Dueling developers clash over Miami Beach condo tower’s shadow. What to know
A $1 billion plan to restore the shuttered Raleigh Hotel with a new 200-foot luxury condo tower is sparking a fight over sunlight and scale in Miami Beach’s Art Deco district. The Miami Beach Planning Board voted 5-1 Tuesday to approve additional floor space, but the height dispute with the neighboring Shelborne hotel remains unresolved.
FULL STORY: Will Miami Beach condo tower cast a shadow on a nearby hotel? There’s a showdown
Here are key takeaways:
The project: New York-based Nahla Capital, led by developer Genghis Hadi, wants to transform the Raleigh, Richmond and South Seas hotels at 1775 Collins Ave. into a three-acre oceanfront resort with 80 hotel rooms, a 52-unit condo tower, restaurants and shops.
The dispute: The Raleigh condo tower is already approved at 175 feet, but Hadi wants to build to the 200-foot city maximum. Shadow studies show the taller tower would cover the neighboring Shelborne’s pool for roughly two hours a day during December and January.
Developer’s pitch: Hadi said the project is “about the rebirth of an icon on Miami Beach” and asked the board not to block it “over someone else’s pool being covered for two hours a day for three weeks out of the year.” Shelborne hotel owner Mitchell Cohen argued the tower would unfairly shift sunlight to the Raleigh, telling the board: “I feel that the applicant is asking you to do is take the sunlight away from me and give it to him. That’s not right.”
What’s next: The Miami Beach City Commission will consider the added floor space, but the Historic Preservation Board will decide whether the tower can reach 200 feet. Nahla Capital acquired the long-stalled property for $275 million in October 2025.
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