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1660-4 North Beach THE HERALD SUNDAY APRIL 8 , 2 0 0 1 P I -V, ._ There is pent y ,, �. of room to liep � Beach flowerkt , { No11th1. .. . , +f intoacenterpiece i BETH DUNLOP inimmilicazums a bdunlop®herald.com to* Gx Y' of the Hans Christian ; Like the fledgling �;. Andersen fairy tale,North Beach is an"ugly Y: t duckling" yearning to become a swan. AS IN the Art Deco District has prospered, neighbor to the north has languished, the victim of demographics,economics — even , a certain amount of disinvestment. It's an area about twice the lesssize compact Deco District and much 63rd Street to 87th Terrace, ocean to bay. Too big and wide-ranging to be considered ro a neighborhood, it's more a town within a town, with a population diverse in both income and ethnicity. n aloCollins That diversity shows up Isle,gNorth Avenue and around Normandysee , . '' Beach's two shopping districts;you can r it in the restaurants,cafes and pastry shops tk, —Colombian,Venezuelan,Brazilian,Peru- ' , ti vian, Argentine, Mexican, Italian, French, ,, Chinese,Japanese,Mediterranean,Cuban, `� Jewish and American.The weekend farm- er's market in front of the fanciful Nor- mandy Isle fountain confirms the ethnic array with its offerings of tropical-fruit bad- dos and exotic vegetables. The architectural potential is there too, ; with slightly tatty but totally charming com- mercial streets and lots of early modern buildings,Deco and otherwise,just waiting ,� - for an upgrade.It is a place in the making, with its share of problems(clogged traffic, Vi ,,� t,. too many gas stations, drugstores, vacant i+ lots and parking lots) and possibilities. w The prosperity and popularity of other ,. • parts of Miami Beach manifests here in fits and starts— a renovated hotel,an upscale t restaurant, a shop with a handsome new storefront.There's no real place to gather, _ . — . _ $ t 4 AA ' Ot 4, � 0 . 1. ..Y t 0 . Po ANNIE ETHERIDGE/HERALD STAFF A R T R A view of Collins Avenue between 70th and 71st Streets.The Miami Beach City E L I S A Commission this month plans to select a developer for a site a block away. elisaturn though,unless it's on the aluminum bleach- In the Biltmore's state ers that overlook the softball field at North table laden with orchids a Shore Park, and they are both uncomfort- able and old. ical light. But even the most elegant set of bleach- dWell-heeled Miamian, ers could never make a defining space for a ing tos,ostther png to paintingspr city. The land now in use as a city parking blinn on lighto nd color.Ter lot at 72nd and Collins Avenue,the equiva- in anand sculptures The e lent of two city blocks between the ocean- Ings and Jamaiaand front band shell and the part,offers just that oBarbados, Jamaica tsa 1 chance,the opportunity to create a place of firm,rganized by Arts Magna consequence. It's a fleeting moment,how- But to promote tropical ever. The Miami Beach City Commission But some artists and ct this month plans to select a developer for 500 invited guests were n( this site for an as-of-yet undetermined use. And that is a plan fraught with danger. The city's idea is to hire a developer and then,with public participation,decide what . L, goes there. But that is backward. The first Y ` step ought to be to make a plan and establish ' the'architectural principles, then select a 6' 'mss '' developer to carry out the plan. The size, , r y I,, shape, rhythm and nature of the architec- s: ¢} ; ture, even the optimal uses for the site, 3` ' r ought to be well established before private :j ;,( % ,, hands take over. This is city-owned land, • N ", , A. and what is built on it should put the public in the forefront. r ` The worst course of action would be to - overbuild.That's clear from failed,inward- �. , ;; turning malls in South Florida and through- y� + . out the country;the Omni and the old Bak- t 4 i ,.e ..>... ery Center are prime examples of bloated x i t ' R developments,antithetical to the block-by- r "' .fr block cadence of the city. The development of the 41/2-acre site ., should be low in scale,gregarious in intent 1. . and urbane in outlook.A significant portion S l of the land should be public space.There isit C >` plenty of room for shops and cafes,galleries and performance spaces, even for small- •", ' scaled residential development at the sec- ..y"; and story.Parking should be limited to fos- `' " ""' ter a pedestrian-friendly environment. To see what it could become, one need ".._,. 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