Downtown Miami Landowners

Bercow Radell Fernandez Larkin + Tapanes successfully represented Downtown Miami landowners, Mana Holdings and Rok Enterprises, in a collective effort to revitalize Miami’s downtown urban core by crafting specialized alcohol beverage regulations to incentivize a bar, lounge, and restaurant district on historic Flagler Street. This new area, codified in Chapter 4 of the Miami Code of Ordinances as the Flagler Specialty District, enables an unlimited amount of alcohol service establishments to open in close proximity to one another, waiving traditional distance separation requirements. The goal was to encourage a mixed use environment with active, pedestrian friendly streets by increase leasing flexibility for property owners.

The work required close collaboration with the City of Miami Office of Zoning and the Department of Planning on the drafting of a new comprehensive chapter of the city municipal code to regulate alcohol beverages, dialogue with the Downtown Development Authority and numerous neighborhood associations, as well as vocal representation at public hearings to present the collective vision of a revitalized downtown Miami and the positive impact this legislation would have on the urban core. After several months of stakeholder outreach and negotiations with the City of Miami, the firm secured a unanimous approval from the City of Miami Commission.