Average homeowner could pay about $90 more in annual taxes
Voters in Cutler Bay have either gotten or are about to get absentee or mail-in ballots for a $37 million, 30-year general obligation bond to fund the construction of municipal facilities and their own “Central Park” on 16 acres of vacant land on Old Cutler Road in the heart of the town.
There will be no in-person voting. Mail-in ballots, which are sent out between March 2 and 12, must be returned no later than 7 p.m. March 22.
This plan for a community focal point has been in the works since at least 2018. In 2020, the town council approved a land swap — the $9 million office building where Town Hall is now, at 10720 Caribbean Blvd., an adjacent, vacant $2.5 million parcel and $3 million cash for the 16 acres just north of Southwest 212th Street.
That property could have been developed into 480 residential units. Instead, the city is partnering with the University of Miami School of Architecture to create a community gathering place with a new Town Hall, police department, community center and park amenities, said Cutler Bay Mayor Tim Meerbott.
After a number of community workshops and 750 complete surveys were returned to Town Hall, some of the ideas already on the table are a community garden, an amphitheater for concerts, a place for food trucks and water features, the mayor said.
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Town Manager Rafael Casals said that if the bond passes, there will be more community meetings to hash out design details.
“We will be aggressive with our timeline,” Casals said, adding that the design, bidding, groundbreaking and construction process will take about four years.
Meerbott says the property, which is known locally as “the potato field,” has the potential to be like New York City’s legacy Central Park.
“Over 100 years ago, when they were designing Manhattan, somebody had enough foresight to say, ‘Hey, let’s keep the middle of this area here green.’ A hundred years later, what is now Central Park is the crown jewel of Manhattan,” Meerbott says in a promotional video that’s gotten more than 2,700 views on YouTube.
“We have the opportunity to do something very similar here. This decision will not only impact our community now, but also for generations in the future.”
General obligation bonds are a way for municipal governments to fund capital improvement projects that are then repaid through a property tax increase. If voters approve this bond, the average Cutler Bay homeowner will pay about $89 more a year, Meerbott said.
Some people, depending on property size and value, will pay more. The town has set up a calculator on its website so homeowners can know how their taxes will be affected.
Cutler Bay $37 mil bond for Town Hall, ‘Central Park’ project goes to voters added by Ladra on
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