What happened to this Miami Beach bridge?
After a two-year delay, real estate developers promise to finally move ahead on a commitment made to residents in exchange for building a massive South Beach project in a publicprivate partnership.
Construction is expected to start during the first half of 2024 on a pedestrian bridge over the foot of the MacArthur Causeway, the main entrance to South Beach, according to David Martinez, the director of the Office of Capital Improvement Projects for the city of Miami Beach. It will take a year to complete.
After presenting the plan in 2018, three development firms agreed in 2019 to build a park and a pedestrian bridge in exchange for permission to build a 48-story condominium called Five Park and retail space on city-owned land at 500 Alton Road.
The development firms — Coconut Grove-based Terra, Edgewater-based Crescent Heights and Buena Vista-based New Valley — built the three-acre, $8 million Canopy Park and just topped off on Five Park in November. Construction was expected to start on the bridge in 2022 and wrap in 2023, but it has yet to get off the ground.
Named Miami Beach Canopy Bridge, French artist Daniel Buren — well known for his candy-striped design installations, such as the Colonnes de Buren/Les Deux Plateaux at the Palis Royal in Paris — signed on to design the span.
“Our plan called for construction of the bridge to begin once Five Park tower was topped off and substantially completed. Now that Five Park’s structure is complete, we have begun foundation work for the northern end of the bridge, with construction of the main bridge structure set to begin this summer,” David Martin, CEO of Terra, said by email.
“Once complete,” he said, “Canopy Bridge will be the gateway to Miami Beach, allowing residents and visitors to connect through much of South Beach by foot or bike — from Lincoln Road to South Pointe Park.”
Terra did not confirm the total construction cost for the bridge, but Miami Beach says the city has contributed $9.6 million to the project.
The immediate next steps include filing paperwork for the bridge plans to the city for final approval and then the Florida Department of Transportation,
which would issue the final permit.
Both city officials and residents expected the project to be further along by now. “The only delays that would happen is if the developer doesn’t continue this process of moving it forward, but there is no reason why it should take this long,” Martinez said.
Resident Fred Margolis blames the delay in part on the city.
“I’m disappointed to see now after a few years that construction hasn’t even started,” he said. “My question is why weren’t these permits applied for long before now? What has been the delay and what has the city done to expedite this?”
Beyond an agreement between the city and the developer to complete the entire project by 2027, Martinez said the city has no other timetable or way to keep the developer on task.
In an effort to ensure progress is made sooner rather than later, Martinez said the city has scheduled biweekly meetings as of last year to get updates on the pedestrian bridge.
For their part, Martinez said the city already has a plan in place for when construction is fully underway. Single-lane closures are expected in each direction of the MacArthur Causeway to ensure safety for drivers. And when a crane is on site to install colored glass panels on the bridge, the highway will shut down during evening hours for several days. Drivers will be expected to enter Miami Beach from the Venetian or Julia Tuttle causeways.
Margolis, a commercial real estate developer, said the bridge is essential to the community and is needed sooner rather than later.
He and his wife split their time between Boston and their condo at the Murano Grande in South Beach’s South of Fifth neighborhood. They see the difference a bridge could make when they take their two Shihpoos, Roxy and Lexi, on a walk four times a day along the baywalk behind their building and see pedestrians turn around when reaching the MacArthur Causeway.
When they’re on the way to a tennis match at Flamingo Park or on a restaurant outing, they often have to dodge traffic to cross Fifth Street and
Alton Road.
“As residents, we’re anxious to see that open. This intersection at Alton and Fifth is very difficult to navigate as a pedestrian or bicycle rider. It’s dangerous,” Margolis said. “Everybody’s looking forward to it. We’re disappointed that it hasn’t already been constructed.”
AS RESIDENTS, WE’RE ANXIOUS TO SEE THAT OPEN. THIS INTERSECTION AT ALTON ROAD AND FIFTH IS VERY DIFFICULT TO NAVIGATE AS A PEDESTRIAN OR BICYCLE RIDER. IT’S DANGEROUS.