Landscape Contractor Resumes Work on the $1 Million Japanese Garden After Cost Resolution

By Jodie Carter

Construction has resumed at Miami's new Japanese Garden on Watson Island, weeks after the contractor walked off the job because he wasn't paid.

Last December, Landscape contractor, Sunhouse Construction, quit work on Miami's new Japanese Garden on Watson Island after cost disputes between Parrot Jungle Island and the city of Miami held up a $312,000 payment.

Last month, Sunhouse resumed work after the city remitted full payment. City administrators have indicated that the work is now moving along quickly and should be completed in time to make the original April 29 dedication.

The $1 million garden is months behind schedule. The November 2003 death of the design landscape architect, Lester Pancoast, posed problems, and when disagreements between the city and Parrot Jungle broke out over the scope of the work Parrot Jungle was responsible for, construction began to stall.

Parrot Jungle?EUR??,,????'???s owners sought to revitalize Miami's old Japanese Garden under a 1997 agreement allowing Parrot Jungle to build on city-owned land on Watson Island.

Construction on the project began before signing a contract specifying each party?EUR??,,????'???s share of the project cost.

According to statements from Laura Billberry, the city's assistant director of economic development, both the city and Parrot Jungle recently signed an agreement setting Parrot Jungle?EUR??,,????'???s financial responsibility at $350,000, which includes the cost of plantings and installing an irrigation system, the last items of remaining construction.

The city's share of the project cost, comes in at around $650,000, that was compiles from grants and safe-parks bond money. Some of this grant money was at risk because of the work walkout. But with work now resumed, Billberry has indicated that she is ''optimistic'' that the city can salvage $154,000 in grant money designated for the project.

Source: The Miami Herald