LTC 441-2025 Aquatic Sculpture Park (Reefline) First Phase DeploymentMIAMI BEACH
OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER
LTC #441-2025 LETTER TO COMMISSION
TO: Honorable Mayor Steven Meiner and Members of the City Commission
FROM, Eric Carpenter, City Manager & �
DATE: October 15, 2025
SUBJECT: Aquatic Sculpture Park (REEFLINE) -First Phase Deployment
The Administration is pleased to announce that the first phase of the Arts & Culture General
Obligation (G.O.) Bond Aquatic Sculpture Park -REEFLINE -will be deployed on October 20-21
and October 27-28.
During these dates, Miami Beach residents and visitors will be able to witness a 159-foot
construction barge lowering 22 life-sized, marine-grade concrete cars into the ocean,
approximately 780 feet offshore at 4th Street. Once deployed, these sculptural forms make up
Concrete Coral, a new underwater installation by internationally recognized artist Leandro Erlich,
arranged as a surreal underwater traffic jam 20 feet below the ocean's surface.
Soon to be seeded with 2,200 corals cultivated in REEFLINE's Miami Native Coral Lab in
Allapattah, Concrete Coral will use Coral Lok ™, an innovative technology that enables fast, secure
and sustainable coral transplantation. The artwork transforms a symbol of urban congestion into a
living reef that enhances marine ecosystems - a poetic reversal of humanity's environmental
footprint.
Conceived by cultural placemaker Ximena Caminos as a blueprint for coastal cities worldwide,
with a master plan by Shohei Shigematsu/OMA, REEFLINE is powered by a multidisciplinary
collective of marine biologists, coastal engineers, designers, artists and environmental experts.
The 11-phase project aims to raise $40 million to extend its underwater corridor across 7 miles -
the full length of Miami Beach -with the goal of outplanting thousands of corals.
The first phase was made possible. through a portion of the $5 million allocation from the Arts &
Culture G.O. Bond. Future installations will include Miami Reef Star by Carlos Betancourt and
Alberto Latorre, and Heart of Okeanos by Petroc Sesti.
EC/MH'£