Beetle’s habitat a minor factor as Miami Wilds pact advances

The Miami Wilds project beside Zoo Miami is awaiting signatures of county authorities so developer Miami Wilds LLC can start to build by the end of 2022. The 27.5-acre water park is expected to include a 200-room hotel, 15,000 to 20,000 square feet of retail, and large parking areas.

“The county is expected to execute all of the agreements over the next couple of months pending National Park Service (NPS) review,” said Michael Zimmer, director of marketing & development division of the Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces Department. Once NPS finishes its review and executes the applicable documents, the county would be authorized to execute all the agreements.

If the documents are signed within a short time, the developer would continue to have the opening date set prior to June 2024.

“We’re confident that this is just a timing issue and does not have anything to do with the project not moving forward,” Paul Lambert, the project’s lead coordinator, told Miami Today.

Mr. Zimmer said the county is also in conversations with the National Park Service regarding the release of deed restrictions from two parcels near the Gold Coast Railroad Museum that would be used for overflow parking for the zoo, Gold Coast Railroad, the Miami Military Museum, and Miami Wilds patrons. “This transaction is not impacting the final execution of the agreements,” he said.

In the meantime, the developer continues with the design phase, which has led to the intention of including biometric technology and the use of armbands within the facilities.

“We’ve gone through a whole process of thinking through the next wave, the 2024-2025 revolution in technology for attractions in water parks,” Mr. Lambert said.

The intention, Mr. Lambert said, is to provide a much more enhanced visitor experience, and the group is also considering video elements to engage people. “This is going to be absolutely the next generation and state of the art,” he said.

The project cost would be over $100 million, but the developer continues to study it, as the integration of technology would increase the final cost.

A small portion of the parking area to be used during peak season in the waterpark development is currently being considered by the US Fish and Wildlife Service to be designated as critical habitat for the Miami tiger beetle.

Although it would not significantly affect the project, Miami Wilds LLC is planning to deliver a letter drafted by a biologist detailing why those areas should not be included. The developer claims these areas do not meet the definition of potential habitat based upon current regulations, something the company would support by research and biological surveys.

“We don’t see it impacting the project nearly at all” most of year, Mr. Lambert said. “The impacts would be on maybe 20 days a year, but those 20 days are important days, and we want to be able to accommodate guests.”

Zoo Miami, right next to the waterpark, expressed the same concerns over the designation of the area at a Dec. 2 meeting with the Fish and Wildlife Service.

“Zoo Miami supports designate areas becoming a critical habitat for Miami tiger beetle. However, we do wish to convey that the proposed critical habitat includes multiple areas of developed Zoo Miami land that has roadways, pathways, pavement buildings, and other structures but lack physical and biological features necessary for the Miami tiger beetle,” said Will Elgar, director of Zoo Miami and speaker on behalf of Miami-Dade County.

Mr. Lambert told Miami Today that Miami Wilds and Zoo Miami have not coordinated efforts to express their concerns over the designation of the area, but said the worries Zoo Miami has are significantly broader as they cover a bigger portion of their land.

A memorandum from former Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez details that the initial 40-year term of the lease is estimated to bring the county $37.3 million from the water park, $8.4 million from the retail development area, $13.8 million from a family hotel, and $61.2 million from Zoo Miami visitor parking, for a total revenue of $120.7 million.

Miami Wilds is to be linked to Zoo Miami and the Gold Coast Railroad and Miami Military museums by a walkable learning connector, according to the development website.

The project is expected to create about 304 jobs for area residents when it opens and 403 jobs when fully operational. Average salaries are to exceed $35,000 per year, according to the website.

“We are committed to what is going to be the most significant [and] largest water park south of Orlando,” Mr. Lambert said, “and we’re very much on track to deliver that, which is going to have some of the some of the greatest, most exciting rides and slides, wave pool, and rapid and lazy rivers.”