Crescent Heights is moving forward with plans for NEMA, a two-tower mixed-use development at 3180 Biscayne Boulevard that would bring 1,030 apartments to Miami's Edgewater neighborhood. The project pairs a 49-story eastern tower of 618 market-rate apartments with a western tower holding 412 income-restricted rental units, all rising from a shared podium with roughly 105,000 square feet of commercial space.
According to Florida YIMBY, the income-restricted apartments in the western tower would be reserved for households earning up to 120 percent of the area median income for a minimum of 30 years. Those units account for 40 percent of the development's total residential program, a mix that reflects the project's advancement under Florida's Live Local Act. The site itself could support more than 2,662 dwelling units under that state law, far beyond the 1,030 currently proposed, and the maximum density allowed is 1,000 units per acre.
A Two-Tower Podium With Ground-Floor Storefronts
NEMA would sit on 2.63 acres bounded by Biscayne Boulevard, NE 2nd Avenue, NE 32nd Street, and the former NE 31st Street, per the same outlet's report. The two residential towers rise from a shared podium designed by RSP Architects, with ground-level active uses and storefronts planned along the site's frontages. Residential liners along the Biscayne Boulevard and NE 2nd Avenue elevations are intended to conceal the parking garage from the two principal frontages.
The podium's screens are planned with perforated metal panels incorporating large-scale artwork, though the article notes that artwork remains conceptual and is expected to be further developed for the site. Tower façades are designed with projecting balconies, broad glazing expanses, horizontal bands, recessed vertical sections, and articulated corners.
Parking Waivers And Zoning Under Miami 21
Current plans call for 941 total parking spaces, made up of 932 off-street spaces in the shared podium and nine on-street spaces. The applicant is seeking a combined 50 percent reduction from the parking count otherwise required, relying on Miami 21 waivers and provisions available under the Live Local Act, the report states.
The application also includes waiver requests tied to parking placement, pedestrian entrance spacing, tower setbacks, and build-to-zone requirements. The site is zoned T6-36a-O, which permits mixed-use and multifamily development and allows 36 stories as of right; additional height beyond that is available through Miami's public benefits program. Notably, the same reporting states that Crescent Heights is not relying on a nearby comparator development to establish additional building height for the project.
Site History And Fire Access
The Biscayne North assemblage plat received city approval in 2020, and a separate replat covering the northeastern portion of the assemblage was later completed. A companion fire access easement was subsequently approved and recorded, measuring 25 feet wide and running along the southern portion of the property. That easement, along with existing access points along Biscayne Boulevard and NE 2nd Avenue that would be utilized for the required emergency accessway, is described as having influenced the placement of the towers and podium.
NEMA was scheduled for review by Miami's Urban Development Review Board on September 16, a body whose stated purpose is to review projects and make recommendations to the city's Director of Planning and Zoning for approval or approval with conditions.
