Minus Marine Stadium funding, $60 million park in limbo

Miami has spent more than $700,000 on planning for an expansive flex park on Virginia Key, but it may never be realized if the city commission doesn’t approve final funding for the restoration of Miami Marine Stadium.

That was the reality voiced by city staff at the latest meeting of the Virginia Key Advisory Board.

Pressed by board members about the status of the planned multi-million-dollar restoration of the waterfront stadium, idled since 1992’s Hurricane Andrew, city staff admitted the long-planned flex park plan might change entirely if the stadium is not restored.

And all that after the city already spent more than $20 million to pave over a large swath of land adjacent to the stadium, and build the infrastructure needed, to host the annual Miami International Boat Show, which has since moved elsewhere.

The City of Miami owns much of the island, including the iconic stadium.

The city hired Civitas Inc. several years ago to provide professional urban design, landscape architecture and engineering services, on a phased basis, for the flex park space hugging the historic stadium.

Civitas was charged with creating a waterfront park design to establish flexible public open space to accommodate special events, facilitate active and passive family recreational opportunities, provide enjoyable access to Miami’s waterfront, and accommodate historic elements of the Marine Stadium gateway entrance.

The advisory board had asked for a status report on the plans for the flex park.

David Snow, assistant director of the city’s Planning Department, presented an updated slide show on where things stand with the planned flex park.

Board member Peter Ehrlich acknowledged there was reluctance among some city commissioners to go through with stadium restoration as the project’s cost has grown.

Mr. Ehrlich asked, “If Marine Stadium doesn’t get renovated because of the escalation of costs, or any other reason, does that have any effect on this Civitas plan?”

Mr. Snow answered, “I’m sure it does. What this plan looks like with or without a stadium, that’s a big factor, for sure.”

Board chairman Robert Vernon stayed on that prospect saying, “If indeed the city commission decides not to proceed with the renovation of Marine Stadium, it would obviously impact this entire site dramatically because you’re going to open up a lot more space.”

Mr. Snow agreed.

Mr. Vernon said, “So would that decision be made prior to adopting this (flex plan), or would the adoption of this be contingent on the Marine Stadium moving forward?”

Mr. Snow responded, “I can tell you that the commission is probably most focused on the stadium. That’s kind of like first and foremost. It’s kind of like the linchpin behind all of this. I don’t know if any of this works without the stadium.

“This could be something completely different if the stadium doesn’t go forward. Civitas’ direction was to work around the stadium and think about how it can complement the stadium. So, if it does go that direction, I think we’ll see something completely different. That’s just my opinion,” said Mr. Snow.

After decades of neglect and no progress toward stadium restoration, the city commission in November 2016 approved $45 million bond borrowing for renovation and improvements.

In January 2017 the commission hired R.J. Heisenbottle Architects for architectural and engineering services related to the stadium.

Plans for restoring the stadium were progressing until last year when the city commission hit the brakes as projected costs exceeded $60 million.

The commission demanded a full operations cost analysis to proceed with restoration and reopening the venue for concerts and other events.

That business analysis is yet to be completed, according to city staff.

Civitas first presented a variety of potential uses for the flex park space during a community meeting in September 2018, showcased in separate site plans and renderings.

Ideas ranged from a carved-out swimming cove to a fitness hub, a festival street to a resilient green space and beyond.

Another early idea included adding parking structures on a realigned Arthur Lamb Jr. Road, which is southeast of the stadium site, just off the curved end of the basin.

One site plan presented to the advisory board showed three two-level event spaces along a realigned road, a future nature center and 15,000-square-foot concessions area.

Cost estimates for the proposed phased development of the flex park space ranged from $60 million to more than $100 million.

The flex park plan has been altered since, and has been publicly reviewed at community workshops held by Civitas and city staffers, with outreach to many stakeholders including the Virginia Key Alliance, Friends of Marine Stadium, Dragon Boat Racing Association, Friends of Virginia Key, Dade Heritage Trust, Miami Rowing Club, Sierra Club, and more.

The advisory board asked about current cost estimates to build out the flex park.

Mr. Snow said that in 2020 the cost estimate was around $46 million.

“We know that that has gone up significantly, so we’re probably in the ballpark of … $60 million plus,” he said.

Mr. Snow mentioned how the Civitas flex plan has evolved over the last few years. A major change is the addition of a boat ramp west of the stadium, and the space needed for vehicles and boat trailers.

The boat ramp and parking are reflected in recent site plans.

The advisory board objected to the planned boat ramp but the city commission is moving forward with the project.