Moshe Mana Plans Development for Wynwood With 24-Story Towers and Convention Center

Wynwood keeps it pretty low. Until very recently, it was hard to find a building higher than two stories here, but Moshe Mana, a developer and the owner of the biggest continuous plot of land of in the rapidly changing neighborhood, wants to get high. Really, really high. His company is hoping to get special permission to develop towers up to 24 stories tall on its property. 

Based in New York, Mana owns 30 acres of land in Wynwood at NW 23rd Street. The property stretches from the I-95 border to the main drag of NW Second Street. Known currently as the Mana Wynwood Production Village, it bills itself as a " truly unique raw space and sound stage in the heart of the neighborhood." 

"Our vision is simple; as one of the largest land owners in the district, we see it as our responsibility to continue the renaissance started by our predecessors and peers, creating a neighborhood catered to the creative class and cultivating Miami’s future as a cultural capital for Latin America," reads its website. 

Of course, New York-based developers aren't exactly known for buying property in Miami and maintaining it as a "unique raw space," and Mana apparently has bigger ideas about how to "continue the renaissance" in Wynwood.

According to the South Florida Business Journal, that includes a mixed-use development with an astounding 11 million square feet. Some spaces would be retained for artists and educational programs but would also include residences, a hotel, retail, restaurants, office space, performance areas, and a convention center. So, you know, basically everything. 

City commissioners just approved a new zoning code that would allow some buildings up to 12 stories in height in certain areas of Wynwood, but Mana wants to double that. According to SFBJ, Mana has filed a special area plan and hopes to get an OK for the exceptions. 

The buildings would start off relatively small (but still quite tall for current-day Wynwood) near NW Second Street at eight feet, and then would gradually grow larger the closer they get closer to I-95. The 24-story tower would be right by the Interstate. 

There's also a lot of talk about being pedestrian friendly and incubating the arts and activating the neighborhood, but that's just about what any developer trying to build anywhere in Miami is saying at the moment. 

However, the plan does hope to provide rental apartments that are somewhat affordable for millennials. Mana wants permission to build smaller units between 450 to 700 square feet and rent them out for about $2 a square foot. Which, well, is actually not something most other developers in Miami are thinking about too much at the moment.