Infrastructure improvements are taking place all over Miami Beach in a bid to continually upgrade and improve the city for residents and visitors alike. It is a construction geek’s dream, dozens of ongoing projects dotting the Miami Beach landscape and bringing new life to streets, parks, main thoroughfares, tennis courts, piers, parking garages, bridges and tunnels.
Over the past, and next few months, these are just a few of the improvement projects that have been completed or are underway in the city:
The City of Miami Beach commission has approved a $4.9 million construction project with the Weitz Company to build a pier at South Pointe Park, the southernmost park in Miami Beach, with views of Fisher Island and an outpost of famous steak eatery, Smith & Wollensky. Construction will begin in January 2013 and will take one year.
A shared bicycle and pedestrian path is under construction and will run adjacent to the Collins Canal along Dade Boulevard from the Venetian Causeway to the Beachwalk at 21st St. and Collins Avenue. The path will link ritzy Venetian Causeway, home to the Standard Hotel and million dollar homes, to the tourist heavy, walk-friendly Collins Avenue where visitors can find the W and Setai hotels, the Bass Museum and beautiful Collins Park. Enhanced landscaping will include a concrete jersey-style barrier wall covered in vines, which will soften and ‘green’ the appearance of the barrier.
Miami Beach has opened its first robotic parking garage at 1826 Collins Avenue. The robotic garage is one of the first in the country. Cars disappear and reappear from its automated metal doors in the first robotic garage in Southeast Florida. A three level storefront will provide retail space.
The Lincoln Lane North Project, a bid to develop two or three city-owned parking lots to the north of world-famous Lincoln Road, will soon be in the hands of developers as the city moves ahead with plans to build out the street. Lincoln Road can benefit from the additional lots as the pedestrian-only thoroughfare is the new home of H&M, Forever 21 and popular restaurants including Shake Shack, Serendipity and 5 Napkin Grill among many other retailers and eateries.
Two firms are currently competing to win a contract for a one billion dollar redevelopment of the Miami Beach Convention Center and surrounding area. The new site will include condos, shops, parks, office towers and restaurants on 52 acres in the heart of South Beach. The Convention Center already hosts the international Art Basel Miami Beach fair but expects even more high-profile events after the redevelopment.
Plus these additional improvements projects are underway or have been recently completed:
Last November the City completed a renovation of the North Beach Bandshell Facility. The scope included structural repairs, expansion of the backstage facilities, acoustical upgrades, electrical and lighting improvements, and stage extension. An ideal venue for cultural and communal events, the Bandshell is now home to the city’s Food Truck Festival, movie nights, and community fairs. Future plans for the Bandshell include landscape and lighting upgrades, as well as walkway improvements.
South Courts at Flamingo Park Holtz Tennis Center: This project includes the reconstruction of 17 clay courts, a new tennis center and new lighting and drainage. The estimated completion date is summer 2013.
Zaha Hadid Garage: This world-renowned architect has agreed to join her other starchitect colleagues in designing and building a parking garage for Miami Beach.
Kayak Launch at Pine Tree Park: Construction is underway of a kayak launching area and associated shoreline improvements with a walkway for the public park. The work consists of specialized marine construction including dredging and earthworks to create a sloped kayak launch area.
Sunset Harbor Garage: Recently built parking garage in the booming Sunset Harbor neighborhood with hip retailers and restaurants inhabiting its lower spaces.
