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MIAMI TODAY
TODAY’S NEWS
WEEK OF THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2015
Soccer stadium unlikely to kick apart area property values BY CARLA VIANNA
The Major League Soccer stadium proposed for Miami’s Overtown community probably won’t shrink the area’s property values – a concern brought forth by several residents living in surrounding neighborhoods. During a town hall meeting last week, concerned Spring Garden residents said building a soccer stadium in their backyard would drag down the historic neighborhood’s property values, as well as bring traffic, noise and pollution to the area. The stadium would “destroy our property values,” resident Jo Catherine Winstead, who lives across the Seybold Canal, told county officials who were present Thursday evening. But local brokers familiar with the area say otherwise. When the Marlins Park baseball stadium opened in 2012, little to no change was noted on the area’s surrounding property values. “There was a temporary [period] of increased values, but as time went on it became very apparent that the design of the stadium would not lead Carlos Fausto Miranda to any economic revitalization in the area,”
Photo by Maxine Usdan
After four seasons of baseball at Marlins Park, retail space built into the garages remains 70% vacant.
said Carlos Fausto Miranda of Fausto Commercial Realty Consultants, which largely focuses on property in Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood. The insular design of the stadium kept any economic activity from leaving the ballpark’s grounds, he said. “It has been generally proven that stadiums have no economic effect in the communities they are built in,” Mr. Fausto said. Past studies back his claim, reporting that sports stadiums have little to no impact on an area’s property values, nor do they spur an often-promised wave of economic activity.
In regards to the Beckham stadium, property values in the area would suffer little to no impact, predicted Pedro Garcia, Miami-Dade County property appraiser. Values in Little Havana inched up 3% to 5% per year after the inauguration of the Marlins stadium, which was regarded as a normal increase. The slight push was most likely a factor of the overall market rather than a direct effect of the ballpark’s opening, Mr. Garcia said. Soccer stadium or not, property values across the county are expected to rise next year. “Nothing will go down in Miami
now, not in my opinion,” Mr. Garcia said. The Marlins ballpark was expected to breathe life and activity into the already established Little Havana businesses surrounding the site, but that never happened. Attracting new businesses has proven tough as well. With about 53,000 square feet of retail space available in three of the park’s four garages, more than three years later only 30% of the space has been leased, said Jeremy S. Larkin, co-chairman of that space’s leasing agent, NAI Miami. While the Beckham stadium might not do much to property
values, it might leverage more opportunity within the Overtown community than the Marlins stadium created in its Little Havana area. There are fewer businesses surrounding the new Overtown site than there were near in the Marlins ballpark, Mr. Garcia said. “It depends if [Mr. Beckham’s team] is going to allow outside businesses to come in, like restaurants and fast food stores in the area,” he said. Tim Leiweke, a Beckham group representative, told community members Dec. 17 that there would be few restaurants and retail stores embedded within the project. “Our job is not to compete with you,” Mr. Leiweke said, adding that the stadium would be “built and operated by the community.” While property values aren’t expected to skyrocket nor plunge if the MLS soccer stadium is built on its newest site, Mr. Fausto said it carries potential to benefit an area that is already progressing. “What I believe the Beckham stadium will do, more than improve the economy of the area, I think it’s going to anchor the improvement of the area,” he said. “The Beckham stadium not so much accelerates the improvement, but rather confirms the improvement that is occurring.”
Dining, stores low on soccer team’s priority list, no parking BY CARLA VIANNA
Perhaps for David Beckham the fourth time’s the charm. A town hall meeting featuring two county commissioners, Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez and a Beckham group representative gave way to new details and opposition concerning the renowned ex-soccer player’s fourth proposed site for his long-anticipated Major League Soccer stadium. To be built on nine acres on the western edge of Miami’s
Overtown neighborhood, the 25,000-seat stadium would be privately financed. It would be a LEED-certified, green stadium, “built and operated by the community,” said Tim Leiweke, who spearheads the investment group’s local efforts. A site has also been chosen for a separate training center, which would be up and running before the stadium opened. The stadium itself would be an openair facility with a partial roof and a grass field. Its projected price tag is $220 million.
There would be few restaurants and retail stores within the stadium, which Mr. Leiweke said is to avoid competing with the area’s already established businesses. “Our job is not to compete with you,” Mr. Leiweke said during his pitch to a roomful of Overtown and Spring Garden residents. Parking would not be a priority, he said, promising to keep out “a bunch of concrete structures that are used 30 days a year.” Soccer fans traditionally walk to the games, he said. Also, his team counted 6,800 parking spots within one mile of the proposed site. “We believe it’s time to build a stadium [and a park] destination geared toward mass transit,” Mr. Leiweke said, garnering the only major applause the Beckham group would receive for the remainder of the night. Two weeks ago, the organizers presented the newest proposed site to the Major League Soccer Board of Governors, which voted in favor of it. The Overtown site is the fourth location considered since Mr. Beckham set his sights on Miami. Sitting west of Interstate 95 and north of the Miami River, wedged between Northwest Eighth and Sixth streets, the site is composed of privately owned and county-owned land, all of which the Beckham group would purchase. Because the site sits within city limits, any zoning changes would be subject to Miami City Commission approval. Last week, the unofficial plans
‘I have not given my support as of yet because I haven’t seen any plans.’ Audrey Edmonson
were presented to the Overtown community – unofficial being the key word during the Dec. 17 town hall meeting, which welcomed a roomful of residents from Overtown and Spring Garden, the more affluent neighborhood a couple of blocks away. “I have not given my support as of yet because I haven’t seen any plans,” said county Commissioner Audrey Edmonson, whose district includes Overtown. “I would love to have Major League Soccer in my district. I want those who are looking to have work, to find work. But I also want to see plans.” Despite the string of promised benefits laid out during Mr. Leiweke’s presentation, Overtown residents demanded more than just spoken words. “What we don’t want is the same old, same old,” said Rich-
ard P. Dunn II, a pastor at Faith Community Baptist Church. He echoed the sentiment of other skeptics in the room, who in their one-minute repertoire illustrated the need to hire local employees to build and operate the stadium and called for written plans. “It will be in writing,” Mayor Gimenez said. “That’s why we are here: to listen to the community.” A number of residents brought forth concerns about relocation, in which Mayor Gimenez repeatedly assured them: “There is no plan to relocate anybody.” Several Spring Garden residents starkly objected a soccer stadium that would bring noise, traffic and pollution so close to their homes. The brunt of the opposition was delivered by 9-year-old Sarah Ortiz, who said: “I already have people speeding by my house. Soccer will only make it worse. Please don’t build the stadium.” Ms. Edmonson told Miami Today on Friday that the community brought some “fantastic ideas” to the table. Moving forward, she said, “I don’t want to have my community waiting for a long time.” Another town hall meeting is to be held in the end of January or beginning of February, when Mr. Beckham’s team returns to Miami with further developed plans. “I expect them to come back with something,” Ms. Edmonson said. “I’m waiting to see something.”