HomeMy WebLinkAboutOverviewDistrict 5 Little Haiti Job Creation Pilot Project
Overview
The City Commission adopted the Five Year Consolidated Plan in the summer of 1999
for the period beginning October 1, 1999 and ending September 30, 2004. This Plan
established a unified vision for a community revitalization strategy to shape its various
programs into effective, coordinated neighborhood and community development
strategies.
The District 5 Little Haiti Job Creation Pilot Project is designed specifically to create a
practical approach to implementing the philosophical strategy presented in the
Consolidated Plan in the Little Haiti neighborhood. The overall Plan goals include an
economic development strategy:
• To create jobs accessible to low -and very low-income persons
• To provide access to credit for community development that promotes
Tong -term economic and social viability
• To empower low- and very low-income persons in federally assisted and
public housing efforts to achieve self-sufficiency
As cited in the Plan, poverty in the City of Miami is compounded by an immigration
situation resulting in a population that is over 60% foreign born, including many entrants
from Haiti seeking to escape conditions in their homeland. This is particularly true in the
Edison Little River community that includes the Little Haiti area, in which the Haitian
population comprises the major portion of immigrants in that neighborhood. Many of
these immigrants have limited or no family support and immediate employment has been
crucial to survival. However, employment has been difficult for this population, if not
impossible, and, as a result, the poverty figures have continued to escalate at an alarming
rate,
The Community Revitalization Strategy outlined in the Consolidated Plan includes the
identification of Community Revitalization Districts that reflect those neighborhoods
with the greatest need in the City of Miami and are comprised of the following
characteristics:
• Residences with a household income less than 50°/0 of the county median
• A home ownership rate of less than 20%
The Edison Little River/Little Haiti neighborhood is identified as one of seven
Community Revitalization Districts. Each Community Revitalization District includes an
Economic Opportunity Zone that reflects a commercial corridor to serve as the economic
stimulus for job creation from new and expanded businesses. These Districts will be the
focus of an intensive effort to foster economic development, increase home ownership,
and improve overall neighborhood quality. The goal is to engender viable and visible
economic revitalization benefits in these Districts and promote intensive redevelopment
to attract and retain businesses, which, in turn, will provide unskilled, low skilled and
semi -skilled employment opportunities.
The City's older, more urban corridors, including the Little Haiti commercial corridor,
offer potential advantages for businesses that benefit from proximity to downtown
business districts, the airport and the seaport, logistical infrastructure, and concentrations
of neighboring businesses.
The Consolidated Plan specifically identifies the following objectives through its
economic revitalization strategy:
Objective 1: Business attraction
• To encourage businesses to locate throughout Miami
• To attract new sources of private capital investment to Miami
Objective 2: Business retention and expansion
To ensure that the needs of existing local businesses are addressed
To create expansion opportunities for local businesses
Objective 3: Business development
• To strongly support entrepreneurship among City residents
• To encourage business incubation within the City
Objective 4: Workforce development
• Development of job creation centers as the facilitating link with
businesses in creating jobs for Miami residents
• Providing residents with job opportunities consistent with their skills
while enhancing their skills to be more competitive in the job market
Objective 5:' Physical improvements
• To encourage economic revitalization through appropriate
redevelopment initiatives of commercial and industrial developments
adjacent to high unemployment areas
Objective 6: Marketing
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• To facilitate full utilization of commercial and industrial space within
the City
The Little Haiti Job Creation Pilot Project design is intended to create a viable
mechanism to achieve these objectives. The Consolidated Plan identifies the following
commercial corridor as an Economic Opportunity Zone in the Little Haiti section of the
Edison Little River/Little Haiti Community Revitalization District:
Little Haiti Industrial District
The crime problem has been a major factor that has led to the decline of this area Little
Haiti Industrial District. Many major employers have abandoned the area and there is a
need to reintroduce this commercial location to prospective businesses to stimulate the
market place. Long forgotten by area employers, the Little River Industrial Park, situated
within close proximity and convenient access to the Port of Miami and the Miami
International Airport is an ideal location for many light manufacturers and small
entrepreneurs that require these facilities to operate successfully. The infrastructure in this
commercial corridor is also in the best condition of any of Miami's industrial areas,
particularly as it relates to roads and buildings.
The Consolidated Plan includes the specific recommendation to provide assistance to
businesses "to upgrade storefronts, resolve code violations and purchase equipment for
businesses located in the Economic Opportunity Zones." The District 5 Little Haiti Job
Creation Pilot Project focuses on this recommendation. The specific geographical target
within the District 5 area for this project includes the following boundaries:
City Limits to the North
1-95 to the West
Railroad tracks to the East
District 5 Boundary Line to the South,
exclusive of the Design District, but
inclusive of Buena Vista
During the planning process for the 24ti Year Community Development Block Grant
Year, the City Commission adopted Resolution 98-402.1 that included an allocation of
$225,000 to implement the Little Haiti Job Creation Pilot Project. It was recognized that
this community had historically been underserved and the City Commission's
commitment was to provide a job creation project specifically intended to address the
needs of this community. This allocation represented the first installment of a five (5)
year commitment to create jobs for neighborhood residents and stimulate businesses in
the Little Haiti area and was the result of City Commission discussion to address the
unique needs inherent in the area.
Through the District 5 Little Haiti Job Creation Pilot Project, one-time grants/loans will
be provided to businesses located in the Little Ilaiti neighborhood of District 5. The
program will provide capital funds for the purpose of creating jobs and/or the
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development of tourist destinations. The program design includes the following eligible
activities:
1. Upgrade and expand facilities
2. Correct code violations on
commercial properties
3, Improvements to meet ADA
standards
4. Infrastructure Improvements (i.e.
lighting, draining, parking etc.)
5. Facade Improvements
6, Improvements to Economic Development/
Tourism Destinations
To qualify for a grant, an area business must create a minimum of one new, fulltime job
for each grant increment of $15,000 and the maximum grant available will be $90,000.
The program design requires each grantee to document its plan to ensure that the job
creation requirement is met.
Grant and loan opportunities will remain available to eligible businesses until funds
authorized through the five-year commitment have been depleted, The prospective
grantee must meet all federal requirements regulating the Community Development
Block Grant Program and must meet the contractual requirements of the City of Miami
pursuant to this award.
Each funding request for capital assistance from businesses in the Little Haiti
Neighborhood must be submitted to the City of Miami Department of Community
Development for preliminary eligibility screening. Eligible proposals will then be
forwarded to an engineering firm to be engaged by the City of Miami from the approved
list of firms of the City of Miami or Miami Dade -County. The engineering firm will be
responsible for providing technical assistance and determining the feasibility of proposals
that have been determined to be eligible through the screening process of the Department
of Community Development.
Proposals that meet eligibility criteria and are deemed feasible by the contracted
engineering firm will then be forwarded to the District 5 Little Haiti Job Creation Pilot
Project Advisory Board for review and funding consideration. The Advisory Board will
be comprised of a seven -member panel nominated by the City Manager and approved by
a majority vote of the City Commission. The Advisory Board Representation will
include:
Two (2) Representatives from the Little Haiti Business Community
One (1) Resident of the Little Haiti Community
One (1) Representative from the City of Miami Planning Department
One (1) Representative from the City of Miami Department of
Community Development
One (1) Representative from the City of Miami NET Office
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One (1) Representative from the City of Miami Department of Real
Estate and Economic Development
The Advisory Board will make funding recommendations to the City Commission, which
will approve/disapprove eligible and viable responses to the Requests for Proposal
forwarded by the Board. All proposals forwarded to the City Commission for approval
will have satisfied the following requirements:
• Met eligibility criteria as determined by the Department of
Community Development
Met feasibility criteria as determined by the independent
engineering firm selected by the City of Miami
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