Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported that the city would start a new search for a different location for the fire station. We have corrected the story and regret the error.
Plans to move a Miami Beach fire station next to a popular track and field are moving forward, following an overwhelming vote approving the move in the primary election.
More than 75% of voters in August gave the approval commissioners sought to build a long-needed new fire station in Flamingo Park, to serve South Beach. The plan was disliked by some residents and users, since it would involve moving the park's running track, bringing disruption and an estimated additional cost of $20 million to taxpayers.
But in the first city commission meeting since that vote, members decided to see if the design could be adapted so that the facility could be built fully into an existing area adjacent to the track, without requiring its relocation.
In the meeting on Sept. 11, commissioners also voted in favor of saving the South Shore Community Center, the alternative location being considered, from potential demolition.
鈥淚 would like to take the South Shore Community Center off the chopping block today,鈥� said Commissioner Kristen Rosen Gonzalez.
This option had provoked an outcry from preservationists because the building was designed by renowned architect Morris Lapidus, who designed iconic Miami Beach hotels like the Eden Roc and the Fontainebleau.
READ MORE: Hot ballot debate: Should Miami Beach鈥檚 fire station go in a beloved park or a historic site?聽
During Wednesday's meeting, commissioners voted to develop a plan that would bring back a senior lunch program stopped in 2019 in the community center, which is currently used as a daycare for children whose parents live or work on Miami Beach.
They also agreed to upgrade and improve the Fillmore Miami Beach at Jackie Gleason Theater, rather than tear it down for a new performance space.
So far, the city has set aside $29 million taxpayer dollars for this purpose, money that comes from a $159 million-dollar for arts and culture that city residents approved in 2022.
Redesign for a 'win-win' solution
Fire Station No. 1, currently located at 1051 Jefferson Ave., has become too small and outdated for the department. The 57-year-old building, which was also designed by Lapidus, is the busiest station on Miami Beach.
During the public meeting, a number of critics, including a leader of a weekly track club, voiced opposition to the city 鈥減lopping鈥� the fire station on the western edge of Flamingo Park, along Alton Road between 11th and 12th Streets, which was the proposal on the ballot.
Commissioner Alex Fernandez said he would like for other sites to be considered.
But Commissioner Tanya Katzoff Bhatt instead urged her colleagues to await whether the design of the fire station could be adjusted so as to not touch the track and field. That would avoid needing to shift this park space eastward, interrupting use of the track and field temporarily.
City Manager Eric Carpenter said he requested the city's Capital Improvement Projects Department to work on the changes in the hopes the Flamingo Park location will offer the "win-win" they seek 鈥� preserving the track and delivering a Class 1 fire station.
"We鈥檝e looked at this at least four times ... we鈥檝e done a city-wide search within the area that we need to be able to respond to the calls in South Beach," he said.
"I鈥檓 happy to go look again but I鈥檓 not setting expectations that we鈥檙e going to find anything different than what we found in the past. I have direction from this commission as we sit here today, since that referendum passed on Aug. 20, to move forward with the design on the fire station at Flamingo Park.鈥�
