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Home My WebLink AboutCRA-R-05-0015 Submittalov One Voice, LLG 1730 Biscayne Boulevard, Suite 201-P, Miami, FL 33132 (305)577-3525 Community& Faith -Based Partnerships Sheldon Oak Central, Inc. Non -Profit New Washington Heights CDC Mt. Zion CDC St. John CDC Contractors Resource Center, Inc. Non -Profit OV Members Ted Lyons Elsie K. Hailer Marvin Seidman James Burke Irby McKnight Daniel Merida Jose Perez de Corcho February 25, 2005 Ms. Priscilla A. Thompson City Clerk City of Miami Miami, Florida Dear Ms. Thompson: We are asking for your support of our proposal (CEUONE VOICE) on Block 36. Your decision will not only affect the Overtown community for decades to come, but will also uphold a reputation that can withstand public scrutiny. Please be responsible in your selection by choosing the proposer who has the financial capability, the experience, unprecedented community inclusion, the ability to preserve the historic "colored town', and the where -with -all to begin immediately. We can work together for the City and Overtown. Sincerely, Elsie K. Hamler Member - Manager Enclosure: News Articles Mayor Manny Diaz, City of Miami cc: City Manager Joe Arriola Mr. Fank Rollason, CRA Director (70 A _°act Yahoo! Mail - gradymuhamma-" ahoo.com Page 1 of 2 oOY. MAIL Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2005 13:38:28 -0800 (PST) From: "grady muhammad" <gradymuhammad@yahoo.com> Subject: Qustions regarding Block 36 recommendations To: frollason@ci.miami.fl.us Print - Close Window CC jwinton@ci.miami.fl.us, law@ci.miami.fl.us, mannydiaz@ci.miami.fl.us, jarriola@ci.miami.fl.us, jlallen@ci.miami.fl.us, jsanchez@ci.miami.fl.us, tr@ci.miami.fl.us February 24, 2005 Mr. Frank Rollason Executive Director City of Miami's CRA 49 NW 5th Street Miami, FL 33128 RE: Recommendation on Block 36. Dear Mr. Frank: As the Chairman of the Comittee to Stop the Abolishment of Historic Overtown. The Committee does not support any speific proposals for Block 36. The Committee will support "ANY" proposal that hs met the established critireia of the CRA"s RFP for Block 36. • assiting the Historical Residents of Overtown with affordable housing. • help the Longshoremen and the Lyric Theater with their parking requirements. • has the financail committment to fund and complete this project. • has a track record of successfully doing projects similar to this elsewhere. • who development team has clearly defined ownership, princiapls or partners. As Chairman of the Committee, Last Wednesday, I met with Mr. John Hall and Dr. Dorothy Fields of the "Lyric Promenade" a mixed -use project proposed for Block 36. I have also spoken with other proposers about their project as well. I still have questions concerning the Lyric Promenade. 1. Where are the financials and acommittment letter of particpation form the Carlise Group? 2. Who are the real owners of the Overtown ForkLife Village Developmnet Corp., because as of the writing of this email that company lists only a Lynn C. Washington as the Registered Agent and it was only Incorpaorated on August 12, 2004. 3. Thier propoasl was submitted by the Overtown ForkLife Village Development Corp. which is a SHELL, Corp. with no Directors, Presidents or Officiers and not the Black Archives. Frank if you have any questions please feel free to contact me at 786-285-1133 or via email. http://us.f501.mail.yahoo.com/ym/ShowLetter?box=Sent&MsgId=7508_10216547 41274... 2/28/2005 Yahoo! Mail - gradymuhammad@yahoo.com Page 2 of 2 Sincerely, Grady Muhammad,Chairman Committee to Stop the Abolishment of Historic Overtown. Do you Yahoo!? Take Yahoo! Mail with you! Get it on your mobile phone. Will City "Do The Right Thing?'7, CRA to decide on Overtown proposals next week. The clock has ticked down to the deadline for CRA Executive Director Frank Rollason to make his rec- ommendation on redeveloping Block 36 in the heart of Overtown. Community residents and organizations are waiting to act on the direction city officials will take to develop Overtown. Whether community people who live and work in Overtown will be left out again on Overtown development has been a constant concern at com- munity meetings -Although City Corrimissioners have spoken against "poverty pimps" and stated their desire to do the right thing at recent CEA and Commission meetings, Black experiences in beingleft out of opment decisions have them closely watching the City's action's.. . Although "affordability" of housing for residents and a transparent process have been the central com- plaints voiced at community meetings, the six proposals submitted to the CRA on Block 36 are not encour- aging, although one stands out. One proposal presented by a coalition of Overtown community organizations, called "ONE VOICE, L.Ilirt," has presented a financially sound and community involved redevelopment plan. A study of all the pro- posals resulted in a matrix diagram that showed that the ONE VOICE plan focused on housing that is afford- able at much below the $150,000-$350,000 costs of the other proposals. By a written agreement with the devel- oper, ONE VOICE, has secured a continuous return of income to the Overtown community from the devel- opments and a partnership in the major decisions made during the development years. Jackie Bell, New Washington Heights CDC president, recalled past promises. Bell remembered, "Promises have been made to the Black Community from as far back as when 1-95 was being built. Government used eminent domain to take the' land to develop for doymtownis needs and then built 1-95 through the heart of Overtown." Elsie Hamler, CEO of the Contractors Resource Center, Inc., assured that "We [ONE VOICE], are anxious for this decision, but we are ready and able to begin the development activities within 180 days after receiving the cityfs approval Our anxiety is based upon past decisions where government made political deals that gave such developments to a group that could not deliver, then recaptured the project and gave it to a nos zornmunity developer." Hamler also stated that the ONE VOICE proposal not only builds affordable housing, but also provides for the historical and cultural devel- opments envisioned by the Lyric Theater and Folk Life Village con- cepts. "We will not have to endanger our communityis history, culture or present needs because we have the financial ability to start now," Hamler declared. 118 MIAMI N EWTI M ES FEBRUARY 24 - MARCH 2, 2 005 mlamlnewtImes.com A 110 • H .,!!) 0 SUOZ _ ° -11 0"' o n 5 -1 O co a .- 0 O CD m CD b oa 4n iv 0. 2 0 rA a c° s' WhliIII A' O - 7C< o cn n � O P w 000 °cp4�5<o: "W,-i-0"g0 a'o O y °,°a `�� n 0 n n o crw r cmyO WN a,tium ..- co coo o .b 5 M = y�y 0.0 c0i F fop O R a' N lA .'... W E f.``_]pi O C Qa ag 3 b n ,A-) - iol R.5 Q' f, n 47 ° 0 O 1 0c/D. v E-"D CD F—� O O Overtown coalition secures local group to save them By Gigi Tinsley g tinsiey@mtamitimesonlne.com A group of Overtown commu- nity -based organizations and businesses met, recently. to respond to the City of Miami's bid to redevel- op the core of the Overtown area. The project. known as Block 36, is located across the N.W. 8 Street area, north of the Crosswinds develop- ment protect. The coalition named themselves, "ONE VOICE" and include the St. John, Mt. Zion. and New Washington Heights Community Development Corporations (CDCs), and the Contractor's Resource Center (CRC). as well as, co -venturer CEI, a Connecticut based devel- opment giant that specializes in developing affordable housing and economic services for sever- al years. "The CRC, by our written co- HAMLER venture agreement, will ensure that the level of small and Black contractors participation in the project is maadmizek" said Elsie Hamler, president of the Contractors Resource Center. "This proposal is not only the most financially sound but it is the best for the present residents' employ- ment and housing." CEI and its non- profit affiliate. Sheldon Oaks. are nationally recognized for their successful track record in affordable housing projects. danny Merida, Sheldon Oaks executive, stat- ed "The CEI team presents an impres- sive portfolio and has already obtained a 6187 mlllion dollar commitment letter from its financial lenders which proves a strong commitment tot he Overtown community." Mt. Zion CDC released a study of the proposals which show Please turn to OVERTOWN 8B IA I MONDAY FEBRUARY 28, 2005 IN S Kl 6Hi ,1394 _^.,i} OPINI NjFp281-'11 ` : 04 THE HERALD - - ALBERTO IBARGI;EN, PUBLISHER i TOM FIEDLER, EXECUTIVE EDITOR ! JOE OGLESBY, EDITOR!¢F.P GEEDITOR MES L KNIGHT 19f.9 's79it I CTY... THE READERS' FORUM I www.herald.com (dick on Opinion) Poor in boondocks? Re the Urban Development Boundary debate: Although I live about as far from the area in question but still in Miami - Dade County, I am as inter- ested in the solution to this problem — not only because of the impact on the Ever- glades, which is undeniably important, but because "affordable housing" in this area is impractical Most of the employment opportunities for people who need affordable housing are not in the boondocks but in or near the center of the city. Since public transportation will be the last thing to arrive in that area, affordable hous- ing near the Everglades will serve no purpose. With traffic the way it is, middle- and low-income fami- lies need decent housing in areas where public transit is available. There must be a solution that will allow low-in- come residents to lead_ pro- ductive lives in an area where the jobs are and at the same time save that portion of the Everglades, which the builders now seek to invade. - ELAINE KAPLAN, Miami Gardens Romance not for TV Re Leonard Pitts Jr.'s Feb. 21 column, Twisted tale is any- thing but a love story: The so- called "romance" between Mary Kay Letourneau and her former student should make any sane person shudder. Add- ing insult to injury, book pub- lishers and TV producers are hot on their trail and consider- ing televising the big event, a wedding that neither the bride nor the groom, both unem- ployed, can afford. To what depths have the media sunk? Do we now appeal to the lowest and most prurient level to entertain the American public? - PHYLLIS LENSKY, Aventura file, 06M A crucial Overtown decision Whether Miami will have a transparent process to rede= velop the Overtown community or revert to discredited "secret dealing" will be determined at today's Community Re_ development Agency meeting.. The deadline for proposals ended last summer, at which time they were to have been evaluated. However, evidence is mounting:that.-the city is being asked to -allow illegal financial addition's:for favored proposers. • . The request. for proposals, andthe city-fmanced1982. and 2004 South East Overtown park West Redevelopment Plans clearly outline -the processes and principles that must guide Overtown development: The major consider- ations are affordability of housing and improvement of the quality of life for current residents. All responders were asked to state their ability to finance their proposals. The Contractors Resource Center and its partners — ONE VOICE/CEI — presented one of two proposals that met all of the criteria. The other is the Crosswinds pro- posaL However,'only the ONE VOICE/CEI proposal has community -based organizations with written agreements to make decisions.and assures that community stakehold- ers will share in the proceeds of successful redevelopment for years to come... - • As recent events have shown, just because a project has a black face does not assure that the black community will share in the financial benefits of development. The City Commission/CRA decision today will determine whether Overtown's future will be a successful community devel- opment or end with signs that remind people, of what Overtown was in its heyday. If the .process.is transparent and fair, the city Overtown communi ty will both win. -ELSIE K. MANUA dtrecta,tRCjONE VOICE •Editor's note:-The.CRApublic meeting takes place at 5 p.m. today in the Conference Center at the Technology Center of the Americas, 40 NE Ninth St. Police lauded On Feb. 1, we were affected by a main gas -line rupture in front of our hotel The rupture sounded like a jet engine. The immediate response by the Miami -Dade Police Depart- ment's airport station was unbelievable. We called 911 and barely had hung up the phone when the first units arrived to secure the area. The response of the Miami -Dade Fire Department was exceptional. It truly shows what bravery these men and women have when they strap on their gear and approach a gas -line rupture of this magnitude. Everyone takes these pro- fessionals for granted until there's a situation like this, and then you truly see the dedica- tion these people have for the safety of their community. Miami is fortunate to have such a great group of people protecting us. - SELIM SOLIMAN, general manager, Wyndham Miami Airport Hotel, Miami Sick kids can't learn Re the Feb. 23 article Pull- ing the plug on school clinics: As a registered nurse and the PTSA president of Nautilus Middle School, I know the value of our school clinics. One only has to visit our clinic to see how many students receive primary care, immuni- zations and first aid. The public should send a strong message to the Florida Legislature, county govern- ment and our school system that healthcare in our schools should be a priority. Indeed, how can sick children learn? - KAREN RIVO, Miami Beach Investing at birth Re the Feb. 23 article Retire- ment plan sees million -dollar babies: Former Treasury Sec- retary Paul O'Neill's retire- ment plan is something to be considered as an addition to the current system. It would ensure that we would con- tinue to have a safety net and that all Americans retiring 65 years from now would have that extra million to buy another SUV. - ANTONIO CAVACO, Coral Gables No fences mended The Feb. 24 article Bush mends fences, tests allies was quick to proclaim the presi- dent's visit to Europe a suc- cess. His actions tell a differ- ent story. Instead of visiting Jacques Chirac in Paris and Gerhard Schroeder in Berlin, Bush asks them to come to see him in cities like Mainz, which are conveniently located near American air bases. The message of these actions is crystal clear: Bush doesn't care to mend fences. Rather: he puts some of the most important European leaders in their place — subor- dinate to him. -tllDICTnc roc ucn