The mid August re-opening of South Pointe Park Pier in South Beach may reflect a welcome trend in city marine upgrades.

Plans for the South Pointe Park Pier got rolling in November, 2012. An existing pier was demolished and replaced with a new version for fishing, recreation and special occasions. With new amenities, the pier is set to become a staple of a thriving community.

“The pier gives people another attraction to visit,” says Max Sklar, director of tourism, culture and economic development for the City of Miami Beach, which has launched a marketing campaign to get the word out. “Miami-Dade County gets more than 14 million visitors per year and about half of those go to South Beach.”

This is not your grandfather’s nondescript pier. The South Pointe Park Pier has a handsome, artist-crafted entry gate, a pedestrian plaza, viewing stations, benches, and shaded structures. It’s also going to be used for special occasions, like a recent morning yoga class and nighttime fireworks display.

Built in 1979, the original pier suffered the usual wear and tear of weather and time. By 2004, it was declared unsafe and officially closed. Then the recession hit, putting plans for redevelopment in limbo.

David Martinez, director of the capital improvement projects office for the city of Miami Beach, describes how the existing pier was removed, and much larger piles with a lifespan of 50 years installed: “Ninety percent of the construction was on barges and Government Cut is very sensitive to weather and tides. We had an issue with the driving of the piles and the relocation of the corals. Permitting was very difficult. We had to deal with five different agencies.

“We stayed roughly within the same footprint. But the pier is slightly larger than the original because we squeezed around another 1,400 square feet into it. Now it is around 450 feet long.”
Martinez guesses that 75 percent of pier users will be fishing (with a maximum of three rods per person and no shark fishing). For now, the hours are 7:30 a.m. to dusk.

Artist Tobias Rehberger provided the 15-foot-wide gate to the pier. “It’s art deco with vibrant colors leaning toward the fluorescent,” says Martinez. “It ties in with the motif of the nearby Art Deco district, making a huge statement and providing for a photo opportunity.”

Even marine life was considered in building the pier, thanks to the installation of turtle-safe lighting. “We have amber lighting so the turtles can lay their eggs and nest on the beach,” Martinez explains. “With minimal artificial light, we prevent hatchlings from becoming disoriented and dying.

“We’re very pleased with the result, considering it took slightly longer than expected to complete the pier, due to the challenges we had to work through,” says Martinez, who envisions heavy traffic. “We’re very satisfied with the team we chose. And we came in under-budget.”

The vantage point of the pier is impressive, as Martinez sees it. “It’s located at the very east of South Pointe Park at the very south end of Miami Beach,” he says of the upscale area. “From the pier, you can see cruise ships coming to the area and create new memories. You can view the Miami Beach skyline and port. The pier provides the perfect view for pure ocean and skyline viewing.”

Miami Beach is not alone in upgrading marine facilities. Hollywood and Dania Beach recently revamped their municipal marinas. The marina in Hollywood underwent a new paint job, a bathroom installation, and dock resurfacing.
Improving marine and fishing facilities is a no-brainer in boating-intensive South Florida and its roughly $10 billion marine industry. The region is a hub for boat repair, boat sales, fishing, diving, marine research and science and watercraft activities.

It makes sense that no city wants to be left behind, including Hollywood, which touts its marine amenities. “It’s a great location for boaters, with easy access to Hollywood beach or downtown Hollywood, and it offers everything from a fuel dock to a pump-out station, from laundry to shower facilities,” said Hollywood Mayor Pete Bober.

The new Dania Beach Municipal Marina at Ocean Park, which opened this year, has 120 fully powered public wet slips, with 35 for transient boaters to tie up for the night or weekend. “We also have seven free-day docks for use by boaters for the day to enjoy our beach and pier,” says Walter Duke, the mayor of Dania Beach.

Dania Beach measures growth by comparing notes “with our corporate partners, such as Nautical Ventures, Divers Direct, Outdoor World and others to gauge increases in business,” says Duke. “Other tangible measures that provide us with feedback on the success and growth of our marine initiatives include beach parking and pier revenue (both growing steadily over the past four years), as well as the lease of our new marina, which is going well, despite this being the slow season.”

Future plans for Dania Beach waterway improvements include enhancing the pier for a better retail experience and dredging western navigable waterways.

“Every time you improve the infrastructure to utilize an asset, you increase the opportunity for the general public to use it and add value to the community,” said Philip Purcell, executive director of the Marine Industries Association of South Florida. South Florida is in competition with the Treasure Coast and the west coast. People want to feel welcome and like your investments.”

Purcell is pleased with the progress being made in marine improvements. “They will help attract the best and the brightest and keep our economy growing,” he says.

Martinez is another optimist. “A lot of improvements in infrastructure stalled out during the economic downturn,” he says. “That has turned around in the last two to three years. Tourism is key to our coastal counties. For Miami Beach, it’s our bread and butter industry. Good things are happening throughout the area, including building roads and repairing water and sewer lines. You want to see these things come to life.”

Capt. Clive E. Taylor, chairman of the Dania Beach marine advisory board and a member of the Broward marine advisory committee, offers a cautionary note.

“We’ve got to preserve our waterways for marine use. The marine industry is a clean, technical industry, but we’ve slipped in the last 20 years by allowing marinas to sell out to developers and zoning changes.

“Summerfield [Boat Works] on the New River in Fort Lauderdale is a perfect example, he said, referring to the historic yard sold in 2005. “The deal with a developer failed for whatever reason. Now there is idle waterfront property that is no good to anybody.”