2 min read September 2022 — Invest: was joined by Dan Gelber, mayor of the City of Miami Beach, to discuss how critical investments will grow affordable housing for an increasing workforce while cultivating a world-class arts and culture scene. “We’re raising value to raise possibilities for everyone,” he said.
What have been the key highlights for Miami Beach over the past year?
We are beginning construction on our new convention center hotel that voters approved, along with renovations of a slew of other projects in the area. There are many defining issues on the ballot. One is the Deauville Hotel project. Unfortunately, the historic Deauville has fallen into such disrepair that it’s become an unusable eyesore and has to be demolished. But the fact that renowned architect Frank Gehry will build one of his iconic structures there will generate an enormous amount of economic activity for the city and create cultural buzz as well.
We also have an Arts and Culture G.O. Bond, and I can’t stress the importance of this enough to the city, region and state. It’s about $159 million in funds for 15 to 20 cultural institutions, creates new institutions and new wings in others, and creates entirely new performing arts centers. It won’t simply upgrade our cultural fare, but transform it from something already pretty good to something extraordinary and unique. There are also a couple of items on the ballot to promote Class A office space which will allow us to expand beyond a tourist-only economy. We have over 55,000 workers in the city but over 80% come from other places, so that creates all sorts of congestion and traffic issues. We want more people living and working in Miami Beach.
How will office development drive the city’s economic diversification efforts?
Our city and community has evolved in ways that allow it to embrace different industries. The question is, if everyone is coming here, how do we harness that interest to create a durable economy and a quality of life people couldn’t imagine leaving? In terms of the economics, creating more office space in neighborhoods so people can walk or bike to work is amazing. Creating a park structure and green spaces that are unique and extraordinary, is very important. Our G.O. Bond from a few years ago put over $100 million in park creation and renovation, adding 100 acres of greenspace. I want our green spaces to look like Norman Rockwell paintings. We are about to break ground on 20 acres for Bayshore Park. We are going to have the best parks in the world. We also will have $3 to $4 million for public art just within our parks. We are fostering a unique and exciting live, work, play environment, a true sense of place.
What are some of the environmental considerations in play for Miami Beach?
It’s a real balance. The oceanfront is dedicated to condos and hotels, but there is a lot of space and nice structures that can be used for workforce housing throughout the city. We own a good amount of property and are planning to convert much of it, especially around the convention center. We also want to provide as many incentives that make sense and the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) has been instrumental in that goal. The CRA allows us to retain increases in property values at a higher percentage. That investment will be directed into renewal or adaptation of facilities so we can create a more affordable product in that area. And they’re beautiful properties. Often rents may go up in that case, but the CRA reinvests the increases of value into the same area to create more workforce housing opportunities. There are plenty of spaces for us to do that and CRA gives us that ability. The Frank Gehry project will generate $2 to $5 million for the city, which we can use to rehab buildings for workforce housing. That raises all the boats and creates a beautiful community at the same time. We’re raising value to raise possibilities for everyone.
What are the main challenges you see facing Miami Beach in the midst of this growth?
Affordability is a key concern and we have to address that as we go. Fortunately our North Beach CRA will designate a good amount of retained revenue for workforce housing, so I think we can do a lot there. The fact that over 80% of our employees have to come from elsewhere means we have to have places for people to live here, especially teachers and those in the arts community. In the cultural bond we have $4 million going toward arts workforce housing. We are creating workforce housing spaces for the arts and similar communities of professions. We are about to build one in Collins Park, a housing project for people who work in the arts fields. We want people working here and living here, especially in those sectors that are adding to the organic economy of Miami Beach.
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