Board hears limited updates on Civitas planning work and Miami Herald reporting on 38-acre aquarium site

Board members briefly reviewed the status of two long-running items: the Civitas planning contract and reporting about a 38-acre aquarium site south of Virginia Key.

A board member summarized past work with Civitas, a Colorado-based planning firm hired by the city, and said the city paid about $800,000 for the planning contract. "My general feeling is it's kind of been tossed out, and they're kind of going back to the drawing boards and kind of picking and choosing things out of it that, the city wants to do," the board member said, adding that parts of the plan have been implemented selectively.

Separately, the board discussed a Miami Herald article (which staff circulated by email) reporting that the aquarium tenant on a 38-acre site has been evicted by Miami-Dade County for alleged animal-mistreatment and other violations, and that developers including Terra Group and Integra had contacted the tenant about taking over the site. Staff and board members did not provide additional details beyond the public reporting and agreed to place the topic on a future agenda for discussion with city staff.

Why it matters: Civitas was a major planning contract for Virginia Key and park-adjacent development; the aquarium site could involve nearby park operations and developer interest that would affect Virginia Key and causeway parks.

Next steps: The board asked staff to follow up and to place both the Civitas plan status and the 38-acre aquarium site on an upcoming agenda for fuller updates from planning and county staff.