PROJECT UPDATES / PUBLIC

In March 2000, the City purchased a 54-acre parcel located north of Miramar Parkway, east of Red Road, west of Hiatus Road and south of Miramar Boulevard. It then proceeded to acquire all of the necessary development entitlements for the property’s development into a vibrant mixed-use Town Center that would house the new City Hall facilities, a public library, cultural center – arts park and educational center in the civic complex area. The project is also programmed to contain retail, office and residential components. Once all necessary entitlements were acquired, the City developed a Master Plan and a Pattern Book to guide the development of the project.  In December 2002, the City broke ground on the Town Center project and vertical construction of the new 87,000 square foot City Hall facility began in May 2003.  City Hall reached substantial completion in August 2004 and a phased move-in commenced shortly thereafter. The City Hall Grand Opening Celebration was held in December 2004 with over 8,000 people in attendance.   

The City entered into a partnership with Broward County and higher education entities, namely Broward College (BC) and Nova Southeastern University (NSU), to construct a community library and education center in an effort to provide a variety uses for the benefit of the public at the Town Center site. In July 2002, the City deeded a 4-acre parcel to the County and entered into an interlocal agreement for the construction of the building.  The City Commission approved the site plan for the Miramar Library-Education Center in November 2005. The project broke ground in November 2006 and construction was completed in the summer of 2008.  Library operations and classes commenced in autumn 2008.

The three-story building contains a Broward County Branch Community Library on the first floor, which includes a collection of 100,000 items, multi-purpose room with capacity for 100 people, tutoring rooms, quiet study room, conference room, 100 computer stations, wireless hot-spots, storytelling/program room, drive-up book return, Friends of the Library space and public art by Robert Calvo.

The second and third floors house BC and NSU, respectively. Each institution offers a wide variety of credit and non-credit courses for adults of all ages.

The development of Miramar’s first Cultural Center – Arts Park has resulted in a significant contribution to the cultural development of southwest Broward County by allowing the City to celebrate its rich cultural diversity through a variety of programs and activities. This project borders the new City Hall facility and the Civic Plaza.  It encompasses 46,000 square feet, which includes an 800+ seat theatre, art gallery, multi-purpose rooms, banquet hall, botanical garden, recital/rehearsal spaces, classrooms, meeting rooms, full-service kitchen, and administrative offices.

In November 2004, the City Commission awarded the design contract for this project to the partnership of Cartaya & Associates/Spillis Candela DMJM. In January 2005, the City Commission selected Kaufman-Lynn as the construction manager at risk. The project received City Commission site plan approval in November 2005. Construction kicked-off in May 2007 and completion was accomplished in December 2008.

In 2002, the City received a $2.1 million grant from Broward County to assist with funding for the project and associated Arts Park. Broward County commissioned international artist Alison Sky to design the public art water feature for the project known as ‘Vanishing View’. The City is also the recipient of a State of Florida $500,000 Cultural Facilities Grant.

The Town Center project houses a mass transit facility known as ‘Central Station’ that currently provides Miramar Shuttle service and eventually will also connect to three Broward County mass-transit routes and one Miami-Dade County mass-transit route. The facility includes covered waiting areas, driver relief areas, a customer service booth, bike racks and showers/restrooms. City Hall and the Cultural Center-Arts Park are approximately 300 feet from this facility.

The City prepared a Transit/Pedestrian Mobility Plan and continues to actively pursue Federal Transit Administration (FTA) construction reimbursement funds that were previously protected by Letters of No Prejudice.  Miramar has already recouped over $1 million from the FTA.  Additionally, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) awarded $615,000 in grants towards the project.