Sep. 24, 2010 (United Press International) -- Miami says it has cleared a major hurdle in its plans to create a major science museum downtown intended as a magnet for tourists.
The City Commission approved a sleekly contemporary, environmentally friendly design Thursday for the Miami Science Museum that supporters say will transform a bleak corner of Biscayne Boulevard into a tourist destination, the Miami Herald reported.
In a 4-1 vote, the commission set aside objections from activists who claimed violates city rules limiting development on flood-prone coastal land and who threatened a lawsuit to stop it, the newspaper said.
City planners and lawyers assured commissioners the rules do not apply to the government-sponsored museum project.
"Sometimes you have to dream," Commission Chairman Marc Sarnoff said.
The $275 million science museum -- along with the adjacent new Miami Art Museum -- would help transform near-derelict Bicentennial Park into "Miami's Central Park," he said.
The five-level museum will incorporate an aquarium, a high-tech planetarium, science exhibits focusing on technology and the environment, as well as wildlife exhibits and educational facilities, officials said.
"It will make downtown a destination in the way that great cities like Baltimore and Sydney are grouped around the harbor," science museum Director Gillian Thomas said.
