Regatta Park meeting
On Wednesday night, there was a meeting at City Hall regarding Regatta Park, which will take over the space where the former Expo Center was. It will be a large green lawn on the bayfront, making one large string of parks starting at Kennedy Park and going to Peacock Park.
They are still in the preliminary stages and not much was discussed at the meeting other than introducing the concept to the public. Some are concerned about the plans or lack of plans and I do find it interesting that after years of meetings and concepts, the plan is not concrete but there will be changes. As one person put it, "the plan is 6 years old."
Either way, it's a park, not really much to say about it, but my friend Harry said this:
"On Wednesday, January 29, I attended the Regatta Park meeting at Miami City Hall. The first bad omen was the announcement that the water was off in the building and that Port-A-Potty’s where soon to arrivel that a water main had been damaged due to the demolition of the Dinner Key Expo Center nearby. The second omen was about the parks financial situation. Cesar Garcia-Pons, Deputy Director of Department of Planning and Zoning said the estimates for constructing the Regatta Park would be in the area of $26 million for phase one and so far they only had about $2 million. And I doubt that the build-out estimate includes the possibility that toxic soil may be there and its costly clean-up. Let’s not forget that Dinner Key was used as a naval base since WWI and Pan Am Terminal hangers since the 1930s. I like parks as much as anyone and admire communities with waterfront vistas, but I don’t understand the logic in demolishing a perfectly useful film studio when we did not have the budget to build the projected park in the first place.
For over seven years the Expo Center continued to generated revenues for the City of Miami, was an economic engine for the Grove and Miami, employed hundreds in the film industry and peripheral businesses. It also was the best spokesman for the Greater Miami Convention and Visitor's Bureau by creating massive positive good Will for our community with PR throughout the world. Will we once again seek much needed funds by negotiating an exclusive lease with a private school for the use of a portion of our public park? Will we be as desperate to finish the park as was MAM and sell the naming rights to a deep pocketed individual that wishes to purchase some respectability? Would it not have been wiser to postpone the demolition of that accidental yet most successful film studio until all the monies needed for a world-class waterfront Regatta Park had been raised? At the very least let’s hope Regatta Park will not include a waterfront fenced in dog area or better yet, any dog area at all."
Harry Emilio Gottlieb
Coconut Grove, FL
They are still in the preliminary stages and not much was discussed at the meeting other than introducing the concept to the public. Some are concerned about the plans or lack of plans and I do find it interesting that after years of meetings and concepts, the plan is not concrete but there will be changes. As one person put it, "the plan is 6 years old."
Either way, it's a park, not really much to say about it, but my friend Harry said this:
"On Wednesday, January 29, I attended the Regatta Park meeting at Miami City Hall. The first bad omen was the announcement that the water was off in the building and that Port-A-Potty’s where soon to arrivel that a water main had been damaged due to the demolition of the Dinner Key Expo Center nearby. The second omen was about the parks financial situation. Cesar Garcia-Pons, Deputy Director of Department of Planning and Zoning said the estimates for constructing the Regatta Park would be in the area of $26 million for phase one and so far they only had about $2 million. And I doubt that the build-out estimate includes the possibility that toxic soil may be there and its costly clean-up. Let’s not forget that Dinner Key was used as a naval base since WWI and Pan Am Terminal hangers since the 1930s. I like parks as much as anyone and admire communities with waterfront vistas, but I don’t understand the logic in demolishing a perfectly useful film studio when we did not have the budget to build the projected park in the first place.
For over seven years the Expo Center continued to generated revenues for the City of Miami, was an economic engine for the Grove and Miami, employed hundreds in the film industry and peripheral businesses. It also was the best spokesman for the Greater Miami Convention and Visitor's Bureau by creating massive positive good Will for our community with PR throughout the world. Will we once again seek much needed funds by negotiating an exclusive lease with a private school for the use of a portion of our public park? Will we be as desperate to finish the park as was MAM and sell the naming rights to a deep pocketed individual that wishes to purchase some respectability? Would it not have been wiser to postpone the demolition of that accidental yet most successful film studio until all the monies needed for a world-class waterfront Regatta Park had been raised? At the very least let’s hope Regatta Park will not include a waterfront fenced in dog area or better yet, any dog area at all."
Harry Emilio Gottlieb
Coconut Grove, FL
posted by Tom Falco at 12:42 PM
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11 Comments:
I thought you would "edit" or not publish derogatory and other such comments, but it obviously doesn't apply to your "friend Harry," who expresses a derogatory opinion about Mr. Perez ("purchase some respectability"). The Expo Center had turned into an eyesore. What is not clear is (1) why the cost of Regatta Park is $26M, and (2) why they only have $2M in the budget.
Sadly, I am not surprised to read any of this. With no money available, how do we know that this land will even remain in the public domain?
Someone is going to profit from this shortsightedness and it isn't going to be the citizens of CG or Miami.9a 63698828
This is going to be good. Any bets on how long the lot will sit vacant?
Please not more dog parks
As anyone noticed how big the new dock master building is going to be. At its current rate it will be an eyesore in a park. it should have been the same hight as the old one so that it would blend into the park. Now we will have a park and a big dock master building blocking the so called large green lawn on the bayfront. How can you have plans for a new building start building and have no solid IDEA of what the park will look like.
If your only objection is the building, take a few seconds and walk N or S & you'll get the view you're hinting for, i.e., a bunch of boats, a bunch of boats & more boats, the barrier islands, more boats or look up and there's the sky. Or take a walk further North and those parks will allow an unobstructed view of the Bay & Key Biscayne & again the sky or Miami's skyline - - - - drama queens! There's something for every taste except yours!
@ George M., the name Perez didn't appear in the article, so it was only added by your comment. Way to help out your buddy by giving him a little nudge.
Poor planning and short-sightedness by the City of Miami?? what? I never. Gee, I wonder how long it will be before the condo develop offers up more money to basically buy and do what it wants with that park - as was the Sarnoff plan all along.
Specifically what's wrong with condo's and their owners? The tax collected would benefit all. A pathway is guaranteed in the master plan. We presently have four (4) large parks in the area for all to enjoy. 27th avenue is being expanded to handle traffic to our parks or the condo owners, who all would provide revenue to Grove businesses. No matter which way it goes it will translate into large or small degrees of positives.
The Nearby Republic of Sarnoff strikes again.
How long before Sarnoff proposes a retail strip center for the Expo site? And which of Sarnoff's campaign contributors will get the no-bid contract?
The Grove has turned into a monopoly board for Belen and Columbus alumni.
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