The Miami-Dade County Commission (Florida) unanimously approved the selection of a unit of Miami-based the Related Group for the $307 million redevelopment of the Liberty Square housing project in Miami’s Liberty City.
Related Urban would build 1,332 new housing units at Liberty Square and 216 units at Lincoln Gardens in nearby Brownsville.
Both are low-income communities and the existing public housing stock is decades out of date.
This would be the largest public housing project ever in Miami-Dade and it was heavily advocated for by county Mayor Carlos Gimenez.
Gimenez said the contract ensures that the county would not contribute more than $46 million for the project, and that a community prosperity fund would receive $10 million up front, plus 20 percent of the project’s revenue to spend on Liberty City’s needs, such as small business development, first-time homebuyer assistance and scholarships.
Of the 6,100 construction jobs created by the project, Gimenez said the developer promised that 30 percent would go to Liberty Square or public housing residents. These residents would also be hired for 70 percent of the post-development jobs.