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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPre-Application Design CommentsC I T Y 0 F M I A M I • • • PLANNING PRE -APPLICATION DESIGN REVIEW COMMENTS MAJOR USE SPECIAL. PERMIT LYNX, DOWNTOWN S MIAMI AVE. & SE 2"A ST. 11-23-04 The following comments represent the unified vision of the Pre -Application Design Review Committee, which consist of all staff members in the Urban Design and Land Development Divisions. COMMENTS: The following comments are being made in an effort to develop projects to their highest potential and make a significant contribution to improving the quality of our built environment with great architecture and urban design. Context/Site Plan • The committee appreciates the submittal of the context plan, aerial photographs, and massing studies in order to understand the relationship of the proposed towers to the surroundings and the adjacent Bank of America Tower. The composition of the towers is appropriate and the project would make an interesting contribution to the Miami skyline. • It is important to design a lighting scheme for the project that will compliment the adjacent Bank of America building, whose lighting design has become a symbol of Miami's downtown night views. Consider materials, colors and lighting techniques and submit proposed night renderings of the project and the adjacent Bank of America Tower. • The landscape plan submitted proposes planting sod and a cocoplum hedge between the building arcade and the sidewalk along all three of the project's street frontages. This is a suburban condition and is completely inappropriate given this project's location within the City's pedestrian -oriented Central Business District. It is critical that the project's ground floor plan be designed to provide active pedestrian connections between the building and the sidewalk. Consider extending some of the ground floor frontage of the building closer to the property setbacks. The open plaza spaces shall be designed with hardscape and shall incorporate street furniture, shade trees, pavilions, sculptures, fountains, etc. in order to activate these areas, and details of these elements will need to be reviewed by the committee. • The provision of internalized loading within the site, adjacent to the Metromover line and the I-95 off -ramp, is appropriate. • The property is also located within an Archaeological Conservation Area and approval by the HEPB is required —an archaeological management plan must be submitted for approval. Contact Sarah Eaton, the City of Miami Preservation Officer (phone number: 305-416-1409) for more information. It is our intention with these comments to aid in expediting Special Permit applications with your voluntary efforts in making the necessary changes; thereby, avoiding any preventable delays particularly prior to a project's submission to the Large Scale Development Committee or the Urban Development Review Board. Architecture • • • • The project's elevations appear to echo the horizontal appearance of the Bank of America Tower, and propose a predominantly glass facade, which is appropriate. In the next submittal, please indicate proposed materials and colors on all elevation drawings. • Provide elevation drawing details, showing all of the building's elevations at the street level, at a scale no less than 1/8"=1', in order for the committee to review the building's impact on the pedestrian realm. • It is important to provide an attractive design for the large garage mass on the south side, and to incorporate the garage into the architectural language of the project. Provide details of the proposed garage materials, and indicate how the garage shall be designed so that vehicles and interior spaces within the garage are completely hidden from public view. Landscaping Provide a continuous canopy of shade trees to provide shade for pedestrians along all of three street frontages of the project. These shade trees shall be aligned close to the edge of the curb in the public right of way (at no greater than 33' on center) to provide a buffer for pedestrians from vehicular traffic. Palm trees may be utilized periodically as an architectural accent to the architecture of the building. Consider the possibility of relocating some of the trees within the site for this purpose. It is our intention with these comments to aid in expediting Special Permit applications with your voluntary efforts in making the necessary changes; thereby, avoiding any preventable delays particularly prior to a project's submission to the Large Scale Development Committee or the Urban Development Review Board.