A city of Miami board has approved a rezoning request for part of the Jungle Island property, paving the way for a major redevelopment project led by Terra and ESJ Capital Partners’ Ecoresiliency Miami. The Miami Planning, Zoning and Appeals Board voted to amend the Jungle Island special area plan and rezone about 5.4 acres of the nearly 19-acre site from T6-12 to T6-36. The proposal still needs to be approved by the city commission in two separate readings at dates that have not yet been determined.
Board members, while unanimously approving the measure, expressed concerns regarding parking, traffic, and the availability of green space. As part of the approval, a condition was added requiring completion of a parking study.
Last November, Miami voters passed a charter amendment supporting the redevelopment of Jungle Island. Under the plan, Terra and ESJ will acquire 5.4 acres currently within the 13.3-acre Jungle Island property at 1111 Parrot Jungle Trail. The developers intend to construct two luxury condominium towers of up to 48 stories on land purchased from the city. Much 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, with much of that value provided through public benefits rather than direct payment. At closing, Terra and ESJ will pay $10 million upfront and make annual payments to the city over 99 years. Additional commitments include $20 million in public benefits and $22 million allocated to pay off a HUD loan tied to Jungle Island.
During Wednesday’s meeting, board member Arthur Porosoff criticized aspects of the proposal, particularly its provision for only 50 parking spaces and what he described as limited benefit for Miami residents beyond those living in the planned condos.
“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 negotiate for more parking but acknowledged that “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.”
Attorney Iris Escarra, representing the developers, stated that “the city’s parks department will dictate the design used to build the park, as well as how much parking to include.” She noted that adding more parking would reduce available park space.
Board member Joseph Corral also questioned how accessible the new park would be for visitors given limited parking options: “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 described his design as transformative: “There is a great bicycle lane so you can come here by bike,” Vasini said.
Corral responded: “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“I’m sorry. I’m being very serious,” Vasini replied.
Corral then asked: “Have you been on the MacArthur Causeway?”
