A Rickenbacker sky deck, profits from the beaches: Miami-Dade’s $510M causeway plan
Miami-Dade County’s plan to let a for-profit company take over the Rickenbacker and Venetian causeways could fund about $510 million in upgrades and bridge replacements through higher tolls and revenues tied to beaches and coastlines along the scenic thoroughfares, according to a draft request for proposals.
The parameters outlined in the draft solicitation to “Develop, Maintain and Operate Rickenbacker and Venetian Causeways” seem to mesh with the plan already submitted by a private equity group aligned with architect Bernard Zyscovich.
While that proposal remains confidential, it’s modeled after Zyscovich’s well publicized “Plan Z” design to convert the Rickenbacker into a safer cycling route and a more active park area.
The county’s draft request for proposals includes several of the upgrades featured on the Plan Z website, including an “iconic, state of the art observation deck on the Rickenbacker Causeway” overlooking Biscayne Bay, new fishing piers off the Rickenbacker and the possibility for raised bike lanes.
Miami-Dade considered the Zyscovich group’s proposal unsolicited when it was submitted in March, triggering confidentiality rules and setting the stage for the county to launch a formal bidding process to consider all offers.
That process will formally begin once Miami-Dade issues a request for proposals from potential bidders. A draft request appeared on a county procurement website earlier this month, and it contains some details of the planned project. It matches a longer and slightly different version that’s been on a county website since June.
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The June version lists the estimated cost of the project at $510 million. Miami-Dade doesn’t plan to pay into the project, although it may contribute state or federal dollars to bring down the construction cost, according to the proposal documents.
Instead, the county would turn over tolling revenue to the developer that won the contract for a pair of causeways that currently generate about $15 million a year.
The proposal states the operator will have authority to set toll rates under a negotiated formula or schedule increases as part of the agreement. Tolls currently cost $2.25, but are waived for property owners along the Venetian and all but free on the Rickenbacker for Key Biscayne residents, who can purchase a yearly pass for $24.
The proposal says the operator would need to negotiate resident discounts for the causeways, and that Miami-Dade may use federal or state grants to keep toll rates lower for all drivers.
Miami Beach residents along the Venetian spoke against the proposal earlier this month, and questioned why the Venetian was now being paired with Zyscovich’s longtime effort to improve the Rickenbacker. Florida’s Transportation Department is nearing the end of a study that started in 2014 to redo the bridges on the Venetian, which has 10 fixed bridges and one drawbridge that connects with the Miami mainland.
The county proposal calls for replacing all of the bridges on the Venetian, as well as replacing Bear Cut bridge on the Rickenbacker and rehabbing all areas of the causeways. That includes improved seawalls and other measures to shore up the infrastructure against sea-level rise. The Venetian would get protected bike lanes, and new recreational areas, as well.
Along with toll revenue, the developer would earn profits from concessions on county beaches and park land along the causeways.
The proposal says that could include stores, restaurants and snack bars, and rental of equipment along the beach. The proposal calls for an “interpretive resiliency center” on the Rickenbacker that apparently would be profitable, since that facility is listed in a passage of potential revenue generators. Also on the list: naming rights and digital advertising.
Mayor Daniella Levine Cava’s administration can still make changes to the document, and awarding a big contract would require a vote by the County Commission.
Key Biscayne leaders are pushing for more spending on the roadway to improve traffic to the island village, and less on the recreational amenities that don’t directly address safety.
“Creating an iconic observation deck on the Rickenbacker Causeway — why does it have to have that?” Key Biscayne Mayor Mike Davey asked in an interview Thursday after reading the draft proposal. “I think it’s a nice aesthetic [feature]. But I don’t see it as necessary.”
This story was originally published August 13, 2021 at 6:00 AM.