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Watson Island
Watson Island is a neighborhood and man-made island in Biscayne Bay, in Miami, Florida. It is located Immediately east of the Central Business District and Arts & Entertainment District neighborhoods of downtown Miami and is connected to the mainland and South Beach, Miami Beach by the MacArthur Causeway. HistoryThe island was deeded to the city in 1919 with the restriction that it only be used for public or municipal purposes. The city gave it to the state and the state deeded it back to the city with similar restrictions - both in the 1940s. In 1979 the city attempted to circumvent this prohibition by claiming that the underwater land surrounding the island is a preserve and Watson Island need not be protected as per the deed, as a park, or for public ownership and use.[1] The island had a name change from Causeway Island to Watson Island, named for John W. Watson Sr., who was Mayor of Miami 1912-1915 and 1917–1919. In 1932 Watson Island was considered for the site of Miami's Pan-American Exposition, a World's Fair and "International Merchandise mart." By the end of the 1940s, however, the site of the Exposition, now called Interama, was moved North to where Oleta River State Park is today.  A Goodyear Blimp base was located on Watson Island from 1930 to 1978, initially on the east side of the island and later on a new landfill area to the west. Goodyear moved the base to Opa-locka Airport after failing to agree on lease renewal terms with the city. Vestiges of the old base still remain such as the imprint of the mooring circle and a paved path for a small tram that would transport passengers to the airship.[2][3] Grand plans to develop the island started in 1979, with a planned amusement park, Diplomat World. Residents formed "Save Watson Island, Inc", a neighborhood group opposing the use for anything other than a park. They had public demonstrations and because of the demonstrations and a variety of other reasons, the amusement park was never built.[1] Another development included one from the late 1990s, culminating in 2003 when Jungle Island relocated to Watson. There has been continued controversy stemming from Jungle Island's inability to meet the financing terms it had made with the local municipalities when the move was approved. Local elected officials had and continue to bail out Jungle Island with tax dollars. The Miami Children's Museum also relocated to the island in 2003.[4] The State of Florida offered a site in the Island Gardens project on Watson Island to host the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) Permanent Secretariat.[5] As of March 2006 the Florida Department of Transportation was planning to construct a tunnel from the Port of Miami on Dodge Island under the main shipping channel to the MacArthur Causeway on Watson Island.[6] On May 24, 2010, construction began on the Port of Miami Tunnel; it was completed on August 3, 2014.[7][8] Current public facilitiesAviation Center Ichimura Miami – Japanese Garden Jungle Island Miami Children's Museum Miami Outboard Club Miami Yacht Club Public Boat Ramp Future planningIn 2001, voters approved a bond measurer for what many thought was a public park for Watson Island and later many insisted they were tricked by the wording of the measure. However, the allowance was in fact for the City of Miami's public partnership with a developer for a mega-yacht marina related commercial development concept, Island Gardens. In 2004 the City of Miami and Miami-Dade County approved Island Gardens, a $281 million, hotel and marina development on Watson Island. The development included two hotels, retail and restaurant space, landscaped promenade gardens and a marina serving mega yachts.[16] An environmental watchdog group sued to halt the project, unsuccessfully. In 2009 the equity investor Flagstone had signed up withdrew from the project due to global financial crisis and failure of bank syndication. The city forgave the developer, enabling them to keep right of development, extending the deadline for payments.[17] Miami developer Jorge Perez, was interested as a partner in 2013, at which point the project jumped over three times to a proposed $1B project, with interest from the Related Companies. Jorge Perez later pulled out, citing, in part, concern about their expansion regarding City of Miami Beach residents, that the project will cause traffic nightmares on the causeway between the two cities. Flagstone submitted a new outline to the City of Miami that they were not increasing their approved numbers. EducationThe local school district for the entire county is Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Zoned schools for Watson Island include:
See alsoReferences
External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Watson Island. 25°47′05.0″N 080°10′33.0″W / 25.784722°N 80.175833°W
Information related to Watson Island |
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