A proposal for an 11-story building under Florida’s Live Local Act in Surfside has caused concern among residents and officials of the small coastal town. The planned Ocean Walk Residences & Hotel would be built on a 0.3-acre site at 250 95th Street, currently home to an 8,000-square-foot post office. Developers involved are an affiliate of Postal Realty Trust, led by Andrew Spodek, and Ocean Walk Surfside LLC.
The design by Plus architecture firm features 33 residential and hotel units, including four-bedroom apartments, efficiencies, one-bedroom units, and hotel rooms with a rooftop deck.
Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett criticized the state law that allows this kind of project: “I think it’s a disaster,” he said. “I think the Florida politicians that decided to destroy the fabric and composition of small towns by this developer-driven initiative is outrageous.”
The Live Local Act enables developers to build larger projects than zoning rules typically allow if at least 40 percent of the units are reserved for households earning up to 120 percent of the area median income. These affordable units must be rented out with income restrictions lasting at least three decades. The law also lets developers bypass public hearings in favor of administrative approvals. The application does not specify how many affordable units will be included.
Residents such as Michael Karukin expressed concerns about increased traffic and infrastructure strain: “the Live Local Act does not give enough weight to the traffic impacts,” he said. He also noted concerns over school crowding and preserving Surfside’s character as a small family town.
“It takes me about 15 minutes to go 1 mile,” said resident Robert Lisman. “Surfside was designed to be a small family town, not like Sunny Isles Beach or Miami Beach.”
Opposition has also focused on underground parking proposed by developers, which Surfside banned in 2024 except on certain sites. However, developers argue that Senate Bill 180 overrides local bans following hurricanes to speed up reconstruction efforts. Their attorney Graham Penn wrote that Surfside’s ban “directly impedes the redevelopment of the property” and called it unenforceable.
Some opponents claim that Live Local only applies to commercial, industrial, or mixed-use zones; they argue this site’s zoning should exclude it from qualifying for such development.
State Representative Fabián Basabe responded that Live Local is not meant as automatic approval for all projects but is intended to address affordable housing while maintaining some local oversight: The law provides cities with “meaningful tools” for review.
Town staff are conducting an initial review of the application before moving into technical analysis stages. Acting Town Manager Mario Diaz stated that legal arguments around Senate Bill 180 have yet to be resolved: these are viewed as positions rather than settled conclusions.
Neighboring Bal Harbour has seen similar controversy over a large-scale project proposed under the same law at Bal Harbour Shops—a plan involving tall buildings, hundreds of units, hotel rooms, retail space—and ongoing litigation between Whitman Family Development and the village government.
While many agree on promoting below-market rentals through incentives like those in Live Local, critics object to its broad application statewide without regard for local circumstances or preferences.
“It would be like putting up a 50-story affordable housing building on Fisher Island,” Burkett said about imposing large-scale projects on exclusive communities. “Would that be a good idea, too?”
