Is Bicentennial really the best place for Museum Park?

[rider_of_rohan]

Originally Posted by Rx727sfl2002

thought he was brazilian

Carlos Ott was born in Montevideo, Uruguay.

[Roark]

Originally Posted by rider_of_rohan

Carlos Ott was born in Montevideo, Uruguay.

That's right, and spent a lot of time in Toronto. yes, I've met him, but haven't had any real conversations with him. He was when introduced as Carlos, and I didn't know who he was. he is very polite and humble. I look forward to our next meeting!

[Miami taxpayer]

Bicentennial Park might be able to handle one small museum but it cannot handle two large PAC like disasters. Miami and Miami-Dade County are hurting. High taxes and high insurance premiums. It appears neither proposed museum has raised much money.

Watch the museums screw things up...

[Rx727sfl2002]

Miami taxpayer POST FACTS NOT OPINIONS

THIS IS AN INFORMATIVE FORUM

[Paul305]

Don't listen to him Miami taxpayer. This forum welcomes all constructive opinions. And RX, how about you start posting some more facts? Like, perhaps, some facts related to the dealings of the FAA with developers which is supposed to increase the building cap downtown?

[BornInTheGrove]

ooooo lol

[Rx727sfl2002]

"YOU TELL ME HOW CONSTRUCTIVE THAT STATEMENT WAS" BOTH YOURS AND HIS...

Miami taxpayer

Bicentennial Park might be able to handle one small museum but it cannot handle two large PAC like disasters. Miami and Miami-Dade County are hurting. High taxes and high insurance premiums. It appears neither proposed museum has raised much money.

Watch the museums screw things up...

PAC DISASTER? HIS OPINION... THE PAC IS GREAT
CANNOT HANDLE TWO LARGE? SAYS WHO... THE CURRENT PLACING LOOKS GREAT.
NIETHER MUSEUM HAS RAISED MUCH MONEY? IS HE ON THE BOARD OF FUNDRAISERS?
HIGH TAXES AND HIGH INSURANCE? WHAT DOES THAT GOT TO DO WITH IT?




YOU WANT FACTS ABOUT THE FAA, WAIT FOR THE NEWS ARTICLE TO COME OUT OR SEND THEM A LETTER, I CANT HELP YOU ON THAT TOPIC RIGHT NOW...

[thetallerthebetter]

When taken out of context and judged at face value I would say disaster is too strong a word but when you take into account how many painful years and how many many million of dollars it took to get us that gigantic hunk of mediocrity (yes I know it's just my opinion) I think of all the beautiful things all that money could have gotten us and yeah disaster kinda makes sense

That sears tower is like gigantic middle finger to anyone driving by with a developed architectural aesthetic

I rather see just one smaller art museum in the park and a much bigger more tourist oriented mega science center behind the arena and the mission to the architects should be as follows: OK here you have an amazing waterfront location which will be in thousands of photographs for years to come... your goal, outdo the sydney opera house!

[Daybreaq]

I love, love, LOVE the PAC! I've seen 8 performances there so far. Parking, when I wanted it, was never really a major problem. A bit pricey; but not really a problem. I think mainly too many South Floridians are not used to paying for parking. Still, I think that's part of having a real urban center. Then, it's also an issue of getting the lay of the land. For most of the season, I *chose* to use the priciest option, valet or taxi, because I thought it would be more convenient. For the last performance I attended I decided to try the pre-paid lot ($15) closest to the Opera house. When I got there I noticed they apparently hadn't sold out the lot and were letting people without the pre-paid tickets pay $10 to get in. :P Also there was an independant lot next to the PAC's lot (mostly unpaved but actually closer to the Opera House) selling space for $10. It's a learning experience. Next season, I'll know better.
It's the first year. Some things were miscalculated. I really think the PAC needs time and *a chance.* It really is so much better than the Jackie Gleason. And it happens to be extremely convenient if you actually live in central Miami.

I'm also very excited about the prospect for museums downtown. I live for that stuff. I go to NYC at least two weeks every year mostly to see shows and go to museums. It's majorly cool to actually have some of that stuff where I live.

So I disagree with the poster's opinion. Still, he/she certainly has a right to express it here. I see nothing in the FAQ that states opinions are forbidden in the forum.

[dave8721]

From the Miami Sun Post:

Why Wakefield refers to Bicentennial as "the last bit of waterfront park space in downtown Miami" is beyond me. Did Pace Park and Bayfront Park & Brickell Park get swallowed up by the Nothing (Neverending Story reference)?

http://www.miamisunpost.com/0607wakefield.htm

Jammed at MAM

Terence Riley Is Determined to Give Miami the Museum He Says It Needs

By Rebecca Wakefield

Are you afraid to grow up, Miami? Are you, as Miami Art Museum Director Terence Riley says, going through an adolescent period of being “anti-cosmopolitan, anti-urban”? Recently, I went to see Mr. Riley in the MAM bunker downtown, in the interest of hearing the other side of the debate about whether two museums should be built in Bicentennial Park.

On June 14, the Miami City Commission will decide whether to give Riley’s museum $2 million of bond money to advance its plans. As I wrote a couple of weeks ago, there has lately been opposition from a number of parks advocates who think Bicentennial Park, the last bit of waterfront park space in downtown Miami, should be open and green and not filled with fancy buildings. In Riley’s opinion, the unappeasable parkies are evidence that Miami still has to grow out of its provincialism.

“Miami can’t have Art Basel come here once a year and then ignore the fact it doesn’t even have a third-rate museum,” Riley complained. “The one thing even the most confused adolescent knows is that he or she has to grow up.”

Just this week, Miami Neighborhoods United sent a request to the commission to defer payment of the money until a number of questions are answered about the scope of the project as it relates to green space, the approval process and how the money situation is going to work. Some museum critics doubt MAM will be able to raise enough private cash and donations of first-rate art to make a fantabulous new MAM in the park a going concern. They would like the museum to open its books for public scrutiny, at least in terms of the building and maintenance of the new museum.

Greg Bush, a former Urban Environment League president and one of the museum skeptics, wrote a proposed ordinance he’s hoping three city commissioners will support. The ordinance points out problems with the process of approving museums in the park, and requires a really detailed waterfront planning process with lots of public input and city follow-through.

Last week developer and art collector Marty Margulies wrote another letter to the Miami City Commission lambasting MAM and Riley, and questioning why we should spend $100 million-plus of public funds on an art museum when so many other civic needs go unmet.

Margulies is brutal in his assessment of MAM compared to other museums elsewhere. He writes that MAM ranks last among 129 museums in terms of the size of its art collection, has an abysmally small membership, a small number of paying visitors and hasn’t demonstrated an ability to raise the huge sums necessary to sustain it without an additional future public handout.

“To our community leaders, I urge HEART — standing for Health care, Education, Affordable housing, Refuge for the homeless, and Transportation/infrastructure — before ART when it comes to quality of life,” he writes. “When we have provided for our children, our sick, disabled and elderly, our homeless, and our poor and working class, then we can spend more of our hard-earned dollars on the curbs, sidewalks, and gutters that need attention, along with a brand new art museum for the very few who patronize this venue.”

The whole thing is driving Riley nuts. After 14 years as chief curator of architecture and design for New York’s Museum of Modern Art, he was hired by MAM’s board with much heralding as the walk-on-water guy who could get the thing done with a minimum of embarrassment.

Now suddenly, the feel-good environment of public bond issues is gone, residents are stressed by taxes and the political juice of supporters like Miami Mayor Manny Diaz is being drained by other battles. Riley is not happy about it. “It’s quite frustrating in general,” he said. “I waste too much time on politics when I could be talking to architects.

“I thought before I came here there was more of a solid political backing,” he continued. “Because I wasn’t aware there wasn’t, I wasn’t visiting those commissioners [who have expressed doubts]. There was a vacuum of information and half-truths were able to fill the day.”

Riley added that at the time of the public bond issues, the press seemed favorable and the trustees of the MAM board felt the overwhelming approval meant they’d done their job. Riley said MAM has since been “fairly complacent” and didn’t take the opposition seriously until recently.

“There are only three people opposed to this,” he said. “How a few people can simply, by sending a lot of e-mails, raise questions about the vote — that makes me worry a bit about the democratic process. [Activists Steve] Hagen and Bush and [Judy] Sandoval are implacably against this project. They will say the wildest things.”

In fact, Riley asserts, the longer opponents delay the project, the more expensive it will get and the less valuable the public’s contribution will be. Each delay of a month costs half a million dollars.

Another reason Riley is frustrated is that he’s an architect. He knows he can do the job. The way he figures, with a $100-million leg-up from the public and the $35 million he’s got so far in private commitments, he could build the thing right now. He feels MAM is being penalized for the massive construction management failures of the Performing Arts Center (also known as the Carnival Center for the Performing Arts) and Miami International Airport.

“In the post-PAC environment, all you have to do is wave the PAC sign [for people to get squeamish]” he told me. “But the PAC and the airport are not typical. All over the country people have projects built on time and on budget. In this case, ‘the buck stops here’ sign is on the private sector’s desk.”

As to Margulies, Riley quibbles with several of his assertions. For instance, he says MAM has doubled its art collection in the time he’s been there and scored several impressive works from local collectors. He claims there will be a half-billion-dollar economic impact from cultural tourism, and that the number of annual visitors (half of which are local school groups) will shoot from 60,000 to 400,000. Margulies wrote that MAM’s paying visitors numbered less than 5,000.

MAM critics have said its supporters can’t raise enough money because the pool of potential donors in Miami who care about anything other than bling is small. Riley admitted it’s not as easy here, but he thinks $35 million is good, considering many donors are reluctant to commit until they see dirt turning. He said the same thing happened with MoMA in New York.

“These are large gifts to the people giving them,” he said. “For some, they’ve never given a million dollars before. Most of the 35 comes from 12 people. We haven’t finished soliciting our board of trustees yet. We’re a third of the way through them.”

I asked Riley whether he would, if pressed by a commissioner, agree to extensive public scrutiny of the building process. He feels that approach risks miring the project in endless delays.

“We’ve revealed all our capital campaign to the city manager. We’ve done that with the county. The city and county have zero liability beyond the bond issues. Our [internal] committee has to approve the contracts and budget. These are people matching the county with their own money. It’s a good process.”

Right. Maybe so, but that line will never sell in this town.

What will happen if the commission decides not to release the money? Riley said if money is squeezed, it’s the extras, such as “green building” factors, that will be killed off first. “I will never pretend $2 million is not a whole lot of money, but we will still go forward,” he said.

Now I have a couple of suggestions for the park people, who have in many ways suffered from the same lack of vigilance as the museum people, thus leading to this last-minute fight.

Prove people need and want a park there, and that you won’t neglect it, even if the city does. Go round up a bunch of rug rats and take them to the park every week. Give ’em something to do. Form sports or nature clubs for young people. Make videos. Keep at it. Get a local musician to write a funny song about the park and get it on the local radio stations.

Alex Fuentes, one of the leaders of the activists trying to save the Hialeah racetrack from becoming Midtown Hialeah, has another suggestion, which is to site one or more of the museums at the old track. It's got a Metrorail stop, plenty of parking, flamingos. Not a bad idea, much as it will never happen.

Here’s another idea. What about taking a bunch of those empty lots bad affordable housing developers left behind and turning them into some parkland all over the city? How about making the Miami Heat actually put soccer fields in behind the arena, like they promised a decade ago?

I could go on, but you get the point. Bring the people and the leaders will follow.

Comments? E-mail wakefield@miamisunpost.com.

[DShoost88]

Originally Posted by dave8721

Did Pace Park and Bayfront Park & Brickell Park get swallowed up by the Nothing (Neverending Story reference)?

I couldn't help but post to that--The Neverending Story is one of my favorite childhood movies! Valkor, Atrayoo (sp?), Sebastian, Mr. Correander... oh, it's been too long.

[intresant]

The museum argument reminds me of the monarchy argument in England. They bring an intangible value to the city and contribute more than meets the eye. Tourism wil be boosted I am sure.

[thetallerthebetter]

This guy is great at PR he makes it seem like just because you might oppose both Museums in the park then you must be a dumb yahoo who hates museums.

[dave8721]

Interesting to see that after getting elected Sarnoff has gone from one of museam parks cheif oppenents to one of its cheef supporter on the commission:

http://www.miamisunpost.com/0621news.htm

Sarnoff: To Save Park, We Must Build on It

City Commission Gives MAM Another $2 Million — With Conditions

By Adrian Carrillo

According to the Miami City Commission’s newest member, Miami has not done enough to push for prime investment and exposure opportunities for the arts. “If we don’t start supporting our local artists and art venues, then we will never have a thriving arts community,” said Commissioner Marc Sarnoff during last Thursday’s commission meeting.

After his 15-minute speech, he helped reach into the city’s purse to change that trend.
Sarnoff voted, along with Commissioner Joe Sanchez, to allocate $2 million to create a new Miami Art Museum at Bicentennial Park. The $2 million will be added to a pool of private funds and pledges of about $36 million, as well as county bond funds of $100 million, for the design and construction of the new facility. The total project would amount to $208 million, according to MAM sources — $120 million for construction and design, $70 million for the museum’s operating endowment and $18 million for transitional expenses related to the project.

MAM currently has a 24,000-square-foot space at the Miami-Dade County Cultural Center dedicated to contemporary art with an emphasis on art of the Americas. The projected size of the new MAM, which is to be built alongside a new Miami Science Museum at Bicentennial Park, would be about 125,000 square feet. It is scheduled to open by 2010.

MAM’s director, Terence Riley, said the Miami City Commission vote was a major victory for the art museum, and art education in general. “The opponents of the Museum Park plan raised every imaginable objection, all of which were reopened for thorough and — at times — heated discussion over the past few weeks. The vote in favor puts these to rest,” Riley wrote via e-mail the day after the decision.

A “work in progress exhibit” showcasing the new MAM’s proposed look will be presented to the public sometime next fall, with additional public forums on the design to follow, Riley said. The firm of Herzog and de Meuron has been developing designs for the new MAM since October.

The $2 million from the city of Miami comes with conditions, however. Sarnoff created a list of nine benchmarks that must be met, including the creation of 500 underground public parking spaces paid for by the museum, and immediate formation of a committee to raise between $12 million and $20 million so the museum can re-landscape and maintain Bicentennial Park. Sanchez added a requirement for an oversight committee to assess costs and the project as a whole. Riley believed the commission’s conditions were “reasonable.”
Sarnoff also approached the decision as a way to save Bicentennial Park itself. He spoke of visiting the park and finding the green open space by Bayside mostly frequented by the homeless. He quoted Jane Jacobs, a prominent urbanist and writer, who labeled Bicentennial Park a “vacuous park,” meaning it does not attract the public as much as it should because of lack of an inviting entry point. “We need to create magnets within the park, to attract people,” said Sarnoff. “Bicentennial Park is the place for this museum.”

Sarnoff also presented an example of a vacuous park that had created the funding necessary to complete a large and modern museum: The Milwaukee Museum of Art, which, according to Sarnoff, cost that city $121 million to construct.

Skepticism and outright objection were not hard to come by at City Hall, from Commissioner Michelle Spence-Jones, Commissioner Tomas Regalado and neighborhood watch groups.

Spence-Jones described it as “a difficult sale” because she feared “broken promises,” and wanted an agreement to make sure the museum would give something back to neighboring areas. Regalado was concerned the city was not receiving enough for the land it was giving up.

“We are already giving up what could be $50 million in land for something that is not ours. I just don’t know what is in it for the city of Miami,” Regalado said. He said he has a love for the arts, but had to object to spending taxpayers’ dollars in this fashion.

Representatives from several neighborhood coalitions made clear they did not like the prospect of spending money that could be headed elsewhere. Nina West and Judy Sandoval, members of Parks and Public Spaces and Miami Neighborhoods United, both expressed concern about the museums’ direction and the fiscal responsibility of the commissioners who are allotting funds for a project that has not yet been designed, or finalized.

“We object to the use of park space and public money and hope you will defer this issue until all papers concerning this are signed,” Sandoval said.

Grace Solares, president of Miami Neighborhoods United, expressed a similar sentiment. “We ask that you defer this item to September when you will have all of the documents of this deal … in front of you,” she said.

This did little to deter the final decision, which was approved 2-1 — Sarnoff and Sanchez voting in favor, Regalado against. Commissioners Michelle Spence-Jones and Angel Gonzalez both were absent during the vote.

Another theme that presented itself frequently was the fear of creating another Carnival Performing Arts Center fiasco, which cost $473 million to build and has run over budget this year by about $4 million. Sanchez also pointed to the continual delays in opening the performing arts center (his reason for the creation of an oversight committee). But despite this concern, Sanchez still believed the project was well worth the risk, noting that Miami was competing with other cities like New York and Paris in the realms of art and culture.

“There is a time when vision and leadership come together, and that day is today,” he said.

[Miami-305]

Great news for Museum Park!

it's also good to hear it will be open by 2010, that's only 3 years from now, which means it will be getting underway soon.

[spellbound]

Sarnoff will probably be a NIMBY'S dream commissioner based on his past comments and the voting bloc he represents, but at least he recognizes that Bicentennial will NEVER thrive as simply a green space (as nice as that would be) because Biscayne Boulevard simply walls it off from easy pedestrian access.

I think the current proposals for the park can be done tastefully and still leave it as a relaxing environment. Nobody is proposing condo towers there.

[Hia-leah JDM]

I like that Snachez said that Miami is competing with cities like New York and Paris in the Arts.

[southfloridamiamian]

Yea wow i mean damn didnt expect that from sarnoff. Somebdoy got scared that winton might get his job back huh lol

[DOWNTOWNER]

Anyone know why a forum was held on October 4 to discuss plans for museum park....I thought the city had already agreed on plans. What is the big hold-up on this project getting started?????

[Jaywalker of Miami]

Yeah I was really looking forward to this one...when is it going to get started?