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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSubmittal-Philip Bacon's Comments to the CRAComments to the CRA Good Evening Commissioners. My name is Philip Bacon with the Collins Center for Public Policy located at 150 se 2nd ave in Miami. We wrote the housing impact analysis for the Sawyer's Walk Project. We believe the Sawyer's Walk project to be vital and catalytic to a comprehensive strategy to revitalize Overtown. This strategy includes creating a diversity of housing choices to include an opportunity for home ownership within Overtown such that current and future Overtown residents might benefit from private investment, job creation, and an improved quality of life. We understand that no single project can address all of the social disparity that has been inflicted upon this community. Figure #2 shows a comprehensive Redevelopment plan for Overtown. This plan includes rehabilitation of existing housing, a concentration of infill housing, the development of potential business corridors and an area shown in yellow (from 5th to 11th, railroad tracks to 3`1 ave) where we feel Overtown could revitalize the quickest. This is the area where the Sawyer's Walk project is located and was chosen in part because of its access to transportation facilities, its large tracts of vacant land and because of its location under the jurisdiction of the CRA. This last point is of the utmost importance because the private development community relies on the CRA to promote economic revitalization through a host of activities which include building appropriate infrastructure, insuring that the tax base is maximized so that there can be additional e ..),A:r o �aY"rT',C 3UBMITTED INTO THE 2ULC RECORD FOP JETh1ON.l0-/3-19? commercial investment/ job creation and otherwise creating a set of comprehensive redevelopment strategies where projects are not subjected to economic isolation. Mixed- income and workforce is a type of housing that can attract multiple economic, social and environmental benefits to a declining neighborhood. It not only revitalizes these economies but stabilizes them in order to create a recognizable demand for goods and services such as grocery stores, cleaners and other retail outlets that create jobs and other opportunities for residents. Moreover, a majority of developers have had a market bias towards disinvested urban core communities such as Overtown. By contrast, Crosswinds, the developer of the Sawyers Walk project, has invested over a million dollars in seeking permission to bring private investment to Overtown. Private investment is important because as Michael Porter, a noted Harvard Professor of Business Administration has noted, (I'm quoting) "a sustainable economic base can be created in the inner city, but only as it has been created elsewhere: through private, for profit initiatives and investment based on economic self interest and a genuine competitive advantage- not through artificial inducements, charity, or government mandates." In Figure # 5 we see that a carefully orchestrated build out of the areas that the CRA owns or has significant site control could produce a triple bottom line affect of creating substantial economic activity, harvesting a significant number of affordable and workforce units from market rate developers and most importantly integrating as opposed to isolating Overtown in the mainstream of economic life. Submitted Into the pblic record inconnection. '_._..�.��1 ith item Y� _----- on .. Priscilla A. Thompson C+ty Clerk, 2 The Sawyer's Walk Project is consistent with the goals and objectives of every redevelopment plan of the CRA since 1982. We should not be ashamed to talk about middle income diversification of Overtown and the inclusion of Black business development as part of the redevelopment objective. Black Businesses must be given an opportunity to thrive in a viable environment. A way to offer low income people an opportunity for upward mobility is to establish a vibrant economy, as opposed to warehousing poverty and despair. We believe this to be the appropriate and sustainable response to the housing and economic crisis in Overtown. People who have historic ties to the neighborhood -some doctors, some lawyers, some engineers, some longshoremen, could help jumpstart this trend towards upward mobility by showing, living and informing other residents. It would be unjust not to allow these people to participate in the revitalization of their historic neighborhood because of a lack of ownership or market rate housing choices. The Sawyers Walk project would create these choices. Finally, we differ fundamentally with the approach of those who oppose this project as to what needs to be done to revitalize Overtown. . In a report entitled "Inventory of Basic Housing Needs for Current Residents of Overtown" done for Power U, Jaap Vos concludes: "The only way to recreate a viable community is to have a long term plan that in the first phase focuses solely on improving educational, economic and political opportunities for current residents. Traditional redevelopment should be prevented until current residents have had opportunities to improve their basic standard of living. We would counter this argument by supplying another quote by Michael Porter of the Harvard business school. He says, "The time has come to recognize that the revitalization of the inner city will require a radically different approach. While social programs will continue to play a critical role in meeting human needs and improving education, they must support- and not undermine- a coherent economic strategy." Submitted Into the public recordconnection with item inZI on IZ--01 Priscilla A. Thompson 3 City Clerk Vos writing for the opposition goes on to say, "What is needed is a community development strategy that focuses on human capital building not on the import of capital through outside investment and new residents." We believe this position to be isolationist and dreadful. We submit a quote by Dario Moreno of FIU's Metroplitan Center in a report for the Metro Miami Action Plan entitled "A 30 yr retrospective... I'm quoting, This report shows that Miami -Dade County's Blacks are still plagued by poverty and disparity. If Miami -Dade government does not work to reverse the factors that have led to the "Brain Drain," poverty within the Black community will perpetuate. Thus, if out migration of young Black professionals, is not stemmed, Miami -Dade' s Black communities will deteriorate into a haven of the Black underclass. This would further marginalize Miami-Dade's Blacks from the rest of the community." Accordingly, we must not allow Overtown to be perceived as an exclusively low income and tax credit neighborhood that does not welcome outside investment with limited housing choices. This will make revitalization impossible and, as Dorothy Fields might say, "offend our ancestors." We agree that the time has come for decisive action after 30 years of debate. We note that we have stood ready to proceed for the last four years and that the debate and delay has added substantial costs and market risks to the project! However, we believe that any action taken must be sustainable, thoughtful and adaptable not just to the political influences of tonight but to a vision that you have for the future of Miami! The economic isolation of Overtown would negatively impact all of the communities in which it touches including Park West, the Central Business District and The Hospital District. The Sawyer's Walk Project would signal a private, hopeful... change. We thank you for your consideration. b SubSubmitted Into ect on wtic ith record,��Z cot!� on - l 1 itemPA. on �`� C 4 Sustainable =something that will thrive on its own. ("People living in the area today should have the opportunity to continue to reside there and share in all aspects of redevelopment efforts. Programs should be aimed not only at physical changes but should also seek improvements in the job opportunities, income levels and business development needs of residents. New moderate and middle income residents should be attracted to the area. Black business and community development institutions should be full participants in the redevelopment process. While substantial government investment will be needed to provide a catalyst for improvements, a key strategy is to create a climate for private reinvestment in the area.") Submitted Into the public record, in connection with item VZ 17 on I2 13 - 0i Priscilla A. Thompson City Clerk 1 Source: Overtown Redevelopment Plan, 1982 excerpted from the amended plan of 2004. These 1979 objectives were incorporated into the 1982 redevelopment plan which is today the only official document that has been accepted by all of the taxing authorities of the CRA including Miami -Dade County. They continue as part of the guiding principles of the 2004 amended plan passed by the CRA Board but not yet approved by the Miami -Dade County Commission 5