The developer in charge of leading the design process for the two public spaces will convene a public meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 18 to gather input from local residents and stakeholders.
With a city-approved development management agreement (DMA) in hand, the Allen Morris Company has a greenlight to make improvements to Kirk Munroe Park and Fuller Street in Coconut Grove, beginning with a publicly-focused design process.
The developer behind the proposed Ziggurat development at the corner of Grand Avenue and Matilda Street will convene a public meeting to discuss design plans on Wednesday, Feb. 18 starting at 6 p.m. at the Sandbar Sports Grill.
The forum will be an opportunity for residents and stakeholders to weigh in on draft designs for the two public spaces that, so far, have drawn mixed reviews from local residents. How many additional meetings will be held is unknown.
The designs presented to date reimagine the park and public right-of-way as cleaner, elevated versions of what’s in place today, with new pavers and landscaping on Fuller Street, and wooden decking and a new playground at a park that is a popular gathering spot for students and parents from Coconut Grove Elementary School.
So far, those preliminary design plans have been met with both skepticism and optimism, with some residents acknowledging the need for park improvements, and others fearful of losing Fuller Street’s natural charm.
As the public design process begins, the makeup a proposed stakeholder group – a smaller cohort of individuals who will work closely with the design team to field public feedback and finalize the designs – has yet to be finalized.
According to the DMA approved last month by the Miami City Commission, the stakeholder group will include, at a minimum, representatives from the Coconut Grove Business Improvement District, the Parent-Teacher Association for Coconut Grove Elementary School, and neighboring business and property owners.
Javier Fernandez, an attorney for Allen Morris Company, said whoever shows up for the meeting on Feb. 18 may help to determine the makeup of the group.
Fernandez said the meeting will also help determine how the public portion of the design process plays out.
“Depending on, you know, what the level of focus, enthusiasm, and turnout is, if there’s large constituencies for both (the park and Fuller Street), we may end up bifurcating and having parallel working groups and design processes,” Fernandez said.
According to the DMA, final design plans must be presented to the City Commission within 180 days of the signing – unless an extension is granted – giving the public a mid-July deadline to settle on a design with the developer.
Fernandez has previously stated there would be at least two large public meetings before presenting any designs to the City Commission.
“We’ll err on the side of plenty of community engagement,” Fernandez said.
While the community will be given the opportunity to offer input, the developer will have the final say on the design presented to the commission for final approval.
As the design process begins, the proposed Ziggurat development is also getting underway. Demolition of five properties on Florida Avenue was scheduled to begin this week, followed by the demolition of two commercial buildings on Grand Avenue in April.
Some of the businesses now housed in those two buildings have yet to announce closing and relocation dates.
One Sapore Di Mare employee told the Spotlight the popular Italian restaurant would be closing its doors on Grand Avenue in a month or so. Management at two other nearby businesses – T&K Nails and Convenience Store – could not be reached for comment.
The UPS store has long since moved to its new location at the corner of Douglas Road and Grand Avenue, while The Last Carrot will officially say goodbye to its longtime Grove location on Saturday, Feb. 7, with no new location yet announced.
