Miapolis, A Dream To Create A New Tallest Tower
Filed under: Real Estate Developments

Now that the Burj Khalifa is the world's tallest building the battle to top it begins. Potential contenders include the Kingdom Tower and Miapolis. What's Miapolis? It's a 3,200-foot tower planned for Miami's Watson Island. Given Miami's epic condo meltdown and its skyline of half completed buildings can this city support a project like this? The 160-story tower would have an amusement park, observatory, shops, restaurants, condos, office space, a hotel and a marina.
The project has been around for a while but the Miami Herald reports that Guillermo Socarras has been in talks with the Federal Aviation Administration to secure approval for the height of the tower. The Herald article points out that Socarras doesn't own the land. His tower would sit on the current site of Jungle Island, a tourist attraction featuring birds and other animals. The Miapolis website outlines his proposal which includes a plan to pay off Jungle Island's $39 million loan and debts and then create a new 99-year master land lease on the 28-acre parcel to give the city $4 million a year. But the Herald article has a quote from Ronnie Krongold, co-owner of Jungle Island, who says that while he has met with Socarras a couple of times there hasn't been any forward motion in a while. And city officials don't know anything about the project.
The website promises a lot including a dondonation $30 million for college scholarships, $6.3 million for senior centers, new parks and a new light rail station. Is Miapolis yet another pipe dream with a fancy website? At this point getting funding for a multi-billion project in a city that has a surplus of condos seems unlikely. Still, it's an appealing fantasy and one that could be built in stronger economic times.
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