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
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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
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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.
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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
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