Miami-Dade Aims To Turn ‘Wasted Space’ Into Vibrant Neighborhood Via $10B Downtown

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This is the vision: At the western end of downtown Miami, a dense, walkable, transit-centered and family-friendly high-rise district would bloom over eight city blocks. Rents for thousands of apartments would fall within reach of the average Miamian. Children would walk to neighborhood schools, check out books at a new public library and explore Miami’s colorful history at an alluring new museum. Neighbors could gather at a new park, dine and shop nearby, or work out at an up-to-date wellness center.

Residents could comfortably walk to work or commute on myriad transit options just a few steps from home — Metrobus, Tri-Rail, Metrorail or Metromover — or easily hop onto I-95. To go on vacation, families could stroll over to a fast Brightline train to Disney World or Tampa’s Florida Aquarium, or ride Metrorail directly to Miami International Airport and, beyond that, fly to almost anywhere in the world.

In what’s being billed as one of the biggest and most ambitious urban redevelopment schemes in the country, Miami-Dade County has packaged some 17 acres of publicly owned downtown real estate and put it up for bid. The county hopes to lure developers who can deliver on a far-reaching blueprint for a transformed, connected and vital downtown district with thousands of residents and new civic spaces.

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