A revised site plan for Fairmont Turnberry Isles Ocean Resort Hotel and Residences was approved by the Sunny Isles Beach City Commission Sept. 20.
The project - a 40-story tower with 174 condo-hotel rooms, 55 condo units and on-site parking - will replace the Turnberry Isles Ocean Club at 18501 Collins Ave.
The developer, Turnberry Associates, received permission to continue operating the private beach club at the site of the new project after the old building is torn down.
In exchange for additional density, Turnberry Associates paid $2.75 million into a city fund for beach access, public recreation enhancement, streetscapes and parking.
The project was approved by a 3-1 vote; Commissioner Gerald Goodman voted no, citing concerns about traffic generated by the ocean club, and Commissioner Dan Iglesias was absent.
In August, Turnberry Associates initially proposed building a 225-room condo-hotel and 60 condo units on the site and parking across the street behind the Navarro Drugs, but commissioners balked. At the time, Greenberg Traurig attorney Cliff Schulman, representing the applicant, said he didn't think the project could be reconfigured.
Last week, however, Schulman said the project was scaled back and that Turnberry had spent $5 million to bring parking on-site. The revised rendering shows an additional level of parking beneath the condo-hotel.
Schulman said his clients were prepared to donate the parking lot behind the Navarro building for the city to use as open space or a park if the city transferred development rights equal to eight dwelling units and 22,000 square feet of building space. Schulman requested that the city grant the developer six years to exercise those rights, one year longer than permitted, because of the slow real estate market.
The property is assessed at $900,000 and is worth more than $1 million, Schulman said.
"Turnberry really wants to be in the community," he said. "By making that area a park ... we've done what we can."
But Commissioner Goodman said he was concerned about traffic generated by the 365 ocean club members. Schulman countered that the private club now in operation rarely attracts more than 70 to 90 members at a time.
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