Miami Voters To Decide If Condos Belong On Watson Island
Miami voters will get to decide whether a cadre of developers can build condos and a mixed-use complex on Watson Island.
Miami city commissioners approved two resolutions Thursday night that created ballot measures asking residents to approve the projects, which are proposed on city-owned land. If approved by voters, the condos and mixed-use property would be the first of their kind on the island, which is bisected by the MacArthur Causeway connecting Downtown Miami to South Beach.
The proposals cover the northwest and southeast corners of the island, which is home to the Miami Children’s Museum and Jungle Island, a tropical theme park that would be redeveloped as part of one of the plans.
Aventura-based ESJ Capital, the owner of Jungle Island, is partnering with Coconut Grove-based Terra Group on the redevelopment proposal on the island’s north side.
The referendum would allow the city to sell 5.4 acres for $135M to the joint venture, called Ecoresiliency Miami LLC, for a two-building condo project in exchange for the development of a 13.3-acre waterfront park on the island’s northern tip.
Each tower would have up to 300 units, and current zoning would allow for a maximum 20-story height. The buildings could be built in phases, a representative for the developers told the Miami Climate Resilience Committee at a hearing on July 15.
The park would cost an estimated $38M to build and $2M annually to maintain, Commissioner Damian Pardo told the Miami Herald. ESJ had tried and failed last January to win approval for a 300-room themed hotel at the property.
An aerial conceptual rendering presented to the Climate Committee shows the west side of the development site covered in trees with an undulating path called a bio-walk leading to an attraction dubbed a “climate center.”
The condo towers appear to be on the southeast corner of the site, near the Miami Yacht Club, with the two towers connected by a green walking path and several plazas. The existing Japanese garden would cap the site’s far eastern portion.
“We are pleased to have received approval to move forward with a referendum that allows voters to decide the future of Watson Island this November,” Ecoresiliency Miami LLC said in a statement. “This is a generational opportunity to moderate development in Miami by utilizing a 5-acre residential project to return more than 13 acres to the public for a world-class waterfront park for all to enjoy.”
On the island’s south side, Merrimac Ventures and BH3 Management have plans for a 10.8-acre project that would include two hotels, retail and restaurant space, offices and residences, according to a release.
Voters will decide whether to approve the development in exchange for a $9M investment in affordable housing and public infrastructure and the creation of a 2.2-acre waterfront promenade on the island’s southern tip.
Merrimac and BH3, which both have offices in Fort Lauderdale, assumed the lease for the property at 888 MacArthur Causeway last year. Their proposal includes a new seawall and stormwater management infrastructure upgrades to the island, which is susceptible to flooding.
“Voters now have an opportunity to create a true community asset at Watson Harbour — one that introduces long-term benefits for the City of Miami while improving its resiliency for the future,” Nitin and Dev Motwani, co-managing partners at Merrimac Ventures, said in a statement.
The mixed-use project is slated to have roughly 100 units on a 3.2-acre site that the joint venture would pay fair market value, or at least $25M, to acquire while extending the lease on the remainder of the site. Timeshare development had previously been approved at the site, and the referendum would explicitly allow for condos.
Merrimac Ventures is one of the master developers of Miami Worldcenter, the 27-acre master-planned development in Downtown Miami that is effectively connected to Watson Island through the MacArthur Causeway bridge.
Pardo, whose 2nd District includes Watson Island, is in favor of both proposals and believes that Miami voters will greenlight the developments in November.
Both development groups have highlighted how their plans reduce the overall commercial footprint on the island and increase total green space.
The Terra venture highlighted in its presentation that its project would create new public access to the waterfront, while Merrimac and BH3 said in their statement that their proposal would cut commercial use on the site by 10%.
