Tremont Towing Wants a Fancy New Parking Garage

A few things for which Tremont Towing is well known: pissing off South Beach drivers, garnering accusations of shady business practices, having tight political connections, and enriching us all with hilariously scripted "windmill roundhouse backflips" on the since-canceled reality show South Beach Tow. 

Some things for which Tremont Towing is not particularly well known: improving the quality of life on the Beach, making people smile, creating beauty in a messed-up world. 

But everyone's favorite South Beach towing company says it wants to do just that, which is why it's asking the city for a variance to build a swanky parking garage in the rapidly growing Sunset Harbour neighborhood. In Tremont's application, a lawyer pitches the garage as "the introduction of a beautiful new building into the neighborhood." 

The company also claims the new garage, which would take the place of its current digs at 1747 Bay Rd., would "directly benefit the public" because it would enclose the company's unsightly tow yard.

"The enclosure of the towing use, by itself, will be a great boon to the area, which is undergoing a transition from an industrial backwater to one of the most livable neighborhoods in the City," the application says. "In sum, the proposed design represents a gigantic leap forward for this site and towing uses in the City."
Envisioned by architecture firm Urban Robot, the design features a street-facing façade with a herringbone-inspired pattern. The garage would have four levels, plus a rooftop parking deck and third-party office and retail space.

The plan includes 30 ground-floor spaces for cars towed by Tremont and 138 spots on the other levels intended for valet parking. 

The variance Tremont has requested is relatively minor — the business asks the city's Design Review Board for just three extra feet in height to accommodate tow trucks getting in and out of the garage.

The proposal will go before the board July 5.