Concrete cars are being sunk in South Beach waters. They're going to be a coral reef
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Photo: Nico Munley
South Beach's long-awaited underwater sculpture park is beginning to take shape after about four years of delays.
Why it matters: Reefline wants to serve as a marine tourist attraction and hybrid coral reef.
The latest: The private project — funded by $5 million from the city of Miami Beach, plus other grants and donations — will be headlined by "Concrete Coral," an installation of 22 life-sized concrete cars resembling an underwater traffic jam on the ocean floor.
- This week, Reefline began installing the marine-grade concrete vehicles several hundred feet off the coast of Fourth and Fifth Streets in South Beach.
What they're saying: Leandro Erlich, who created the underwater artwork, says in a press release that his piece transforms the role of the automobile as a polluter into a regenerator of coral life.
- "What once drove us away from nature becomes a stage for its return. It's not about transportation anymore; it's about transformation."
- The concrete vehicles — each weighing over 14 tons, per the Miami Herald — will be seeded with 2,200 corals cultivated at Reefline's Miami Native Coral Lab, according to the press release.
Catch up quick: Reefline was supposed to begin installation in late 2021, but that got delayed due to COVID and weak fundraising at the time, Miami Today reported.
What's next: The 11-phase project aims to raise $40 million to extend seven miles across the ocean — the full length of Miami Beach — with the goal of outplanting thousands of corals.