Public Transit
Access:
One important tangible sssets is that the Corridor
has greater access to public transportation than any other site in
Miami-Dade County
The
proposed development district is the intersection of MetroRail (which
connects to downtown and jobs north and south), Tri-Rail (which
connects to the Miami International Airport and to job-rich Broward and
Palm Beach counties) and Amtrak (which connects to the whole United
States).
The
project's design needs to promote easy access to these transportation
assets and include pedestrian friendly features so that walking becomes
a pleasurable and natural part of accessing amenities in the nearby
community.
The
bottom line is that the opportunity to live without a car - or with
only one car - are greater in this Corridor than practically anywhere
else in the region. And since cars cost $350 to 500 per month, this
asset translates directly into stronger family economics. These
existing transportation assets may need to be supplemented with
stronger intra-community transit.
Skills of
Residents
Local
residents have a reservoir of skills and talents, many of which have
yet to
be recognized in the job market. These skills need to be inventoried
and used to
identify economic development opportunities and link residents to jobs.
Potential of
assembling significant amounts of land
Some
of this land is near the Amtrak site approximately 30 acres. Another
major contiguous parcel is the 300 unit mobil home park owned by
Florida East Coast Railroad. There is also an excess of land around the
NorthSide Shopping Center. The district would seek to reconfigure these
and other underutilized sites throughout the corridor to create more
neighborhood cohesion and to establish a new focal point at the
MetroRail/Tri-Rail/Amtrak stop. There is reason to believe that Amtrack
land will make this land available for redevelopment by a
community-based development consortium.
Undervalued
Market Potential
The
target area has substantial purchasing power which is not now captured
by community businesses. The project will map this purchasing power of
the area residents and use that as a marketing tool for encouraging
siting of commercial businesses that meet the needs and interests of
area residents.
Of
special concern is the nurturing of minority entrepreneurs, perhaps
through a mechanism which links together franchisors, transit-oriented
development sits, qualified minority entrepreneurs and new sources of
equity financing.
Home Ownership
Opportunities
The
project will seek to strengthen the existing residential areas within
the corridor and increase opportunities for homeownership. It will
focus on credit access strategies using the Community Reinvestment Act
and other voluntary agreements with banks, Fannie Mae, and other
mortgage lenders, including possibly Location Efficient Mortgages7.
Proximity to
Jobs
The
Corridor's transit access means that residents have unparalleled access
to the South Florida job market. There are considerable jobs in the
industrial corridor along 36th Avenue accessible by bus in addition to
the enormous job potential around all the MetroRail and Tri-Rail stops
in the region. This project will enhance this access to jobs through
skill-based job training linked to specific industrial sectors. This
will require the participation of local employers in the plans for this
corridor.
Freight Movement
The
freight yards that lie immediately north of the site are also the
location of many jobs. The project will seek to build a partnership
with the railroad companies to enhance opportunities for residents and
to provide desired auxiliary services for the companies.
Access to
Rights of Way
The
rail rights of way that intersect at the 79th Street station are
ideally suited for expanding fiber optic capacity in the 79th Street
Corridor. Additional fiber optic capacity can create opportunities for
telecomputer centers and for back office operations for businesses that
rely heavily on extensive phone and computer services.
Infrastructure
Investment
The
project area's lack of sewer and stormwater infrastructure is an
opportunity to provide these basic services in creative ways that also
build the community and its open space in a way which can be a model
for the region. The project will consider rebuilding of major streets
with landscaped median strips that can hold stormwater, utilizing
undeveloped land for engineered wetlands and holding ponds to process
this stormwater naturally. This process will be linked to the creation
of additional recreation facilities and open space.
Intangible
Assets:
The Sense of
Place
Many
residents have lived in this area for many years, making a commitment
to this place despite its problems. They have done so because they
value their neighbors, their churches, their schools, their clubs. They
remember and are brought together by a shared history. This web of
personal relationships has taken decades to build and represents one of
the region's strongest assets.
Knowledge of
the Community
With
this web of personal relationships comes a depth of knowledge about the
community, its residents, its stores, its institutions. This
redevelopment project needs to value and take advantage of this
important base of community knowledge.
Environmental
Quality of Life
This
corridor was built on wetlands and, in parts, pine forests. The project
will respect the natural systems that underlie current development
patterns. The acknowledgment of these ecological features will permit
the community to better withstand the forces of nature and will
contribute to the well being of the ecosystem of the area.
Location
Efficiency
As
described above, the Corridor already has access to many forms of
public transportation; buses, MetroRail, Tri-Rail, Amtrak and there are
sidewalks in many parts of the area. The goal is to increase the number
of useful destinations within the community and then to make the
community pedestrian-friendly as well as transit-rich, so that the full
benefits of this location efficiency can be experienced.
Project
Leadership
The
West 79th Street Development Project is led by a consortium of
community-based development corporations, in a strategic partnership
with the Center for Neighborhood Technology. The Center for
Neighborhood Technology is a Chicago-based non-profit organization
committed to sustainable development.
