Miami Seaside commissioners approve plan to demolish hostel-turned-homeless shelter – NBC 6 South Florida

Miami Beach commissioners have approved a plan to demolish a hostel that has been serving as a homeless shelter.

With a 6-1 vote at a special meeting Friday, commissioners approved a plan to demolish the Bikini Hostel on West Avenue at 13th Street.

Commissioner David Suarez was the only one who voted against the plan.

The vote came after hours of public hearing and debate, with some neighbors expressing concerns about safety, drugs and quality of life.

Across the street from the hostel, a developer wants the city to permit a 330-foot high condo, which is twice the height currently allowed.

In exchange for the exemption, the developer will buy the hostel and assure the 100-plus homeless are relocated to Miami by September.

Some organizations, including the Miami Coalition to Advance Racial Equity and the Miami-Dade Homeless Trust, aren’t pleased with the plan.

“Today we heard a litany of untruths, the repeated stigmas associated with homelessness and fear mongering fueled by handful of elected officials. The rhetoric has been largely unfounded and unfair. Shameful!” Homeless Trust Chair Ron Book said in a statement. “The Homeless Trust will work, as it always has, to ensure those we serve continue to be treated with dignity and respect, and their road to self-sufficiency is not upended by business decisions out of their control. The Homeless Trust is working to identify new capacity so that we can humanely transition individuals. Keep in mind, when the transition is complete, Miami Beach will still have the second largest concentration of UNSHELTERED homelessness in Miami-Dade. This was the case before the hostel opened its doors and it will continue to be the case when the hostel closes its doors.”