Dezer Development Advances Uptown Harbour Project at Intracoastal Mall Site

Four years after securing pivotal approvals for the redevelopment of North Miami Beach’s Intracoastal Mall, Dezer Development is taking a significant step forward. The Sunny Isles Beach-based developer is moving ahead with its ambitious Uptown Harbour project on the 29-acre site located at 3501 Sunny Isles Boulevard and 3745 and 3909 Northeast 163 Street.

The Uptown Harbour project has already received approvals for 2,000 apartment and condo units, 375,000 square feet of retail space, 200,000 square feet of offices, and a 250-key hotel. In 2020, the North Miami Beach City Commission approved a development agreement and made zoning and land development code changes to accommodate the project.

Now, Dezer is requesting the city approve the Uptown Harbour site plan and grant 15 administrative waivers. The North Miami Beach Planning and Zoning Board will review these waivers at its upcoming meeting on Monday.

Among the waivers Dezer seeks are exemptions from the maximum permitted 14-foot story height above the second level, allowing for 16-foot heights in some buildings and 20-foot heights in others. The developer also seeks waivers related to building screening and lot width and depth standards.

The application provides further details about the Uptown Harbour project, including the number of planned buildings, their layout on the development site, and the four construction phases. According to the filing, Uptown Harbour will consist of eight structures, two of which will feature pairs of towers rising from a shared podium.

Key project details include:

• A building with three stories on the east end and six stories on the west end, offering 132,000 square feet of commercial space, a 19,000-square-foot gym, a 1,100-square-foot police station, a 13,200-square-foot fire station, a 2,000-square-foot community center, and 617 parking spaces.
• A building with ten stories on the north side and 21 stories on the south side, featuring 99,000 square feet of retail space, 177,400 square feet of offices, and 878 parking spaces.
• A 12-story structure with 27,200 square feet of retail space, 153 residential units, and 315 parking spaces.
• A dual-tower structure with one building rising 35 stories and the other 38 stories, comprising 32,000 square feet of retail space, 643 residential units, and a 1,070-space garage podium.
• This is another dual-tower structure, with one tower reaching 45 stories and the other 48 stories. It includes 832 residential units, 22,400 square feet of retail space, and a 1,791-space garage podium.
• A 12-story, 244-key hotel building with 2,500 square feet of retail space.
• A 46-story building with 336 units, 33,000 square feet of retail space, and 20,400 square feet of offices.
• A two-story townhouse structure with 36 homes.

In addition to these buildings, Uptown Harbour will feature more than 5.5 acres of open space and a waterfront promenade.

Dezer Development, led by the father-son duo Michael and Gil Dezer, acquired the Intracoastal Mall for $63.5 million in 2013. The Uptown Harbour project has sparked some controversy, particularly among residents of the neighboring Eastern Shores community, who have raised concerns about increased traffic and other potential impacts.