Meeting Minutes November 8, 2022
1700 Convention Center Drive Miami Beach, FL 33139
www.miamibeachfl.gov/northbeachcra
MEETING MINUTES
AD HOC NORTH BEACH COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY
ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Tuesday, November 8, 2022 – 4:30 pm
Virtual Meeting
Members in Attendance: Chair Jose Smith, Vice Chair Betsy Perez, John Bowes, Ronnie
Issenberg, Romina Orozco-Encino, Manning Salazar, and David
Sexton
1. Welcome & Attendance
At 4:35 p.m., Committee Chair Jose Smith opened the meeting and greeted all attendees.
2. Approval of September 13, 2022 Meeting Minutes
• Motion: To approve the draft meeting minutes of the October 12, 2022, Committee meeting.
Made by: David Sexton
Seconded by: Ronnie Issenberg
Motion passed by acclamation
Old Business
3. Update: North Beach CRA Office
At 4:36 p.m., Luis Wong, Economic Development Department Administrative Services Manager,
reminded the Committee that at their November 17, 2021 meeting, the Committee expressed its
support for establishing a physical presence with a North Beach CRA office location in the
Redevelopment Area. Commencing in Fiscal Year 2023, the North Beach CRA office will occupy
space in the Building Department’s North Beach annex located at 962 Normandy Drive in the
Normandy Fountain business district. An anticipated December 15, 2022 launch date is planned
while the City Administration finalizes administrative and staffing plans. City staff, specifically
devoted to responding to concerns related to the North Beach CRA, will be available for
appointments and walk-ins twice a week, concurrent with the Building Department’s operating
hours. Mr. Wong expressed enthusiasm that City staff will be accessible to businesses and
North Beach CRA Advisory Committee
Meeting Minutes – November 8, 2022
Page 2 of 4
residents to prioritize small business creation, attraction, and retention. The idea of additional
staffing and resources will be re-visited in the future as needed, with recommendations made to
the City Commission and CRA Board as appropriate.
Rickelle Williams, Economic Development Director and Committee Co-Liaison, thanked the
Building Department Director and Building Official, Ana Salgueiro, for opening the office space to
the CRA and the Committee members concurred. Committee member David Sexton suggested
that City staff could attend an upcoming meeting of the Normandy Fountain Business Association
to spread word about the impending plans for the office space.
4. Update: Deauville Hotel Demolition (Implosion Schedule)
At 4:41 p.m. Kevin Pulido, Neighborhood Affairs Division Director, informed the Committee that
the implosion of the hotel tower on the Deauville Hotel property will occur on the morning of
Sunday, November 13, 2022. A detailed update regarding the demolition permits was published
in LTC 443-2022 on October 25, 2022 (“6701 Collins Avenue – Deauville Demolition Update”),
which Ms. Williams previously shared with the Committee by email, and the City has been
disseminating alerts regarding traffic impacts via email, text, and social media.
Chair Smith and Committee member John Bowes posed questions about the demolition and Mr.
Pulido assured that the City was undertaking careful planning and necessary safety precautions.
This includes a command post monitored by the Miami Beach Police Department (MBPD) and
the Fire Department, precautionary evacuation of immediately adjacent buildings, and a
maintenance of traffic (MOT) plan to divert vehicles from the area. When Chair Smith inquired
about plans regarding clean up and debris removal, Building Department Director and Building
Official Ana Salgueiro informed that she anticipated clearing of the site should be completed in
early 2023.
5. Update: 72nd Street Community Complex
At 4:49 p.m., David Martinez, Director of Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) and Committee Co-
Liaison, provided an update to the October 12, 2022 discussion item wherein Maria Cerna, CIP
Division Director, informed about the termination of contract negotiations with the Haskell Company,
the project design-builder for G.O. Bond Project #1, the 72nd Street Community Complex. Mr.
Martinez noted that following the Committee’s October 12, 2022 meeting, the City issued an
impasse letter to the Haskell Company and proceeded with negotiations with the second ranked
proposer, PCL Construction Services. Subsequently, PCL Construction submitted a revised offer
for its project construction cost, in an amount which far exceeded the City’s budgeted estimates and
capabilities. Furthermore, at its October 26, 2022 meeting, the City Commission discussed the
project (agenda item R9J) and unanimously approved Resolution 2022-32386, rejecting all bids
relating to RFP No. 2020-180-ND for Design/Build Services for the 72nd Street Community Complex.
Pursuant to the City Commission’s direction, the Administration intends to return to the December
14, 2022 City Commission meeting with a recommendation regarding a new procurement process
for the project.
Betsy Perez, Committee Vice Chair, inquired about any proposed change to project delivery and
Mr. Martinez informed that, for the next iteration, the Administration will likely propose that the City
North Beach CRA Advisory Committee
Meeting Minutes – November 8, 2022
Page 3 of 4
engage a design consultant and Construction Manager at Risk to provide preconstruction services.
With this format, a Construction Manager will bid subcontracting work out among different trades,
which will inform preparation of a Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) proposal. In response to Chair
Smith’s inquiry regarding project timeline, Mr. Martinez estimated that the design process will take
roughly one year, followed by the land use board approval process, with an anticipated construction
completion at or after Summer 2026, barring further unseen delays. Committee member Manning
Salazar inquired about liability for price increases due to change orders and Mr. Martinez indicated
that the Construction Manager at Risk absorbs this risk, however, the City incorporates its own
contingency funding as an additional safeguard.
6. Update: North Beach Development Projects
At 5:17 p.m., Rogelio Madan, Chief of Community Planning and Sustainability, delivered a
presentation regarding 12 projects currently in the development pipeline in North Beach Town
Center and Ocean Terrace:
1. 880 71st Street
2. 7400 Ocean Terrace
3. 7118 Collins Ave
4. 7125 Carlyle Ave
5. 6970 Collins Ave
6. 7140 Abbott Ave
7. 6698 Abbott Ave
8. 6981 Abbott Ave
9. 666 71st Street
10. TC-C District Self Storage (no address)
11. 6640 Abbott Ave
12. 6930 Collins Ave
The 12 projects are in various stages of planning and development, from an Office/Retail
Development with Public Storage in the TC-C District that received an LDR amendment but not yet
submitted any development application, to the four-story office building at 6930 Collins Avenue
which is currently under construction. Mr. Madan responded to the Committee’s questions regarding
details about some of the projects and Committee member Ronnie Issenberg noted his excitement
for the impending infill developments which will bring improvement to the CRA district. Mr. Madan’s
PowerPoint presentation is available online at:
https://docmgmt.miamibeachfl.gov/WebLink/Browse.aspx?id=284148&dbid=0&repo=CityClerk.
7. Discussion: Commercial Façade Improvement Program
At 5:36 p.m., Rickelle Williams, Economic Development Director and Committee Co-Chair, offered
an overview of preliminary plans for the North Beach CRA’s Commercial Façade Improvement
Program. Ms. Williams shared a boundary map for the applicable area to be included in the
Program, consisting of approximately 50 tax folios in the vicinity of the Normandy Fountain business
district. Ms. Williams reminded the Committee that the Interlocal Agreement among the City, North
Beach CRA, and Miami-Dade County, dated October 4, 2021, prioritizes funding for residential
housing programs, therefore, CRA should fund programming concurrently for both residential and
commercial redevelopment. Initial outreach on behalf of the Committee to a few concerned property
owners suggested preliminarily positive feedback, however, public outreach would be warranted
once the Program is developed further.
When Chair Smith asked about next steps in developing the Program, Ms. Williams shared that
these include drafting program guidelines, which requires input from the Planning Department about
North Beach CRA Advisory Committee
Meeting Minutes – November 8, 2022
Page 4 of 4
design parameters, and creating an application form and contractual agreement to present to the
Finance and Economic Resiliency Committee (FERC) at its next calendared meeting, likely in
January 2023. If the FERC is inclined to recommend in favor of the Program, the Administration
would subsequently present the Program for formal creation by the CRA Board. Chair Smith
expressed interest in the Committee learning more about development of the Program at a
subsequent meeting. The map of the draft boundary for the Façade Program is available online at:
https://docmgmt.miamibeachfl.gov/WebLink/Browse.aspx?id=284148&dbid=0&repo=CityClerk.
8. Committee Member Comments
Betsy Perez inquired about the format of the Committee’s next meeting and Ms. Williams
confirmed that the December 8, 2022 meeting will be conducted virtually via Zoom. Romina
Orozco-Encino expressed her concern about insufficient knowledge among small businesses
located within the CRA district about the CRA’s existence and Ms. Orozco-Encino advocated on
behalf of raising awareness and participation in the CRA. Chair Smith agreed and expressed
support for enhanced marketing on behalf of the North Beach CRA. Ms. Williams offered to follow
up after consulting with the Marketing and Communications Department about potential
promotional efforts to undertake. Manning Salazar suggested that the next iteration of the 72nd
Street Community Complex be within a more conservative scope. Ronnie Issenberg thanked City
staff for the valuable information and presentations provided during today’s meeting.
9. Adjournment
Motion to adjourn was made at 5:56 p.m.
Next Meeting: Tuesday, December 13th at 4:30 pm – Zoom virtual meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85384824423