A New York-based developer has filed plans to knock down a Pura Vida restaurant and an Anatomy fitness center in Miami Beach's Sunset Harbour neighborhood to make way for a 20-story luxury tower called Reserve at One Sunset. The 323-foot building at 1920 Alton Road would pack 35 residential units, a resort-style pool, multiple padel courts and a wellness club onto a site where city planners had only recently approved something far smaller.
Turnbridge Equities is the developer behind the project, according to Florida YIMBY, which reported the plans on Sept. 28. Floridian Development had reported the 20-story Reserve at One Sunset proposal on Sept. 22. The tower, designed by ODP Architecture, is planned to include 21 three- to five-bedroom condominiums, plus 14 workforce housing units averaging around 510 square feet, according to Floridian Development. Ground-floor retail space of 4,343 square feet is also part of the proposal, per the same outlet, with future tenants likely to include cafes or fast-casual dining spots.
A State Law Unlocks the Height
The tower's scale is possible because Turnbridge is using Florida's Live Local Act, a statute that lets developers bypass local height and density restrictions on commercial land if at least 40 percent of residential units are set aside as workforce housing for households earning up to 120 percent of Area Median Income, according to Bilzin Sumberg. Qualifying projects like Reserve at One Sunset are entitled to administrative approval without going before a local zoning board for variances.
Florida lawmakers have repeatedly strengthened the law's teeth against municipal pushback. Updated regulations that took effect July 1 under House Bill 1389 explicitly bar cities from using setback or stepback requirements to indirectly limit building heights on qualifying workforce projects, according to Becker & Poliakoff. The law thus limits cities' use of setback and stepback requirements to restrict heights on qualifying workforce projects.
Two Housing Types
The tower will pair 21 luxury condos with 14 workforce units, which are planned in studio and one-bedroom configurations, per Floridian Development's reporting. The workforce units are subject to the 120 percent AMI threshold under the Live Local Act.
The tower's 20 stories will have floor-to-floor heights of about 13 feet, and its highest point will reach 323 feet. The proposal also includes a wellness club and multiple padel courts, per Floridian Development.
What Gets Demolished
Building Reserve at One Sunset will require tearing down existing commercial structures at 1920 Alton Road, including a Pura Vida restaurant location and an Anatomy fitness center, according to Floridian Development's report. A Pura Vida restaurant was at the property by November 2022.
A Very Different Site History
The parcel's path to a 20-story tower marks a dramatic reversal from just a few years ago. The assemblage was purchased in December 2021 for $21.3 million by Alton Office Holdings II LLC, an entity led by developer Wayne Boich alongside SL Green's Andrew Mathias and Related Companies' Bruce Beal Jr., after being sold by restaurateur Tonino Doino, according to The Real Deal.
At that time, the Miami Beach Planning Board had approved a five-story, 50,000-square-foot-plus commercial development designed by Gensler for the site, envisioned with Class A office space, restaurants and three residential units — a project some nearby residents had already raised height concerns about, per The Real Deal's earlier coverage. Turnbridge Equities' current proposal for a 20-story residential tower represents a far larger vertical footprint than that earlier commercial plan ever contemplated.
