Diedward Dominguez lives on SW 23 Way and 149 Place in Tamiami, across the street from an $8 million park that has been under construction for three years. That work has been delayed at least a year because of contaminated fill and permit obtainments.
This is just the latest in school construction happening outside his door. Miami Arts Studio has been filling the neighborhood with traffic and used parking spots since before the pandemic.
“Some nights after dark, you will see all of the parking being filled up, and then you realize, ‘Oh, there has to be an event going on,’” said Dominguez.
When the provided school parking is full, he adds, “people are just trying to park as close as they can to the school, and that usually means parking around the lake.”
The small parking strip meant for Dominguez’s neighborhood is also always full during school dismissal.
MAS is currently a magnet school, but it was originally Zelda Glazer Middle School. It opened in 2007 with 248 sixth grade students before adding subsequent grades each following year.
Principal Miguel Balsera has been leading the charge since the 2013-2014 school year. He was tasked by the district to transform MAS from a traditional middle school to a 6-12 magnet. From that point on, his administrative team’s philosophy has been simple: community building through expansion.
After two years of strategic planning that involved putting together annual theatrical productions for all ages by maximizing the limited resources at their disposal, then-Superintendent Alberto Carvalho finally took notice of the program and agreed to invest $20 million in a performing arts center for the school. That venue, now known as the Jose Milton Center, became the premiere stage for live performances at MAS. It opened in 2019.
Soundscape Park as a concept, has been floating around since 2015. MAS has been working in collaboration with Miami-Dade County Public Schools to create a public space where art and community can thrive. The school is located in the middle of a residential area and surrounded by homes.
The future park will be mere feet away from Dominguez’s welcome mat.
“… The construction that’s going to be there is like hampering traffic, and traffic in this corner is already pretty bad,” Dominguez said. “I guess I’d say I was more OK with it if I thought it was going to be just an addition to the school.”
Dominguez says his corner has gotten more crowded over the years due to the expansion of schools and businesses in the area. Around the time schools get out, he avoids driving on any main roads near his house.
During school hours, Soundscape Park will be used only by MAS and its students. Once school is dismissed, the park’s gates will open, becoming available for public use. Soundscape will also have a theater-sized LED screen that will live broadcast the shows that are happening in the Jose Milton Center, making performances available for free to the public.
This means even more people will visit the already tight area.
Despite concerns of a possible lack of parking space and growing road congestion, Balsera wants those around the school to know that there isn’t a problem he hasn’t accounted for.
“The great thing is that, not only does the park come with about 80 parking spaces, we also have the student parking lot right next door, which connects, and the staff parking lot, which gives that whole area right over 300 parking spaces, ” said Balsera. “So people can come out, find parking and walk right into the park and enjoy the arts.”
Dealing with a years worth of delays on Soundscape Park, the school wasted no time in strengthening their music and dance magnets, creating another building specifically made to provide more space for students to practice their instruments or work on their choreography without being shoulder-to-shoulder. As of the end of MDCPS’s spring break, this space is officially accessible to those students.
Sacrifices regarding on-campus athletic events were made in the midst of constant construction. For instance, the underclassmen vs. upperclassmen flag football game was cancelled, and a schoolwide basketball tournament was postponed. In spite of this, Jacob Fernandez, a graduating senior in MAS’ broadcasting magnet, is on board with the school’s growth.
“My sixth grade year here, the school had just finished building the Jose Milton Center and I remember everyone being super impressed and excited,” said Fernandez. “I can assume that the new park will bring the same level of excitement, even if I won’t be present to see it.”
Dominguez, though wary of how the park could increase the area’s traffic, is keeping an open mind. “It’s hard to say right now how excited I am for it,” Dominguez said. “But now that construction has started, we hope it gets done and then we’ll see from there.”
MAS remains firm in the projection that Soundscape Park will be good to go before the start of the 2026-2027 school year.
“We have a responsibility to bring the arts out west,” said Balsera. “And for the neighbors, how beautiful is it to have a park open in the evenings for yourself and your family to be able to walk, sit and read a book and come out and watch movies when the park hosts movie nights, as well as our own live events. It’s something that really will increase property value for people in that area, to have something so unique in their backyard.”
