On Wednesday, June 5, the City of Miami Beach Commission unanimously voted to refer the proposed One Island Park plan to the City’s Land Use and Development Committee. One Island Park is a boutique 90-unit luxury residential building planned by leading national developer Related Group for Terminal Island, that will also bring a new 50,000-square-foot City fleet maintenance and sanitation facility at no cost to taxpayers. The new state-of-the-art facility will allow for quicker and better maintenance of equipment that is necessary for the delivery of key public services throughout the City, including public safety, sanitation, and public works. It will be constructed via a phased approach, ensuring the facility can continue to operate without interruption.

“We are pleased with the Commission’s vote to move One Island Park forward in the review process and look forward to delivering a new, upgraded City maintenance facility at no cost to taxpayers,” said Jon Paul Perez, Vice President, Related Group. “Our plan will bring a boutique residential building that will reduce the impact on traffic for surrounding areas, compared to the land’s current industrial and office zoning, which only allows for developments that significantly increase traffic.”

One Island Park is designed by internationally-recognized architectural firm Arquitectonica and will deliver an iconic building at the gateway to Miami Beach. One of the numerous benefits to the community that will result from the project is an increase in revenue to the City. It is expected that One Island Park will generate more than $2.9 million in annual tax revenue to the City on a parcel which currently only generates $10,500 a year.

In order to develop One Island Park, Related Group seeks to amend the permitted uses in the City’s industrial land use category and zoning district to allow for residential use on the waterfront.  The use will reduce traffic in and around Terminal Island. The site’s current zoning allows for the development of an office building and/or passenger ship terminal, which generate the most amount of car trips of any type of building. A busy cargo terminal previously operated on this site, generating 125,000 semi-trailer truck trips annually and causing traffic delays on the eastbound lanes of MacArthur Causeway. As a first step to reducing traffic on the MacArthur Causeway, Related Group recently removed the cargo operator and converted the property into a yacht marina. The proposed residential use would ensure that neither an office building nor another cargo terminal or passenger ship terminal would be built on the site.

Related Group has conducted and continues to hold meetings with surrounding neighbors to educate them on the plan for One Island Park and answer any questions they have. Through those efforts, the project has received support from nearby residents, such as The South of Fifth Neighborhood Association, whose board voted to support the plan for the project after Related Group presented to its members.

The project is expected to be presented to the public and members of the City Commission again on an upcoming Land Use and Development Committee agenda. For more information, visit website www.oneislandpark.com.