Reuben Brothers’ W South Beach reno moves ahead –– minus VIP lounge, valet

Reuben Brothers advanced its plan to renovate the W South Beach, though only partially.

The London-based firm wants to redesign and refresh its condo-hotel at 2201 Collins Avenue in Miami Beach, consisting of a pair of 19-story buildings with 407 units.

The original vision included a new 237-seat beach club restaurant, a retrofit of the existing 250-seat nightclub into a 307-seat VIP lounge and an additional valet drop-off for VIPs only. But all three items were put on hold following vehement opposition from unit owners at the next-door Roney Palace Condominium.

Reuben Brothers, led by Simon and David Reuben, paid more than $400 million for the W in 2024. It unveiled its proposed renovations this year, but after Roney Palace residents spoke out against the plans last month, Reuben Brothers asked the Miami Beach Historic Preservation Board to postpone voting until this month.

The firm scrapped the beach club restaurant in its latest proposal, but Reuben Brothers attorney Neisen Kasdin said it will be brought back for review in the future.

The board on Tuesday voted 6-0 to approve most of the proposed renovations, including of the lobby, which will be partially turned into a patisserie with 85 interior seats and 88 outdoor seats. The board also approved the south-side arrival area on 22nd Street, as well as renovations to the hotel reception, elevators, pool deck and pool bar.

But the board stopped short of greenlighting two other items of concern for Roney Palace residents: the demolition of the nightclub’s east-facing wall as part of its retrofit into a VIP lounge and the additional north-side VIPs-only valet drop-off on 23rd Street.

The developers are expected to return to the historic preservation board on June 9 with modified proposals.

The decision to carve out these items followed more than two hours of board deliberations, public comment and wrangling, mostly between the Reuben Brothers’ attorney and project opponents. Ten Roney Palace residents spoke against the proposed valet and VIP lounge, citing worries over potential traffic backup and hazards and noise.

Several unit owners said music from the W already is loud, both day and night. Many added they have filed noise complaints with the city, though Kasdin argued the W has no outstanding noise violations.

“I can’t talk to a friend in the living room because of the sound of the music. I worry about the venue that will add 200 people or something like that,” said Roney resident Michael Arnold. “It just seems like [the proposal] is very rushed and haphazard.”

Kent Harrison Robbins, an attorney for Roney Palace, said unit owners have no problem with the pool deck, pool bar, lobby and other interior redesigns.

The application shows a total increase of 212 seats for the renovations. But Robbins argued those calculations are flawed, showing things such as interior pool seats.

Kasdin insisted the board’s purview is restricted to the redesign, and it’s the city’s planning board that has jurisdiction over items such as traffic, number of additional seats and uses. He raised this objection several times during Robbins’ presentation in opposition of the project.

Robbins countered, saying these issues are the historic preservation board’s decision.

“They are trying to take your duties and shift it over to the planning board and say, ‘Don’t worry about it,’” he said.

But Roney Palace unit owners worry about the valet worsening traffic congestion on Collins Avenue and that drivers unfamiliar with the area would be likely to turn into their driveway by mistake instead of the W.

Engineers for Roney Palace and Reuben Brothers disagreed on traffic estimates.

Miami Beach generally takes a detailed and careful look at new projects and proposals for tweaks at existing buildings in a push to preserve its low- to mid-rise character and historic structures, as well as to keep additional traffic on already congested streets at a minimum.

City officials were angered this year when Florida lawmakers approved a bill that would allow Jeffrey Soffer’s Fontainebleau Miami Beach to bypass a city historic preservation board vote for a 99-foot waterslide tower at the resort. Last month, commissioners voted to authorize the mayor’s administration to potentially sue the state over the legislation.

This month, the Miami Beach Planning Board carefully scrutinized Infinity Collective’s proposed 14-story Alton Road project with a mix of uses, including 184 apartments, offices and retail. The board ultimately moved the proposal along in the approval process.

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