Mega mall gets its public land on rushed timeline

Mega mall gets its public land on rushed timeline
  • Sumo

In yet another race against the clock, under the gun of yet another looming deadline that could have been completely intentional, Miami-Dade commissioners on Tuesday got into the real estate mega mallbusiness and approved a land assemblage deal that is the first necessary step in development of a megamall/tourist attraction in the northwest corner of the county.

Basically, the county will now act as a go between — or “a pass through,” as the mayor called it — for a developer to buy 80 acres of land at the sweetheart price of $12.3 million. That’s $153,750 an acre. Who wouldn’t love that deal? And you can bet your bank that it’s less than what the land would sell for if the state would take it to a public auction. Something that would benefit all Floridians, including us 305 residents.

But Miami-Dade gets first dibs — or first right of refusal — before the land goes on the block. And Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos “Mr. Giveaway” Gimenez couldn’t let that happen. That’s why the rush to act now — everything is always an emergency — on behalf of this Canadian millionaire family that developed the Mall of America to develop American Dream Miami, a 200-acre mega mall with ski slope, submarine tours, water park, skating rink and more.

By the way, Mr. Mayor: It’s Mall of America, not Mall of the Americas. That one is already built, on Flagler Street by the Palmetto. You should check it out.

Gimenez said that the state put the land on the surplus list Feb. 23. Ladra wants to know if there was any communication between the county and the state about doing that — you know, since the county was approached more than a year ago. A public records request for emails on the land has not yet been answered. But let’s just say that for argument’s sake that, for whatever reason, without prodding by the county, the state suddenly — by pure happenstance! — put 80 acres that developers need for the mega mall project — and without which the project can’t exist — on the surplus list. Que suerte!

Read related story: Carlos Gimenez’s ‘mega mall’ on fast track with shell company

That set the clock in motion for a 40-day window, Gimenez said. Tuesday was the last time the commission would meet before the property goes to public sale, possibly by auction, April 3. “We will not have another meeting until April 21,” Gimenez said, adding that the Florida cabinet would vote on the sale on April 14th.

God forbid the private Ghermezian family would have to bid for the land like anybody else on a level playing field in a free and open marketplace.

So this is why the vote was pushed through only two weeks after the mall — planned behind closed doors for a year — became mega mallpublic and less than 24 hours after commissioners got the 107-page item on the land deal with changes and amendments. To give the Ghermazian’s private project access to government prices for government land.

“That is why time is of the essence,” Gimenez said, immediately turning into the project’s chief cheerleader, because that seems to be what he thinks his job is lately. That and assembling land for private developers with pet “game-changer” projects.

“This is the beginning of a long thoughtful process. If approved and if all goes as planned, what is called American Dream Miami could bring an investment of between $3 million and $5 million to Miami, create thousands of jobs,” Gimenez said, although that number has been reduced drastically from 20,000 to 7,500 full and part-time jobs by Year 15.

The mayor also likes to say that there will be no county funds directed to the private development that adds value to our tax rolls where it did not as state land (of course, it could have added more value had they, or anyone else, purchased the land at auction). And there are going to be no fewer than five public meetings to get public input. If they’re anything like the budget townhall meetings, I am sure they will be very productive (um, not).

Oh, and after first saying that the complex would not be able to get water and sewer service from Miami-Dade — having to go to Hialeah, which is still

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7 Responses to "Mega mall gets its public land on rushed timeline"

  1. The Miami Lakes, Palm Springs North, and County Club of Miami residents will be meeting to discuss on a plan to vote Carlos Gimenez and Esteban Bovo out of office.

  2. I would argue this is so much inside baseball the average voter doesn’t get it. The mayor clearly understands his11th fast and furious technique is the only way to get anything by the media, the public and the BCC.
    But fortunately for the more deliberative among us, most of these things are ticking time bomb’s probably due to go off by June 2016 when the public and the media and the BCC are paying attention.

  3. Where is the FBI? Please continue investigating these crooks we have running amuck at the county before they screw us over again. Oh, that’s right, they’ve already done that. Mayor Gimenez rewards his crooked lap dogs once again, just look at Lester Sola. Helps Marlins Stadium deal at our expense and is rewarded with MDC WASD promotion just in time for more Fed money to squander and he can help out this rich Canadian develop his tacky mega mall. This whole “Deal” just stinks to high heaven!

    Thank God we have Levine Cava and Suarez, the only two that said NO. Sally Haymen and Rebecca Sosa should have joined them, instead they caved; shame on you both. Don’t be dazzeled by the “dog and pony show”, it’s the usual load of crap.

    One has to wonder if the mayor is “digging for dollars” to cover the Federal Grant money the county has to pay back for transit improvements NOT done. Remember the 88+ miles we were to get to extend MetroRail to the north and south so we could start providing a REAL transit system just like other big, international cities. Instead we get 2.1 miles and almost no money left in the bank. Where did that money go? And now we also have to pay the feds back 10+ mil because MDC didn’t use it for it’s intended purposes nor did they comply with the terms of the funding.

    Then to add salt to our already festering wounds, the one person who catches this “mistake” is fired by Transit Director Kapoor, who is then rewarded with generous retirement package when he resigns in 2011. Only problem is now the whistleblower has won 5+mil lawsuit for wrongful termination, as well she should, and MDC must pay for this too…or rather WE get to pay for this too. Feeling sick yet?

    And while we’re on the subject, whatever happened with Biotech Park? Why are our buses in such bad shape, and running over their drivers? Why is our stormwater drainage system falling apart, and we have flooding all over the place? Why is the courthouse such a mess? Didn’t anyone check the line items budgeted for mainteneance and repairs? Were you hoping if neglected long enough, the courthouse would just fall apart and we would build you a new one? Oh yes, that was the plan, and we said NO!

    So what exactly is our mayor and his team, and all his Department Directors doing for Miami Dade County and its citizens? No oversite for all the federal grant money and voter approved bonds and tax increases to improve our way of life? How come we keep feeling the pinch and they keep living large? Would love to see a flow chart laying out all Directors, where they were and where they are now, and how mach they are making. Also need comapartive chart for all their outside work and pet projects; before, during and after employment at MDC. Maybe you shouldn’t be funding stadium deals, assiting with mega malls, or Skyrise Miami, or anything else that should be accomplished with private sector funds and tax payer dollars.

    We need to bring these crooks to justice, and they need to stop rewarding bad behavior and crimes. If any of us attempted these crimes at our workplace, we’ld be in jail so fast our heads would spin. Kapoor needs to be brought to justice, make restitution to the county for his wrongful termination, re-pay the last 4 years of his pension payments as he did not deserve them, and lose his county pension for the future. Any other public servant caught breaking the law should also be brought to justice and lose their benefits if found guilty.

    MDC needs to be cleaned up from the top down, starting with our mayor. We pay these people huge salaries so we can compete with the private sector for top talent, but we are not getting our monies worth. Maybe it’s time all the top dogs had their big salaries slashed like the mayor did to the rank and file. All the salary cuts were on the backs of the people who really work; none of the head honchos lost a dime. All that budget adjusting and department reorganization by Mayor Gimenez, was nothing more than “3 card monty”; I still see most of the big money makers at the top, they’ve just been cleverly shuffled about. Oh yes, except for that million dollar dream team he brought in…remember? The one’s he just couldn’t do without, and couldn’t find from within MDC. Several of those rats already jumped ship, also with big fat pensions. None of them have had to sacrifice diddly squat.

    No wonder so many of our new cities seperated themselves from MDC, and look how well they are all doing without MDC! Some of you new cities should get together and sue the county for misappropriating funds that were intended to expand MetroRail into your area, and all the other public project funds they re-directed at your expense.

    We still have a few good people left at MDC. It’s time to clean house once again starting from the top down, before its too late. It’s time to remind our leaders, ALL of them, that they work FOR the public; too many have forgotten the meaning of public service. We also need to drive home that crime does NOT pay, PERIOD! And after the Feds are done cleaning up here in South Florida (yes Broward, you’re a mess too!) we need to send them to Tallahassee where they also require some real federal intervention by the FBI.

    There, I feel a little bit better now but not as good as I would IF we the people could get some REAL JUSTICE.

  4. It was not an easy vote. I met the guy sans lobbyist at a Wendy’s on Bird Road. He is a determined guy and his vision is compelling so it gave me confidence that this will get done. The project brings many positives and it would be great if we could build a Sawgrass Mall competitor in Miami Dade. That is a prime piece of property intersecting two major roads and better have something big and bold than another industrial park. But you are right on with your last point…what happens if it doesn’t get built? The Commission has other bites at the apple and in the next steps we need to increase the financial penalties if this deal doesn’t get done. We also need to make sure the transit issue is addressed and we need to protect the Biscayne Aquifer and force him to tap into other sources of water. There is more work to do. Stay vigilant! You do us all a big service. Your fan….Zap

    • Sorry Jez, but you sound like part of the problem. Not an easy vote you say…. there should not have been another 11th hour crisis created by our Mayor, every commissioner should have put the brakes on this immediately, PERIOD! Maybe then Gimenez would start to understand he needs to play by the rules. If you continue to enable him, you are part of the problem.

      And I beg to differ that we need this guy or his project. I don’t believe we need a tacky mega mall at all. We have many beautiful malls all over Miami Dade county, which is a good thing since our mass transit system is unable to get us anywhere. These area shopping centers like The Falls, Dadeland, Sunset Place, the Shops at Bal Harbour, just to name a few, that privide convenient area shopping for residents. The also provide entry level jobs for residents, which is fantastic because as previously stated, our mass transit system sucks!

      Personally, I loath Sawgrass Mills just about as much as any other mall to the west or notrth of where I live because let’s face it, even if you own a car, traffic is horrible everywhere here because WE HAVE HORRIBLE MASS TRANSIT. You really can’t survive or thrive in South Florida without a car.

      And let’s not even discuss South Beach, can barely stand to go there even when I’m hosting out of town tourists; no mass transit, ridiculous traffic, ever changing parking rules and availability, ttow trucks, horrendous flooding, overpriced tourist traps and too many rude people.

      We need to fix our transit system and infrastructure first, before we start developing new areas. Let the Canadians take their project somewhere else,. There are plenty of people wanting to come to MDC and spend their own funds; there would be even more if we had better tmass transit and infrastructure. Creating a more functioning and prosperous county would make us a truly world class city that business would flock too. Until then, it’s the usual dog and pony cheap carnival show, where the rich get richer and the working class get whetever is left over.

      And sorry Mayor Gimenez, this project will not create the kind of jobs we need in Miami Dade; we don’t need more minimum wage positions

      So what if the man was compelling, there are sales people everywhere who can be most compelling, doesn’t mean you hurry up and give them what they want without performing your due diligence and investigating thoroughly. Have you forgotten Biotech Park? Another rush deal, not well investigated. Or Marlins Stadium…ops didn’t read the fine print, no full disclosure on what we the taxpayers would be paying to help some rich business owner make more money!

      If this is such prime land, then lets not rush into any deal before selling it. And let it be sold to the highest bidder, without special favors.

      And let’s have total transperancy with these deals; they shouldn’t be done behind closed doors. It’s called the Sunshine Law, and mayor Gimenez, you broke the law once again. Had you been honest and allowed everyone to know what was going on, there would have been no 11th hour crisis. Is your team unable to present the issues in an organized and legal manner? Just how long have you and your team been in discussions regarding this project?

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