MetroCenter development of 17 downtown acres advancing

Miami-Dade County’s $10 billion downtown utopian vision, MetroCenter, had a little more money thrown at it last week.

The project, Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said in a presentation last August, is a “transformative redevelopment of the … government center campus.”

The county’s Infrastructure, Operations and Innovations Committee voted unanimously to send a resolution to the county commission earmarking an additional $1.6 million for the first 17-acre phase of the MetroCenter.

The money would go to Washington, DC-based IMG Rebel Advisory Inc. for real estate development and financial advisory services.

The firm already has received $1 million, pushing the modified contract total to $2.6 million.

The ambitious project would transform about 17 acres in downtown Miami into a “vibrant” mixed use development, the mayor said. MetroCenter eventually is to expand to a 29-acre campus.

Joining county government offices are to be affordable and workforce housing, a library, park, transit terminal, and places for recreation and parking.

Housing types would include traditional rental apartments, condominium units, townhomes, student-oriented housing, senior housing and micro units.

County officials aren’t talking about the massive undertaking because they say it is a “cone of silence” project, which, according to its definition on miamidade.gov, “prohibits certain oral communication” about particular projects.

The “Cone of Silence,” the county website explains, “is designed to protect the professional integrity of the procurement process by shielding it from undue influences prior to the recommendation of contract award.”

The vision, as explained in an Aug. 10 county-sponsored MetroCenter industry day presentation, is “to design a new vibrant neighborhood,” where:

■Residents and their families can live, work, play and learn.

■Affordable housing is at the center of it all.

■Kids can walk to school.

■Transit is great and a car isn’t necessary because it’s walkable and safe for cyclists.

■Green parks and open spaces encourage activity and facilitate health.

■It will be a model for resiliency and energy efficiency.

■Businesses will want to locate.

■Retail, restaurants and cultural facilities will enliven the area.

■Government facilities will be integrated into the neighborhood.

According to a draft scope of services issued by the county, “The development represents a combination of excess land and underutilized parcels formed from 11 primary sites, the majority of which are improved and occupied with public uses that will need to be relocated and/or reconstructed in order to vacate the lands for development.”

The 17-acre development site is part of a larger area (about 29 acres) that are to serve as the seat of the Miami-Dade County Government “directly connected to the Metrorail Government Center Station and external transportation networks, at the center of the Miami urban landscape.”

The draft says the project will include 2,000 public parking spaces accessible to employees and visitors to the Government Center, plus 132 spaces for the county’s fleet operations, including 50 for electric vehicles.

Residents, the draft says, will “generate economic activity and … have a “live-work-play” lifestyle, incorporating a mix of incomes and unit types, including affordable, workforce, and market rate housing.”

The bidding process began last Tuesday. Once a master developer has been selected, construction on the initial phase should begin within 24 months, the county says.

Completion of the entire 29-acre development could take between 10 and 15 years.

First-phase features are to include:

■A Downtown Intermodal Terminal with a direct connection to the Government Center Station Metrorail and Metromover.

■Fleet parking, fueling and maintenance to be repositioned on-site or relocated in the immediate market area.

■A Cultural Arts Campus including a library and space for the HistoryMiami museum.

■Office space of about 60,000 square feet for use for the county’s Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces Department.

■A recreation, wellness and conservation center of approximately 45,000 square feet, preferably within a 5-minute walk of parks department headquarters and shared with cultural and educational venues.

■Daycare large enough to meet the demand from the existing daycare facility. The daycare is to allow for a mixed-income model, including self-pay and subsidized daycare and family services through HeadStart or other programs.

There’s a little something for everyone, including county commissioners.

Improvements for the county include a new chambers for the county commission, about 36,000 square feet for commissioners’ offices and conference room space for the commission, and 7,350 square feet for commission chambers and auditorium space.

Also planned are school facilities from pre-school through 12th grade.