Preservation League, 2004 — present. Member. Urban Arts Committee of Miami Beach / "MiMo", 2000 — Present Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau, Heritage Tourism Committee, 2001 - 2003 President / Board of Directors, Shelbourne House/Miami Beach Community Dev. Corp. 1997-2003 Board Member / South Point Citizens Coalition / 'Save Miami Beach', 1994 — 1998 City of Miami Beach, Gilbert Fein Conservation District Committee, 2002- present City of Miami Beach Collins Waterfront Historic District Committee, 2000 City of Miami Beach Architect Selection Committee for new Collins Park Library, 1998 City of Miami Beach Historic Database Expansion Committee / Ocean Beach Historic District, 1995 City of Miami Beach Design Guidelines Working Group, 1995 - 1997 Vice Chairman, City of Miami Beach Design Review & Historic Preservation Board, 1995-1996 & 1998 Chairman, City of Miami Beach Design Review & Historic Preservation Board 1999 References available upon request. Submitted Into the public record in connection with item P2- I on 3 - to -os Priscilla A. Thompson City Clerk