Lord Norman Foster-Designed Tower Proposed To Rise Above Terminal Island

Luxe high-design condos and a mega-yacht marina on Terminal Island? That’s the pitch Harvey Hernandez of Newgard Development made to Miami Beach City Manager Jimmy Morales last week in a proposal for a public private partnership with conceptual plans drawn up by starchitecture firm Foster + Partners sent in by a Curbed reader. Proposed plans show an approximately 60+-unit diamond shaped tower at the tip of the island and a deepwater marina, with the city’s unsightly storage and service bays tucked underneath the tower’s parking. Hernandez, who is in the midst of developing BrickellHouse and the garage-free Centro, acquired the lot last year.

If the city accepts Hernandez’s proposal, the project would require a rezoning and amendment to the city’s Future Land Use Map. In exchange, Newgard would construct new city facilities, though the city would have to pay for them. A letter to Morales submitted by Newgard’s attorneys with the plans appeals to the city manager’s desire for the “maximum highest and best use of waterfront property.” In other words, Terminal Island could be something other than an eyesore, and really quite spectacular.