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Miami Herald, The (FL)
February 10,1989

PROMENADE OF SHOPS, CAFES PLANNED ALONG OCEAN DRIVE
CHRISTOPHER BOYD Herald Real Estate Writer

A South Miami Beach hotel owner announced plans Thursday to build a slender promenade of shops and restaurants between 10th and 11th streets on Ocean Drive, a street lined with the city’s best-known Art Deco hotels. Haim Einhorn, general manager of Commercial Management Systems, said the firm plans to begin construction on the 10- shop project within two months. The project would convert an apartment house into shop space and convert a city parking lot into a setting for open-air cafes.

“We’re looking at renting space to boutiques, European- style cafes and maybe even some chain retail operations,” Einhorn said. “We will keep the design in line with the architecture of the neighborhood.”

Last week, Miami Beach swapped the city parking lot for a parcel owned by Einhorn’s company to the rear on Collins Avenue.

Adrian Alexandru, who owns Commercial Management Systems, has four hotels and apartment houses on either side of the parking lot. The trade gives him an uninterrupted assemblage of five lots.

“The city has made it clear to us that we aren’t getting this land to speculate,” Einhorn said. “We are bonded under a letter of credit to develop the lot as a promenade within a year or return it to the city.”

Einhorn said the property he traded to the city cost $300,000. The city plans to demolish a building on that site and use it for parking. City Manager Rob Parkins said the arrangement will promote the revival of Ocean Drive.

“We have a development agreement that makes it clear what they can and can’t do with that land,” Parkins said. “Believe me, we learned from what happened when they redeveloped Coconut Grove. We’re trying to make sure that we maintain what is special about Ocean Drive.”

lllustration:map: South Beach along Ocean Drive on Miami Beach

Copyright (c) 1989 The Miami Herald