Faced with the prospect of a lengthy appeal by the Village of Pinecrest, the developers of the towering Dadeland Junction project have slashed 75 feet from the height of their proposed 389-foot skyscraper, thereby bringing it down almost to permitted height limits. In addition, they have reduced the number of apartments and the size of the proposed office building.

The Pinecrest Village Council has made it clear, in public meetings and appearances before the County Commission that developers can expect future appeals if variances are granted. We cannot acquiesce to uncontrolled growth, without parks, schools and roads, in the proposed "downtown Kendall" district.

Dadeland Junction is a 1.7 million-square-foot retail/office/apartment project planned for the 7.4 acre Williamson Cadillac site across from Dadeland Mall. The existing zoning already allows an extraordinary — 300 foot — height limit, as an incentive for developers to build in the "Transportation Corridor" next to the Metrorail station. The existing transit zoning also waives setbacks, open space, green space and many other standard requirements in order to intensify "transit related" development.

Pinecrest and the Continental Park neighborhood were shocked when the County Commission approved an additional 89 feet, for a total height of 389 feet, for this project. Despite outraged neighborhood protest, counteracted by the supplications of nearly every lobbyist operating in County Hall, the developer went from a permitted 300 foot height limit to 389 feet, a 30 percent increase.

But Pinecrest said "NO!" The project, which is just west of the Village boundary, is in OUR County, where we live and work. If the Commission wouldn’t stop this, we would. In June, the Village filed a series of appeals, which stopped the project in its tracks.

The revised project, proposed in revised plans submitted by the developer, is still incredibly dense but is only slightly above the existing zoning. The developer has proposed a reduction in the maximum height of the tower to 314.5 feet, within 14 feet of the 300 feet current limit. The amount of office space and the number of apartments also are slightly reduced.