In May 2005, the Mayor and City Commission adopted Resolution No. 2005-25899, approving a Development Agreement between the City of Miami Beach and AR&J Sobe, LLC (Developer), for the development of the project referred to as “Fifth and Alton” (the Garage Property), a public-private project whereby the City owns a portion of the parking spaces (46% of the approximately 1,100 parking spaces) of the multi-level commercial building used for supermarket/retail/restaurant space.  In December 2012, the Developer sold the beneficial ownership interests in the Garage to Edens Limited Partnership (Edens).  As a result, Edens, in partnership with the City became responsible for the maintenance and operations of the Property.

“Fifth and Alton” is located at the entrance of Miami Beach and surrounded by high-rise condominiums. While the Property should be aesthetically representative of the neighborhood, it has lacked in appearance and maintenance over the years. Edens is responsible for operating, maintaining, and replacing all portions of the Property in a first-class manner; and the City is responsible for the financial, operating, access, validation, and collection systems for the Garage. Moreover, Edens is to maintain, repair, insure and when necessary, replace all portions of the Property (including the Garage), providing these are at all times in first-class order, condition and repair consistent with first-class facilities of similar stature properties in the South Florida area.

In any event, the standards for maintenance, repair and replacement of the Garage shall be no less than the standards maintained in municipal parking garages that are operated and maintained by the City.  Edens shall always take good care of, maintain, and shall make all repairs reasonably necessary to keep the Property in good and safe order and condition. They shall promptly rectify any damage or interference caused by Developer (Edens) to any Property, improvements, equipment, structures, or vegetation inside or outside of the Development Site, which is owned or controlled by City. Edens shall at all times comply with all requirements with respect to the use, condition, operation, ownership, maintenance, and remediation of the Property.

On December 8, 2021, at the request of then Commissioner now Mayor Steven Meiner, the Mayor and City Commission approved the referral of item C4 S, to the Public Safety and Neighborhood Quality of Life Committee (PSNQLC or the Committee) to discuss the Fifth and Alton complex. Since then, the Fifth and Alton property has been discussed a number of times at Committee. On March 2, 2022, the Administration presented several maintenance deficiencies. Thereafter, the Administration along with the several City Commissioners and the Edens team conducted a walkthrough of the Property identifying issues to rectify. Maintenance, appearance, homelessness, signage and other items identified were corrected and presented at the June 15, 2022, PSNQLC meeting. Additionally, at said meeting a list of capital improvement projects were provided. An updated project schedule, as well as overall improvements, including regular scheduled maintenance to the Property were further addressed and reported at the November 30, 2022, PSQNLC meeting.

The Edens maintenance team has completed several projects since the Administration last updated the Committee in November 2022. They have upgraded the existing lighting system to LED, including retail storefronts, the garage (top level) and stairways. Additionally, Edens prepared a list of capital improvements, which have been reviewed in conjunction with the City’s Parking Department. Since last presented, below is a list of completed and scheduled projects:

• Roof/Waterproof – Started November 7, 2022, and completed May 2023.
•  CCTV Upgrades - $150K invested in the CCTV system to include additional cameras and monitors.  This project is completed, and cameras are operational.
•  Elevator / Escalator Upgrades - Due to soaring cost of materials, this project was delayed and the elevator portion began in February 2023 and is expected to be completed by May 2024, estimated at $450K. Edens has additional door upgrades that they performing to elevators P2/P3 in the coming weeks and the escalator upgrades are scheduled to start in fall of 2024.
•  Stormwater Redevelopment – There are four (4) wells that were redeveloped.  Two wells were completed as of October 2022.  The third and fourth wells were completed in February 2023 and spring of 2023 respectively.
•  Tree wells have been fixed along the sidewalks on 5^th and 6^th Streets, as well as the replacement of trees and foliage along the same sidewalk.
•  The entire building has been pressured cleaned, including the roof, stairwells and sidewalks.  The section of the roof that was not part of the waterproofing project was pressure washed and restriped in Q4 of 2023.  The day porter staff maintains the portion of the sidewalk that is Landlord’s responsibility with routine pressure washing.  The stairwells are also maintained daily.
•  Vacant storefront windows have been frosted along Alton Road. There is a new tenant Chadia Ali Skincare is now open for business and one of the other vacant spaces is currently under construction.
• Painting is ongoing throughout all levels. The onsite maintenance team is routinely doing upkeep to interior and exterior common areas.  For example, one area that was just recently done was the interior entrance at Publix.

Staff has continued to conduct regular inspections of the Property and maintains an open line of communication with the Edens’ team to ensure identified deficiencies are addressed quickly. Edens’ maintenance staff has implemented a consistent schedule and are seen regularly sweeping, painting and cleaning the exterior building and the garage decks. Edens, which has continued to maintain property at an acceptable level. The Committee requested this item be brought back for an update at the February 2023 PSNQLC meeting. However, the item was deferred and has not been discussed since.