Turnberry won initial approval in a Riviera Beach zoning case Wednesday that could make it easier for developers to construct denser buildings on the Singer Island waterfront.
The Aventura-based developer is planning a 200-foot-tall building with 52 condo units atop a 121-space parking pedestal on a narrow 3.3-acre lot at 3930 North Ocean Drive.
The development firm, controlled by the Soffer family, wants to skirt setback requirements in exchange for a payment of at least $100,000 to the city’s park fund.
Turnberry COO Aly-khan Merali said the project would provide about $7 million a year in property taxes and $2.2 million in impact fees.
Turnberry is requesting an amendment to city code, meaning the elimination of setbacks in exchange for donations to the city would apply to other projects.
For something like that, the city should have public outreach and hearings on the topic, Council Member Glen Spiritis said.
“We are just going to do this at night with a simple stroke of the pen,” Spiritis said.
The council voted 3-2 in favor of the change, which requires a second vote to take effect.
Most high-rises on Singer Island’s waterfront are required to be set back from other properties by 20 feet on the first two floors. After that, the setbacks increase by 2 feet every story.
The proposed amendment would eliminate setback requirements in exchange for a donation of $50,000 for every quarter acre of open space not provided, with a minimum payment of $100,000 per project.
Turnberry’s project would have setbacks of 25 feet on the ground floor, said Hope Calhoun, an attorney for the developer. But the project needs a break from the setback requirement above the 10th floor, she said.
The proposed building would be shorter than its neighbors: the two 314-foot-tall Martinique buildings (completed in 1986) and the two 254-foot-tall Oasis towers (built in 2024), per city documents.
The city is in desperate need of more tax revenue to help pay for the $400 million estimated cost to replace Riviera Beach’s defunct water plant.
“Our water rates are about to double in four years, and a lot of people in our community cannot afford it,” Council Member Bruce Guyton said.
Singer Island is a 5 mile long peninsula where home prices average $1 million, according to Redfin. Most of Singer Island is in Riviera Beach, a 9-square mile area where home prices average $505,000, per Redfin.
Turnberry is a majority owner of Aventura Mall and co-developer of a planned $392 million convention hotel in Miami Beach.
A few other projects are being proposed on Riviera Beach’ mainland, including two apartment buildings at Marina Village that will be co-developed by The Related Group’s Related Urban, and SobelCo’s 1.2 million-square-foot 1117 Broadway.
