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Oasis on the bay
 7951 NE Bayshore Court

Oasis on the Bay Miami Condo

Oasis on the Bay East Tower Lobby

Oasis on the Bay Pool

Oasis on the Bay Bathrooms

Oasis on the Bay Condo Kitchens

Oasis on the Bay North Bay Village

Oasis on the Bay Lounge Area

Oasis on the Bay Gym

Oasis on the Bay 20-story condos may rise near 79th Street
A developer is targeting buyers left out of the condo boom by building in a struggling Miami neighborhood

BY MATTHEW HAGGMAN

mhaggman@herald.com
Developer Jorge Perez, in a move aimed at bringing waterfront condo living within reach of more buyers, is planning to build two 20-story towers in a gritty area on Miami's Biscayne Bay. Prices for the project, Oasis on the Bay, which is immediately north of Northeast 79th Street at Biscayne Bay, would range from $200,000 to $300,000, said Perez, who is chairman and chief executive of The Related Group in Miami and the region's most prolific high-rise condo developer. ''There is an overabundance of developers trying to reach that $400,000 to million dollar market,'' he said. ``We are looking for ways to increase our universe of buyers, to reach buyers who have been priced out of the market.'' But Perez may first have to deal with irate Shorecrest neighborhood residents who oppose high-rise buildings in the area. Shorecrest, which is part of the larger Upper Eastside area of Miami, runs from Northeast 78th to 87th streets and from Biscayne Bay to Biscayne Boulevard. ''If they are going to do 20 stories, we will fight it tooth and nail,'' said Allyson Warren, president of the Shorecrest Homeowners Association. ''That kind of height directly next to a neighborhood with single-family homes is abominable.'' Warren said low-rise townhomes are better suited for the area.

Perez responded in an e-mail that he ``did not think we would be having opposition to improving this area.' Miami's Shorecrest neighborhood has low- to mid-rise structures, including single-family homes, but it remains a disheveled area and one of the few places in Miami largely bypassed by the current wave of development that is remaking the city. Among the projects going up in the area is a mid-rise condominium, The Bank, at the corner of Biscayne Bay and Northeast 81st Street. Meanwhile, the city plans a new fire station on Northeast 79th Street.

DISHEVELED AREA

Oasis on the Bay would occupy several parcels that largely include derelict buildings like the out-of-business Mike Gordon's Seafood Restaurant. Last week, Perez paid $12.7 million to a multiple group of buyers who owned the different parcels comprising the property, he said. The newly assembled property stretches from Biscayne Bay to Northeast Bayshore Drive and from Northeast 79th to 80th streets. It is too early to predict whether the project will get a green light from city officials. ''It is a depressed area up there,'' said Miami City Commissioner Johnny L. Winton. ``A good project on the site would be great. But it has to be the right kind of project that fits in with the neighborhood.'' Winton, whose district includes the Shorecrest neighborhood, declined to take a stance, saying instead that he wants ``the neighbors satisfied.''

Under Perez's plan, two 20-story towers with 430 units would rise on the site that looks across the Bay towards the island municipality of North Bay Village. A garage would be partly lined with loft apartments. The waterfront, slated to include a marina, would be open to the public. A waterfront restaurant is also planned. ''Public access to the waterfront is an important ingredient,'' said Bob Flanders, co-founder and secretary of the neighborhood group, Upper Eastside Miami Council, who reacted positively to Perez's plans. ``I am encouraged that Jorge Perez would want to develop in the Upper Eastside.''

REDUCED ROAD ACCESS

But Perez's plan also calls for cutting off access between Northeast Bayshore Court and 79th Street, a major thoroughfare. The road instead would be covered over by the condo project, and cars would exit north onto Northeast 80th Street. Warren, the homeowners association president, dismissed that idea as a nonstarter, saying it would create excessive traffic in the residential neighborhood dotted with single-family homes to the north. ''Northeast Bayshore Court has to empty out onto Northeast 79th Street,'' she said. For his part, Perez previously said that he wouldn't start any new developments, focusing instead on building more than 50 high-rise condos in the works from downtown Miami and Miami Beach to Florida's west coast and Las Vegas. Nearly all of those projects cater to high-end buyers. He said he decided to pursue Oasis on the Bay because he wants more projects aimed at the middle market, which he considers underserved. Many condo projects target the wealthy. ''I have been on the lookout for a product that completes the rest of what we are doing,'' Perez said. ``We are looking, particularly around transit centers, to get an urban product we can sell and meet middle-class market demand. We are having difficulty finding prices that make sense.''

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Last modified: 01/28/10