State-of-the-Art Hospital Planned for Palmetto Bay

If the Village of Palmetto Bay and award-winning South Florida developer Luxcom can agree upon the details, a new hospital will be built upon the last large undeveloped bayfront property in Miami-Dade County. The 71-acre parcel located at S.W. 67th Avenue and S.W. 152nd Street, just south of the community of Deering Bay, was purchased by Coral Gables-based commercial and residential developers Luxcom in December of 2018.

According to Luxcom CEO Oscar Barbara, the company plans to develop a world-class hospital offering 21st Century technology on a resort campus. The first phase will consist of medical campus with approximately 200 beds, surgical and rehabilitation areas within the main six-story building. There will also be an adjacent emergency center, Heli Pad, two medical arts buildings and plenty of convenient parking.

“We have analyzed a variety of institutional uses on the property including a hospital and cemetery use and given that the Village of Palmetto Bay has decided to disregard its own expert’s recommendation that the property be zoned for 2.5 homes per acre, we are moving forward with a premier hospital development,” said Barbara.

“Miami-Dade County is growing at a rate of 36,000 people annually and there is a pressing need for medical services. This new hospital will help address that need by serving the citizens of Palmetto Bay and the surrounding areas. The well-being of patients, visitors and staff will be our objective,” he added.

According to Barbara, patients and their families will enjoy beautiful views of Biscayne Bay and flowering trees on a campus complete with wellness trails and tranquil natural areas for meditation, rehabilitation and exercise.

Luxcom offers more than 30 years of experience in developing properties throughout South Florida and has received more than 400 awards for its commercial and residential projects.


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52 COMMENTS

  1. I am not a resident of Palmetto Bay but of Cutler Bay. Surely, someone must realize higher up that enough is enough of over building in this area?! I would propose a better location for a hospital would be in the West Redlands. There is plenty of space there and the need is real as it is quite far from any hospital.

  2. Oscar Barbara is young. Eventually, as with Lennar, he’ll understand the harm he has done to the world for his own personal greed. This insight usually comes with the inevitable personal trauma that natural mortality brings. None are immune from sickness and death. In time He’ll realize that he harmed thousands of people with the garbage and filth and lies he brings and builds. Then he will donate 100s of millions to “real” hospitals. Funny. It happens over and over and over and they don’t see it, until it’s too late.

    We are on to you buddy. Your life will be misery and empty, no matter the pleasure and luxury, until you rectify the suffering you’ve caused. Good luck.

  3. Q; If this land is so “toxic”, how can you even think to build single family homes?
    Q; Will the property involved be decontaminated in some way before ANY developing is done? From the jist of all the previous comments, I haven’t heard anyone proposing a land clean-up and toxicity levels checked before developers/PB does anything here.

  4. I was at this weeks meeting but had to watch on a TV monitor outside the building with about twenty others bc the chamber and inside lobby etc were full. It’s clear Village residents care are not falling for Barbara’s grandstanding hospital and suit tactics. He seems to be facing an army of educated, vested residents and numerous organized civic groups with legal resources. Maybe he should stop bullying the Village and residents and stick with what he does best. Build his 58 or 59 single-family 3-5 million dollar ocean access luxury estates, make a lot of money and move on.

  5. The zoning was already long in process when Oscar Barbara downloaded his “hospital plan” software and his self-proclaimed “heli-pad” and “plenty of parking” 11th hour “ploy”.

    Unless Barbara was the only one unware of the E-1 zoning already long existing on the property and long in process to align the interim portion. This has been going on for three years with hearings and votes under Mayor Flinn and Mayor Cunningham. It’s pretty simple and any lawyer who’s read his 10 page complaint ploy doesn’t give that much credence either.

    This is all about one thing; Barbara attempting to bully the Village into higher density negotiation and circumvent E-1 and the legitimate City and State process.

    With the severely deteriorating state of traffic, congestion and stress on family life in Palmetto Bay — no elected council member is now going to fall for Oscar Barbara’s bullying ploy — resulting in worse traffic and adverse quality-of-life for everyone else.

  6. To correct my above comment, the zoning on the property at the time Luxcom submitted their application for a hospital was “institutional” which permits hospitals and cemeteries. Consequently at the recent Zoning Hearing, Vice Mayor DuBois suggested the motivation may be for Luxcom to file a Bert Harris suit against the Village. This is where a property owner loses value from a downgrade of the zoning. We will see how this plays out.

  7. The conclusion from the transmittal March 4 Zoning Hearing to April 22 is complete and the Village and State process should be certified within 60 days. With the countless number of Village of Palmetto Bay public meetings since 2017 on planning/zoning/legal/traffic of the now former FPL property complete, the analysis and recommendations were done and the Village of Palmetto Bay Council voted 5-0 in favor of maintaining the EDR and E-1 Zoning on the balance of the property. Under Mayor Gene Flinn and under Mayor Karyn Cunningham, the last 3 Zoning Hearings have included approximately 900 residents in attendance and the results from Jan 2018 (Flinn) to present have been:

    5-0
    5-0
    4-0
    4-0
    5-0
    5-0
    5-0
    ——
    Local Planning Agency: 5-0
    EDR: 5-0
    E-1: 5-0

  8. Illness prevents us from attending the zoning hearing tonight however, for many years we have believed that FPL was polluting the soil on the property in question. An environmental study will be necessary before anything can be built there. This hospital idea is just a ploy to frighten the neighbors. They have no intention of building a hospital.
    That is my belief.

  9. Great discussion, I just wonder why the City of Parks, Palmetto Bay did not at a 50% discount off original target sales price buy this parcel or issue municipal bonds for investors to support it. This would have been an incredible addition to enhance the quality of life to what i still consider to be a wonderful community to live in.

    The reality is that the projected 3 to 5 million dollar acre estate homes is not sustainable and thus the math does not work to satisfy the desired profit margins. I would welcome the cemetery, the corpses wont mind the arsenic, burials are generally not held during peak drive time and hardly anybody visits them anyways so traffic will not be an issue.

    Or here’s an idea that may make financial sense for the developer, mitigate traffic and provide employment, learn from our neighbors to the south in Old Cutler Bay and build a retirement village, single story with a fine marina for their benefit and enjoyment. many of us aging boaters may find this to be an awesome investment and way to spend our later and last years in life.

    Its time for Palmetto Bay’s new Mayor, Ms. Karyn Cunningham, for your strong leadership to shine, rise up and show your constituents why they voted for you, tough job, but somebody’s got to do it!

  10. Q: Another eye wall target for a Hurricane Andrew like storm? Remember what Andrew did to the old Burger King HQ and FPL’s Turkey Point?

  11. Another example of Palmetto Bay elected officials not caring about the community. Enough of the ego centered power grabbers, masters of nothing except our residential misery in a community that used to be livable, alas no more.

  12. No, No, No!!!!!1
    This should not be allowed to go through!!!We need to clean up the arsenic waste before we build anywhere. The greed and corruption of developers is unacceptable to those of use who live in east Kendall. Let’s think of the health and well beings of the citizens living in this area and not of the dollars to be made bringing more people to an already crowded neighborhood. This is wrong, totally corrupt, and clearly immoral. Palmetto Bay leaders should take arms and fight like hell to keep this from happening. Who is behind this other than the developers who want to exploit the land and sell out the homeowners who already live here.

  13. Laughable.
    Builders don’t just build hospitals and say “here it is, now who wants it”
    Particularly one stupid enough to buy a potential superfund site

    Federal deemed status
    In order to participate in and receive federal payment from Medicare or Medicaid programs, a health care organization must meet the government requirements for program participation, including a certification of compliance with the health and safety requirements called Conditions of Participation (CoPs) or Conditions for Coverage (CfCs), which are set forth in federal regulations. The certification is achieved based on either a survey conducted by a state agency on behalf of the federal government, such as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), or by a national accrediting organization, such as The Joint Commission, that has been recognized by CMS (through a process called “deeming”) as having standards and a survey process that meet or exceed Medicare’s requirements. Health care organizations that achieve accreditation through a Joint Commission “deemed status” survey are determined to meet or exceed Medicare and Medicaid requirements.

  14. As a resident just a mile down Old Cutler Road near 168 St, this is the most ridiculously absurd idea I’ve heard over the last 30 years in Palmetto Bay.

    I’m willing to bet not one elected official will now somehow sellout at the 11th hour and bow to Barbara’s grandstanding ploy and frivolous suit, and go against an Army of thousands of residents in our bedroom community who are already being overburdened with failing traffic and gridlock in the Old Cutler area.

    What a joke. E-1 will proceed, see you MONDAY at the Zoning Hearing!

  15. i would guess that if this came up for a vote to residents of PB, it would not pass. The developer is trying to maximize the return on the purchase of the property. Will be interesting to see how this proceeds.

  16. A complete puff piece. Basically a cut and paste of the press release. No discussion of opposing opinion. No history of the property to provide context. Did the Pinecrest Tribune take this as advertising or are they seriously trying to pass this off as journalism? Perfect for litter box liner.

  17. Wow, “Jerry Johnson” you must be in Oscar Barbara’s family or maybe you’re just misinformed because you haven’t been part of the process and to all of the Village of Palmetto Bay-FPL property meetings and zoning hearings over the last three years.

    Yes E-1 single-family acre estates zoning is long existing on a sizable portion of the property and along with it 48 interim acres. It is also surrounded in the Village of Palmetto Bay by E-1 zoning. The zoning process with the public started years ago and again in January 2018 and again in March 2019. This has been vetted legally by many land use planners and legal council and voted on multiple times, and every time has passed unanimously each time for well informed and valid reasoning.

    Other than Oscar Barbara grandstanding and bullying the Village of Palmetto Bay and its residents with an 11th hour “hospital ploy” and a frivolous suit — Nothing has changed. Absolutely nothing.

    Nor will anything change on Monday and E-1 zoning will surely remain.

  18. In reading all the above comments, feel obligated to point out factual errors as follows:
    – one writer states ‘The E-1 single family one acre zoning is already on the property” This is incorrect as when the Village attempted to change the zoning from “industrial” to “Interim” to Estate, it was pointed out the Village did not adequately and legally serve notice. Consequently the zoning on the property (possibly?) remains “industrial” and a “Resort Hospital” use is proper (and that sure beats another industrial use which is cemetery!
    – another comment states “The Village of Palmetto Bay is on solid legal standing” This may also be incorrect as the property’s zoning may very well still be ‘industrial”. Note LuxCom has retained Holland & Knight, a firm that has successfully represented several of the apartment developers in the poorly thought out and mis-guided Downtown Urban Village (which solicited developers to build 5,661 apartment units plus 1,500,000 sq. ft. commercial in less than a one square mile area, all while knowing there would be no mass transit or traffic relief. Five apartment projects were approved before the past Council realized their folly and passed a moratorium.
    – and oh yeah, most folks that complains about the horrendous traffic within the Village were complicit in influencing past and present Council members and the current District 8 Commissioner to nix the County’s recommendation to extend the fully funded 87th Avenue in order to uncork the bottleneck. Then these same folks approved/spent/allocated $5,500,000.00 for useless and ineffective ‘traffic calming” and meanwhile the traffic is getting worse on a daily basis. To compound this folly, the County has stated they will up-zone areas along and adjacent to the Busway with the intent of increasing building heights and densities, similar to what’s happening along the Metrorail corridor from Coconut Grove to Dadeland. The challenge is we will NOT have any viable, easily accessible, reliable, efficient mass transit relief for a generation or longer.
    – so because the Village has been out maneuvered and out lawyered, we will either be getting sued (remember the $1,000,000.00 Palmer Trinity settlement?) or getting a “Resort Hospital”, perhaps a mental health facility to nurse our broken hearts from the broken promises?

  19. What they have done is set up a claim against Palmetto Bay under the Bert J. Harris Act. Once the city changes the zoning to E-1, which contrary to some assertions, has not been done properly hence Monday’s hearing, the property owner may claim monetary damages against the city provided they can prove damages as a result of the zoning change. No doubt there are experts that can and will claim the Institutional zoning designation is more valuable than the E1 zoning. If successful, the developer could end up building the E1 project with taxpayer funds. Its a win win for the developer should they prevail.

  20. Rise up Palmetto Bay, Cutler Bay, Pinecrest, and South Gables…this affects everyone south of 152st and all of us North of 152 trying to commute North on Old Cutler, SW 77th, SW 67th, SW 72nd etc… 400-600 homes, 2 cars each home, do the math. Anyone who has been on SW 67th in between 152 and old cutler around 8am with three schools and morning commute know what a mission it is already. Add another 800- 1200 cars and where do all those cars drive thru on their way north? Pinecrest and South Gables. A hospital will be worse. Our local hospitals already meet demand and more are already being built as we speak. We need to rise up and stand firm on 1 acre density. This will affect our property values and quality of life. Helicopters and sirens all day long? No thank you. 1200 extra cars? No thank you.

  21. This is ridiculous! We have plenty of hospitals in Miami already. This proposed development will kill the tranquility of our neighborhood.I vote NO!

  22. Absolutely disgusting!!! This developer will stop at nothing to try and get what he wants…bullying, extortion, blackmail….you’re not going to give me as many homes I want and screw the entire community….so look what I’m going to do instead. He has no intention of building a hospital…he’s just trying to scare the council into giving him what he wants. Shame on you

  23. I have not heard one positive thing about this project except someone is going to get very wealthy at the expense of all us residents. Its ridiculous. This area needs more bayfront parks. Not hospitals.

  24. I heard it’s all just a big scare. They really want to build homes. They should just stop all this building period! They are making Miami a horrible place to live with all the people and traffic! It’s like we have no say and we just have to take it! Of course the population is growing! If you build it, they will come! Stop trying to get rich and start building somewhere else so people start going somewhere else! Stop the insanity!

  25. Just what we don’t need, another high priced medical facility in South Florida owned by corporations that treat people like a commodity. It won’t be built, hospitals are dying.
    Maybe it’s spite on the part of the developer.
    Sounds like he’s upset Palmetto Bay didn’t go for 2.5 houses an acre. That would have been rediculous.
    THANK YOU Palmetto Bay

  26. Disgusting idea!! I am VERY concerned about more construction, more toxins, more STRESS, more traffic related to more illnesses, fewer qualified doctors of choice to fill the need for the community who doesn’t mind traveling to S. Miami, Baptist or Mercy hospitals. Developers need to cool their heels and allow our wildlife to again thrive!

  27. Toxic land, the threat of the almost inevitable sea level rise, and well thought out one residential one acre estate zoning should kill this ill conceived hospital idea. It’s now up to the government of Palmetto Bay to stand up to the developer and kill this project early in the game.

  28. Luxcom, my clients would be interested in leasing some beds for a residential sober/treatment center. They strive to provide a safe detox facility for both private and court ordered patients.

  29. I wonder how all the deep drilling they had to do to install all the new cement power poles on that property are not considered “wells”. Think about how deep the foundation must be on those poles. I personally witnessed the drills coming up dripping wet. That aside, the flood of traffic, helicopter noise, ambulances arriving (which they would have to do through one of two school zones), would send property values south. 1-acre homes is the only reasonable use. Or a park.

  30. Once again corporate greed wins and the citizens of Palmetto Bay lose…toxic poisons in the air and already horrendous traffic made worse. Signed a resident of Palmetto Bay who has no faith in the elected officials of the comminity.

  31. Not here, please! It needs to be in a more central location! Over by the Bay is out of the way except for commuters coming down Old Cutler Bay –Imagine trying to get to the ER during rush hour on a narrow road- residential, too!

  32. Several Village of Palmetto Bay residents have already heard developer David Singer spout the developer “hospital ploy” idea, and based on his relationship with Oscar Barbara and Barbara’s friend and next door neighbor Wayne Rosen, the developer think tank ploy is no surprise.

    Problem is Barbara’s grandstanding will never leverage out the established E-1 single-family one acre estates zoning already on the property and in the surrounding Village of Palmetto Bay area. Interesting how these fundamental material facts were completely OMITTED from the article. Why??

    Other legal experts also question whether his “hospital ploy” would even clear an enormous amount of regulatory bodies and regulations. And too many other numerous reasons to even mention here as to why the odds are stacked against him. Plus, good luck contending with the many issues nearby Baptist, UM, S. Miami, and Jackson would have. Talk about up against.

    As Barbara told everyone when he bought the property at half price; he’ll be “very successful financially working with the E1 Zoning” and building 3-5 million dollar luxury one acre estates featuring no bridges to the bay and superb ocean access.

    That’s exact right. And it’ll be a beautiful oasis of luxury single family acre estate homes

  33. This piece is filled with so many inaccuracies and misrepresentations.
    But Barbara was most misleading about the Village of Palmetto Bay disregarding a brief opinion that Ed Silva solicited about zoning use. The material facts just do not support what he claimed. At all.

    The Village of Palmetto Bay actually followed ever legal measure to support its E-1 single-family one acre estate zoning.
    The E-1 single-family one acre estate zoning is already on the property. In addition, it legally followed what’s comparable in the surrounding Village of Palmetto Bay Offical Zoning Map (E-1 single-family one acre estates). In addition, the Village followed the advice of legal council. In addition, it was all in line with the unanimous and universal recommendation and competent testimony of it’s residents and the Village Council. When 300 people attended the January 2018 Zoning Hearing and were asked if anyone supported anything other than E-1 single-family one acre estate zoning already existing on the property and in the surrounding Village area — not one person voted for ANY other option that would bring more traffic to an already overburdened Old Cutler area where quality of life has substantially deteriorated.

    See you in court Oscar Barbara because the Village of Palmetto Bay is on solid legal standing, and went through painstaking measures to do everything by the book in unanimous support of the existing E1 single-family one acre estates zoning already on the property.

  34. I think the concept is great, hopefully a little less height (4 stories max), the design is not really anything to shout about. I’ve been saying for over a year that commercial is better than residential for this parcel because traffic would be more sporadic, thereby hurting local residents less. I do find it strange that there will be two hospitals on the same main Street (152 St) roughly 50 blocks away from each other ??‍♂️

  35. Someone has to look at the original covenants with this land. There are restrictions of use if no longer used as a utility.

  36. There is a zoning meeting mon. April 22 changing this property from institutional to single estate use. What did I miss?

  37. Just to be clear, there is not much factual integrity to this this article, as due diligence over the past several years in the Village of Palmetto Bay will tell you something far different than what is inaccurately represented here. Also curious as to how many Old Cutler area families have you spoken with who suffer daily from the burdens of traffic and gridlock taking children to school and commuting to and from work?

    This is a very misleading advertising piece for Oscar Barbara. His disingenuous “hospital ploy” in hopes to GET MORE DENSITY/TRAFFIC into the surrounding Old Cutler single-family bedroom communities is apparent to all. Maybe that’s why Barbara was actually advised by his legal council not to pull this hospital stunt, but he decided otherwise. Unfortunately it will cost him in the long run because anything other than E-1 single family homes will never happen.

  38. Palmetto Bay, remember where you came from. This will continue expanding the every growing population, meet the needs of the communicate, and continue offering jobs to be near by communicators. For those concerned for the water mammals, we should consider making them pay rent for the small area of water front property off of Biscayne Bay. Build, continue growing an economic area which was poorly developed only a few years ago. Continue expanding the future for those in the healthcare sector and for those willing to work in other area’s. Build it and they will come!

  39. Right by the Bay as the sea level rises by up to 6 feet or more by 2100.
    What a way to develop…

  40. This hospital concept (if it’s for the entire site) is going to make for an extremely difficult decision by the Village of Palmetto Bay Council and will shine a spotlight on the pressing need to complete the traffic grid (which past and present Village Councils and the District 8 Commissioner shot down).

  41. This hospital will be helpful to treat the nearby residents, school children, and builders exposed to arsenic poisoning, when they begin disturbing this land – which used to be an oil & gas power plant that leeched these toxins into the soil and groundwater for 75 years.

    Testing in 2018 still revealed extreme unmitigated arsenic levels in the groundwater. With 50% of the land bordering Biscayne Bay, I would guess that the neighboring marine life will suffer too. Maybe they should add a Sea World marine mammal wing into their hospital as well to treat the sickened dolphins and manatees in the area from their development activities.

    Actually the cemetery may be a better idea, because at least the deceased won’t mind the toxins.

    It should be noted that Luxcom’s agents have been threatening the Palmetto Bay property neighbors, and the municipality since acquiring this toxic site, with certified scare letters, and community nuisance projects if they don’t meet their demands for increased density. This seems absurd, because Luxcom knew very well from past proposals, that Palmetto Bay will not even consider anything more than 1 acre estate density on the site, and that is if the traffic and environmental issues can even be be resolved. Luxcom received the property from FPL at half the price of the last suitor, and are just being obnoxious and greedy – imho.

  42. There is a lovely drawing of a lake on the property which is forbidden by DERM. They aren’t allowed to drill wells. Not even for irrigation.

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