Developer Plans 46-Story Apartment Tower Next To Fort Lauderdale Brightline Station
A 540-foot-tall apartment tower is the latest in a string of multifamily proposals surrounding Fort Lauderdale’s Brightline station.
Miller Property Invest and Bellissima Real Estate, two entities led by Sidney Miller of Fort Lauderdale, are proposing the 46-story tower on a 26K SF vacant lot at 100 NW 7th Ave., three blocks north of Esplanade Park and the New River. Fort Lauderdale’s Development Review Committee took up initial review of the proposal on April 23.
Miller is proposing a 288-unit tower that would have units ranging from studios to three-bedroom apartments. There would be 72 of each size, with units running from 506 SF to 1,344 SF. The apartments would rise above a 290-car parking deck atop a ground-floor lobby with 2K SF of retail space.
The narrow rectangular tower is designed with balconies around three sides of the property, with strong vertical lines on one face that renderings indicate would have a lighting feature. The side of the building without balconies would have a V-shaped design element extending to an awning surrounding a rooftop observation deck.
The nine-level parking deck includes a mix of materials, with gray and white stucco on both wide sides and glass windows weaved into the narrow faces mixed with slat cladding. A 10th-floor amenity deck with a pool would top the garage.
It was designed by Fort Lauderdale-based FSMY Architects and Planners with civil engineering and landscape architecture from Pompano Beach-based Keith.
The Miller and Bellissima entities jointly acquired the four-parcel site in October 2022 for $2.9M, property records indicate. The seller was 100 Avenue of the Arts LLC, an entity that shares its address with Fort Lauderdale-based bridge lender Fuse Group.
Miller didn’t respond to a phone call or email from Bisnow requesting comment.
Fort Lauderdale’s Development Review Committee will have to approve the project before passing it along to the city commission, which would consider any variances for the project. If none are required, the commission could opt to hold a public hearing or approve the project by declining to bring it up for a vote.
Adam Schnell, an urban planner in the city’s urban design and planning department, said in initial comments presented during the committee meeting that the project’s design didn’t fit within current standards dictating the distance between towers. Another 365-unit multifamily tower is proposed adjacent to Miller’s proposal, site plans indicate.
Towers are required to have 30 feet of clearance between adjacent properties, and the proposal calculated that distance without including the balconies extending from three of the tower’s faces.
Unless narrowed, the project would require a variance from the commission. The developer is also seeking a waiver for a parking reduction.
Schnell also raised concerns that design of the north face would include the massing of a “418 foot vertically blank wall.” He suggested Miller redesign the facade to incorporate transparency or additional architectural elements.
The area around Fort Lauderdale’s Brightline station, which opened in 2018, has seen a wave of proposals in the last few years. Ocean Land Investments, which is based in the city, revealed plans in July for a 392-unit luxury project on 0.95 acres adjacent to the station.
Bachow Ventures and Infinity Real Estate proposed a 37-story tower called 11 Andrews, a block from the Brightline station, that would have 316 residences. In February 2022, New York-based firms Uniland Development Co. and Acquest Development submitted a proposal for a 36-story apartment tower called Station Village that would have 400 apartments a block away from Miller’s proposal.
It appears neither building has started construction.
