HomeMy WebLinkAboutM-01-0365CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA 7
INTER -OFFICE MEMORANDUM
ro :The Honorable Mayor and Members DATE : ren, FILE:
Of the City Commission
SUBJECT: Central Business District
Economic Development Grant
FROM: Carlos H. Uimenez, REFERENCES:
City Manager ENCLOSURES:
A large majority of communities such as Chicago and New York offer a
comprehensive package of incentives to promote and make their locations
economically competitive. Recently, more than 400 companies and organizations
have chosen a downtown Manhattan location. Some of the newest commercial
tenants are: Blue Cross & Blue Shield, Guardian Life and Lucent Technologies.
Since 1995, in lower Manhattan, over 4,000 residential units have been
converted from buildings previously used as offices. This figure is expected to
reach 7,000 by the year 2002.
Like lower Manhattan prior to 1995, the Central Business District in Miami has
been struggling to compete with other business areas and neighboring counties.
There has been no new residential housing development and buildings which
have been converted have been developed as affordable housing.
As reported by the Larson Realty Group to the Downtown Development
Authority, the city lacks the tools to attract new business activity and residential
development in its Central Business District. In an effort to reverse this trend
and further promote economic development in downtown, staff recommends the
creation of a financial incentive that would make the economics of doing
business in the CBD more favorable and -facilitate new residential, office and
retail development. This Economic Development Grant program is being
proposed to fill a financing gap that currently exists which causes new
development in the CBD to be infeasible.
The proposed grant could represent up to 1 % of the value of the improvements
being developed, excluding land. A developer would not be eligible for the grant
until a Certificate of Occupancy for the project is issued. Applications for grants
could be made at time of project permitting so developers would understand what
financial relief will be available to them before construction commences.
Businesses / developers interested in applying for the grant would be required to
submit an application to the Department of Real Estate and Economic
Development for evaluation. The Downtown Development Authority would review
01- 365
applications and the ultimate recommendation would be made to the City
Commission by the Board of the Economic Development Financing Authority.
The criteria that will be used will include the following benefits to the community
under a scoring process:
■ Contribution to downtown employment
■ Improving the quality of life and upgrading existing businesses
■ Contribution to the City's tax base over time
■ Consistency with the DDA plan CBD desired uses
■ Contribution to increasing the downtown market -rate residential base
■ Provision of areas and activities which will increase the use of the
downtown beyond 9-5 working hours
■ Contribution to pedestrian activity in downtown
■ Provision of a facility which enhances the quality of life for the downtown
■ Leverage investments in the downtown, creating a catalytic impact
The assistance will be provided on a case-by-case basis, renewed yearly for a
period not to exceed 10 years. It is currently anticipated that the grant would
diminish over the ten-year period, although each project will be evaluated on its
merits and how closely it meets the criteria listed above.
It is recommended that the City Commission direct staff to develop the specifics
of the program and return to the Commission for final approval as soon as
possible.
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