The Administration recommends approval of the permanent easements and license and use agreements, in order for FPL to move forward with the Miami Beach Alton-Venetian Underground Transmission Line Project.

Florida Power & Light Company (“FPL”) has a project to construct a new electric substation and underground transmission line to service customers within the City of Miami Beach. The new Alton Substation is located on 4th Street, between Michigan and Lenox Avenues, and its design has been approved by the City’s Design Review Board. The new underground transmission line will run from the existing Miami Beach Substation, along an underground path parallel to the MacArthur Causeway, to the new Alton Substation on 4th Street, to the existing Venetian Substation underground along Michigan Avenue to 19th Street. The addition of this new substation and underground transmission line will enhance the reliability and resiliency of the electric grid for the City’s FPL customers. FPL has conducted outreach to the communities impacted by the construction of this project through meetings with the neighborhood associations, a public information meeting, and mailing of nearly 16,000 letters with project fact sheet to customers in the area. FPL has also provided a dedicated telephone line for customers and residents to call for more project information, as well as an onsite project contact person during construction. 

Community Outreach and Presentations

FPL met in Spring 2020 with representatives from the South of Fifth, Flamingo Park, and Sunset Harbor neighborhood associations to gather input and provide information regarding the project. A public information meeting that was hosted in conjunction with the City’s Marketing and Communications Department was also held on December 1, 2020. The meeting details were shared with the neighborhood associations to assist in advertising the meeting. FPL also provided copies of the project letter, fact sheet, and presentations to the neighborhood associations for distribution to their membership. Project presentations were given to the City Commission in July 2020 and to the Neighborhood and Quality of Life Committee in November 2020. FPL also met with the South Pointe Elementary PTA representatives in the Spring of 2020.

Essentially, the new Alton Substation Project will be an unmanned facility that will operate quietly and complement the surrounding community infrastructure. The substation exterior was designed by renowned architect Kobi Karp and was approved by the Miami Beach Design Review Board.

Areas Impacted:

•  Construction zone roadways, sidewalks, and vegetation along the route will be impacted. However, FPL will be fully restoring impacted sites.
•  Locations with permanent easement include Flamingo Park between 11th and 12th Street, and the Miami Beach Golf Course Perimeter on the corner of Dade Boulevard, 19th Street and the North Michigan Avenue intersection.
• Locations with temporary staging include Flamingo Park along Michigan Avenue and 13th Street; the Miami Beach Golf Course Perimeter along North Michigan Avenue and Alton Road; and the Miami Beach Golf Course Manhole Area in the southwest corner at the intersection of Dade Boulevard and North Michigan Avenue.
• FPL will meet the city’s requirement of a minimum 6’ fencing with windscreens surrounding all work and staging areas. 

Construction Impacts:

Installation of a new underground transmission line will require the transmission power lines to be placed underground. The project timeline has included “no work” periods that the City of Miami Beach requires for high impact events. FPL plans for crews to work during daytime hours and to observe a Monday through Saturday work schedule. Open trenching is limited to 4th, 5th, and 19th streets. During the directional bore drilling phase, there will be noise due to equipment. However, FPL has worked with the contractor to reduce equipment noise by placing sound walls around drilling sites and mufflers on the equipment. Drilling equipment is expected to be similar to highway heavy construction, and pumping equipment to be similar to a large generator, both with an expected decibel range of 70-80.

FPL’s Timeline:

Underground Transmission Timeline

 Civil Work | Fall 2021

•  To place the transmission lines underground, FPL uses directional technology, which is a low impact underground drilling method. This phase will include trenching and installing manholes.

Electrical Work | Fall 2021 – March 20232

•  Electrical cable is pulled into the conduits, connected to the substation equipment and terminals are installed at the Miami Beach, Venetian, and the new Alton Substations.

Site Restoration | Fall 2022 – December 2022

•  The substation will have landscaping upgrades, an improved irrigation system, and will include sidewalk and asphalt repairs.

In Service | December 2022

•  Once construction is complete and the underground transmission line is energized, the new substation, together with the existing Miami Beach and Venetian Substations, will provide enhanced service reliability to the City of Miami Beach.

New Alton Substation Timeline

Site Preparation | Fall 2020 – Spring 2021

•  To prepare the site, a storm water draining system and infrastructure foundations for the substation perimeter walls and concrete building, or relay house, will be set. Construction work and heavy equipment will be on the site. Traffic may be affected during delivery of equipment and materials.

Building Construction | Spring 2021 – Winter 2021

•  The relay house will contain the electrical equipment inside of the substation.

Substation Construction | Spring 2021 – March 2022

•  The construction of the electrical components inside the substation’s infrastructure requires the delivery of heavy equipment on site.

In Service | March 2022

•  Once construction is complete and the substation is energized, there will be no visible equipment. Once a month, two-man crews will access the property for maintenance.

Importance and Value:

Substations connect high voltage transmission lines with main and neighborhood power lines. They decrease voltage of electricity for safe distribution to homes and businesses in the area. This assists with isolating parts of the energy grid to minimize the impact to customers during outages and this acts as a circuit breaker to protect the energy grid.

City Impacts:

Permanent Easements

Flamingo Park

•  FPL requires an underground electric line easement between 11th and 12th Street underneath the park property to facilitate the route for the underground transmission line. The transmission line will be located approximately 80 feet underground.  The line will traverse underneath the park, between the existing PAL building and the track.  No above ground infrastructure will be left at the site. (Please refer to Exhibit A).
•  Appraised value is: $258,500.00.

Miami Beach Golf Course Perimeter

•  FPL requires an underground electric line easement on the edge of Miami Beach Golf Course property at the corner of the Dade Boulevard, 19th Street, and North Michigan Avenue intersection for the installation of the underground transmission line and manhole for future access to maintain the line.  No above ground infrastructure will be left at the site, other than a covered manhole. (Please refer to Exhibit B).
•  Appraised value is: $172,900.00.

Temporary Use Easements

Flamingo Park

•  During construction FPL has requested the temporary use of park property to stage equipment. The area requested is located along Michigan Avenue and 13th Street. The area requested will be used for the purpose of staging construction equipment, parking construction vehicles, and storage of construction materials, including conduit pipes and cable reels, in connection with the utility undergrounding work being undertaken. FPL has committed to fencing the area and restoring the space to original condition once construction on the underground transmission line has concluded. Additionally, FPL has agreed to post a bond, in the amount of $50,000 to guarantee the restoration of the staging site. (Please refer to Exhibit C).
•  Appraised annual rent value is: $437,300.00.

Miami Beach Golf Course Perimeter

•  During construction, FPL has requested the temporary use of the Miami Beach Golf Course property along North Michigan Avenue and Alton Road to temporarily lay the conduit pipes for installation. In addition to the conduit pipes, there will be matting and pipe rollers to support the conduit pipes for installation. Construction equipment such excavators and backhoes will be used to pull and handle the conduit pipes. A similar construction method will be used for the installation of cable using cable reels. FPL will install a fence between the western perimeter of the golf course and work area, as well as along the right-of-way. Additionally, FPL has agreed to post a bond, in the amount of $50,000 to guarantee the restoration of the staging site. (Please refer to Exhibit D).
•  Appraised annual rent value is: $340,000.00

Miami Beach Golf Course Manhole Area

•  During construction FPL has requested the temporary use along Michigan Avenue with the staging site located in the southwest corner of the Miami Beach Golf Club property at the intersection of Dade Boulevard and North Michigan Avenue. The area requested will be used for the purpose of staging construction equipment, parking construction vehicles, and storage of construction materials, including conduit pipes and cable reels, in connection with the utility undergrounding work being undertaken. FPL will install a fence around the staging site. Additionally, FPL has agreed to post a bond, in the amount of $50,000 to guarantee the restoration of the staging site. (Please refer to Exhibit D)

• Appraised annual rent value is: $102,500.00.

Right of Way Impacts:

Please refer to Exhibit E

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