Miami-Dade County wants to make it easier for retail and entertainment developers to build in unincorporated areas, as suitable land for large-scale projects becomes harder to find.
A proposed ordinance would cut the minimum site size by 40 percent to qualify for a retail district zoning designation.
The proposal, sponsored by Commissioner Oliver G. Gilbert III, would lower the minimum acreage for a retail entertainment district planned area development district, known as REDPAD, from 50 acres to 30 acres. The measure unanimously passed its first reading, with a second reading and public hearing scheduled for the county commission’s Oct. 20 meeting.
Miami-Dade created the zoning designation in 2017 to encourage large-scale retail and entertainment projects. But suitable sites for retail, entertainment and mixed-use developments in unincorporated areas have become scarce, and the 50-acre minimum limits the number of properties that qualify, according to Gilbert’s memo supporting the change. Lowering the threshold would open the door to smaller sites while still requiring projects to occupy at least 30 acres, he said.
The county’s development master plan does not require a minimum acreage for retail entertainment districts. The 50-acre requirement is set by the county’s 2017 zoning code, which the proposed ordinance would change.
A spokesperson for the commissioner did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
If approved, the ordinance would take effect 10 days after enactment unless vetoed by the mayor. A veto would require a commission override for the measure to become effective.
One major example of a site with this designation is the stalled $4 billion American Dream Miami mega-mall project that was pitched over a decade ago by an affiliate of Canadian developer Triple Five Group, led by cousins Paul and Don Ghermezian.
The 175-acre site sits near the intersection of Interstate 75 and Florida’s Turnpike in northwest Miami-Dade. Triple Five, which owns the Mall of America in Minnesota and American Dream in New Jersey, began to pursue the project in 2013, when the developers first spoke with the Graham family, which owned a large parcel adjacent to the proposed mall site.
The project was proposed in 2015, the same year Triple Five paid $12.3 million for 82 acres of state-owned land, followed by $10.8 million for another 15 acres from Genesis Partner Development Enterprises in 2017, and a separate 2020 land swap with the Graham Companies’ parcels valued at $12.7 million each.
American Dream Miami was approved for retail entertainment zoning in 2018, but the project has yet to start construction and faced a legal challenge by the county. A spokesperson and attorney for American Dream Miami did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Miami-Dade sued the Triple Five affiliate last year over missed deadlines, seeking $5 million in damages after the county alleged the developer failed to obtain required development permits within the agreed time.
The county dismissed the case four months later and reached a settlement with Triple Five requiring the developer to pay $5 million plus interest in economic development payments over five years, with payments due by September 2029. As part of the settlement, Triple Five now has until 2045 to complete the project.
Read more
The Weekly Dirt: Is the $4B American Dream Miami too big to fail?
Inside the Ghermezians’ fight to keep $4B American Dream alive in Miami
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