Feds: Proposed height of six Miami high-rise towers needs further study

The Federal Aviation Administration has informed several developers including Related Group and Florida East Coast Realty that the height of their proposed condo towers may interfere with flights at Miami International Airport and will need further study.

The rulings are not final and mean that the FAA will study the potential impact of the skyscrapers on flight safety for another 120 days. In the past, the agency has issued such notices and then approved towers with only a small reduction in height.

The FAA sent the most recent “notices of presumed hazard” for air navigation to six proposed buildings in Miami, including two Related projects.

Those were the Auberge Residences and Spa at 1400 Biscayne Blvd., which Related told the FAA it plans to build as high as 877 feet, and One Brickell at 444 Brickell Ave., which has a planned height of 646 feet.

The FAA said its initial study concluded that neither building should exceed 470 feet.

Carlos Rosso, president of Related’s condo division, said the ruling would not delay or interfere with the projects. “It’s typical in the approval process,” Rosso said in an email. “ The projects are on track to obtain their approvals.”

The agency also told Florida East Coast Realty that its high-rise tower at 1201 Brickell Bay Drive, designed to rise nearly 1,000 feet, should be capped at 483 feet.

Other buildings receiving FAA notices were a mixed-use project by the Chetrit Group on the south bank of the Miami River between Interstate-95 and the Second Avenue Bridge; a 969 foot tower at 340 Biscayne Blvd. by Sunny Isles developer Louis Montello; and a 57-story condo tower at 700 NE 23rd St. by Two Roads Development that would be the tallest building in Edgewater if completed.

"We are aware, and were expecting, the FAA’s initial determination letter, which is a standard administrative notice prior to commencement of the formal review process,” Tadd Schwartz, a spokesman for Two Roads Development, said in a statement. “Two Roads has been in constant communication with the FAA administrator throughout the submission process, and we are following the same protocols as we did with our Biscayne Beach condominium application, which concluded with a favorable Determination of No Hazard."

The developers all have the opportunity to sit down with the FAA, a process that has ended well for builders in the past.

In June, the agency approved One Brickell City Centre after developer Swire Properties agreed to reduce its height from 1,111 feet to 1,049 feet. In its initial notice, the FAA had said the building should be no more than 461 feet.

If built, the 80-story tower will be Miami’s tallest tower.

This story was originally published September 2, 2015 at 4:41 PM with the headline "Feds: Proposed height of six Miami high-rise towers needs further study."