HomeMy WebLinkAboutAnalysis and Maps,0'y OF
41
tvl
CITY OF MIAMI
PLANNING DEPARTaiENT
INC0AB 0RAif0
COMMUNITY PLANNING DIVISION
r
Comprehensive Plan Amendment
4763
•. Miami -Dade Count
• • 1415 NW 63 Street (Folio: 01-3114-009-0010)
• District 5 — Commissioner Keon Hardemon
Model Cit
Approximately 206,038 square feet 4.73 acres
Ryan Shedd, Planner II
A. REQUEST
Pursuant to Policy LU -1.6.4 of the Miami Comprehensive Neighborhood Plan ("MCNP"), Miami -
Dade County ("the County") is requesting an amendment to Ordinance No. 10544, the Future
Land Use Map (FLUM) of the MCNP to change the designation of a portion of the property at
1415 NW 63 Street ("the property") from "Medium Density Multifamily Residential" to "Medium
Density Restricted Commercial". The proposed amendment contains approximately 4.73 acres of
the property's approximately 17.5 acres. Small scale Comprehensive Plan Amendments are those
that involve less than 10 acres of property and are subject to the Small -Scale Review Process,
as set forth in Section 163.3187, F.S.
Concurrently, the County is requesting a change to the Miami 21 Zoning Atlas as a companion
item. The request is being submitted through file ID 4764. The companion application seeks to
change the Miami 21 Zoning designation from 74-R" General Urban Transect - Restricted to 75-
0" Urban Center Transect - Open. In addition to these applications, the County has also applied
for a Comprehensive Plan Amendment and a Rezoning for three other blocks within Liberty
Square (File IDs 4765 and 4766). While the Rezoning request is the same, the Comprehensive
Plan Amendment requests "Restricted Commercial".
B. HISTORY
In February 2015, the County announced plans to redevelop and revitalize Liberty Square, and
subsequently released a Request for Applications from a select pool of prequalified developers.
Related Urban was chosen and embarked on the planning process to redevelop the Liberty
Square development. After years of community engagement and plan development, the County
is requesting the rezoning of various portions of the Liberty Square property to realize the plan
developed by Related Urban. The masterplan, as shown in Illustration 1, was developed to update
the aging housing stock in Liberty Square, provide new housing choices, introduce new
commercial and community spaces, and serve the existing neighborhood of Liberty Square.
Liberty Square is designated "Medium Density Multifamily Residential" on the FLUM (See Map
2). The County is seeking to amend the designation to "Medium Density Restricted Commercial"
for the above-mentioned portion, as shown in Map 3.
File ID 4763 — Page 1
NEW COMMUNITY PAR
LIBERTY SQUARE MUSEUM
ALONZO MOURNING LIBERTY SQUARE
YOUTH CENTER
PUBLIC / AFFORDABLE HOUSING UNITS
GARDEN -STYLE
UPGRADED BASKETBALL COURT
UPGRADED BASEBALL FIELD
NEW LIBERTY SQUARE
COMMUNITYCENTER jb!
MIXED -INCOME - 7
HOMEOWNERSHIP �/ � y/
TOWNHOMES w, �/�=�'ii ' _...� • s- .�
K PUBLIC / AFFORDABLE HOUSING UNITS
GARDEN STYLE
SCHOOL FOR SPECIAL NEEDS
CHILDREN/HEAD START CENTER
YMCA FAMILY CENTER
PUBLIC / AFFORDABLE HOUSING UNITS
GARDEN STYLE
PUBLIC/AFFORDABLE HOUSING UNITS
1
GARDEN STYLE
COMMUNITY EDUCATIONAL
CENTER/CIVIC CENTER
GROCERY STORE
A.
IKE
MIXED -INCOMES STORY APARTMENTS
(AFFORDABLE /WORKFORCE)
ADULT EDUCATIONAL CENTER! K-2 SCHOOL
ELDERLY AFFORDABLE 5 STORY APARTMENTS
-- - SICKLECELLFOUNDATION
JESSIE TRICE COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER
MIXED -INCOME 5 STORY APARTMENTS
(AFFORDABLE /WORKFORCE)
GRADE -LEVEL "MOM & POP" RETAIL
MIXED -INCOME 5 STORY APARTMENTS
(AFFORDABLE / WORKFORCE)
GRADE -LEVEL "MOM & POP" RETAIL
Map 1: Context map. Liberty Square is in the Model City NET Area, in the northwestern part of the city.
File ID 4763 — Page 3
� � I II IIII III!I!I II II—�EEP'lkiiR ---
i`
I1"11'f'r-T1 4 maj Pubh
i E I Faulibes,
TranspA W- .
Resliientlal
i J-LJ11LL�.1__LJ
- NW fiSTN ST
Medium Density - -/
IiJl 64TH ST Multifamily
Residential -
a
NW 82ND
3
z
Res 'c
Commercial ---NW 82ND STi
't -Public -Parks_ -
and Recreation Low Density
Multifamily
Nws�srsr Residential
iAsdium 4]enaity —
IF� Subject Block Restncted a
Commercial -.,
ZIP—
C= Liberty Square NW�+sT _
Map 2: Existing Future Land Use Map
■IIIIM
i��■���� ����������� ■1 - .. - � 11111.11■.
■11111 1111111111
�������■ ' 111®1111 1111111111.
t
�� n■ 111■■111
Illll�n � ■11111■1.
Medium Density
Restricted MediumCensity
Multifamily
��111111111�=
lig ■Ills
��������� 111.1■�
Low Density
Multifamily
��������� ` 111■111
��������� ■■111:
---- ---
Map 3: Proposed Future Land Use Map
File ID 4763 — Page 4
C. SITE AND NEIGHBORHOOD DETAILS
As shown in Map 1, Liberty Square is located in the northwestern part of the City of Miami, within
the Model City NET area and Liberty City neighborhood. Owned by Miami -Dade County Public
Housing, Liberty Square was built in 1937 by the Public Works Administration under the New
Deal. As black citizens were segregated to only a few subdivisions in the county at the time', a
group of prominent business people lobbied the Roosevelt administration for funds to establish
and construct Liberty Square. This was done largely as a response to issues of disease and
overcrowding in Overtown, and the fear that Overtown's proximity to Downtown (deed restrictions
prohibited black residents from living in areas such as Downtown) would be a risk for Miami's
wealthy, white class. Liberty Square was constructed as a segregated housing development for
black residents displaced from these urban renewal projects in Overtown2. The wall that was built
to segregate the residents of Liberty Square from the neighboring communities is still partially
intact, and historically designated, along NW 12 Avenue.
Liberty Square, located at 1415 NW 63 Street and 1200 NW 62 Lane, sits on approximately 66
acres bounded by NW 12 Avenue to the east, NW 67 Street to the north, NW 15 Avenue to the
west, and NW 62 Street (Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard) to the south. The property contains all
of Block 3 and a portion of Block 4 within the Low Cost Housing Project No. H-4602 subdivision.
The full legal description is on file with the Hearing Boards Division of the City of Miami. The
property is surrounded on the north, east, and south by other portions of Liberty Square.
i0ro
Liberty Square
Subject Block
o City Boundary
Map 4: Aerial view of Liberty Square and the surrounding neighborhood
1 Mohl, R.A. (1985). The Origins of Miami's Liberty City. Florida Environmental and Urban Issues, 12. Retrieved November 15, 2018
z George, P. S., & Peterson, T. K. (1988). Liberty Square: 1933-1987 The Origins and Evolution of a Public Housing Project. Tequesta, (XLVIII), 33-
48. Retrieved November 15, 2018, from http://www.historymiamiarchives.org/pdfs/Tequesta2009-p33-48.pdf
File ID 4763 — Page 5
Demographics
The Census Block Group in which the properties are contained has a total of 689 households in
a total of 785 housing units. This Block Group shares the same boundaries as the entire Liberty
Square development. As such, given the ongoing redevelopment already taking place on parts of
the property, it's especially important to note that these numbers are reported from the last
estimation of the 2012 — 2016 American Community Survey. The median income for those
households between 2012 and 2016 was $9,154. This is significantly lower than the surrounding
Block Groups, which range from a high of $30,717 to a low of $13,306. The number of families
living in poverty in the Block Group was 83.89 percent, more than three times the rate for the City.
Given that Liberty Square is entirely publicly owned housing, all of the households in the subject
Block Group rented their home between 2012 and 2016. Most households in the surrounding
neighborhoods also rented. One adjacent block group had a rental rate of 96.72 percent.
The median rent for a unit in the Block Group was $294. Surrounding Block Groups typically had
a median gross rent between $600 and $825.
Approximately 28.21 percent of adults over the age of 16 were unemployed for this period, which
is considerably higher than the City as a whole (almost 10 percent). Surrounding neighborhoods
had similarly high rates of unemployment, with some areas reaching up to 40 percent
unemployment. Additionally, 93.43 percent of disabled adults were unemployed, higher than the
rate for the City Of disabled adults, 73.9 percent were unemployed between 2012 and 2016.
Subject Block Group: 120860015012
TopicD.
_
Number of Households
689
Number of Housing Units
7854
Median Household Income
$9,154 (City of Miami: $31,642)
Percent of Families under the Poverty Line
83.89%
Percent of Households that rent
100%
Median Rent
$294 (30.91 % Rental cost burdened)
Unemployment Rate
28.21% (93.43% among disabled adults)
Table 1: Collected Census data (2012 — 2016 American Communitv Survev)
3 Data was retrieved from the U.S. Census Bureau. Data from the Decennial Census and the American Community
Survey was compiled for this report.
4 Vacancy rates are not reported for the Block Group containing the property subject to this application due to the
ever -evolving nature of the housing stock in Liberty Square.
File ID 4763 — Page 6
D. SITE PHOTOS
Below are a few photographs of the streetscape and surrounding neighborhood context:
Photo 1: Looking south along NW 14 Avenue shows the typical single -story housing structures of the
original Liberty Square.
Photo 2: Looking north along NW 14 Avenue, in the center of Liberty Square, the subject block is on the
left. The subject block currently contains some residential structures, but also the community center and
recreational facilities.
File ID 4763 — Page 7
Photo 3: Original Liberty Square community center, located on the eastern end of the subject block.
Photo 4: Looking south along NW 15 Avenue, the subject block is on the left. On the opposite side of the
street are commercial, residential, and vacant properties.
File ID 4763 — Page 8
E. EXISTING AND FUTURE LAND USE
As depicted on Map 2 on page 4, the properties are currently designated "Medium Density
Multifamily Residential" on the FLUM of the Miami Comprehensive Neighborhood Plan ("MCNP").
The "Medium Density Multifamily Residential" designation allows 65 dwelling units per acre, with
a limitation on uses to primarily residential. Other supportive uses such as community-based
residential facilities, educational facilities, etc. are allowed, subject to regulations in Miami 21.
The "Medium Density Restricted Commercial" designation that the County has requested for the
property allows up to 65 dwelling units per acre, maintaining the allowed density. It allows a wide
variety of non-residential uses, such as: commercial, retailing, office, entertainment, recreation
facilities, and hotels. For further details on the interpretation of this designation, see page 21 of
the MCNP.
The proposed amendment would not yield an increase of residential units for the portion of the
property subject to this application. The primary difference between the designations is the
addition of mixed -uses.
Staff analyzed properties within a half -mile study area of the whole Liberty Square development
(restricted to those properties within the City of Miami, given the proximity to the City's border and
the disparity between the City and the County's Future Land Use designations). The designation
with the greatest representation on the Future Land Use Map is "Restricted Commercial", as
shown in Table 2 on this page.
Grouped as most similar designations based on allowed uses and densities, "Single Family
Residential" and "Duplex Residential" share the greatest proportion at 42 percent of the study
area, while mixed-use designations ("Restricted Commercial", "Medium Density Restricted
Commercial", and "Low Density Restricted Commercial") share 38 percent of the study area.
"Medium Density Multifamily Residential" takes up 10 percent, "Light Industrial" and "Major
Institutional, Public Facilities, Transportation and Utilities" both share 10 percent, and finally
"Public Parks and Recreation" takes up one percent of the study area.
Acreage of Future Land Uses within a half -mile radius*
Restricted Commercial 230.09
Single Family - Residential 180.75
Duplex - Residential 177.69
N
Z) Medium Density Restricted Commercial 89.53
Medium Density Multifamily Residential 88.05
J
a, Major Inst, Public Facilities, Transp And 52.55
Light Industrial � 30.58
Low Density Restricted Commercial M 7.23
Public Parks and Recreation ■ 6.23
Low Density Multifamily Residential I 1.71
0.00 50.00 100.00 150.00 200.00 250.00
*only includes property within the City of Miami Acres
Table 2: Acreage of Future Land Uses within a half -mile radius of Liberty Square
File ID 4763 — Page 9
F. ANALYSIS
Criteria 1
Policy LU -1.1.7: "Land development regulations and policies will allow for the
development and redevelopment of well-designed mixed-use neighborhoods
that provide for the full range of residential, office, live/work spaces,
neighborhood retail, and community facilities in a walkable area and that are
amenable to a variety of transportation modes, including pedestrianism,
bicycles, automobiles, and mass transit."
Analysis 1
The redevelopment of Liberty Square's southern blocks along NW 15 Avenue
and NW 62 Street will activate these corridors. The surrounding properties
already allow mixed-use development and the proposed amendment would
align the subject portions of Liberty Square with the surrounding corridors.
Finding 1
Staff finds the request consistent with Policies LU -1.1.7.
Criteria 2
Policy LU -1.6.9: "The City's land development regulations will establish
mechanisms to mitigate the potentially adverse impacts of new development
on existing neighborhoods through the development of appropriate transition
standards and buffering requirements."
Analysis 2
The proposed amendment would not increase the allowed density for the
property. It would only introduce non-residential uses. The property fronts NW
15 Avenue to the west, which is a mixed use commercial corridor, allowing up
to 150 dwelling units per acre and a wide variety of non-residential uses. The
properties to the east and south are also part of the Liberty Square
development, slated for redesign with this proposed amendment in mind. The
property to the north, also part of Liberty Square, has the same density with
purely residential uses, acting as a buffer and transition to the lower density,
residential area further north.
Finding 2
Staff finds the request consistent with Policy LU -1.6.9.
Criteria 3
Policy LU -1.6.4: "Any proposal to amend the City's Zoning Atlas that has been
deemed to require an amendment to the Future Land Use Plan Map by the
Planning Department, shall require a level of service (LOS) review and a
finding from the Planning Department that the proposed amendment will not
result in a LOS that falls below the adopted minimum standards described in
Policy CI -1.2.3, and will not be in conflict with any element of the MCNP. Based
on its evaluation, and on other relevant planning considerations, the Planning
Department will forward a recommended action on said amendment to the
Planning Advisory Board, which will then forward its recommendation to the
City Commission."
Analysis 3
While there would be no increase in allowed density for the property,
transportation staff with the Office of Capital Improvements analyzed the
proposed amendment as it would allow new uses and found that additional
information at the time of redevelopment would be ideal to help determine the
impact. The proposed amendment meets the other levels -of -service, as
established by the MCNP.
Finding 3
Staff finds the request consistent with Policy LU -1.6.4.
Criteria 4
Objective HO -1.2: "Conserve the present stock of extremely low-, very low-,
low-, and moderate -income housing (in accordance with the current standards
and regulations of HUD and the State of Florida) within the City and reduce
File ID 4763 — Page 10
G. RECOMMENDATION
Based on the above background information, the Planning Department recommends approval of
the request to amend the designation on the FLUM from "Medium Density Multifamily
Residential" to "Medium Density Restricted Commercial" for the properties located at 1415 NW
63 Street, Mia mi, _FL—�
Sue TTr_one; AICP
Chief of Comprehensive Planning
Attachments:
Attachment A - Concurrency Management Analysis
Attachment B - Liberty Square, 1933-1987 The Origins and Evolution of a Public Housing Project
Attachment C - Memorandum of Understanding Between Related Urban and Liberty Square Resident Council Inc.
File ID 4763 — Page 11
the number of substandard units through rehabilitation, reduce the number of
unsafe structures through demolition or rehabilitation, and insure the
preservation of historically significant housing through identification and
designation."
Analysis 4
Currently containing over 700 units of housing, the redevelopment plan
prepared by Miami -Dade County Public Housing and Related Urban will
reconstruct every single unit within Liberty Square, in addition to increasing
the overall housing stock in the development. One major goal of the
redevelopment is to provide new housing to every current resident of Liberty
Square that wishes to remain.
The preservation and rehabilitation of the existing housing stock that is
affordable to low-income households is an extremely important tool in
addressing the ongoing housing affordability crisis. While all of the existing
units at Liberty Square will eventually be demolished, the overall amount of
affordable housing will actually increase under the redevelopment plan.
Finding 4
Staff find the request consistent with Objective HO -1.2
Criteria 5
Policy HO -1.2.3: "The City's housing programs will provide for a diverse range
of housing types in all areas of the City, including housing that is affordable to
extremely low-, very low-, low-, and moderate -income households (in
accordance with the current standards and regulations of HUD and the State
of Florida) as an alternative to the geographic concentration of low-income
housing."
Analysis 5
With a mix of housing options for a variety of specified income levels and
residents with disabilities, the reconstruction of Liberty Square will provide new
housing for current residents, as well as new residents with a variety of income
levels. The proposed amendment, by introducing new allowed uses, will allow
the provision of a variety of services and amenities to serve an increased
population, as well as programs for specific populations such as the elderly.
Additionally, with new allowed uses to support a greater variety of households,
the proposed amendment will support the integration of housing types, thereby
moving away from the concentration of poverty at Liberty Square while still
providing housing for the community that exists at Liberty Square today.
Finding 5
Staff finds the request consistent with Policy HO -1.2.3
G. RECOMMENDATION
Based on the above background information, the Planning Department recommends approval of
the request to amend the designation on the FLUM from "Medium Density Multifamily
Residential" to "Medium Density Restricted Commercial" for the properties located at 1415 NW
63 Street, Mia mi, _FL—�
Sue TTr_one; AICP
Chief of Comprehensive Planning
Attachments:
Attachment A - Concurrency Management Analysis
Attachment B - Liberty Square, 1933-1987 The Origins and Evolution of a Public Housing Project
Attachment C - Memorandum of Understanding Between Related Urban and Liberty Square Resident Council Inc.
File ID 4763 — Page 11
I N W-
N
NW -62N
S.T
F
I NW -65 -TI H -ST
1
0 -
■'in
CM
6-3 R D:S;TE-
.r
S=
FUTURE LAND USE MAP (EXISTING)
FILE ID: 4763
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN AMENDMENT
N
0 125 250 500 Feet Q Subject Property
NW 67TH ST
NW 67TH ST
Restricted
Comm me cial
U
2
H
NW 66TH ST
z
NW 65TH ST
NW 65TH ST
>
Medium Density>
J
=
Multifamily
=
_
Residential
M
NW 64TH ST
z
z
z
Duplex -
Residential
NW 63RD ST
U
NW 63RD ST
v
z
LLU
NW 62ND TER
Restricted
Commercial
N
0 125 250 500 Feet Q Subject Property
FUTURE LAND USE MAP (PROPOSED)
FILE ID: 4763
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN AMENDMENT
gal
N
0 125 250 500 Feet Q Subject Property
NW 67TH ST
NW 67TH ST
Restricted
Comm me cial
Medium Density
U
�
NW 66TH ST
Multifamily
Residential
z
Medium Density
ultamly
LResidential
NW 65TH ST
NW 65TH ST
UJ
=
Medium Density
w
=
J
_
Restricted
M
NW 64TH ST
�
Commercial
3:
3:
z
z
z
Duplex -
Resideritial
LIENW
63RD ST
U
NW 63RD ST
v
z
Medium Density
LLU
Multifamily
Residential
NW 62ND TER
Restricted
Commercial
gal
N
0 125 250 500 Feet Q Subject Property
Concurrency Management Analysis
City of Miami Planning & Zoning Department
Impact of Proposed Amendment to Future Land Use Map
Proposal No.
4763
Date:
12/19/18
AMENDMENT INFORMATION
Applicant:
Miami Dade County
Address:
1415 NW 63 ST
Boundary Streets:
North: NW 65 ST East:
NW 14 AV
South: NW 63 ST West:
NW 15 AV
Proposed Change:
From: Medium Density Multifamily
Residential
To: Restricted Commercial
Existing Designation, Maximum Land Use Intensity
Residential
4.7300 acres @ 65 DU/acre
307
DU's
Peak Hour Person -Trip Generation, Residential
1 200
Proposed Designation, Maximum Land Use Intensity
Residential 4.7300 acres @ 65 DU/acre 307 DU's
Peak Hour Person -Trip Generation, Residential 1 200
Net Increment With Proposed Change:
Population
Dwelling Units
Peak Hour Person -Trips
NET Area
County Wastewater Collection Zone
Drainage Subcatchment Basin
Solid Waste Collection Route
Transportation Corridor Name
Model City
Basin 0072'
A4
107
NW 62 Street
RELEVANT MCNP GOALS, OBJECTIVES, AND POLICIES
Land Use Goal LU -1 (See attachment 1)
Land Use Objective LU -1.1
Land Use Policy 1.1.1
Capital Improvements Goal CI -1
Capital Improvements Objective CI -1.2
Capital Improvements Policy 1.2.3 a - g
CONCURRENCY ANALYSIS
RECREATION AND OPEN SPACE
Population Increment, Residents 0
MCNP Parks, Recreation, and Open Space Policy PR -1.1.4 requires
a 10 -minute (defined as 1/2 mile) barrier -free walk to a park
entrance.
Concurrency Checkoff OK
POTABLE WATER TRANSMISSION
Population Increment, Residents 0
Transmission Requirement, 92.05 g/r/d 0
Excess Capacity Before Change >2% above demand
Excess Capacity After Change >2% above demand
Concurrency Checkoff OK
SANITARY SEWER TRANSMISSION
Population Increment, Residents 0
Transmission Requirement, 141 g/r/d 0
Excess Capacity Before Change See Note 1.
Excess Capacity After Change See Note 1.
Concurrency Checkoff WASD Permit Required
STORM SEWER CAPACITY
Exfiltration System Before Change On-site
Exfiltration System After Change On-site
Concurrency Checkoff OK
SOLID WASTE COLLECTION
Population Increment, Residents 0
Solid Waste Generation,1.28 tons/resident/yr 0
Excess Capacity Before Change 800
Excess Capacity After Change 800
Concurrency Checkoff OK
TRAFFIC CIRCULATION
Population Increment, Residents 0
Peak -Hour Person -Trip Generation 0
Concurrency Checkoff OK
NOTES: Penn it for sanitary sewer connection must be issued by Miami -Dade Water and Sewer Authonty Department (WASA) Excess capacity, if any, is currently not known.
ASSUMPTIONS AND COMMENT:
Population increment is assumed to be all new residents. Peak -period trip generation is based on ITE Trip Generation, 5th Edition at 1.4 ppv average occupancy for private passenger vehicles. Transportation Corridor capacities and LOS are from
Table PT -2(R1), Transportation Corndors report.
Potable water and wastewater transmission capacities are in accordance with Miami -Dade County stated capacities and are assumed correct. Service connections to water and sewer mains are assumed to be of adequate size; if not, new
connections are to be installed at owners expense.
'Basin 0072 is, at the time of this analysis, under a moratorium.
Recreation/Open Space acreage requirements are assumed with proposed change made.
Location: N:\PIatr"ai
33
Liberty Square, 1933-1987
The Origins and Evolution of a
Public Housing Project
Paul S. George and Thomas K Petersen
From Tequesta, no. XLUIII (1988)
L Reaching for Utopia: 1933-1936
This project will be one of the greatest blessings that Miami
ever had. It will not only eliminate the possibility of fatal
epidemics here, but also fix it so we can get a servant freed
from disease.
John Gramling,
October 17, 1934
The First Administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt was barely nine
months old when in December 1933, Miami attorney John Gramling,
along with six other lawyers and businessmen, formed the Southern
Housing Corporation for the purpose of developing a "negro colony"
on one hundred and twenty acres of land on Miami's northern out-
skirts. Their inspiration was the recently -created United States
Reconstruction Finance Corporation, which provided low-interest
loans for slum clearance and the construction of low-income housing
for the poor. The application of the newly formed corporation stated
the problem:
The only site on which a negro might live in the City of
Miami is in what now is known as negrotown in the heart of
Miami. That area consists of 343 acres of land and accord-
ing to the United States census of 1930, there are 25,116 col-
ored persons living in that area. This population is living in
34 TEQUESTA
one story negro shacks and there are from three to fifteen
shacks on a city lot of 50' x 150'. The sanitary conditions are
a menace to the whole city. The living conditions are incon-
ceivable and are a shame and a disgrace to the responsible
citizens of Miami. This area is principally owned by white
people who have erected these small shacks and get exorbi-
tant rent from them so that they pay for themselves every
two to three years ... Many houses have no toilets connected
with the house, no bathrooms, nor bathing facilities ...1
Gramling, a former municipal judge and prominent attorney who
arrived in Miami in 1906 from Alabama and the beneficiary of early
and lucrative investments in Miami public utilities, seemed an unlike-
ly champion of the impoverished and overcrowded residents of
Colored Town, the city's first black community. Yet irrespective of
the purity of his motivations, his message was powerful. The principal
concern, stated emphatically and repeatedly in correspondence from
Miami to the Housing Section of the Public Works Administration
(PWA) in Washington as well as in the press, was the threat of the
transmission of disease by servants to the white homes in which they
were employed. In one of his innumerable letters to the PWA,
Gramling wrote of the high incidence of tuberculosis in the negro
quarters: "From this cesspool of disease the white people of Greater
Miami draw their servants." The weekly (Miami) Friday Night, on
January 12, 1934, sounded the same theme in no uncertain terms:
The people who hire negroes in their homes should come
forth with their protest. A protest against allowing the maid
that cares for their children, the cook that prepares their
food, and the wash woman that does their clothes, from
bringing into their homes the disease germs that flourish in
the present negro district.2
Two days later, apparently in step with the submission of the
application of the Southern Housing Corporation to Washington, a
Miami Herald editorial echoed the same theme:
Liberty Square, 1933-1987 35
Lovers of Miami have long decried the condition in which
the colored people here are compelled to live. Attention has
been led, frequently, to conditions that are not only a source
of embarrassment but are actually a health menace to the
entire population ... With the help of the P.W.A. it might be
possible that conditions in colored town could be materially
improved.3
Two years later, in the summer of 1936 when the construction of
the project was well underway, the concern relative to the transmis-
sion of disease recurs in the context of kitchen facilities. "The tenants
of the project," wrote Clarence Coe, the district manager for the Public
Housing Administration who worked closely with the advisory com-
mittee established to oversee construction and tenant selection, "if
within the proper income group, will in many cases desire to do wash-
ing for people outside of the project. It is the belief of the Committee
that the stationary tubs in the kitchen of each apartment would not be
sufficient or satisfactory to carry out such work in any volume."4
Later in 1936, now in the context of tenant selection, Coe wrote
that "Many of the employers of domestic help have personally made
request that quarters in the project be reserved for their help." "Health
certificates," Coe announced, "would be required as part of the tenant
application process."5
Another requirement in the admission process, related to the per-
vasive concern over infection, may well have proven more of a bur-
den to the incoming residents than obtaining health certificates.
"Fumigation and extermination for household goods of incoming ten-
ants," wrote H. A. Gray, the PWA Director of Housing, in a letter to
Miami chemical companies requesting bids, "would be a require-
ment."6 Two responding companies suggested cyanide as the fumiga-
tion agent. A third, alluding to dangers of the use of cyanide, suggest-
ed a more expensive yet less toxic alternative. Gray chose cyanide on
the basis of costa
Concerns related to infectious disease may also have doomed the
swimming pool which had been included in the original blueprint for
Liberty Square. Dr. Marvin Smith, a physician serving on the all white
36 TEQUESTA
Advisory Committee, suggested in early 1936 that a swimming pool
represented a risk of transmission of syphilis and thus should not be
included in the project.$ Although the PWA Housing Director disput-
ed Dr. Smith's assertion and countered with the opinion of his own
expert ("Dr. Von Derlehr was very much surprised at Dr. Smith's state-
ment ... He further said that he had never heard of syphilitic infection
from a swimming pool."), the local view prevailed and Liberty
Square, the public housing project, opened without a swimming pool.9
During much of 1935, however, considerations relating to tenant
selection and the project blueprints lay well in the future and, for a
time, it appeared that John Gramling's plan for a "negro colony" was
doomed. At the same time, Liberty City, located just west of the pro-
posed site of the housing project, was a small, isolated black enclave
north of Sixty -Second Street and west of Seventeenth Avenue. The
area to the east of Seventeenth Avenue was sparsely settled by whites,
although density increased substantially between Northwest Second
Avenue, where the all -white Miami Edison High School stood, and
Biscayne Bay.10
In the spring of 1935, after several months of silence during
which time the government moved toward acquisition of the property,
white opposition to negroes residing east of Seventeenth Avenue
flared in the form of the Nor'West League. Headed by Rodger Hern-
don and a vocal constituency, the League wrote President Franklin D.
Roosevelt on behalf of "hundreds of families to whom hurricanes,
banks and the Depression have left nothing but their booms, modest
homes. "Won't you," it implored the President, "help us—the not -so -
rich folks of the rural northwest area of Miami?" The League warned
that extending the negro area to the east "would cause infinite strife
and bloodshed."11
In July 1935, the Nor'West League generated a petition bearing
the signatures of 2,600 white property owners which was widely cir-
culated. Florida Senators Park Trammell and Duncan Fletcher, as well
as Congressmen W. J. Sears and A. B. Wilcox, upon receiving the peti-
tions, expressed their reservations regarding the project in separate
communications to the Department of Interior. 12 On July 12, the Dade
County Commissioners adopted a resolution opposing the project, as
did the city of Miami Commission the following month, notwith-
Liberty Square, 1933-1987 37
standing a prior resolution, passed in the less turbulent atmosphere of
1934, in support of it.13
This opposition took the PWA's Public Housing Administration
by surprise and work on the project came to a halt during the spring
and summer of 1935. A memorandum signed and approved by the
Director of Housing, Colonel Horatio B. Hackett, tersely announced:
"This project has been temporarily suspended. It has been decided to
cease work on it until further notice."14
Soon after this announcement, Angelo Clas, a midwest architect,
replaced Hackett as Housing Director. Clas' public career would last
only two years. Fortunately for John Grambling's project, those two
years included the summer of 1935.
Shortly after assuming this post, Clas delivered an ultimatum to
the Nor'West League:
I am so firmly convinced of the justice of our carefully and
deeply considered decision that I can see only two alterna-
tives in this matter. One, that the project proceed on its pres-
ent site; or two, that the project be abandoned and that
Miami lose the benefit of the substantial sum which will be
expended, and the great benefit to local labor and the build-
ing industry in general.15
Clas sent copies of the letter to Senators Fletcher and Trammell
and to Representatives Sears and Wilcox. The politicians fell silent
and the Nor'West League folded its tent in the autumn of 1935.
In 1936, the all -white Miami Advisory Committee on Housing
began to meet regularly. At its first meeting, the Committee discussed
the role of the yet to be identified project manager, as reflected in
the minutes:
The duties of a manager of the project were discussed in that
he should possess mechanical knowledge as to the installa-
tions of equipment, be his own auditor, select the tenants and
see that they are comfortably situated and provided with var-
ious facilities, satisfactorily handle numerous operating
agreements with municipal authorities. Colonel Coe assured
the committee that the manager would be a white man. 16
38 TEQUESTA
One week later, emphasizing the latter point, Coe wrote to
Angelo Clas: "You will note also again the Advisory Board have
placed themselves as definitely on record as being opposed to a col-
ored manager of the sixty second street project."17
Coe's evident sensitivity on this point may have been inspired by
the presence in his office of James E. Scott, a World War I veteran
referred to tangentially in correspondence as "the colored student
attending management school."18 It apparently did not escape notice
that Scott would be a logical person to play a role in the new housing
project.
Nor did the relative absence of black participation in the planning
process totally escape attention. Discussion of the appointment of a
black advisory group began during the Spring of 1936, as construction
of the 247 unit project neared completion. Colonel Coe's attention
would appear to have been drawn more to form than to substance in
creating this body. He wrote:
There are good psychological reasons why the name `colored'
or `negro' should be left off in designating the membership of
this Board, and by bringing the Housing Manager in between
would prevent any contact between the two Boards except
such as the Housing Director may deem necessary. 19
The black advisory group was appointed and would consist of
John Culmer, chairman, Kelsey Pharr, Dr. W. B. Sawyer, Charles
Thompson and, after some hesitation, attorney R. E. S. Toomey. The
task assigned to it was to bestow a name upon the project.20
Despite the reservations over his appointment to the Board,
Toomey maintained his enthusiasm for the project. He promptly wrote
to the Director of Housing in Washington that his group had decided
upon the name "Utopia" as first choice with "Toomeyville" as second
choice.21 The Housing Director informed Toomey that "Utopia" was
too general and that, while he, Toomey, was to be applauded for the
high esteem in which he was evidently held by his peers, the name
selected should not be that of a living person.22
The final name selection was ultimately made by the all -white
Advisory Committee, apparently with little regard for the input of the
Culmer-Toomey group. Dr. Marvin Smith, who had earlier success-
LibertySquare, 1933-1987 39
fully blocked construction of the swimming pool, offered the name
eventually adopted, that being "Liberty Square."23
John Gramling died in Miami in 1967 at the age of seventy eight.
His wife Irene still lives in the same home, near Twelfth Avenue and
Coral Way, where the Gramlings resided fifty years ago. Their nearest
surviving child, Claire Alice, lives in Savannah. Neither Irene nor
Claire Alice, recall details relative to the origins of Liberty Square and
none of John Gramling's files or correspondence have survived him.
Both women, however, clearly recall their father's motivation for
serving as the guiding force behind the project's genesis. His principal
client, Floyd Davis, was a wealthy property owner who owned much
of what is today Liberty City as well as other properties stretching
from Broward County to the Keys. It was John Gramling's function to
facilitate the sale of much of this land and it was this relationship
which was to inspire the creation of the Southern Housing Corpora-
tion's venture. The Corporation's application to the federal govern-
ment failed to mention Floyd Davis and "midwestern land company."
The relationship that in fact existed between Gramling and Davis is
nowhere even hinted at in the surviving files at the National Archives.
IL Paradise Gained: 1937 - Early 1960s
Here the United States government has extended its hand to
lift 243 negro families out of squalor and filth and disease
and place them in clean, comfortable yet unelaborate quar-
ters at reasonable rents. There are no frills at Liberty Square,
but there is sanitation and light and air and harmony of sim-
ple architecture. There is room to expand, room for children
to play, provision for elemental community life.
Editorial, Miami Herald
October 16, 1936.
During the winter and spring of 1936-1937 the first tenants trick-
led into the housing project. A choir from Saint John's Baptist Church
sang Christmas carols outside the newly completed community center
40 TEQUESTA
building during that holiday season. In March 1937, the first baby
born in Liberty Square, and in public housing in America, LeClair
Lambert, entered the world at 6228 N. W. 14 Court.24
Fifty years later, at the ceremony in the community center com-
memorating the dedication of the project in late 1936, Mr. Lambert,
now an historian in Saint Paul, Minnesota, reflected upon the early
days at Liberty Square:
I'm proud to be here because history is a continuum.... What
an honor to be here today to once again, some forty plus
years later, walk through this area that brings back so many
fond memories.... What an honor to be able to recapture the
memories of growing up as a Cub Scout, and then a Boy
Scout, in this very same hall. And what a pleasure to remem-
ber the fun I had with the annual roller skating venture on
Sixty -Third Street every Christmas Day! How well I
remember those bruised knees and elbows in trying to imi-
tate the skating movements the big boys used to do so well.
And if these walls could talk, they would tell you that all of
us who lived here were guided and positively educated in
the strong need to care for each other ... to share ideas ...
and dreams ... and fantasies that someday would be reality.
... These walls would tell you that for so many, a job was
well done in giving us a sense of purpose and a sense of
direction in life. And for that, I am proud.25
Henry Clarke, Jr., who has worked as a maintenance supervisor
at Liberty Square since 1949, recalled the early years:
Residents cooperated then, really cared about the project.
Liberty Square was much prettier then, and it was crime
free. By the late 1950s and 1960s tougher people moved in
and it began to go down.... In the early days politicians used
to come out to the project and campaign. They used the
community center. The center was also used for marriages,
movies for youngsters, dinners, parties and religious servic-
es. At one time Liberty Square had its own park director,
black patrolmen walked a regular beat in and around the
Liberty Square, 1933-1987
project. There was a project drugstore here, and a grocery
store and a library. The place was really alive then.26
Rosalie Harris, who has lived in the project since 1940, recalled:
Liberty Square in its early days was beautiful then, with
plenty of coconut palms and no litter. We didn't know what
crime was in those days and we slept with our doors open.
Things began to get bad in the 1960's when those people
started to come from Overtown. I look at this place now and
sometimes it puts tears in my eyes.27
Liberty Square's principal selling point, as correctly identified by
John Grambling, had been the assurance of servants free of disease.
Each morning in those early years jitneys transported new residents to
domestic and service jobs on Miami Beach, in downtown Miami and
points east and south. As promised, they were servants ostensibly free
of disease.
The early residents were hard working, upwardly mobile domes-
tics and laborers. Forty-five randomly selected files of residents who
moved into Liberty Square between 1936 and 1949 revealed no unem-
ployment: of thirty-five couples, whose average ages were 32 for hus-
bands and 25 for wives, all of the men were employed as were fifteen
of their spouses. Their occupations included the following:
Married Males
Laborer or janitor 17
Porter or waiter 9
Chauffeur or truck driver 6
City of Miami sewer or
sanitation
3
Married Females
Maid 11
Laundry or dry cleaning 1
Cook 2
Dressmaker 1
In six of fifteen files of the early couples, the reasons for eventu-
ally leaving Liberty Square was the purchase of a home or an income
level which exceeded the allowable maximum (today, residents are
not required to leave public housing irrespective of their income lev-
els, although they must pay one third of their annual income in rent).
At that time, rent at Liberty Square was set at approximately one -
41
42 TEQUESTA
fourth of monthly income; the average rent was $12 to $15 monthly,
although in some cases as high as $35 per month. (Were that same pol-
icy in existence today, a welfare recipient's monthly rent would be
approximately $150 in public housing, instead of the current average
of about $20.) Indeed, one couple left after finding "a residence with
cheaper rent."28
While two-parent families were dominant in Liberty Square in
the early years, single parent female households were present as well.
They too were upwardly mobile, hardworking, and engaged in the
service trades. Ten of the forty-five resident files, or twenty-four
pecent, reveal the head of household to be a single woman, whose
average age was 37 with 2.5 children.
All of the ten were employed; their occupations included the
following:
Maid 7
Waitress 1
Laundress 1
WPA Worker 1
Of nine files of single parent women, which indicated their rea-
sons for leaving Liberty Square, after an average stay of twelve years,
five of them left to buy a home or because their income exceeded the
allowable maximum, which represents a higher percentage than in the
sample of married couples.
The files reveal hard-working, admirable servants ostensibly
"free of disease" and to that extent the Liberty Square experiment had
achieved its articulated objective. Yet the files also reveal a harsher
side, including examples of undiagnosed mental illness and acute
alcoholism in men and women who worked sixty to seventy hours
weekly as laborers and domestics for menial wages. Two of the files
revealed children who were withdrawn from elementary school in the
1940s due to "bad eyes," a term apparently synonymous with a need
for eyeglasses. In 1960, the son of Henry and Edna Stephenson, Joe
Louis Stephenson, who was eight years old when his parents moved
into Liberty Square in 1948, was killed in the perpetration of a gas sta-
tion robbery. These, however, were diseases of a different sort.29
LibertySquare, 1933-1987 43
III. Paradise Lost: Early 1960s - Present
Among the true necessities that all people require to main-
tain a life of dignity and respect is safe and decent shelter.
Recent stories by Herald writers ... painted a devastating
picture of the Dade housing authority's failure to maintain in
livable condition units in which poor and elderly people
must live. Such unacceptable conditions must be righted not
only in the county's oldest public -housing project, Liberty
Square, but wherever they exist.
Editorial, Miami Herald, May 18, 1986.
Looking back from the littered, barren landscape of Liberty
Square in the winter of 1986-1987, with crack cocaine rampant and a
gas heater explosion which killed a young woman in one of project's
original 243 units the prime topic of conversation, it is difficult to
visualize the early years.30
To the pioneer residents, now in their seventies and eighties, the
early to mid -sixties appear to have been a watershed. Rosalee Harris
pinpointed the "transfer" of Overtown residents to Liberty Square as
the result of the razing of the area now occupied by Interstate 1-95.
She and others referred to them as "those people."31 Mary Salmon
recalled that "the project was all fixed up around 1965, but it has been
going downhill since then."32 Henry Clarke, Jr., associated that year
with an increase in young single parent families.33
The view that those forced from Overtown by the construction of
Interstate 95, with little notice and no compensation, changed the
complexion of Liberty Square is not supported in the files of tenants
admitted to the project from 1965 into the early 1970s. Those who
came to Liberty Square as the result of the expressway construction
were generally elderly couples or single persons receiving Social
Security, disability or a pension. This was not the group that changed
the character of Liberty Square.
The first signs of the group responsible for the change appear in
the files of late 1965: an influx of young single women raising chil-
dren without employment and subsisting on the small monthly AFDC
(Aid to Families With Dependent Children) checks paid to non-work-
44 TEQUESTA
ing mothers living alone with children below the age of eighteen.
While some came directly to Liberty Square from overcrowded apart-
ments in Overtown, an equal number or more moved from tenements
throughout Liberty City, which had probably served as stopping points
in journeys once begun in Overtown. These files invariably contain
notices of eviction as opposed to announcements of condemnation or
demolition. There in those files commencing in late 1965 lie the roots
of the urban phenomenon now termed the "feminization of poverty."
A review of seventy-one randomly -selected files of Liberty
Square tenants who moved into the project between the years 1965
and 1979 revealed the following characteristics:
Family composition Number
Couples 10
Single Males 10
Single Women - no children 5
Single Women - with children 46
Of the forty-six women with children, only seven were employed
at the time of tenant selection with the remaining thirty-nine, or two-
thirds of all admissions, being unemployed welfare recipients. The
fact that all of the ten couples admitted were over the age of 40, with
seven beyond age 65, further illustrates the virtual disappearance of
two-parent families from the project during this period.34
As the years passed, the average age of the single parent welfare
recipients decreased from 29 in the period 1965-1969, to 23 in the
years from 1975-1979. Meanwhile, the lengths of residence decreased
during these years with stays of a year or less no longer unusual. The
reasons for leaving were almost invariably presented as "left without
notice," often followed by a note indicating the absence from the unit
of the refrigerator and oven, as well as the tenant.
While the new wave of tenants was generally unemployed, the
employment that existed was of a decidedly different nature than the
domestic and service jobs of the early years. The seven single female
parents who were employed (the ten single males are in all cases eld-
erly or handicapped and unemployed) at the time of admission held
the following jobs:
Liberty Square, 1933-1987 45
Sales clerk 2
Fast food waitress 1
Caseworker aide 1
Home health care aide 1
Manpower trainee 1
Food stamp worker 1
The files of the 39 women who were unemployed at time of ten-
ant selection reflect in many instances brief periods of employment
interrupted by periods during which welfare was the lone income
source. The jobs were almost invariably of the same nature as the
seven given.35
It would appear that the nature of Miami's job market changed
dramatically and that the disappearance of the domestic worker posi-
tions has never been adequately compensated for by either the emer-
gence of other employment opportunities appropriate to the new resi-
dents or by the development of an effective means for training and
equipping these young women for the contemporary job market.
During the late 1960s and early 1970s, the abundance of federally
funded training programs is evident in the files: seven women were at
one time enrolled in such programs, yet in each case the young woman
eventually left or completed the program and returned to welfare.
Only one of the seven appears to have acquired a position for which
she received training. She too eventually returned to welfare.36
The files also reflect policy changes since the earlier years which
appear to abandon forever the notion of public housing as a temporary
respite for those in need. There is no longer an income ceiling which
caused the departure of so many upwardly mobile Liberty Square ten-
ants in the early years. Moreover, a family separation policy permits
growing families to occupy additional space in which to plant roots in
public housing. There are no policies or procedures evident in the files
which prepare or encourage tenants to aspire to a future outside of the
prof ect.37
The questions raised by the reviews of the files are many, and
suggestive of the need for additional research, which will combine the
skills of the historian, the economist and the sociologist in attempts to
answer perplexing issues of the recent past. The ineffectiveness of fed-
46 TEQUESTA
eral manpower programs emanating from the era of the Great Society
suggested in this small sample of files, for example, raises the impor-
tant question of whether or not in fact the nation did lose ground in its
attempt to create a more equitable society.
The disappearance of the domestic positions coupled with the
emergence of the phenomenon of the "feminization of poverty" and
welfare dependency suggests the need for the study of the impact of
Cuban immigration on the service trades as well as the apparently dev-
astating impact of welfare policies upon the very people these policies
were designed to protect.
Perhaps the musty files at Liberty Square contain the clues to
these, as well as to other unresolved issues in our recent history.
Endnotes
1 "Application of the Southern Housing Corporation, Miami, Florida, to
the Administration of Public Works, Division of Housing, Washington,
D. C., for Financing Low Cost Housing Project at Miami, Florida," 19
December 1933, Records of the Public Housing Administration, Record
Group 196, National Archives, Washington, D. C. (hereafter cited as
PHA, RG 196, NA), Box 299.
2. John Gramling to Eugene H. Klaber, 30 March 1934, RG 196, NA, Box
297; (Miami) Friday Night, 12 January 1934, clipping RG 196, NA,
Box 299.
3. "Clearing Away the Slums," p.6, Miami Herald, 14 January 1934.
4. Minutes of Advisory Committee Meeting, 31 August 1936, PHA, RG
196, NA, Box 299.
5. Ibid, 30 November 1936, PHA, RG 196, NA, Box 299.
6. H. A. Gray to R. L. Beal, November, PHA, RG 196, NA, Box 299.
7. R. L. Beal to H. A. Gray, 23 October 1936, 7 November 1936, PHA, RG
196, NA Box 301.
8. Minutes of Advisory Committee Meeting, 20 January 1936, 2 April
1936, PHA, RG 196, NA, Box 299.
9. Clarence Coe to Angelo Clas, 17 February 1936; Angelo Clas to
Clarence Coe, 24 February 1936, PHA, RG 196, NA, Box 299.
10. Angelo Clas to H. S. Brannen, 11 September 1935; Telegram from H.
S. Brannen to Angelo Clas, 9 September 1935, PHA, RG 196, NA, Box
297.
Liberty Square, 1933-1987 47
11. Isabella Sanderson to Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 18 May 1935; Rodger
Hemdon to Colonel Horatio B. Hackett, 11 May 1935, PHA, RG 196,
NA, Box 297.
12. Petition of Nor'west League, 12 July 1935; Senator Park Trammell to
Angelo Clas, 17 July 1935; Angelo Clas to Senator Duncan U. Fletcher,
25 July 1935, PHA, RG 196, NA, Box 299.
13. Cecil A. Turner to "Chief of Federal Public Works Administration," 11
July 1935, with attached Resolution of Board County Commissioners,
8 July 1935; Angelo Clas to A. D. H. Fossey, 22 July 1935; Angelo Clas
to Cecil A. Turner, 19 July 1935, PHA, RG 196, NA, Box 298.
14. Memorandum to Messrs Cramer, Neale, et al from B. M. Pettit, 20 April
1935 (Approved by Colonel Horatio B. Hackett); Colonel Horatio B.
Hackett to Dr. Marvin Smith, 7 May 1935, PHA, RG 196, NA, Box 298,
299.
15. Angelo Clas to M. J. Orr, 15 July 1935, PHA, RG 196, NA, Box 299.
16. Minutes of Advisory Committee Meeting, 2 April 1936, PHA, RG 196,
NA, Box 299.
17. Clarence Coe to Angelo Clas, 9 April 1936, PHA, RG 196, NA, Box
299.
18. Minutes of the Miami Advisory Committee Meeting, 16 January 1936,
PHA, RG 196, NA, Box 299.
19. Clarence Coe to H. A. Gray, 3 August 1936; Clarence Coe to Angelo
Clas, 30 March 1936, PHA, RG 196, NA, Box 299, 297.
20. Clarence Coe to Angelo Clas, 15 July 1936, PHA, RG 196, NA, Box
297.
21. R. E. S. Toomey to Angelo Clas, 1 November 1935, PHA, RG 196, NA
Box 299.
22. Angelo Clas to R. E. S. Toomey, 14 November 1935, PHA, RG 196,
NA, Box 299.
23. Clarence Coe to Angelo Clas, 11 June 1936; Minutes of Advisory
Committee Meeting, 4 June 1936, PHA, RG 196, NA, Box 299.
24. Clarence Coe to H. O. S. Reeves, 18 February 1937, with accompany-
ing information on the birth of LeClair Lambert, PHA, RG 196, NA,
Box 301. The Lamberts chose LeClair as their baby's first name
because it was the middle name of Secretary of Interior Harold Ickes,
whose department played a major role in the creation of Liberty Square.
25. "Liberty Square Tenants Enjoy Golden Moments," Miami Herald, p.
1D 16 October 1986; "Liberty Square," Miami Herald, p. 1C, 9
November 1986.
26. Interview with Henry Clarke, Jr., by Paul S. George, 12 October 1986,
Miami, Florida.
48 TEQUESTA
27. Interview with Rosalie Harris by Paul S. George, 19 October 1986,
Miami, Florida.
28. Tenant Files, Cabinets One through Six, Business Office, Liberty
Square Housing Project.
29. Ibid.
30. "Leaking Gas Explodes, Burning Three at Housing Project" Miami
Herald, p. 113, 26 February 1987; The explosion occurred two doors
away from the unit where LeClair Lambert was born fifty years earlier.
31. Interview with Rosalee Harris, 19 October 1986; Interview with Mary
Salmon by Paul S. George, 3 November 1986, Miami, Florida.
32. Interview with Henry Clarke, Jr., 12 October 1986.
33. Tenant Files, Cabinets One through Six.
34. Ibid.
35. Ibid.
36. Ibid.
37. Ibid.
LIBERTY SQUARE RESIDENT COUNCIL INC
6304 N.W 14th Avenue Miami, FL 33147
Ph: 305-694-2757 Fax: 305-696-7624
Email: libertycouncilPaol.com
MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDNG
BETWEEN
RELATED URBAN DEVELOPMENT AND LIBERTY SQUARE RESIDENT COUNCIL INC
964.1 Purpose, The purpose of this part is to recognize the importance of resident involvement in creating a positive
living environment and In actively participating in the overall mission of public housing. §964.11 HUD policy on
tenant participation.
This Memorandum of understanding is entered into between Liberty Square Resident Council Inc. and Related
Urban Development,
The provider responsibilities will include but not limited to the following
services:
1. Whereas, RUDG Will provide space for the resident council as the elected body that represents and
advocates for the residents of Liberty Square Rising Redevelopment Project.
2. Whereas, RUDG will partner with the resident council to refer residents for on-site jobs.
3. Whereas, RUDG agreed to work with Liberty Square Council to refer all contractors and sub-
contractors for redevelopment project, special consideration will be given to liberty square residents.
4. Whereas, RUDG will work with Liberty Square Council to provide job training pre and post
construction.
5. Whereas, RUDG agreed to work with Liberty Square Council to select service providers for the
redevelopment project,
6. Whereas, Liberty Square Council will select two residents or board members to sit on the Rise Up
Coalition.
7. Whereas, RUDG will establish a Special fund to support community initiatives and projects created by
the Liberty Square Resident Council,
8. Whereas, RUDG will provide Liberty Square Residents the first rights and opportunity to participate in
the First Time Homebuyers Program. RUDG will work with Resident Council and Miami -Dade County
PHCD to provide Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers for the public housing residents interested in the
First Time Homebuyers Program. �,�
IN
9. Whereas, Liberty Square Resident Council and Urban Related Group will fully support the Community
Benefits Program. (see exhibit A)
10. Whereas, RUDG and LSRC will work together create a construction training program for the residents
of Liberty Square for the rehabilitation of exiting units and scattered sites.
11, Whereas, RUDG will establish with the resident council a review panel for denied applicants and
complaints.
12. W r s, RUDG agrees to work with the LSRC on the relocation program for all liberty square
resid ts,
13. Wh eas, RUDG and the LSRC will have to 0 m to an agreement before addressing any financial
hards 1ps r the council.
r
Square Resident Council Inc.: President- Ms. Sara Smith,
41 -1 --
Date
silent Crystal Corner, Recording S$retary —Joyce Fleming, Corresponding Secrktary, Meldred Collier Treasurer —Ms,
Edmonds and Liaison Mr. Eric Thompson.
w97r�
Date
Alberto ilo, Jr,
Seniof vice president
Related Urban
Date
Exhibit A
Community Benefits Projuam `
Community En2aeement & Plannin2 Process:
• Developer will create the Rise Up Coalition that will be comprised of community
stakeholders, including but not limited to residents, the resident council, businesses and
local representatives, to ensure that the community's vision for the redevelopment plan is
incorporated into the final designs.
• Developer will establish a Rise Up Coalition office onsite for resident meetings, to provide
updated information on the redevelopment plans, receive comments and feedback, publish
job listings, and conduct homeownership workshops.
• Developer will launch a community wide door-to-door campaign to perform a needs
assessment on current residents to ensure all residents are properly engaged and their needs
are being addressed.
• Developer will rehabilitate units within the Liberty Square site utilizing current residents
that have experience in the construction trade.
• Developer will implement a relocation plan that will allow families to remain within
Liberty City during the multiple phases of construction.
• Developer will partner with several universities to conduct a charrette process and gather
resident input and community stakeholders input regarding all final designs and programs
of the redevelopment plan.
• Developer will work with the County and their consultant the South Florida Housing
Studies Consortium and include their input into the charrette process.
• Developer will establish a website along with a social media, print and radio campaign to
provide the community with information and updates regarding the redevelopment plan.
• Developer will maintain the structure of the Liberty Square Resident Council.
Developer will establish and partner with the Liberty City Development Collective which
will be headed by Kareem T. Brantley and receive 5% of the developer fee received by
Developer.
Mixed -Income Rental Housin
• Developer will construct 117 garden style additional PHA -Assisted Units at the Lincoln
Gardens site.
• Developer will construct 123 garden style affordable, workforce, and market rate housing
units at the Lincoln Gardens site.
1 Community Benefits Program subject to modification pursuant to the Community Engagement
and Planning Process. It is further the understanding of the parties that the activities set forth in
this Exhibit A are preliminary and all such activities, unless modified by the parties, shall be made
a part of the subsequent Financial Closing documents.
6 Developer will construct 640 garden style replacement PHA -Assisted Units at the Liberty
Square site.
i Developer will construct 224 garden style affordable housing units at the Liberty Square
site.
• Developer will construct 120 mid -rise elderly affordable housing units at the Liberty
Square site.
• Developer will construct 288 mid -rise workforce and market rate housing units at the
Liberty Square site.
k Developer will partner with a social service organization to set-aside units for youth aging
out of the foster care system.
Developer is proposing to establish a relocation program that may include Tenant
Protection Vouchers to provide housing choice options for the families of Liberty Square,
such program shall include intensive education on Section 8 and will require approval from
the County for implementation.
Mixed -Income Homeownershi :
Developer will construct 60 affordable, workforce, and market rate homeownership units
at the Liberty Square site.
f Developer will establish a first-time homebuyer education program with a HUD approved
homebuyer education agency.
s Developer will provide the residents of Liberty Square the first right to participate in the
first-time homebuyer program.
• Developer will work with the Liberty Square Resident Council and Miami -Dade County
PHCD to provide Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers for the public housing residents
interested in the first-time homebuyer program.
• Developer will establish credit repair and financial literacy programs with a local bank.
• Developer will provide office space for a real estate brokerage office onsite.
• Developer will partner with OneUnited Bank, the largest African American owned bank in
the country, to provide first-time homebuyer mortgages.
Small Business Hirinp.:
• Developer will create a small business hiring program for all construction and goods and
services related to the redevelopment plan.
Developer has committed to providing a minimum of 50% of the contracts to Section 3,
SBE, MBE and WBE firms, with an estimated economic impact of over 590,000,000.
• Developer will partner with BAC Funding and other local agencies to create a specialized
small business loan program for contractors,
t Developer will partner with the Miami Dade Chamber to provide office space within the
Liberty Square site for the creation of a small business incubator program.
A��
Job Trainine & Job Placement:
Developer will partner with Employ Miami -Dade and Career Source of South Florida to
provide job training and job placement services for residents living in zip codes 33142 and
33147.
Developer will partner with local labor unions to provide apprenticeship training programs
to the residents of Liberty Square and zip codes 33142 and 33147.
Developer will partner with the Miami Dade Public Defender to assist ex -offenders with
expunging their criminal records to allow for re-entry into the workplace,
Developer will partner with local organizations to provide job training to ex -offenders for
residents residing in zip codes 33142 and 33147.
• Developer will partner with Miami Dade College to provide numerous job training
certificate and degree programs for residents residing in zip codes 33142 and 33147.
E Developer will provide job placement initiatives for residents residing in zip codes 33142
and 33147.
• Developer will require that all contractors and subcontractors pay Davis Bacon wages to
their construction employees.
• Developer has committed to provide a minimum commitment of 20% and a goal of 30%
of the construction jobs created for Section 3 eligible residents.
6 Developer has committed to provide 75% of the permanent jobs created for Section 3
eligible residents.
Community Service Facilities -Education:
• Developer is proposing to build a new Early Childhood Education School, to include an
Early Head Start and Head Start program, modeled after the United Way's Center for
Excellence onsite.
• Developer will partner With the Miami Children's Initiative to incorporate programs and
strategic partnerships to better serve Liberty City's youth.
t Developer will establish an ongoing Rise Up Community Fund in partnership with The
United Way to seed local Community Based Organizations from Liberty City and assist
with their ongoing programs.
• Developer is proposing to build a new K thru 2 charter school onsite.
Developer will partner with the Dorsey Educational Program and Miami Dade Public
Schools to provide an adult educational center onsite.
Developer will partner with Florida Memorial University, South Florida's only historically
black college, and Florida International University to provide access to college degree
programs onsite.
Community Service Facilities -Healthcare:
Developer is proposing to build anew Community Health Center, in partnership with Jessie
Trice Community Health Center and the University of Miami School of Medicine to
include specialty medicine such as a Sickle Cell Disease medical space, and the historical
P
Yeager Medical Museum highlighting African American contributions to medicine in
South Florida.
a Developer will partner with the Public Health Department of the University of Miami
School of Medicine, to provide public health services onsite along with internship
programs for the medical school students and Miami Northwestern Senior High school
nursing magnet students.
Amenities:
E Developer is proposing to build a new 20,000 to 30,000 square foot Community Center
with free WiFi on the Liberty Square site to provide space for numerous Community Based
Organizations approved by the Resident Council and the Developer.
* Developer is proposing to build a new Community Park with a multipurpose field,
basketball court, baseball field and a Community Pool (40'x 80') within the Liberty Square
site.
i Developer is proposing to build a new 5,000 square foot Community Center with free WiFi
on the Lincoln Gardens site to provide space for numerous Community Based
Organizations.
6 Developer is proposing to build a new Pocket Park within the Lincoln Gardens site.
Developer will invest in fiber optic infrastructure to provide free WIFl access to all Liberty
Square families and help close the "digital divide".
Developer has allocated $1 Million worth of upgrades for Bannerman Park in Brownsville.
• Developer has allocated S2 Million for the construction of a 5,000 to 10,000 square foot
Alonzo Mouming Youth Center in Bannerman Park.
Public Safetv & Crime Prevention:
Developer is proposing to build a new facility for the City of Miami Police Athletic League
to expand their current programs and foster better interaction between youth and the police.
• Developer will work closely with the City of Miami and Miami -Dade County Police
Departments during the design process to incorporate Crime Prevention Thru
Environmental Design concepts.
• Developer will work closely with the Liberty Square Resident's Council and law
enforcement agencies to establish a Crime Watch Program.
• Developer will install a new state -of -the art internet based security camera monitoring
system,
Smart Growth Development:
• Developer will design the development using Smart Growth Development principles to
create a community of compact neighborhoods where residents will have access to
education, employment, social services and recreational opportunities within their
neighborhood.
Developer will create a walkable development with accessible public transportation
options.
35
Developer will design and build a sustainable development with many green construction
features,
Economic Development:
Developer will design and build retail space along l 5'h Avenue to revitalize the l 5th Avenue
business corridor and assist in reestablishing the 15`h Avenue Business Association.
9 Developer will work closely with the City of Miami and Miami. -Dade County to implement
the infrastructure improvements on the 15'h Avenue business corridor.
e Developer will work closely with the City of Miami and Miami -Dade County to establish
a Fagade Improvement Program along the 15" Avenue business corridor.
E Developer is proposing to build 15,000 square feet of retail space for "mom and pop"
businesses.
6 Developer will partner with the Small Business Administration, OneUnited Bank, other
national banks, and Small Business Community Organizations, to provide loans, seed
capital, financial literacy for "mom and pop" businesses in the Rise Up zone.
Developer is proposing to build a 40,000 square foot national grocery on MLK Boulevard.
Historic Preservation, Public Art & Streetscapes:
Developer will restore one of the existing, buildings within the Liberty Square site to create
the Liberty Square Museum in partnership with the Black Archives, to preserve the history
of Liberty Square and document its future.
Developer will partner with local artists to design and build four new art plazas at the
Liberty Square site.
s Developer will work closely with the Miami Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs
and its Art in Public Spaces program.
• Developer will work closely with the Liberty City Trust and the Liberty Square Resident
Council to restore the segregation wall on l2'h Avenue and build the historic linear park.
* Developer will work closely with the City of Miami to implement the infrastructure
improvements along Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard, Sherdavia Jenkins Memorial Park
and African Square Park,
Note: The activities and items in this exhibit, unless expressly exempted or modified in applicable
closing documents of subsequent Phases, shall be included in such closing documents.