Multimillion-Dollar Face Lift
City Commission Gives Final OK to Westward Expansion
of Lincoln Road Pedestrian Mall

“Well, people will just have to drive differently.”

1111 Lincoln Road will be redeveloped by Robert Wennett, the developer of the project. He will also kick in $162,749 to close of the road between Lenox Avenue and Alton Road.

By Bonnie Schindler

Nearly half a century after Lincoln Road mall was transformed into a pedestrian mall, a block of the enclosed thoroughfare is set to get a $6 million makeover, mirroring the intent of famed local architect Morris Lapidus, who gave the road its signature flowerbeds, fountains and shade/display structures.

In a unanimous vote, the Miami Beach City Commission on Wednesday approved banning cars in the area between Lenox Avenue and Alton Road, where there will be a pedestrian plaza that is “organic in nature” and characterized by trees such as mature cypresses, according to documents filed for the project.

“It will be a signature project to the west end of Lincoln Road,” Public Works Department Director Fred Beckmann said during the regularly scheduled Wednesday commission meeting.     

Miami Beach founder Carl Fisher established Lincoln Road in 1912 when he replaced a mangrove swamp with a paved road. For decades Lincoln Road was open to vehicular traffic. Then, in 1960, the city hired Lapidus to transform the Road into a pedestrian mall, closing most of it off from traffic (except for north-south cross streets) from Washington Avenue to Alton Road.

But in the late 1990s, architect Ben Wood reopened the block between Lenox Avenue and Alton Road to vehicles as part of the Lincoln Road renovation project — stopping the pedestrian mall one block short of Alton.

The proposed extension would cut vehicles off from that block and instead add design twists to the “otherwise cumbersome and generally unsuccessful” median between Alton and Lenox, City Manager Jorge Gonzalez stated in a memo to the commission.

But with numerous major events on South Beach throughout the year — Art Basel, the International Boat Show, the Wine and Food Show and handfuls more — one may wonder how the city can afford to lose any more streets.

A traffic study conducted for the city of Miami Beach found that losing the vehicular traffic would not adversely affect the area’s flow. “[The closure] will have no significant impact on adjacent streets,” Gonzalez stated in the memorandum.

Not everyone attending the meeting was completely accepting of the city’s findings.

“We are very surprised it came [to the commission] because it impacts the [parking and traffic] issues in the area,” Tamra Sheffman, who sits on the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce’s Transportation and Parking Committee, she said.

She asked the mayor and commission not to approve anything until the chamber could review the traffic analysis, particularly because she said parking spaces would be eliminated.

“I really don’t think there is any objection to that,” Mayor David Dermer said.

Vice Mayor Simon Cruz did not agree.

“We really don’t need any more delays,” Cruz said. “I don’t know why the Transportation and Parking Committee wasn’t queued up.”

The area’s parking will actually get boost from a nearby garage, said Robert Wennet, who is redeveloping the SunTrust building at 1111 Lincoln Road.

The area will lose about 21 parking spaces, Wennet said, but his project will actually add parking to the west end of Lincoln in the form of a garage with 283 spaces — 50 of which will be allotted to monthly pass holders. The spaces will be available for public use.

What about those who just need to run in to the dry cleaners and pick up their clothes, or just want to make a quick purchase; why should they have to pay and park in a garage? Commissioner Matti Herrera Bower asked. To her, the loss of short-term parking meters could adversely affect the small businesses in the vicinity.

“Well, people will just have to drive differently,” Beckmann said, suggesting further that people will simply have to give themselves more time to complete their chores.

And while the closure between Lenox and Alton may or may not create problems with traffic, it may affect the city’s wallet.

The extended pedestrian mall project will cost Miami Beach approximately $5.9 million, which will go toward the design and construction of streetscapes, street furniture, landscaping, fountains and drainage systems, as stated in the memo.

The developer, UIA Management, will contribute $162,749 for sidewalks, curbs and gutters.

The largest chunk of the budget, $1.7 million, is for landscaping: palms, shrubs and grass; as well as fountains, bike racks and trash receptacles.

These items will lend “tranquility” to the open space, Commissioner Saul Gross pointed out. This is particularly true, Wennett said, because the trees are supposed to attract butterflies.

Despite the project’s price tag, the Design Review Board, Historic Preservation Board and Finance Committee have approved the project. 

The commission, like its predecessors, gave the green light to the pedestrian-friendly area.

“I feel this is a good project,” Herrera Bower said. She admitted, though, her original distaste for the renovations. Her anxiety stemmed from a picture in her head of cafeteria-like tables and chairs covered with food, and people not being able to easily get across the plaza.

Wennett assured her there would be no food displays in the area. He also reminded the commission of an interactive water fountain that will allow kids to splash around.

Dermer thanked the entire development team for its commitment.

“I don’t want to blow too much smoke up your dress, but you are really getting a consensus from people,” Dermer said to Wennett.

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