Uncertain Future
Neighbors Question Proposed High-Rise Project Near Grove Metro Station

“The space is filled with drug dealers and prostitutes.”

Miami Commissioner Marc Sarnoff speaks to demonstrators Tuesday at the Coconut Grove Metrorail station near land where preliminary plans for a mixed use high-rise project were once approved by the county Tuesday evening. The demonstration was held prior to an RTDIC meeting on the issue Wednesday morning. Photo by Mitchell Zachs/MagicalPhotos.com.

By Ryan Brown

A fight is brewing in Coconut Grove, over what can be built on a parcel located at 27th Avenue and U.S. 1. This triangular spread of land will be the future construction site of …well, that’s the problem, no one knows.

Developer Carlos Rua was awarded the land seven years ago for the construction of a mixed-use project that would neighbor the Coconut Grove Metrorail station, a move intended to increase use of the train and decrease traffic congestion for area streets.

Some Grove residents want no new development on the land and doubt the county and the developer’s claim that this project will ease the traffic situation.

“Rush hour is already a nightmare; this will make things even worse,” said Kenneth Newman, who lives in the area.

“I have a hard time believing that a guy in a $600,000 condo is going to get on the Metro and not just take his BMW,” said Dan Delgado, a Coconut Grove resident.

Other nearby residents feared a domino-effect scenario that would lead to their neighborhoods being vulnerable to endless skyscraping condos. Taxes may increase. Elderly residents may be priced out.

However, other Coconut Grove dwellers think the project may have a positive effect on the area, including a reduction in crime.

“The space is filled with drug dealers and prostitutes,” said Linda Alger, who lives near the station. “We need the space filled.”

And then there are those who say Rua should only be allowed to build to the scale permitted initially.

In 1999, an agreement was reached between the developer and the neighbors to allow a project, with a 30-year lease and consisting of a supermarket and two buildings (one with 10 stories of office space and another with 14 stories of condos). The county approved the deal.

Everyone was happy, but not for long.

About six to eight months after the initial project was green-lighted it went back to the commission for final approval and a supermarket and two 19-story buildings, with a 90-year lease, ended up being accepted by the county. According to Grove residents, the county did not hold a public meeting to discuss this change to the agreement.

“From 1999 to now there have been no public hearings on this,” said Grove resident Janet Tarbot.

“There are no papers, no public records…Why have these changes been made without us knowing?” asked Judith Arthur, another Grove resident who lives adjacent to the land in question.

To make things more complicated, over the summer Grove resident Jim McMaster discovered that Rua would be going in front of the RTDIC (Rapid Transit Development Impact Committee) to propose building two 35-story buildings and one 25-story building. “I hear 35-35-25 and I’m like, where did this come from?” McMaster said.

As a result, the Cocoanut Grove Village Council held a face-to-face meeting with the residents and Rua to figure out what was going on.

Felice Dubin, a Village Council member, was appointed by Marc Sarnoff, then chair of the Village Council, as chair of the committee that held the meeting between Grove residents and Rua. (Sarnoff was elected to the Miami City Commission last week.)

According to Dubin, Rua came to the meeting and agreed to take questions and comments from the community by e-mail, and then have a follow-up meeting in roughly two weeks to come to some sort of agreement before his presentation to the RTDIC.

After collecting community feedback and emailing Rua, Dubin says she received a reply e-mail from one of Rua’s relatives that said he was on vacation.

Communication between the community and Rua fell off.

“After that, I think he was just convinced he was going to get his project done,” said Dubin.

The RTDIC is chaired by Assistant County Manager Alex Muñoz and is composed of county planning and administrative staff as well as representatives from the city of Miami and other municipalities. The purpose of this committee ultimately is to recommend development standards for the project to present to the city of Miami for review and adoption.

Despite the fact that it took place from 9 a.m. to noon on a Wednesday, a large number of community members attended the Nov. 29 RTDIC meeting to voice their opinion on the project and, for many, to insist that the original (10-story building, 14-story building, supermarket) agreement be honored. Some RTDIC members even questioned the legality of the County Commission changing the project’s scope in 1999.

Rua’s attorney, Gil Pastoriza, told residents and the committee during Wednesday’s meeting that his client does not yet have a project in mind, and he will wait for the RTDIC to “set the parameters” before any plans are made. He went on to say that it is possible that the entirety of the residences at the station could be affordable housing units.

Rua could not be reached by the SunPost for comment.

The next RTDIC meeting is scheduled for Jan. 24. A time and location has not yet been set.

Comments? E-mail ryan@miamisunpost.com.