Two proposals for downtown Miami towers are poised to transform a two-block stretch along Southeast Second Avenue north of the Miami River.

One plan calls for an 82-story tower in place of the Courtyard Marriott, and another for three towers, including possibly a hotel and micro-apartments, on the site of the James L. Knight Center and the Hyatt Regency, according to records submitted and a presentation given to the city.

Miami Convention Hotel Corp. wants to demolish the Marriott hotel at 200 SE Second Ave. and build an 898-foot hotel and residential high-rise with 9,245 square feet of retail, according to an application submitted to the city.

The project, aptly named 2nd and 2nd for its location is the southwest corner of Southeast Second Street and Second Avenue, could have 637 residential units, 266 hotel rooms and 553 parking spaces, according to the proposal.

Separately, a plan to redevelop the site of the riverfront Hyatt Regency Miami and the James L. Knight Center at 400 SE Second Ave. is also in play.

Hyatt and the city have been in discussions for a couple of years, but the Miami City Commission in July 2017 stopped short of sending the plan to voters in a November referendum.

The city owns the 4-acre property under the hotel and convention center. Hyatt Equities LLC owns the hotel building and leases the land where its hotel stands, according to a draft, unsigned April 3 memo between Hyatt and the city.

The tentative plan calls for Hyatt to expand its existing lease to include the rest of the property, extend its lease for 99 years, demolish the hotel and Knight Center, and redevelop the entire property.

The project would produce three towers including an 800-room Hyatt hotel and 450 to 500 micro-apartments, plus more public open space for pedestrian access to the site and the river, according to a presentation Hyatt representatives gave to the city Waterfront Advisory Board on April 10.

The city-owned and privately managed Knight Center has averaged the city less than $40,000 annually in income, but the site redevelopment could bring in more revenue, Daniel Rotenberg, the city's director of the Department of Real Estate Asset Management, told the board. Meeting space would be in the new hotel.

“We are going to step back because the value and the income we get from it is pretty de minimis. This way by removing that entire James L. Knight Center, we open up a lot of land for development,” Rotenberg said.

Hyatt would pay the city rent starting at $500,000 annually and escalating to either $2 million annually or a percentage of revenue, whichever is higher, according to the memo.

The site plan is preliminary as Hyatt and the city are working to come up with something that aligns with their visions. CBRE Inc. has been hired to help with the development plan.

Hyatt is to seek development partners andsubmit a master plan within a year after the memo is signed.

TALLER, BIGGER

Both proposals could lead to taller, denser downtown development.

The proposed 82-story tower would be much bigger than surrounding buildings. Not only would it be taller than the existing 14-story Marriott, which has 208 rooms and 25 suites, but it also would be taller than the adjacent landmark 47-story Miami Tower.

The proposed 800 rooms for the new Hyatt would make it bigger than the existing 615-room Hyatt Regency as well as bigger than the 313-room JW Marriott Marquis Miami and the 411-room boutique Kimpton EPIC Hotel east of the Hyatt.

The Hyatt property proposal would need approval from city voters in a referendum and two City Commission votes.

The 2nd and 2nd hotel-residences project is coming up for discussion Wednesday at the Urban Development Review Board.