A hotel on U.S. 1 in Cutler Bay is still the best option for a homeless housing project that would serve mostly seniors, according to a memo from Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava that has Commissioner Danielle Cohen Higgins and Cutler Bay Mayor Tim Meerbott a little unhappy.
The plan by the Miami-Dade Homeless Trust to transform the La Quinta Inn & Suites, 10821 Caribbean Blvd., into 107 studio apartments with kitchenettes, permanent housing for homeless individuals, first came before the county commission last December. Cohen Higgins got her colleagues to support a delay while the mayor’s office sought alternative sites, citing no outreach to the Cutler Bay community and the area’s future development.
She didn’t like the fact that there are not good options in the mayor’s report, which will be presented to the commission on Tuesday.
“On the horizon for South Dade residents is the over $1 billion Southland Mall redevelopment project—a beacon of hope in a sea of uncertainty. This investment is the type of ambitious and comprehensive project that South Dade needs and deserves,” Cohen Higgins wrote in an oped piece published over the weekend in The Miami Herald, clearly objecting to the administration’s persistence.
“Let me be clear: a decision to specifically earmark the La Quinta Inn property for the Homeless Trust’s mission will swiftly capsize our community’s vision.”
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Cohen Higgins — who has an uphill battle because she is increasingly disliked by her colleagues — also objects to the price tag of $14 million, which is $4 million over the appraised value. The Homeless Trust is funded through a penny food and beverage tax.
Her opinion piece was sparked by an April 9 report in which the county mayor states that there are no alternative sites that compare to the Quinta property in District 8. After a “through examination” of the available land, the Internal Services Department only found one vacant county property and three privately-owned existing properties suitable for conversion, but they are all more costly than the La Quinta option, Levine Cava wrote in her status report.
The estimated cost to retrofit the original site is $650,000. When added to the $14 million price, it brings the per unit estimated cost at $136,916. The other properties would not serve nearly as many unhoused adults and would cost more per unit. They are:
- 24705 SW 129 Avenue — 15 townhomes built in 2022 on 0.75 acres and listed for $6,750,000.00, equal to a price per unit of $450,000.00. All units are 3-bedroom/2.5-bath.
- 29401 SW 174 Avenue — a multifamily property built in 1924 on 1.25 acres listed for $995,000.00, equal to a price per unit of $248,750.00. The main house consists of 3 bedrooms and 1.5 bathrooms, the remainder of the property has 3 units that are 1/1 each.
- 221 NW 12 Street, Homestead — a fourplex built in 1945 on 0.64 acres listed for $875,000.00, equal to a price per unit of $218,750.00. Each unit is a 1/1.
Those private properties also have existing moderate or low-income tenants who could be displaced by the conversion, the memo states. “Utilizing these properties would necessitate the families to be accommodated if redevelopment is needed.”
The county-owned vacant parcel is 3.3 acres at 29650 Harriet Tubman Way, in Homestead. It is currently zoned commercial with an estimated value of almost $1.4 million.
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None of the other options would provide the needed housing with the speed that the La Quinta property would, the memo says. The Homeless Trust has had an agreement to purchase the property since last September Chairman Ron Book says permanent continuum of care housing is part of any serious plan to end homelessness and that the project, much like one that opened last year in North Miami, would prioritize seniors aged 55 and up.
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“The largest growing group of homeless individuals nationwide and in our community are senior citizens,” Book told WPLG Local 10, which first reported the county administrations memo with their findings.
Meerbott has expressed concern over the number of people allowed to lease per unit and the felony backgrounds, which is something that the Homeless Trust cannot control. He would also prefer it be entirely dedicated to homeless seniors. He said in February that he was concerned the facility would become “a needle exchange” or shelter, which Book has said is not going to happen.
“I’d cut off both my arms before I would let a needle exchange happen there,” he told Channel 10.
Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.
The meeting Tuesday begins at 9:30 a.m. in commission chambers at County Hall, 111 NW First St. A webcast can also be viewed online.
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