Matheson Hammock Marina

Dear Fellow Coral Gables and Miami-Dade Residents:

For the past 12 years, creating the best possible marina facilities at Matheson Hammock Park has been a dream and a passion of mine. Matheson was the first park I ever went to as a child. As I grew older, I recall weekly bicycle trips there and as a teenager, our family had a small boat, which we trailered into the park and launched from the boat ramp.

I don’t consider myself a visionary, a builder or even an entrepreneur. The motivation behind my drive to build a new, clean and safe boat storage facility is to create something my friends and neighbors could be proud of, and to improve my fellow Coral Gables residents’ opportunity to enjoy a day out in the water, launching from a place that’s convenient to their homes.

For more than a decade, I’ve spoken to countless Coral Gables residents, neighbors and friends. They complain about the traffic jams leading in and out of the park, their frustration at the long lines to unload and pull the boats in and out of the water, as well as the congestion associated with the existing ramp.

Moreover, while we all recognize that Miami-Dade County is providing boating access to the wider population of residents through the park’s boat ramp, City residents are forbidden to store boats on trailers in their yards or driveways, and are thus forced to drive to Black Point or to Coconut Grove to store their boats. The new facility at Matheson Hammock Park will alleviate all of these concerns and make boating more accessible to many more City residents. Our City is one of the finest in the world and we deserve a world-class facility worthy of, and in keeping with, the high standards of The City Beautiful.

Personally, as I embark upon this mission, I remember 1992.

When hurricane Andrew hit, thousands of boats that were seemingly secured on the bay were destroyed or “relocated” to front yards, roofs and pools of countless homes in the Coral Gables area. Damages were tallied in the hundreds of millions of dollars, a price we’re all still paying through sky-high insurance rates. At this time, our City residents do not have a safe, secure place to store their boats during hurricane season. As such, we’ve designed the new park facility to combine the very best aesthetic qualities and environmental advances we all demand, with the structural strength to withstand Category 5 hurricane winds, keeping boats safe and sound when another hurricane strikes.

In order to create the best and safest marina in the world, and one that improves on the environmental capabilities of the current site, I’ve assembled a “dream team” of experts in their respective fields, all of whom are highly experienced and respected members of our South Florida community:

• Aqua Marine Partners – Aventura. A marina and boat-storage development company, AMP owns and manages marina facilities in the United States, with an emphasis on its hometown market.

• RJ Heisenbottle Architects – Coral Gables. South Florida's premier historic-preservation design group.

• David Plummer & Associates - Coral Gables. One of the region's most respected engineering firms is the project's traffic and parking consultant.

• EAS Engineering – Miami. Environmental consultants with extensive experience in environmental mitigation.

• Laura Llerena & Associates – Miami. Landscape architect.

In coming weeks, these experts will update this site with facts about the project. Please sign up for our newsletter, which will keep you posted on the many ways that the Matheson Hammock Park boat storage facility will benefit all Coral Gables and Miami-Dade residents.

South Florida needs and deserves a world-class facility at Matheson Hammock Park for the good of our families, our park, our community and the environment.

Respectfully yours,

Marc Buoniconti