The new urban master plan and overlay zoning

The new urban master plan and overlay zoning for the area surrounding Dadeland Mall in Kendall, Florida, is beginning to bear fruit. The Miami-Dade County Board of County Commissioners passed the zoning in 1999 (see January/February 2000 New Urban News) as a tool to implement the masterplan by Dover Kohl & Partners and Duany Plater-Zyberk & Co. Miami-Dade planner Lee Rawlinson reports that seven plans with a total of about 3,000 residential units are before the planning department. “We have yet to have one developer who wants variances from the regulations,” Rawlinson says. “The response has been incredible and we have to work quicker than we wanted.” One of the plans close to final approval is the Downtown at Dadeland project developed by Gulfside Developers and designed by Hersh Vitalini Corazzini of Coral Gables, Florida. Renderings of the project show five- to seven-story buildings with ground-floor retail topped by approximately 350 condominiums. Rawlinson says the county continues to consult with Dover Kohl to ensure that proposals are in synch with the overall vision for the area.