Developers are busy dreaming up ways to fill downtown Miami with even more mega-skyscrapers.
Airplanes taking off and landing at Miami International Airport regularly fly above downtown.
It's someone's job to make sure skyscrapers and airplanes don't become tragic problems for each other, and that someone is the Federal Aviation Administration. In fact, the FAA sent letters to the developers of four planned mega-towers in downtown Miami last month demanding their heights be chopped down, in some cases by more than half.
According to the Daily Business Review, the following are the four planned towers that were sent "Notifications of Potential Hazard":
- The planned 1,049-foot Brickell City Centre high-rise on Brickell Avenue: The FAA wants to chop those plans by more than half to just 473 feet.
- The planned 1,010-foot skyscraper One Bayfront Plaza at 100 S. Biscayne Blvd.:The FAA doesn't want that building to exceed 475 feet.
- The planned 545-foot Met Square at 300 Biscayne Blvd.: The FAA wants that project capped at 465 feet.
- The planned 540-foot Aria on the Bay on North Bay Shore Drive: The FAA would prefer it stay under 468 feet.
Developers, however, can't say they didn't see these push-backs coming. The FAA unveiled potential policy changes to limit the height of buildings near airports across the nation. The proposals are meant to ensure that planes have safe flight paths in case they lose power to one engine during takeoff. That's a relatively rare occurrence, but only one mishap could spell tragedy.
Unsurprisingly, several Miami developers have lobbied the government to reconsider those new policy proposals.
However, the notification is not the final ruling. Developers can still sit down with the FAA to negotiate heights. Three of the affected developers have already begun a process known as "public circularization" to challenge the height restrictions, according to DBR.
It should also be noted the FAA isn't pushing back on all mega-towers in the area. Four days ago, word broke that the FAA had approved the 700-foot Paramount Miami World Center at 1100 Biscayne Blvd.
Follow Miami New Times on Facebook and Twitter @MiamiNewTimes.
