Miami commissioners are on board with opening the door to more commercial development in Little Havana and nearby neighborhoods.
City commissioners gave preliminary approval to land-use changes across dozens of blocks, moving ahead with a plan to reclassify properties currently designated for residential use as restricted commercial.
The proposal covers properties along Southwest Seventh Street, Southwest Eighth Avenue, Southwest Ninth Street, Southwest Fifth Avenue and smaller areas near Northwest South River Drive and Southwest Fifth Avenue.
The changes would move several properties from medium-density multifamily residential to “restricted commercial,” which permits a mix of residential and commercial. Some parcels currently designated for low- or medium-density commercial would also be reclassified as restricted commercial.
The largest area in the amendment covers 25.5 acres, or about 1.1 million square feet, across properties near Southwest Eighth Street, Southwest Seventh Street and surrounding corridors. An area covering about 17.9 acres would change from medium-density multifamily residential to restricted commercial, and a separate 13.7-acre area would undergo a similar change.
A companion zoning amendment that would have revised zoning classifications in parts of the same area was indefinitely deferred by the commission.
The land-use amendment will need to pass a second reading by the city commission before taking effect.
The amendment is part of a broader effort to change land-use designations along corridors west of downtown Miami and north of Brickell.
Calle Ocho, the well-known commercial strip along Southwest Eighth Street between Southwest Eighth Avenue and Southwest 27th Avenue, is lined with restaurants, bank branches, convenience stores and grocers. Much of the surrounding neighborhood is residential, with a mix of small multifamily and condo buildings and single-family homes.
Affordable housing has been a major business in the neighborhood for developers such as Related Group, Swerdlow Group and Terra, all of which have projects in the area.
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