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Home My WebLink AboutCRA-R-25-0030 Letters of SupportLAW OFFICES OF THE PUBLIC DEFENDER ELEVENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT OF FLORIDA Bennett H. Brummer Building 1320 NW 14th Street Miami, Florida 33125 CARLOS J. MARTINEZ 305.545.1900 PUBLIC DEFENDER www.pdmiami.com June 13, 2023 Re: Workforce Housing for the Public Defender's Office for the 11th Judicial Circuit of Florida (Miami -Dade County) To the Omni Community Redevelopment Agency (Omni CRA') and UNI 17th Street LLC ('UNI'), As the Public Defender for the 11th Judicial Circuit of Florida, I am writing on behalf of my 400 employees to express my wholehearted support for the Omni CRA and NR Investments' UNI project to provide a 252-unit unique luxury high-rise in Downtown Miami geared towards the City of Miami's and Miami -Dade County's workforce. I am keenly aware of the critical importance of our attorneys and support staff having access to safe, high -quality, and attainable housing options. The lack of workforce housing is the single biggest challenge my office and my hardworking staff of civil servants face. Finding affordable housing in the urban core, that is easily accessible from my offices, can be challenging due to high rent prices and limited availability. Along with prosecutors, and law enforcement, my office plays a crucial role in supporting a fair and just criminal justice system and the rule of law in our community. Providing our attorneys and support staff with access to safe, high -quality, and attainable housing options helps us recruit and retain talented attorneys and staff who might otherwise be priced out of the city. This housing opportunity makes our salary and benefit package much more competitive and attractive to law school graduates and other professionals who want to work in my office. That is why I am thrilled to work with NR Investments' UNI and the Omni CRA to offer our assistant public defenders and support staff affordable and workforce housing options in the heart of the city. By doing so, we hope to not only improve the quality of life, and the wellbeing of our employees but also contribute to the social fabric of Downtown by creating quality housing for diverse levels of income and public service worker residents. Re: Letter of Interest — Workforce Housing for the Public Defender's Office for the 11th Judicial Circuit of Florida (Miami -Dade County) June 13, 2023 Page 2 We look forward to continuing working together to provide our attorneys and staff — who are serving the City's and County's residents and their families, fighting every day for a fair and just community — with the housing they need and deserve to thrive. If I can be of further assistance, please feel free to contact me at 305.545.1900 or cmartinez(c�pdmiami.com. Sincerely, Carlos J. Martinez Public Defender 11th Judicial Circuit of Florida KATHERINE FERNANDEZ RUNDLE STATE ATTORNEY KatherineFemandezRundle@MiamiSAO.com STATE ATTORNEY ELEVENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT OF FLORIDA E. R. GRAHAM BUILDING 1350 N.W. I2TH AVENUE MIAMI, FLORIDA 33136-2111 February 5, 2024 Ms. Isiaa Jones, Executive Director Omni Community Redevelopment Agency (Omni CRA) Via Email: isjones@miamigov.com Mr. Nir Shoshani, Principal NR Investments Via Email: nir@nrinvestments.com Dear Ms. Jones and Mr. Shoshani: TELEPHONE (305) 547-0100 www.miamiSAO.com Re: Recruitment and Retention of Staff Through Workforce Housing Opportunities As the State Attorney for the 11th Judicial Circuit of Florida, I am writing on behalf of my employees to express my support for the Omni CRA and NR investments' UNI project to provide workforce housing in Downtown Miami. The housing crisis has impacted our ability at the State Attorney's Office to recruit and retain qualified staff. Due to the housing shortage, and the rise in rents, our vacancy rate has skyrocketed and our ability to recruit has been drastically affected. This impacts our community in a direct way as we are key players in ensuring safety to citizens and providing justice for victims of crime. We applaud and support your efforts to address this crisis and to bring workforce housing to the center of the city where people work. Your core concept: to provide a beautiful environment and high -quality housing for those who serve the public (our Hometown Heroes) is such a welcome solution to our housing crisis and truly fills a need for our staff. Thank you for your work to provide much needed and affordable housing, in a beautiful setting, for those who work to serve the public's needs. Since THE FERNANDEZ ' 1 DLE e Attorney xc: Ignacio Marquez, via email: imarquez@nrinvestments.com FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE@ Miami Lodge #20 710 SW 12th Avenue • Miami, FL 33130 (305) 854-5019 Felix Del Rosario Andrew Markowitz President Vice President Yaosca Vanegas Raynier Rodriguez Secretary Treasurer To the Omni Community Redevelopment Agency ("Omni CRA') and UNI 17th Street LLC ('UNI'), We write to express the Miami FOP Lodge #20 excitement for the opportunity offered by the Omni CRA and NR Investments' UNI project to provide a 252-unit unique luxury high-rise in Downtown Miami geared towards the City of Miami's and Miami -Dade County's workforce. We recognize the importance of providing our officers with access to safe, high -quality, and attainable housing options in the community they work in. Finding such housing in urban cores can be challenging due to high rent prices and limited availability. We believe that providing affordable workforce housing opportunities is the right thing to do and makes the utmost sense to our Police Department and community. It helps us attract and retain talented officers who might otherwise be priced out of the city. This is a great attraction for recruiting and retaining officers. That's why we are thrilled to partner with NR Investments' UNI and the Omni CRA to offer, our officers affordable and workforce housing options in the heart of the city. By doing so, we hope that this helps improve the quality of life of our members and contribute to the social fabric of Downtown by allowing for diverse levels of income and public service worker residents. We look forward to continuing working together to provide our officers who, ultimately, are the City's own employees, and the people that serve our communities — with the housing they need and deserve to thrive. 4e;lt Si F lix De'itRosario President Miami FOP Lodge #20 - BUILDING ON A PROUD TRADITION - Miami -Dade County Public Schools Superintendent of Schools Dr. Jose L. Dotres giving our students the world August 30, 2023 Bert Gonzalez, Executive Director Omni Community Redevelopment Agency (Omni CRA) hugonzalezAmiamigov.com Nir Shoshani, Principal NR Investments nir( nrinvestments.com Dear Mr. Gonzalez and Mr. Shoshani: Miami -Dade County School Board Mari Tere Rojas, Chair Danny Espino, Vice Chair Roberto J. Alonso Lucia Baez -Geller Dr. Dorothy Bendross-Mindingall Mary Blanco Monica Colucci Dr. Steve Galion ill Luisa Santos As the Superintendent of Miami -Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS), the third largest school district in the country, I am writing on behalf of approximately 40,000 M-DCPS employees to express my support for the Omni CRA and NR Investments' UNI project to provide a unique high-rise in Downtown Miami geared towards the City of Miami's and Miami -Dade County's public sector workforce including our District employees. This affordable and workforce housing development is the first and only fully income -and -rent - restricted high-rise development consisting of 252 units at different levels of Area Median Income, ranging from 60% to 140%. The project aims to provide attainable housing options for individuals and families who are struggling to keep up with the rising cost of living. The focus on workforce housing considers and meets the needs of those who work in the area but cannot afford to live in the city due to high housing costs. These are the types of solutions our community needs to ensure we can be most effective in recruiting and retaining our workforce. We look forward to the completion of this project in 2024 and are committed to sharing this opportunity broadly with our workforce. Dr. ose L. Dotres erintendent of Schools JLD:vp L0171 School Board Administration Building • 1450 N.E. 2nd Avenue • Miami, Florida 33132 305-995-1000 • www.dadeschools.net Miami Association of Firefighters I.A.F.F. Local 587 • Organized October, 1938 Alex Cardenas, President • Akeem Donaldson, Secretary Raul Cernuda, Treasurer • Louis Marshall, Second Vice President International Association of Firefighters, AFL-CIO, CLC July 10th, 2022 To: Omni Community Redevelopment Agency (Omni CRA') and UNI 17th Street LLC (`UNI'), Re: Affordable and Workforce Housing for City of Miami Firefighters/Paramedics and employees in Downtown Miami We write on behalf of the Miami Association of Fire Fighters, IAFF Local 587 in support of the Affordable and Workforce Housing project that would provide for 252-units of living space in the Downtown Miami area geared to serve the City of Miami and Miami -Dade County's workforce. We represent over 800 hard-working individuals that would love nothing more than to be able to live in the same areas they proudly serve. In our field of work, we have a great sense of pride and devotion when it comes to serving our community. In doing so, we strive to build family -oriented relationships with the residents and visitors that reside within the areas of our "second homes", as we like to affectionately refer to our Fire Stations. We can't think of a better way of fostering that neighborly relationship than being able to have the opportunity to live where we work. One of the biggest challenges our Firefighters/Paramedics face today is accessibility to safe, high -quality, and attainable housing. We often find ourselves having to choose between renting or purchasing our first homes to start a family outside of the City - limits, simply because of affordability and availability issues. We believe that providing affordable and workforce housing opportunities such as these is not only the best way to demonstrate the importance of living where you work, but to also give the residents an extra layer of security and peace of mind that they have first responders living in their closest proximities that they can count on to render aid or assistance as they have come to expect and appreciate at all hours of the day. Not to mention, this would also assist in recruiting and retaining highly skilled Firefighters/Paramedics that would otherwise choose to work for another municipality where housing would be more affordable and accessible. Ultimately, this is why we are very excited to partner with NR Investments' UNI and the Omni CRA with the goal of providing housing options in the urban core of our great City for our Firefighters/Paramedics and other employees within the City of Miami and Miami -Dade County. By doing so, we believe we would inherently improve the quality of life of our employees, while also contributing to the social fabric that exists within the Downtown community by allowing for diverse levels of income and public service workers/residents to share in that existence together, not only as a workforce serving our community, but as neighbors. We look forward to seeing this project come to fruition and if there's any way we can be of assistance, please don't hesitate to reach out. Alexander Cardenas President Miami Association of Firefighters Local 587 2980 NW South River Drive, Miami, Florida 33125 • (305) 633-3442 • Fax (305) 633-3935 www.iaff587.org LOCAL 1991 SEW SEIU HEALTHCARE FLORIDA LOCAL 1991 1601 NW 8t" Avenue • Mlomi • Florida 33136 PHONE: 305-620-6555 • FAX 305-625-1429 unlontseiu1991.org • www.seiu1991.ow Barbaro Gonzalez RN Grace Meatiy RN Martha Baker RN Lisa Bush RN Magaile V. Pena President Vice President Executive Director Treasurer Secretary November 13, 2023 To: Omni Redevelopment Agency (Omni CRA) and UNI 17th Street LLC (UNI) Re: Affordable Housing Dear Sir/Madam: As an Executive Director of SEIU Healthcare Florida Local 1991, which represents over 4,700 members at Jackson Health System, I am expressing my support for the Omni CRA and NR Investments' UNI project to provide a unique high-rise In Downtown Miami geared towards the City of Miami's and Miami -Dade County's public sector workforce. This affordable and workforce housing development is much needed for those individuals and families who are struggling to keep up with the rising cost of living. Projects with a main focus on workforce housing for those who work in the area and but cannot afford to live in the city due to the high housing cost is a solution that will contribute to retain and recruit our workforce in the future. I look forward to the completion of this project in 2024 and I am committed to sharing this opportunity with my nurses, doctors and professionals at Jackson. Sincerely, eat-, Martha Baker, RN Executive Director