More Edgewater Action

The next frontier for residential properties in Miami is among the arts-and-entertainment node just north of Downtwon, Melo Group principal Carlos Melo tells us. Melo Group intends to make the most of it. (And that doesn't just mean going to see Evita at the Arsht Center.)

Recently Carlos (right, with brother and fellow principal Martin Meno) unveiled plans for Melody, a 36-story residential tower at 245 NE 14th St, which will rise on the site of a parking lot next to the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts. (It will be a great place to live if you love ballet or ballet dancers.) The rental development won conditional approval from the Urban Development Review Board last week, and construction is slated to begin next month, for a mid-2015 completion. The company is no stranger to the area: it’s about to complete the for-sale Bay House development in Edgewater.

The area's currently short on living space for those working there, or Brickell Avenue, or elsewhere Downtown, but Carlos says there’s demand among professionals for residences in this kind of urban, walkable place. Walkable it is: the site gets a WalkScore of 88 (Very Walkable) and an even better Ride Score (95, Rider’s Paradise, because of public transit access). (For its Fly Score though, ask a friend... who is a drone.) New residential development in the area will, according to Carlos, attract much-needed restaurants and more retail to the district.