Allapattah, already a neighborhood targeted for redevelopment, now has a $243 million spending plan that leans in on infrastructure improvements and affordable housing construction.
Miami commissioners, sitting as the members of the newly formed Allapattah Community Redevelopment Agency, unanimously voted for the spending roadmap last week.
The numbers? Out of the $243 million investment plan, $90 million is for infrastructure, and $75 million is for affordable housing, the South Florida Business Journal reported. This is followed by $45 million for economic development, $33 million for community facilities and $25 million earmarked for running the CRA itself through 2055.
Costs will be covered through tax increment financing, the financing mechanism CRAs use that reinvests property taxes collected from increases in property values in the area. Over 30 years, the Allapattah district is projected to yield $877 million in TIF revenue over three decades.
The CRA targets an over 1,660-acre area from the Airport Expressway south to the Miami River, and from Northwest 19th Avenue east to various roadways, including I-95 and Northwest Seventh Avenue.
CRAs generally are meant to target areas deemed “blighted” and in need of reinvestment of the TIF to repair or replace sewers, sidewalks, street lighting and landscaping.
Allapattah is rich in history but the average income is lagging. The median annual household earning is $36,000, a far cry from Miami-Dade County’s median income of $89,800.
Allapattah started out as a farming settlement in the 1800s, eventually becoming home to residents displaced from Miami’s historically Black Overtown from the 1960s construction of Interstate 95. In more recent years, it also became home to people from the Caribbean and Central America, earning the name “Little Santo Domingo” due to its significant Dominican population.
A few CRA areas are targeted for investment: Northwest 17th Avenue and the Northwest 36th and 20th street corridors are pegged for commercial growth, while Northwest 12th Avenue is flagged as a strong candidate for transit-oriented residential projects.
The 18-acre, city-owned General Services Administration site at 1970 Northwest 13th Avenue and 1950 Northwest 12th Avenue is a prime candidate for redevelopment. Recent proposals for the property have failed, with Miami commissioners restarting a competitive solicitation to developers in April.
Developers that have already seized on Allapattah include Lissette Calderon’s Neology Group. The firm is partnering with the Rubell real estate and art family and Lion Development on a three-phase residential project. The first 21-story, 330-unit apartment building will be at 1000 Northwest 23rd Street.
A Live Local project underway in Allapatah is Coral Rock Development Group’s eight-story, 227-unit apartment project.
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