Day care owner not budging in MLS stadium deal

Owner demanding millions of dollars from Miami Beckham United for property

MIAMI – The owner of the Candy House Day Care near Marlins Park is holding out for a sweeter deal than currently offered by members of Miami Beckham United, which hopes to buy up the area to build a new Major League Soccer stadium.

The day care sits across from the stadium on a parcel of land with five other properties.

According to Miami-Dade County property appraiser records, the property was assessed in 2015 for $368,000. But the owner is demanding a whopping $30 million.

Nearby homeowner Violeta Jimenez told Local 10 News that she never had plans to move, but said, "Everything has a price."

The parcel of land also includes 3-to 6-unit apartment buildings on Northwest Fifth Street, which were assessed in 2015 at just over $300,000.

Sources with David Beckham's group said they are offering two to three times the market value for the properties, but even they have limits and a deadline.

"They have the right to decide whether or not they want to sell and, if they want to sell, what they want to sell for," Tim Leiweke of Miami Beckham United said. "I think, unfortunately, they see a pot of gold."

Investors insist that the deals being offered are lucrative for all of the property owners, but the owner of the day care is holding them up and could kill the deal once and for all.

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