Plans call for a natural, passive public park with sustainability and resiliency features including a large central lake which will act as a neighborhood watershed in large storm events designed to improve water quality before being discharged into Indian Creek. Barry Miller of Savino & Miller Design Studio said he hoped the park would serve as a “resiliency model for neighborhood planning on the Beach.”
The park is located in the Central Bayshore neighborhood and is surrounded by single family and multi-family residences, Miami Beach Senior High School and the Hebrew Academy, the City of Miami Beach Public Works Yards, and the Scott Rakow Youth Center.
This is the second DRB approval… the first was in September 2017 but the City did not obtain the necessary permits within 18 months due to the lengthy approval process required by the Miami-Dade County Division of Environmental Resources Management (DERM). Following an environmental assessment in which chemical contaminants from pesticides and fertilizers were found as a result of the site’s historic use as a golf course, DERM made recommendations for containing the area in the short-term. The environmental agency also needed to approve remediation efforts for the long-term which include using the soil excavated from the lake area as a “blanket” to cap contaminated soil.
Also included in the plans for the park: open playing fields, an amphitheater terrace down to the lake, six tennis courts and tennis facility, a dog park, pathways, an ADA children’s playground, vita course, butterfly garden, and parking for approximately 90 cars.
The park is being funded through the General Obligation Bonds approved by voters in November 2018. According to the GO Bond project dashboard, the park is expected to be completed by the end of 2022. It is slated to cost $15.7 million.
Completion of the park was part of City Manager Jimmy Morales’ employment agreement finalized in March last year. Among his performance goals was finishing the community park within four years.
Details of the plan and presentation before the DRB can be found here.
Renderings: Savino & Miller Design Studio
