Two Live Local Condo Towers Are Headed for Sunset Harbour. Here's What's in the Plans

MIAMI BEACH — Sunset Harbour, the low-slung pocket of restaurants, boutique gyms and design shops on the bay side of South Beach, could soon get two new condo towers. Both would be built under Florida’s Live Local Act, which lets developers go bigger and move faster in exchange for setting aside apartments that local workers can afford.

Plans for both projects have been filed with the City of Miami Beach and are still under review, according to the Miami Herald, which reviewed city records. If approved, the buildings would sit about two blocks from Biscayne Bay. No construction timelines, completion dates or prices have been released.

How Live Local works

Florida lawmakers approved the Live Local Act in 2023. It offers developers financial incentives, zoning bypasses and fast-tracked approvals if they carve out housing for local workers. Under the rules described by the Herald, projects must set aside 40% of apartments for households earning 120% or less of the county’s median income, which works out to about $89,800 in 2026.

Live Local projects are already underway in North Beach, Flamingo-Lummus and the Art Deco area.

Reserve at One Sunset: 1920 Alton Road

The further-along project is Reserve at One Sunset at 1920 Alton Rd., filed in February by New York-based Turnbridge Equities. Plans call for a 20-story tower with 35 units on about half an acre. The site was formerly home to a two-story commercial building whose front patio often served as outdoor seating for neighboring restaurants.

The unit mix, per the Herald’s review of the filing:

• 20 three- and five-bedroom condos plus one penthouse, on floors seven and higher
• 14 studio and one-bedroom units set aside as affordable and workforce housing, on the bottom two levels

The amenity list is built for the neighborhood’s fitness-minded crowd: five padel courts, a wellness club with a resort-style pool, and a coffee and juice bar. Two ground-floor commercial spaces are earmarked for food and beverage, likely cafes or fast-casual spots.

Miami Beach planning director Deborah Tackett told the Herald that the city is now assessing the project’s impact on roads, water lines and the electrical grid.

1771 West Avenue: a med spa in a condo tower

The second filing, submitted last month, targets 1771 West Ave., where a two-story Office Depot now stands. The developer is listed as 1771 West Avenue LLC. The plans describe a 19- or 20-story tower with 44 residences: 26 market-rate condos and 18 affordable units.

Condos with two, three or four bedrooms would start on the eighth floor. The affordable units, either studios or two-bedrooms, would all be on the sixth floor. A mezzanine-level restaurant is also planned.

The wellness program is where this project stands out. The application proposes a gym, a longevity spa, massage and recovery rooms, consultation and treatment spaces, physical therapy and aesthetic services. It also lists red light therapy, hyperbaric oxygen chambers, DEXA imaging machines and VO2 max testing equipment.

That plan has hit an early snag. Tackett told the Herald the project failed its original review on Nov. 5 and the city sent the developers “an extensive list of comments.” As of the Herald’s report, the team had not responded or resubmitted. Once it does, the city’s review should take about 10 days.

Neither development team responded to the Herald’s requests for comment.

Why it matters for local business

Each tower would replace a small commercial building with a mix of ground-floor food and beverage space and new residents, many of them affluent buyers. For Sunset Harbour’s restaurants, studios and service businesses, that means more foot traffic. It may also mean more competition for retail space.

The bigger question is politics. Live Local has run into resistance from Miami Beach residents who worry it will erode the city’s low-rise skyline and its Art Deco and MiMo character. Last month, developer Russell Galbut withdrew three Live Local applications in the city after pushback from city and county officials, the Herald reported. Those plans included a 519-foot tower at the historic Firestone site at 1575 Alton Rd., a 383-foot tower at 740 Alton and a 225-foot tower at 880 71st St.

At an Oct. 14 commission meeting, Miami Design Preservation League executive director Meg Lousteau told city leaders that “the threat that Live Local poses to Miami Beach strikes at the core of our city’s identity,” according to the Herald.

The market these towers would enter

The proposals land in a condo market that has favored buyers. As of Nov. 11, 37.6% of the 4,987 condo listings in the city of Miami were asking less than their original price, with a median cut of 5.7%, according to PBP Real Estate’s analysis of BeachesMLS data. The same analysis put the median monthly association fee for Miami condos at $977.

Brokers say the very top of the market is a different story. At The Real Deal’s Miami Forum last week, top residential agents said ultra-luxury inventory is tight and off-market deals are common, The Real Deal reported.

Boutique towers with a small number of large, amenity-heavy units are a bet on that second market. The affordable floors are what let them get built.

Entrepreneurs Of Miami will follow both projects as they move through Miami Beach’s planning process.