A Miami city board has approved the rezoning of part of the Jungle Island property, moving forward a redevelopment plan led by Terra and ESJ Capital Partners’ Ecoresiliency Miami. The Planning, Zoning and Appeals Board voted unanimously to amend the existing special area plan for Jungle Island and rezone approximately 5.4 acres of the nearly 19-acre site from T6-12 to T6-36. This change still needs approval from the city commission in two separate readings at dates that have not yet been set.
Board members expressed concerns about issues such as parking, traffic, and green space. As part of the approval, a parking study will be required.
In November of last year, a charter amendment allowing the redevelopment of Jungle Island received approval from 62 percent of voters. Under the plan, Terra and ESJ will acquire 5.4 acres within the 13.3-acre Jungle Island property located at 1111 Parrot Jungle Trail in Miami. The developers intend to construct two luxury condominium towers up to 48 stories tall on the land purchased from the city. A significant portion of the current waterfront theme park is set to be transformed into a $37 million public park funded by the developers.
The assessed purchase price for the land is $160 million, but much of this amount will be provided through public benefits rather than direct payment. At closing, Terra and ESJ will pay $10 million upfront, make annual payments to the city for 99 years, contribute $20 million in public benefits, and provide $22 million to pay off a HUD loan related to Jungle Island.
During Wednesday’s meeting, board member Arthur Porosoff voiced frustration over the proposed provision of only 50 parking spaces and criticized the broader discussion about parking as unproductive. He questioned whether the planned public park would truly serve the public or primarily benefit future residents of the condominiums.
“Let’s be real,” Porosoff said. “The reality is that it’s a joke….This is an amenity for the building. I understand everybody gets paid a lot of dollars. I get paid big dollars. I’m a developer. I like the story. I would hire you to tell the story, and I would hire you to convince them to agree with the story, but the fact of the matter is that this is not for the public. Am I going to vote for it? Yeah, I’m a real estate guy. But the fact of the matter here is that this is a joke, and everybody knows it.”
Porosoff attempted to secure additional parking from the developer but acknowledged that further negotiation was unlikely due to prior agreements.
“Now that I think about it, that’s a moot point. You can’t,” he said. “The deal was already struck, and it’s a bad deal that we did, in my mind.”
Iris Escarra, attorney for the developers, stated that the city’s parks department would determine both the design of the park and how much parking should be included. She noted that increasing parking would reduce available park space.
Board member Joseph Corral also raised questions about parking provisions and access to the park.
“It’s hard not to be skeptical,” Corral said. “It’s very hard, because if you would have told the people they were voting for a referendum to build [up to 48]-story towers, it would have never passed. But the park is really all we saw. We all saw the beautiful renderings.”
Daniel Vasini of West Eight, designer of the proposed park, described it as transformative.
“There is a great bicycle lane so you can come here by bike,” Vasini said.
Corral responded with skepticism: “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“I’m sorry. I’m being very serious,” Vasini replied.
“Have you been on the MacArthur Causeway?” Corral asked.
