Wynwood Neighborhood Revitalization District – a warehouse zone transformed into a premier arts district
MIAMI – PlusUrbia Design — collaborating with the Wynwood Business Improvement District (BID), City of Miami Planning and Zoning Department, and Akerman law firm – has been honored by the American Planning Association (APA) for creating the Wynwood Neighborhood Revitalizaiton District.
The Coconut Grove-based studio’s vision for the renowned arts district received the Gold Coast Section, Florida Chapter’s 2015 Planning Award in the category of Best Plan, Report or Study. The innovative NRD plan, crafted in collaboration with the City of Miami, the Wynwood BID and Akerman Law supports Wynwood’s creative industries, with mixed-use development, walkable streets, transit corridors and open space.
“The Wynwood NRD is proof that government and the private sector can work together to create great things. The plan’s strength is that it gives equal standing to all stakeholder interests. Collaboration guided this transformation of Wynwood into a 24-hour, multi-purpose, mixed-use center for the arts. Our team is gratified to be honored — along with our partners – by the American Planning Association,” – Maria Bendfeldt, of PlusUrbia.
The Wynwood NRD creates more residential development while also allowing for smaller units to serve millenials and artists with affordable apartments and live-work units. To preserve the light industry among the hip galleries, the PlusUrbia team created a Transfer of Development Rights program that allows warehouse owners to sell the development rights to their buildings – so development pressures do not encroach on the legacy businesses.
The Miami City Commission recently adopted the NRD. Wynwood, based on the collaborative NRD, was one of only four places in America recognized by the national APA in 2015 as one of America’s Great Places: Neighborhoods.
