This is Ice Cream City, a plan by super-celeb singer Pharrell Williams and Miami architect Chad Oppenheim to do something absolutely wild with Overtown. And apparently it's a serious thing that might just happen. So, what's Ice Cream City? Well, it's the country's biggest skatepark, a small business incubator, a light industrial zone of specialty workshops and ateliers, (ateliers in Overtown, oh my!) plenty of new residential, "unconventional" big box retail (There's a Target!) and lots and lots of infill development. It will be built around and adapt existing structures (even the crummy ones) and be extremely pedestrian oriented. It's also totally "bottom up," as opposed to the top-down dictatorial mentality of typical master plans. Ice Cream City is all about incubation rather than dictation, baby, and a wild amalgamation of a million bold ideas for the revitalization of a part of town more known for its urban blight and long-lost history than its cool architecture or bright future.
Details, as far as who the developers are, when it will happen, and how it will be paid for, as well as hopefully some more detailed plans, are forthcoming. Apparently there are multiple parties involved. [Curbedwire Inbox]
UPDATE - To give credit where credit is due, the fourth image (the one with Target in it) must be credited to the design firm of Jacob + MacFarlane. They call it 'The Cube Orange'.
UPDATE #2 - These images are meant to give a visual impression, or an idea, of what Ice Cream City could look like. They are collages from various sources and not actual designs.
· Ice Cream City [Oppenheim]
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