MIAMI — Miami’s trade and tourism economy, small business community, residents and taxpayers received a financial gut-punch because of a provision in President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill.”
Plans for $60 million in federal funds on a linear park under the $866 million “Signature Bridge” in Overtown and downtown Miami have been axed, potentially turning what would have been greenspace and amenities into what one critic says will be “an unused, blighted space.”
Miami Commissioner Damian Pardo spoke to Local 10 News after learning that the U.S. Department of Transportation just defunded plans for a 33-acre linear park, rich in community amenities like dog parks and an outdoor amphitheater, connecting Biscayne Bay, downtown Miami, and the city’s cultural gems of a performing arts center and museums to Miami’s historic Overtown neighborhood.
It’s known as The Underdeck.
“This is, I would say our crown jewel project in the city of Miami,” he said. “Businesses are excited about it, residents are excited about it, (the) community is excited about it. The opportunity to increase the dynamism and the economy in this entire area, the urban core, at the city of Miami, a global city that wants to increase its tax base and extra tourists, is dead in the water.”
Pardo said he would tell the current transportation secretary and U.S. president: “If you really understood all the particulars, if you understood what we are doing here, especially if you are pro-business, this is a pro-business argument.”
Pardo was asked to explain his concerns, if any, about the economic impact the move has.
“The economic impact is huge in this area,” he said. “Consider this, it is one mile, 33 acres, that goes from I-95 to Maurice Ferré Park. Think of all the small businesses that benefit from the walking, people biking, from scooters, from the connection we are providing.
“That is why I would love for President Trump to come down and take a look, I would love the secretary of transportation to come down and take a look, talk to the small businesses, talk to the people involved. This is such a good project on all levels that once people were informed, they would just jump on board immediately, like they had in the past. We had the Biden administration and then U.S. senator of Florida, Marco Rubio, and Rick Scott, this was a bipartisan-supported project.”
On its website, the city of Miami described the project as an “urban open space and streetscapes that will reunite the urban fabric of Overtown, a historically Black neighborhood that was disconnected during highway construction in the 1960s.”
Former Miami commissioner and mayoral candidate Ken Russell was once Chairman of the Omni Community Redevelopment Agency and activated a section under I-95 as a pilot program as a park to showcase how green space can exist under the bridge.
“We called it Omni Park and it really showed the buildings coming online, and the residents who live here right now, will benefit from it, use it, and really enjoy the connections to the museums and parks on the water,” said Russell. “Even without the $60 million FDOT is absolutely required to give us, the base (for) more than a 30-acre park, but no amenities, no bells and whistles, just a green space under there that will not be attractive for what we want to achieve for the community.
“It will be an unused, blighted space.”
How the ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ killed a big and beautiful park
The notice that the federal government was rescinding a more than $60 million from a Neighborhood Access and Equity Program grant awarded in fiscal year 2023 came in the form of a letter from U.S. Department of Transportation Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy Loren A. Smith, Jr. that stated the city’s “Connecting Miami: I-395 Underdeck and Heritage Trail will undergo an unobligated balance rescission of $60,353,730.00.”
The reason can be found in one line of the 870-page “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which states: “SEC. 60019. RESCISSION OF NEIGHBORHOOD ACCESS AND EQUITY GRANT PROGRAM. The unobligated balances of amounts made available to carry out section 177 of title 23, United States Code, are rescinded.”
“It is such a shame that words like ‘equity’ have become a bad thing in our community,” said Russell. “You invest in your entire community, to lift all boats and that helps all boats. We don’t play favorites based on how rich or poor you are.”
What was once touted as Miami’s “Central Park” - a gem of green space to answer a plurality of community needs - is just one of several NAE program grants gutted by the “Big Beautiful Bill” nationwide.
“This is a very careless, blunt instrument mistake,” said Russell. “They are just slashing across the board, things that are really needed, that spur economic growth in a community, so they are not really saving money in our community, they are robbing tax dollars that would generate more tax dollars.
“This community needs this investment and will benefit from it.”
The Underdeck: connecting downtown Miami to historic Overtown
In 2022 Dr. Nelson Adams, a physician who serves as the chair of the Underdeck Stakeholder Engagement Committee stated that, “It might represent peace, it might represent a reflection on our past with what is being promoted as a heritage trail, but more importantly, it represents our future — one that is overflowing with diversity.”
The University of Miami Libraries catalogues how, “The construction of I-95 and I-395 ripped through the center of Overtown, wiping out massive amounts of housing as well as Overtown’s main business district – the business and cultural heart of Black Miami. Because of this, the population dropped from about 40,000 to about 10,000. Today, parking lots for the Miami Arena stretch along 2nd Avenue where the Rockland Palace and the Cotton Club once stood.”
“It decimated Overtown,” Miami Commissioner Christine King told Local 10 News in 2022. “The Underdeck will be one of those projects that will bring life back to this community.”
The Historical Black Precinct highlights how Overtown was a “tight-knit Black community in the decades before major highway construction irreparably altered its social fabric. Famous figures like Nat King Cole, Joe Louis, and Sam Cooke appear, performing and relaxing in these long gone, intimate, local settings that Miami’s Black police officers resolutely protected.”
“Historic Overtown is owed a reparation from the federal government that run I-95 straight through it decades ago,” said Russell. “If you look at every single one of these towers around us here that have come up over the last six or seven years, they all have 15% of their units as workforce/affordable units for rental in this very high-end up and coming area. We believe that blend of community can exist everywhere.”
“Underneath the bridge is not a good place; there has been crime, there has been homelessness,” Adams said. “This seemingly represented a great opportunity to move from bad to good and to the best opportunity for a green space for our community.”
“It is taking something that was a wrong historically and reimagining it in today’s modern world with economic vitality and purpose and community support,” said Pardo.
See list of projects gutted nationwide
The NAE program, which aimed to “advance transportation equity and resilience to improve walkability, safety, and affordability, including projects to protect against extreme heat, flooding, and other impacts” was part of a Biden-era “Advancing Equity and Racial Justice through the Federal Government” initiative.
Pardo said he does plan on reaching out to state and federal lawmakers to build a bipartisan coalition to identify any new federal grant programs the city can apply to, given city coffers would not be able to close the unexpected $60 million federal funding gap.
“We are lowering taxes, but at the same time, we have police and fire and general services, they comprise about 73% of our budget,” he said. “So when you look at everything else – park space, infrastructure projects, flooding, storm water master plan – we have deferred maintenance in the city of Miami, which is a big issue. Look at the Miami Police building, we have 40-year certifications that we have not met, so there are a lot of deferred expenses the city of Miami has to cover, so how this project gets covered, I don’t know. I will be knocking on the door of our state representatives, I will go back to federal representatives. I am sure we will have a team of people asking to really fund this project, because it is that important. We are going to go back and try and make an appeal for funding through other spaces, whichever way we can get it, from whatever buckets of money are available, this is a huge priority for us.”
More about the Underdeck
In April of 2024 Oscar Gonzalez, Community Outreach Specialist for the I-395/836/I-95 Design Build Project, told Local 10’s Christina Vazquez, “The Underdeck area will start just west of Northwest Third Avenue, there will be a trail that will run along these community-type spaces and it will connect to Biscayne Bay. Right now we are working with the city of Miami on the design. Amenities include an amphitheater, interactive water features, dog parks, lots of landscaping, and that trail that will connect all these areas together.”
City funding: Pardo says the Omni Community Redevelopment Agency is investing $3 million plus $1 million a year for 21 years. He said Southeast Overtown/Park West Community Redevelopment Agency is also investing heavily.
“We are all investing in this project and that was the piece that the federal government, we had earned, with a grant through the government. This is an incredibly important project for our community.”
Learn more about the I-395 ‘Signature Bridge’ Project or visit its website.
Statements
U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Florida: “This is an outrage! This decision shows the utter disregard for bringing communities together and uniting our country. Hateful division is unacceptable. This decision is not good for Miami and the rich tapestry of people who call it home. This decision cannot stand.”
City of Miami: “The unexpected loss of funding has had an impactful effect on the progress of the Reverand Edward T. Graham Greenway. While this presents a significant challenge, the City of Miami remains committed to completing the project. We are actively exploring alternative funding options to move forward without delay.”
Local 10 News reached out to the area’s local federal lawmakers and every member of the Miami-Dade County Dade Delegation of state lawmakers. When additional statements arrive, they will be added here.
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