Client:
Southeast Overtown/Park West Community Redevelopment Agency (SEOPW CRA) in conjunction with The City Of Miami
Industry:
City Planning & Development
Overview:
The purpose of the Southeast Overtown/Park West CRA is to revitalize the area by everything dealing with “slum” and “blight” within this district of the City of Miami.
The Southeast Overtown/Park West district is the largest redevelopment project in the state of Florida. SEOPW CRA needed an experienced team of consultants to help develop a plan that transforms the area into a thriving mixed-use neighborhood and commercial hub.
Problem:
In the early 60’s desegregation, urban renewal, the neighborhood development program, and construction of the SR-836/I-395 and I-95 expressways significantly changed the character of the neighborhood and tragically, residents from the area were scattered and relocated. The once thriving community is now suffering from economic, physical and social decay and has progressively contributed to the decline in the area.
If not addressed these conditions will lead to an economic and social liability to the City of Miami and could consume additional County and municipal resources to address the “slum” and “blight” , while reducing the local tax base by tens of millions of dollars.
How We Helped:
We worked closely with the community stakeholders and the SEOPW CRA to determine their needs. Based on these conversations we created a preliminary framework consisting of the major goals and milestones needed to develop a thriving and sustainable community. Some of these goals consisted of:
- Preserve Historic Buildings and Cultural Heritage
- Expand the Tax Base using Public-Private principles
- Provide and Retain Housing Affordability
- Create jobs within the community
- Promote and Market the Community as a Cultural and Entertainment Destination
- Improve the Quality of Life for residents; creating housing, recreation and work environments
- Promote Entrepreneurship and Technology Innovations
- Ensure that Transit connects to the Employment Centers of Miami Dade County and Parking is efficient.
- Foster safe community initiatives to provide for public safety through Community Policing Innovations.
This laid the groundwork for us to write a community redevelopment plan that gives historical context for the current conditions and serves as a very thorough and detailed guide to help foster redevelopment in this community. This document has over 100 pages of community redevelopment information and covers such topics as:
- Goals and Guiding Principles
- Land Use Regulations, Transportation and Parking
- Projects and Programs
- Capital Improvement Costs and Timeline
- Residential Uses and Neighborhood Impact of Redevelopment
- Plan Management
Impact:
We helped the City of Miami hold a new version and to realize the potential for the future of this once culturally rich and vibrant community, a future that will see this area return as a strong and influential commercial hub and a thriving mixed-use community.
Our SEOPW Community Redevelopment Plan has been approved by the City of Miami and is currently being used as the guiding light for Florida’s largest community redevelopment.