MIAMI – A committee of Miami-Dade County commissioners voted to fund a study into whether the neighborhood where soccer star David Beckham and his investors want to build a soccer stadium needs a special funding district.
If the county eventually forms a Community Redevelopment Agency, the funding will be used to expand rail service, build affordable housing and spur the kind of economic development in the Little Havana community that the development of Marlins Park failed to accomplish.
But to do so, the neighborhood has to be designated as an area of "slum and blight," a CRA criterion, according to state law. That would be news to longtime Little Havana residents, who raised eyebrows at that description.
"This neighborhood is marvelous," said Antonio Martinez, who has lived more than 30 years on the block now in the shadow of the Marlins' stadium.
Several others described the neighborhood as clean and friendly. One young woman said she would be shocked to hear commissioners call her street a slum.
The commissioner representing the district conceded the area is not a slum.
"It is a low-income, hard-working community," said Commissioner Bruno Barreiro. "It's not upscale by any means as a community. It has a lot of promise."
The final area drawn for the proposed CRA is bounded by the Miami River to the north and east, by Northwest 17th Avenue to the west and south to Southwest 8th Street.
In addition to city-owned land west of Marlins Park, Beckham's team would likely need to purchase several private properties where three apartment buildings, two homes and a business now stand. The original CRA proposal included funding for those land buys for Beckham, but that was ultimately removed.
"We're not talking about any funding from the public for that," said Commissioner Rebeca Sosa. "At the end of the day, it's their problem if they want to build over there."
Beckham and his partners promised to take no public money to build the soccer stadium.
The city of Miami is currently negotiating in private with Beckham's team about the conveyance of its property for the soccer stadium.
"This will not be a gift, this will not be a giveaway," said Miami Commissioner Frank Carollo, who attended the county committee meeting.
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