April 12, 2007
REPORT FROM | HAULOVER PARK
Haulover Park fans hope changes don't rock the boat. Haulover Park's renovation is supposed to keep the old feel intact.
Author:
TIM HENDERSON
Dirty T-shirts fit the dress code here -- it's the rented cigarette boat and the tourist in heels that are out of place.
So when renovation plans came along that seemed to threaten the fishing boats and kite store that have become trademarks of the marina, the old guard got ready for a fight.
''I don't like change,'' said George Kelley, who runs the Kelley Fishing Fleet with his wife, Alicia. He's been here 50 years now, and has regular customers who've been coming for decades to fish for yellowtail and mutton snapper.
''As far as I was concerned, they didn't have to fix up the marina,'' Kelley said. ``But they worked with us, and they're doing it with as little disruption as possible. I have to give them credit.''
As the county prepares to add 105 new slips to the marina, by removing land that's now a parking lot, boats will face some temporary dislocation. So will Skyward Kites, the 15-year-old trailer that displays its intricate floating creations above Collins Avenue .
The construction schedule won't be clear until later this spring, when Shoreline Foundation, the contractor for the $10 million second phase of the $24 million project, puts down some test pilings and reports the results to environmental officials at the county.
Skyward Kite owner Dan Ward was also ready to dig in his heels when early sketches left his business up in the air.
''We started looking for community support, getting some petitions,'' Ward said. ``The first plans showed our kite field as a parking lot, and no place for us.''
But plans changed.
Now, instead of wiping out Skyward's kite field, the park will improve it with curbs and sprinklers to keep it green through the dry season. And for the owners of fishing boats, slips to the south were made ready to house them while their current quarters are torn down and rebuilt over the next 16 months.
''Everything's going to stay in place,'' assured Mike Dmytriw, Haulover's park manager. ``These are longtime lessees for us, and we're going to accommodate them as well as we can possibly do it.''
Along with new slips, this phase calls for new lighted parking areas, a handicapped-accessible dock and an overall face lift.
Though it's not included in the renovation project, Dmytriw hopes a closed restaurant at the marina will be revived along with the sagging docks.
''We want something open to the general public and our patrons, a nice little restaurant where the average family can come in and enjoy a nice little meal. We want it to be family-oriented,'' Dmytriw said.
A controversial plan for a gambling cruise ship has long been shelved, he said.
''That's out. We can't even put a dinner cruise in there,'' he said.
Boaters are hopeful that an expansion and sprucing-up will be good for the marina.
''It's going to be great for the area and the economy,'' said boater Thomas Smith of North Miami .
There are still dark suspicions among the locals that the project is meant to drive out the old-timers.
Some fear the projects won't happen, that they will be unfulfilled promises like the sidewalks on Collins Avenue that stopped in front of the kite field when the money ran out.
Despite a ceremonial groundbreaking March 23 with County Commissioner Sally Heyman and county parks director Vivian Rodríguez, even Heyman is cautious with promises.
''We have to be mindful that we have hurricanes and a limited amount of money and we're going to have less revenue from the state now, but I think it remains one of the best parks in Dade County and we need to continue to support it,'' Heyman said.
Meantime, at least one business operator is happy with the park the way it is.
''It's nice just to see the diversity of people who come out here,'' said Ward, who owns the kite business. ``On Sunday, we had some members of the Jewish community, and next to them a West Indian family with homemade kites and next to them some Russian children flying some of our kites. It's just a mix of everybody, and everybody's in this together.''
Wave Life Magazine
November 2006 Issue
MOSTKOFF THE GREAT
0/16/2006 4:45:59 PM by Sandy Lindsey
AAs an avid ocean lover, Ben Mostkoff makes sure that he does as much as he can to preserve everything above and below the water. His recent projects are proof that he’s not playing around when it comes to protecting our resources.
How many people can say that they were underwater in a full communication face mask waiting for Katie Couric to give a prompt to start their segment on the Today show, but got held back by the news of the passing of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis? Ben Mostkoff can.
“It was May of 1994 and we were all wired for sound waiting underwater for our cue for a live broadcast on national television,” says Mostkoff, then Artificial Reef Program Coordinator for the Dade County Department of Environmental Resource Management (DERM). “The Jaqueline Kennedy Onassis obit ran for about 20 minutes. So here we are 51 feet underwater in the Anchorage area on the artificial reef known affectionately as the Coté Reef, named after the father of one of our employees who had recently passed away, with our air supply dwindling rapidly.” The segment turned out excellent.
“It was a fascinating experience and really showcased Miami-Dade County’s marine resources. Katie Couric was very excited with the result and said it was one of the few remote broadcasts requiring significant coordination and equipment that went off without the slightest technical difficulty,” he adds.
For 15 years, Mostkoff oversaw the creation of artificial reefs in the waters off of Dade County. Steel ships, concrete structures, prefab structures; all-in-all hundreds of thousands of tons of concrete and limestone to put the Miami waters on the map as a great fishing and diving destination.
“We tried to keep the program open to the public and not operate it in a vacuum,” explains Mostkoff. “We always coordinated our efforts with the sportfishing and diving community.”
Mostkoff now puts those years of government experience to work as an integral part of the Business Development Team at Shoreline Foundation, Inc., a design-build firm that provides, amongst other services, deep-foundation and complete marine-works construction throughout Florida, the Bahamas and the Caribbean. Recent projects include the reconstruction of the sea wall at Bicentennial Park in downtown Miami. The design consists of steel sheet pilings with a concrete cap with concrete formations cantilevered out to form walkways over the water. “Other recent projects include the construction of the Cape Eleuthera Marina in Rock Sound, the reconstruction of the center dock for the Key Biscayne Yacht Club, and the 1,540 foot long breakwater structure for the redesigned Haulover Marina for the Dade County Parks Department in North Dade.” Currently Shoreline Foundation is building the new Rybovich Marina in West Palm Beach, the new Marina Grande in North Miami Beach and the new Port Tamp Bay in Tampa along with other projects which may be viewed on their web site.
“I’m glad to have stayed in the marine industry,” says Mostkoff. “My business partner Kevin Coté and I try to think outside the box. We believe in preventing unnecessary damage to the fragile marine ecosystem rather than stopping the entire project. We are attempting to restore common sense to the management of Florida’s waterways by balancing manatee protection plans, endangered seagrass rules, without letting those and other regulations prevent responsible marine projects instead of serving as environmental guidelines as originally intended.”
Mostkoff grew up on the waters of Miami Beach. He currently takes a break from thinking about construction on the water by going out with his family in their 33-year-old, 22-foot Aquasport open fisherman. “I was a freshman at Boston College when my parents bought the boat,” he is pleased to point out. “I also like to take our two-person, 15-foot Heritage rowing skiff from Little River Marine into Biscayne Bay and explore the grass flats, troll fishing lures and enjoy a picnic lunch with my wife, Debbie. As an aside, I heard that Jimmy Buffet rows the same boat.”
Copyright © WaveLife.com. All Rights Reserved.
The Miami Herald (FL)April 19, 2005
BICENTENNIAL PARK MAKEOVER WILL START TODAY
Author: ANDRES VIGLUCCI, aviglucci@herald.com
After months of negotiation, the city of Miami has hired one of the nation's premier design firms to create a master plan for the proposed downtown Museum Park.
The firm, New York-based Cooper, Robertson & Partners, will begin work within days to draft a plan that will guide the transformation of near-derelict Bicentennial Park into what city leaders hope will be a bayfront gem.
"Having these world-renowned planners on board is not going to hurt us at all,'' said Robert Weinreb, project manager for the city, which will mark the start of work with a launch ceremony at noon today at the park.
The task facing Cooper, Robertson is not simple: Their planners must find a way of fitting in two large new homes for the Miami Art Museum and the Miami Museum of Science, while leaving enough green, open space to satisfy critics who say the buildings will take up too much of the 29-acre site. The City Commission has agreed that ea! ch building can occupy up to four acres.
"They won't tell the museums what to build, but they will give the museums some guidelines and a footprint,'' Weinreb said.
The planners must also figure out how park visitors can safely and easily get across busy Biscayne Boulevard , how to disguise the big sewage pump station that sits at the park's edge and how a proposed city streetcar can tie into the project.
The city is also adding to the master plan a public plaza at the western edge of the boat slip that borders the park. The unbuilt plaza was designed by famed architect Roberto Burle Marx as part of the scheme of patterned walkways and plazas for downtown that has been only partly installed.
The master plan is expected to take 11 months. The firm will be paid $1.3 million.
Cooper, Robertson was selected for the job last year from a field of prominent planners, but negotiations did not begin in earnest until after Miami-Dade ! County voters approved a bond issue in November that will provide $275 million toward the project, Weinreb said.
Some activists complain that the city has moved slowly on the planning.
"It took this long to sign the contract, and that's what's delayed this project,'' said Nancy Liebman, president of the Urban Environment League, which has pushed for the preservation of open public land, including Bicentennial Park .
Liebman hopes the city and the county will now move speedily to name a steering committee to oversee the master plan. The environment league was promised a seat at the table after it supported the museum bond issue.
"We're going to go there and celebrate on Tuesday, and then we will be waiting to hear from the county and the city,'' Liebman said. ``We want to be sure it will be a collective effort.''
The planners will hold a series of public workshops to get public input, key to the master plan.
"This won't succeed if we don't do it that way,'' Weinreb said. ``We have le! arned from the mistakes of the past, where good plans were just put on a shelf. There is a political will to get this moving, and we want all the issues on the table.''
Weinreb said substantial progress has already been made, including a $6 million reconstruction of the park's crumbling seawall, which is running ahead of schedule and several hundred thousand dollars under budget.
The second, $3 million phase of seawall work along the boat slip should begin soon after the first phase is finished, Weinreb said.
Today's Events
The city of Miami will mark the start of work on a master plan for the proposed Museum Park with a kickoff ceremony at noon today at the park, 1075 Biscayne Blvd. For free parking, enter at Northeast Ninth Street .
* For more online, go to www.miamigov.com/museumpark.
Copyright (c) 2005 The Miami Herald
Shoreline Foundation, Inc. commences reconstruction of Bicentennial Park Bulkhead Pembroke Park, Florida, May 3, 2004
As marine contractor to the City of Miami, Shoreline Foundation, Inc., SFI, announced today that it will commence reconstruction of the seawall surrounding Bicentennial Park. The ground breaking ceremony will take place at 11:00 am on Tuesday, May 4, 2004, at Bicentennial Park, 1075 Biscayne Boulevard, Miami, Florida.
Reconstruction of the wall will include the demolition and removal of over 2,500 tons of existing concrete seawall and the installation of 2,568 lineal feet of new steel sheet pile. The reconstruction effort, which will require one year to complete, will also include the relocation of over 100 palm trees, the in-water placement of hundreds of tons of limestone boulder as marine habitat and the protection of manatees adjacent to the work site. This $6.6 million dollar project is being funded by the City of Miami from grant funding from Homeland Defense, Florida Inland Navigation District and by the City's Capital Funding Program.
Founded in 1986, SFI continues to provide the City of Miami and Miami-Dade County with the best in marine construction and heavy foundation services. Previous City/County projects include: Morningside Park, Antonio Maseo Park, Haulover Park Marina (now under construction), Crandon Park Marina, Port of Miami maintenance dredging, DERM-DORM canal dredging, structural elements of the "E" terminal tunnel at Miami International Airport, foundations for Metro Rail, and foundations for various Water & Sewer Department properties. Some of our accomplishments in the Southeastern United States and the greater Caribbean Basin include: the North Palm Beach Marina in Palm Beach, the Deering Bay Marina in Coral Gables, the Diplomat Resort Marina in Hallandale and the mega-yacht marina, Atlantis Marina in Paradise Island, Nassau, Bahamas.
Operating in the Bahamas as HEAVY MARINE & FOUNDATIONS, LTD., and operating in the Turks & Caicos Islands as SHORELINE T.C.I., LTD., enables Shoreline Foundation to utilize its extensive construction and consulting resources throughout the Caribbean. Our unique "One-Stop-Shopping" approach enables SFI to provide our clients with a full array of construction services as well as access to our team of associate engineers, hydrologists, biologists, surveyors, and environmental consultants.
Shoreline Foundation, Inc. commences construction of Haulover Marina Phase 1 expansion Pembroke Park, Florida, February 19, 2004 -
As marine contractor to the Miami-Dade Parks Department, Shoreline Foundation, Inc., SFI, announced today that it will commence construction of the Haulover Marina Phase 1 expansion. The ground breaking ceremony will take place at 1:00 pm on Saturday, February 21, 2004, at the Haulover Marina, 10800 Collins Avenue, Miami Beach, Florida. Phase 1 includes the addition of a 1,608 linear-foot lighted wave baffle pier and 45 boat slips with power pedestals that provide utilities to marina patrons. Two new dock lifts and sixteen handicapped parking spaces will also be provided. This project will be funded with $1.127 million in Safe Neighborhood Parks Bond dollars, a $1.4 million Florida Inland Navigation District grant and $717,300 from the Florida Boating Improvement Program. Phase 1 construction should be completed by the spring of 2005.
Founded in 1986, SFI continues to provide Miami-Dade County with the best in marine construction and heavy foundation services. Previous County projects include: Crandon Park Marina, Key Biscayne (Phase 2), Port of Miami maintenance dredging, DERM-DORM canal dredging, structural elements of the "E" terminal tunnel at Miami International Airport, foundations for Metro Rail, and foundations for various Water & Sewer Department properties. Some of our accomplishments in the Southeastern United States and the greater Caribbean Basin include: the North Palm Beach Marina in Palm Beach, the Deering Bay Marina in Coral Gables, the Diplomat Resort Marina in Hallandale and the mega-yacht marina, Atlantis Marina in Paradise Island, Nassau, Bahamas.
Operating in the Bahamas as HEAVY MARINE & FOUNDATIONS, LTD., and operating in the Turks & Caicos Islands as SHORELINE T.C.I., LTD., enables Shoreline Foundation to utilize its extensive construction and consulting resources throughout the Caribbean. Our unique "One-Stop-Shopping" approach enables SFI to provide its clients with a full array of construction services as well as access to our team of associate engineers, hydrologists, biologists, surveyors, and environmental consultants