CLIENT NEWS: Vast Braman Motors Edgewater remake to add two 60-story towers
April 25, 2025Braman Motors, a long successful and foundational business venture in the City of Miami, is about to expand dramatically with a growth spurt of sweeping proportions that would include two new 60-story residential towers.
The Braman company, utilizing special development options in the Miami 21 zoning code, plans to start construction on a phased redevelopment of several properties in the Edgewater neighborhood, ultimately bringing hundreds of new residential units, new retail-commercial uses, office space, parking for thousands of vehicles, and a new auto showroom and garage.
The first review of this massive plan is set for this week’s meeting of the city’s Urban Development Review Board.
The board is to consider a vote on whether to recommend approval of the proposed project, known as Braman Miami Special Area Plan (SAP), at properties at 2060 Biscayne Blvd.
Braman Motors Inc. owns 21 parcels north of Northeast 19th Terrace, south of Northeast 21st Street, and west of Biscayne Boulevard, identified as the Braman Miami Campus.
Melissa Tapanes Llahues, an attorney representing Braman, detailed the background of Braman in a letter to the city.
She wrote, “Braman Motors has been an economic engine within the City of Miami since 1975. When Braman Motors arrived in the Omni/Edgewater area it was already home to multiple auto related uses. In fact, Braman Motors began in Miami after purchasing a Nolan Brown Cadillac dealership that had existed at the property since the 1940s.
“A material expansion in 1985 was driven by Braman Motors’ acquisition of a second car dealership in the area: the TB McGahey Motor Company. TB McGahey had operated at 1930 NE Second Avenue since the 1960s.
“In the last 50 years, Braman Motors has actively contributed to the evolution of Miami. The automotive company has employed thousands and invested millions into the city and surrounding community. Today, Braman Motors directly employs over 600 people and supports countless vendors and contractors as it serves both the neighborhood residents’ and central business district commuters’ automotive needs,” wrote Ms. Llahues.
She said Braman Motors intends to make new and greater investments in the city and its immediate community.
The company has applied for approval of a Special Area Plan (SAP). Miami 21 allows a property of nine acres or more to be master planned, which contributes to public improvements and infrastructure like roads, parks, and other public services, and creates greater flexibility for higher or specialized quality building and streetscape design.
Ms. Llahues said the Braman Miami Campus SAP will help maintain Braman Motors as an economic engine.
In a narrative of the plan she described: “The Braman Miami Campus SAP is designed to reimagine the existing, legally established automotive use through the lens of the pedestrian by master planning the area into a cohesive and forward-thinking campus.
“At the heart of this SAP is the recognition that automobiles are a critical part of the city’s transportation systems and that access to essential automobile services in proximity to population density presents sound urban planning.
“The Braman Miami Campus uses automobile iconography to pay homage to the SAP area’s past, present, and future and thereby sets the example for how automotive-focused concepts may be implemented at the pedestrian scale in an urban context.
“Public and private thoroughfares will be enhanced with existing and new trees, street furniture, lighting, and functional design elements. Pedestrian and bicyclist connectivity will be prioritized and expanded, which is critical for an area in such proximity to the burgeoning Wynwood, Omni and Edgewater neighborhoods.
“The abutting road network, trolley, and bus routes provide additional linkages for employees, residents and guests alike. The thoroughfare plan does not propose changes to the existing grid but confirms principal and secondary frontages for the avoidance of doubt,” reads the SAP narrative.
The application proposes residential development along Biscayne Boulevard and expands auto-related commercial uses along the Northeast Second Avenue corridors.
An overall site plan by architectural firm Arquitectonica shows a new showroom-service center building, two 60-story residential towers, a small automotive retail building in a new public park, and a woonerf – a pedestrian-only street leading from Biscayne Boulevard into the park.
The requested rezoning enables the creation of a cohesive streetscape, mobility improvements, and supports the creation of additional employment opportunities in an area with a significant number of multi-family residential projects, the application reads.
The requests will facilitate and support the automotive-focused use of the property which has historically served as an economic engine for this area and the city at large, wrote Ms. Llahues, and in doing so greatly improve the quality of life for city residents by creating a cohesive streetscape, vibrant public open spaces, including a woonerf, and improving mobility within this central, urbanized area.
The company’s specific changes to the proposed SAP include:
- Elimination of the request to expand the Omni Residential Density Area.
- Confirmed compliance with the density, intensity, and height of the existing, underlying zoning.
- Creation of a cohesive streetscape plan for the Braman Miami Campus SAP area.
- Creation of public open spaces, including a woonerf, that welcome the surrounding community and celebrate the automotive history of the area.
- Reimagination of the existing, legally nonconforming gas station within the property.
- Improved pedestrian and cyclist mobility throughout the site and surrounding area in support of the city’s Bicycle Master Plan.
- Creation of a Mobility Plan to reduce conflict between various vehicle types that utilize and service the area.
- Modification of a development agreement to provide clear guidelines for proposed open spaces, parking, mobility, cycling.
“Braman Motors’ commitment to the City of Miami has never been stronger than it is today,” wrote Ms. Llahues.
