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mh NEW LOOK FOR OCEAN DRIVE 11/13/1989
THE MIAMI HERALD
Copyright (c) 1989, The Miami Herald
DATE: Monday, November 13, 1989 EDITION: FINAL
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: IB LENGTH: 73 lines
ILLUSTRATION: photo: News Cafe owners Mark Soyka and Jeffrey
Dispenzieri (OCEAN DRIVE) ; map: Construction along Ocean Drive
SOURCE/CREDIT LINE: DAVID ZEMAN Herald Staff Writer
NEW LOOK FOR OCEAN DRIVE
CONSTRUCTION ALMOST COMPLETE
ALONG DRESSED-UP PROMENADE
After a long, dreary summer of roiling dust clouds, rumbling road graders,
nerve-rattling pneumatic drills and parking shortages, South Beach residents
and visitors are savoring a broad, landscaped promenade along Ocean Drive.
The walkway between Fifth and 15th streets in South Beach has been
widened from five to 15 feet, colored burgundy, and dressed up with shrubs and
125 palm trees.
Six eateries are taking advantage of the wider sidewalk on the west side
of Ocean Drive by setting up outdoor tables.
"For us, it's a natural, " said News Cafe co-owner Mark Soyka. "People
come here for cappuccino or glasses of wine or croissants, so we will do well
as an outdoor cafe."
Restaurateurs aren't the only ones celebrating the nearly completed $2.4
million project. With bulldozers rumbling past for the last nine months, Ocean
Drive hotel owners have had problems selling rooms to major tour operators.
"With the end of construction, Ocean Drive will become a very attractive
tourist destination, " said Denis Russ, executive director of the Miami Beach
Development Corp.
About one-third of the street's properties have been renovated by
developers, including about 500 of the 2,000 hotel rooms along the popular
oceanside strip known for its restored Art Deco hotels and nightspots.
"What we anticipate is that this construction project is going to double
the rehabilitation of both the private properties and the hotel rooms within
the next three years," Russ said.
"In the last few weeks, I've seen thousands of people on the sidewalk, "
said Oliver Mayoral, owner of the Breakwater and Edison hotels in the center
of the 10-block street. "When we bought these hotels two or three years ago,
we were afraid to come here at night."
Before the project began in February, the sidewalk could barely
accommodate two pedestrians walking abreast. Inadequate street lighting made
visitors fearful of strolling along the road's quieter stretches.
"I like the fact that people don't have to walk down the middle of the
street anymore, " said Ozzy Espino, 28, who recently moved back to Miami Beach
after two years in California.
"But it may mean more traffic, which I don't like."
The project was supposed to be completed Nov. 6, but is several weeks
behind schedule, said Beach Public Works Director Richard Gatti.
The final layer of asphalt on Ocean Drive will not be
applied until Friday. Much of the park along the street's eastern side below
10th Street is filled with untraversable mounds of sand and boards. And
r
workers have yet to install the new lighting, which will shine skyward from
sidewalk grates, illuminating the new trees and creating a softer, more
dramatic look.
While parking spaces were hard to find in July, the crunch has eased
considerably since the street reopened to two-way traffic Oct. 24. The city
also expects a new 270-space parking garage to open by Friday on nearby
Collins Avenue at 13th Street.
Josef Egger, 25, a student from Munich, West Germany, gave the recent
improvements high marks.
"The difference between the French Riviera and here isn't so great, " said
Egger. "The only difference is the palm trees. The beach and the sun are the
same."
Ocean Drive Association President Tony Goldman said his two hotels, the
Park Central and the Imperial, suffered from the summer roadwork. His popular
restaurant, Lucky's, was one of three eateries to close for several weeks in
August and September.
"But we're spirited pioneers," Goldman said. "We knew we would take our
lumps and were well prepared to expect it would be an intolerable situation.
But if you know the pain has a beginning and an end, you can endure it. "
KEYWORDS: MB ROAD CONSTRUCTION COST REACTION