North Bay Village getting new Shuckers watering hole, condo-hotel tower in $300M development
North Bay Village cleared the way to build a new Shuckers Bar & Grill and an adjacent 30-story high-rise with apartments and hotel rooms.
The Montreal real estate investment firm Jesta Group secured final approval on its $300 million plan to raze Shuckers and the waterfront boutique Best Western Hotel and rebuild the neighborhood watering hole, plus add a new condo-hotel tower.
The North Bay Village Commission approved the redevelopment plan last week, after the village’s planning and zoning approved it in December. The project at 1819 79th St. Causeway includes: 273 hotel rooms; 345 apartments; 18 rentals with rents discounted for local workers earning between 60% and 140% of Miami-Dade County’s median income of $68,300; and a brand new Shuckers waterfront spot.
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North Bay Village — comprised of Harbor, North Bay and Treasure islands connected by bridges — links the mainland to Miami Beach’s Normandy Isles neighborhood. It is decades beyond its heyday during the 1950s, when Frank Sinatra and Judy Garland performed there. It has experienced a wave of redevelopment plans in recent years.
“All projects that have been publicly announced are all positive. I don’t see it as competition for our project,” said Anthony O’Brien, Jesta’s senior managing director. “They can help create a new experience for North Bay Village.”
Construction is expected to begin in late 2023 or early 2024, after the developer secures financing and finalizes the project design.
Shuckers eatery eventually will close while a new waterfront bar and grill is built.
Shuckers fans shouldn’t worry, O’Brien said. Jesta plans to find a temporary location for the restaurant in North Bay Village or Miami Beach’s North Beach community until the new Shuckers is built and ready for patrons.
Peter Ricci, a professor and director of the hospitality and tourism management program at Florida Atlantic University, predicted the planned hotel section of the project will attract guests, despite the grim status of the hospitality industry’s labor supply. The village’s proximity to Miami Beach, he said, will likely draw visitors to the hotel.
“Whenever a small community tries to expand with new residences, having a hotel component makes it feel more like a home for meetings and family or friends to stay,” Ricci said. “It is usually a positive impact for the community.”
This story was originally published January 19, 2023 at 5:30 AM.
