The Polish American Club wants to build an eight-story, mixed-use project on the organization’s former banquet hall site on the Miami River.
The Miami River Commission is set to vote next week on recommending approval for zoning changes to the property at 1250 Northwest 22nd Avenue sought by the club. The requests, which would allow the club to build a high-density project, would also have to go before the Miami Planning, Zoning & Appeals Board before the city commission could vote on final approvals.
The club is proposing a glass-and-steel building that would entail 40,000 square feet of office space, 20,000 square feet of new banquet hall and meeting space and roughly 6,000 square feet of ground floor retail. The project would also have 102 apartments across five floors and a garage with 212 parking spaces, according to a preliminary site plan submitted to the city of Miami.
In 2018, the Polish American Club of Miami demolished the one-story banquet hall that was completed in 1941 on the site.
According to a Sept. 21 letter of intent, the club fell on hard financial times in recent years. Yet, a new board of directors is proposing the mixed-use project to create a revenue stream for the organization and to reestablish the club’s presence in Miami, promoting Poland and its culture. The club is also proposing a 4,500-square-foot riverwalk that will be accessible to Miami residents from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week.
Club representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The proposed development is near Pier 19 Residences & Marina, a 21-story apartment building that Miami developer Lissette Calderon acquired for $61 million in 2018. In September, Calderon picked up a 7-acre Miami River development site at 2301 Northwest 33rd Avenue for $32.2 million.
Another recent believer in Miami River real estate is Los Angeles-based developer Zach Vella. In August, Vella and Miami Beach-based private equity firm Arc PE, purchased a majority stake in a development site at 555 Northwest South River Drive. Robert Zangrillo and Avra Jain, who are also partners in the deal, previously proposed a mixed-use project anchored by Miami’s first Sixty Hotel, but that plan has been tabled.