When Philip Levine became Mayor of Miami Beach a little over a year ago and the guard changed in the city commission chambers, they way the beach undertook its large public works projects seemed to undergo a seismic change as well. Although the international-headline-grabbing convention center project was discarded like a sack of old meat, from Washington Avenue to another convention center project, and Lincoln Road, the new administration seems to have aggressively dived into major public works upgrades with little pomp and circumstance. They even tried to secure land for a BayLink rail hub.
After quietly holding a competition between star architectural firms Bjarke Ingels Group and James Corner Field Operations to renovate and revamp Lincoln Road, which Field Ops won, the City officially signed with Field Ops earlier this year. A master plan should be in place for the historic Morris Lapidus-designed pedestrian thoroughfare by August or September this year, with completion of construction planned for 2016. Also of note: commissioners will vote this Wednesday on whether or not to allow Lincoln Road property owners to form a Business Improvement District, giving them greater autonomy over the iconic street.
· New York's High Line Architects Plan Lincoln Road [New Times]
· James Corner Field Ops Wins Lincoln Road Redo [Curbed Miami]
· Lincoln Road coverage [Curbed Miami]