There is one last meeting of the incumbent council on Monday March 23rd. Time is running out for residents to have a say about the massive Mizner Hotel. It is a two 12-story tower design facing Mizner Park that will replace the current Mizner Plaza that houses the downtown post office and a block’s worth of convenient small-business shops such as Ramen Lab and 2nd Street Deli and Bagels.
The architecture does not follow the Mizner style but rather, a style claimed to be a “modern interpretation” of it. That was accomplished by ordinance 5648 (below) introduced by Mayor Scott Singer in May 2023 and passed by the current council.
Trying to squeak through?
The City Council was scheduled to vote on a new ordinance (5771) controlling downtown construction (See “Ordinance 5771 Rewrites 344 Acres of the Downtown” for details).
That ordinance would have provided the hotel with all the special favors it needed to be built. Without it, under the existing rules, the hotel could not be constructed unless the current Council bowed to developer demands. Proof that the project is over developed.
When the agendas for the final meetings of the lame duck council were published, alert citizens noticed that for some reason, Mayor Scott Singer requested removal of ordinance 5771 from the March 24 city council meeting. But the Development Approval document (CRP-23-01) for Mizner Hotel is still on the March 23 CRA agenda (here).
Make your voice heard. Again.
It should be noted that when this project was first introduced, the applicant wanted to get the small parking lot next to the post office at no charge. Due to resident opposition, the CRA decided that the applicant would have to purchase the lot instead. Not wanting to pay, the applicant made changes to the project and claimed it no longer needed the ground. However, it appears that the CRA is now prepared to give them the public ground they indeed need for free, contrary to their assurances.
[EDIT: There are two public parking spots in the public parking lot that will be part of the driveway. If the developer had purchased that lot he could have widened the driveway on his own land. I know this is a small piece of land, but part of the city’s property. I understand the need for that area and sure it seems insignificant. I just believe people should be aware that the developer had the option to buy, declined, and is using it anyway. ]
Residents need to urge the CRA to stand down. Either reject a building that violates codes and has no right to be built. Or, postpone voting on the hotel until the new Council is in place. If the CRA approves this project, it is proof positive that voters made the right choices in rejecting the incumbents.
