In a large swath of Miami Beach, stores selling tobacco, vaping products, souvenirs, T-shirts, vitamins and pawns could become a thing of the past.
Miami Beach officials are considering expanding the ban on retail stores selling such products near the city’s North Beach neighborhood. They also sought to limit the number of tattoo studios in North Beach, as well as check cashing, convenience stores and liquor stores.
But mom-and-pop stores are safe from being axed.
On Wednesday, the Miami Beach City Council approved the first reading of legislation aimed at reducing “nuisance” retail use in North Beach. The measure’s sponsor, Commissioner Alex Fernandez, said the aim was to promote “a diversity of retail uses” and create a “quality retail experience”.
Tobacco and vaping retailers, souvenir and t-shirt shops, and pawn shops have been banned along 71st Street, Normandy Avenue, North Beach Town Center and Ocean Terrace.
Fernandez’s proposed ordinance would extend the ban from 65th Street to 88th Street between Collins Avenue and Indian River Avenue, according to a city memo.
The proposed measures also allow only six existing liquor stores and nine tattoo parlors to remain open. North Beach is not allowed to open any new stores selling alcohol and body art. It also limited the number of convenience stores to 25 and check-cashing stores to four.
Currently, North Beach has two check-cashing stores and 16 to 19 convenience stores, the memo said.
North Beach is going through a major wave of development.
Partners Alex Blavatnik and Sandor Scher are building a mixed-use project on Ocean Terrace and Collins Avenue between 74th and 75th Streets. The development includes a 110-room hotel, a 58-unit luxury residential tower, a 200-car garage, and 18,000 square feet of retail space. The shells of 12 renovated historic buildings are also part of the development.
A joint venture between the Constellation Group, Boschetti Group and Vietmar is planning Ella Miami Beach, a 10-story, 95-unit condo at 6950 Abbot Avenue. Another collaboration between the Galbut family and Matis Cohen is a 22-story mixed-use building at 125-7145 Carlisle Avenue, 7100-7144 Byron Avenue, and 527 71st Street.
In December, Galbuts and Cohen secured a $97.5 million construction loan for the project, which includes 270 apartments and about 12,500 square feet of retail space.
