Miami Beach Breaks Ground On Park Redesign To Build New Living Shoreline

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – The City of Miami Beach is redesigning Brittany Bay Park, which means the park will close down as construction begins on a new living shoreline next to the public space.

"We would be standing in water here in 20 or 30 years," City of Miami Beach Capital Improvements Manager David Martinez said.

The worry is that if no improvements are made to save the shoreline, sea-level rise will have a huge effect on land. That's why Miami Beach and the Nature Conservancy broke ground to build a new living shoreline at Brittany Bay Park.

"All of the land on the other side of the seawall would be gone," Martinez explained.

It could be easily eroded by severe storms. Saving the shoreline is one of his top projects, as sea rise and climate change increases flooding potential.

"A project that's going to serve as an example of as a model for much of Florida and the Coastal US," Nature Conservancy Florida Executive Director Temperince Morgan said.

The renovation project is aimed at harnessing the power of nature, so existing concrete seawalls will be combined with natural infrastructure such as trees to reduce the impact of coastal flooding.

"The water comes up we know that and what we're doing here is figuring out how to make it so that our beautiful park and our green space interacts appropriately," Mayor Dan Gelber said.

Miami Beach has 55 miles of shoreline, however, about 91% is private property. Regardless the city is investing $10 million toward these types of resilient seawalls on public property, and residents can expect to see more like it in years to come.