Real estate, finance honchos seek approval for new waterfront homes in Miami Beach

Miami Beach Design Review Board could vote on more than a half dozen projects

6455 Pine Tree Drive (left) and Apax Partners’ Jason Wright with his planned home at 1400 West 23rd Street (6455 Pine Tree Drive Drive via Kobi Karp, Apax Partners)
6455 Pine Tree Drive (left) and Apax Partners’ Jason Wright with his planned home at 1400 West 23rd Street (6455 Pine Tree Drive Drive via Kobi Karp, Apax Partners)

UPDATED, Feb. 7, 2023, 2 p.m.: A group of property owners are seeking approval from the Miami Beach Design Review Board on Tuesday, amid a surge in new construction.

Elliott Weinstein is seeking a four-foot height waiver for a single-family home already under construction at 6455 Pine Tree Drive. Weinstein acquired the property from New York developer and Florida transplant Steve Witkoff for $20 million in April of last year.

Witkoff’s sale marked a 188 percent markup compared to his purchase price in early 2021. Weinstein’s ownership had been hidden until the trust he owns filed plans with the city for a 9,700-square-foot home that he’s building on the 0.6-acre plot. Kobi Karp Architecture & Interior Design is the project architect.

On the Sunset Islands, Apax Partners’ Jason Wright is requesting a three-foot height waiver for a planned two-story home on a waterfront lot at 1400 West 23rd Street. Wright, via an LLC, paid $14 million for the property in April last year. The venture capital investor acquired it from Anatomy Fitness co-owner Chris Paciello, who flipped it to Wright for a 50 percent price increase in one month.

Wright owns the adjacent house at 1420 West 23rd Street, which he acquired from spec home developer Todd Michael Glaser and his partner Rony Seikaly in early 2021 for $18.5 million.

Wright wants both homes to match, according to his application. AI2 Design Corp. is the architect.

On the Venetian Islands’ Belle Isle, property owners Steve and Jessica Rhodes are looking to redevelop a circa-1941 home into a four-story, nearly 5,600-square-foot tropical modern house. Rene Gonzalez is the architect for the project at 8 Farrey Lane, near the Standard hotel.

Sign Up for the undefined Newsletter

The Rhodes, who previously received Design Review Board approval in 2016 for a three-story home, are seeking variances regarding the front yard setback, interior side yards, stairs and landings, the maximum lot coverage in the backyard, and the projection of a trellis into the backyard. Steve, a real estate investor, and his wife Jessica paid $770,000 for the 0.1-acre property in 2011, records show.

 
315 West San Marino Drive (Photo via Choeff Levy Fischman)

A number of property owners also are seeking approvals from the city to expand or redevelop their homes. Other projects up for a vote include the non-waterfront homes planned for 315 West San Marino Drive and 401 West 30th Street, and the waterfront home planned for 1275 North Biscayne Point Road, according to the agenda.

The board may also vote on plans for the site at 1920 Alton Road, where a company owned by Related Companies’ Bruce Beal, Wayne Boich and SL Green’s Andrew Mathias are proposing a five-story, 50,000-square-foot commercial building with two restaurant spaces. New York-based Related is taking the lead on the project, though the three partners each own equal shares.

An earlier version of this story misidentified Elliott Weinstein.