Neighborhood
Ultra Is Back to Bayfront Park
The world-famous electronic music festival is back, March 25–27.
Ultra produces international festivals in 29 countries including Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Croatia, India, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Singapore and South Africa. The Miami edition, Ultra’s flagship event, showcases electronic music acts over a 3-day production, Friday to Sunday March 25–27.
Ultra and some downtown residents have had a contentious relationship. Residents at towers across the park and nearby have experienced serious disruptions, but Ultra and the Downtown Neighbors Alliance reached an agreement last year: Ultra will address issues such as construction schedules, park closures, noise monitoring/impact, and traffic management.
The Downtown Neighbors Alliance (DNA)
The DNA is a neighborhood association promoting quality of life, common good and general welfare of Downtown residents. Matters of interest include development, zoning and land use, street beautification, traffic and parking, crime prevention, park access, noise mitigation and other issues of common residential interest.
James Torres, DNA President, commented: “We are pleased to have reached an agreement that addresses many of the issues that have impacted Downtown Miami residents during previous Ultra events. We believe that this agreement will allow Ultra and its neighbors to co-exist and will highlight Downtown Miami as “One Community for All”, and a great place to live, work and play.”
Mr. Torres also noted that small business owners in the neighborhood had expressed how much they benefit from Ultra, generating in those three days more profits than at any other time. Likewise, many young residents who have moved to Downtown look forward to the Ultra festival.
Ultra’s Perspective
“This agreement finally opens the door to establishing an ongoing working relationship between the parties, which was long overdue” said Ultra spokesperson, Ray Martinez. “Ultra’s leadership was privileged to work closely with local residents in striking the balance between accommodating local residential lifestyles and hosting large-scale and state-of-the art music productions in Miami’s urban core.”
Mr. Martinez further stated “[we] look forward to continuing to partner with area residents with the common goal of advancing a shared vision of sustainable co-existence, which will allow us to continue showcasing Miami and its local culture as the dance music capital of the world.”
View from Across the Park
Downtown resident Itai Benosh observed: “The agreement addresses many of the issues that degraded residents’ quality of life during previous events, and together with new limits that were specified in the 2020 revocable license agreement, provide significant relief for nearby residential communities. I believe that Ultra’s impact on residents going forward will be noticeably different than what it was in the past, and will get even better over time, as some terms have a multi-year schedule.”
He added: “The negotiators on both sides needed to be creative and think outside the box in order to seriously address quality-of-life issues, while allowing Ultra to produce the quality experience that their customers expect. The agreement will be monitored closely by Ultra’s experts and by the DNA, and we have a communication process in place to address any issues that might come up during future events or during the set-up process. The DNA will also coordinate the monitoring and community support logistics with Ultra and with the residential properties surrounding Bayfront Park.
Downtown News: Reaching this agreement is an indication that Downtown has matured politically?
Itai Benosh: This experience demonstrated the power of the Downtown community, which went from an often-ignored, voiceless handful of condo dwellers to a vibrant and diverse community with a well-organized group of community advocates. But there’s still a lot of work to be done and many challenges ranging from pedestrian safety to park activation, and with the help of concerned residents we can make Downtown Miami a great place to live, work and play.
When? Where?
The Ultra Music Festival is scheduled to take place from March 25–27, 2022 at Bayfront Park, Downtown Miami. Officially it’s sold out. As often is the case, with persistence, creative looking, and right amount of money, a ticket or two might be found.
