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<br />Aquarium plan excites Sunny Isles commissIOners - U2/20/1U I U - MiamiHerald.col11 <br /> <br />Page 1 of 3 <br /> <br />~ <br /> <br />Qrhe liiiulni litrnl~ .;1 <br /> <br />Posted on Sat, Feb. 20, 2010 <br /> <br />Aquarium plan excites Sunny Isles commissioners <br /> <br />BY DOUGLAS HANKS <br />dhanks@MiamiHerald.com <br /> <br />C) <br /> <br />. t~~:t~~:-;~;1 ~~;~~gd~~~~~~~;. c~;~~:~e~~SqO~~~~~~ is <br /> <br />t"~~'ir'.~" ,. · ( . and park across from its new luxury <br />. ..-:r".::.r' t.r.. ' residential complex in Sunny Isles Beach, <br />..~ >,,- " ~ _ creating a tourist attraction that city leaders <br />..,. _' .:; see ~s ~ milestone for the resort <br />'. . : destination. <br /> <br />..:,;;-.~J The plan commissioned by the Coral <br />Rendering of the proposed Towne Center Commons'park Gables devel~per would transform a strip <br />development, which would be erected across from the new mall near Collins Avenue and Sunny Isles <br />St. Tropez cond~ complex near Collins Avenue and Sunny Boulevard into an elevated park with shops, <br />Isles Boulevard In Sunny Isles Beach. restaurants and an aquarium run by the <br />owner of the Miami Seaquarium. Sunny <br />Isles spent about $20 million acquiring the land over the last two years, including a $1.5 <br />million parcel owned by J. Milton. <br /> <br />Sunny Isles expects to spend an additional $15 million building the park and a 350-car <br />underground parking garage. The complex could open as early as 2013. <br /> <br /> <br />Wometco, the Seaquarium owner, would finance construction of a $25 million aqt:larium <br />and entertainment complex, which it would lease from Sunny Isles Beach. <br /> <br />J. Milton, which wants the contract to build the project, would donate a $1.5 million <br />elevated walkway over Collins Avenue that would connect the park to the beach. <br /> <br />Company president Joseph Milton acknowledged the park will help his new St. Tropez <br />condo complex, where some units sell for $1 million. <br /> <br />But he also sees his plan for the site as the best option for a parcel designated as parkland <br />in the city's master plan. <br /> <br />"Ves, there's an obvious interest for me to have that park built," Milton said. <br /> <br />But" every developer on the beach is going to benefit. There's no place to congregate in <br />that city." <br /> <br />At a presentation Friday, city leaders touted Milton's plan as a turning point for the city, <br />which has transformed its beachfront from a stretch of motels to a canyon of luxury hotels <br />and condominiums. A new aquarium and cutting-edge park at the city's entrance would <br />give tourists another reason to visit and residents a place to gather, they said. <br /> <br />o <br /> <br />http://www.miamiherald.com/20 1 0/02/20/v-printl1 490069/aquurium-plan-excites-sunny-is. .. 2/22/2010 <br />