Levine Cava enlists SoftBank’s Claure, former Miami Beach mayor for new economic program
Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava announced a new economic development initiative Thursday to boost the county’s economy as it begins to recover from the coronavirus pandemic.
The initiative, RENEW305 — for Revive, Explore, Network, Economic partnership and Workforce — is part of a “coordinated campaign to reassure the world that we can reopen safely for business,” said Levine Cava.
“We’re looking beyond this coronavirus pandemic to build on our natural assets and capture the new economy,” Levine Cava said. “We’re going to bring together investors, train our workforce, and focus on key sectors like tourism and cruising. We’re going to build on the creativity, entrepreneurship, vision, and collaboration that has always been the hallmark of our success.”
Outlining the effort in broad strokes, Levine Cava said it will kick off with an initial investment of nearly $2 million from CareerSource South Florida to re-skill and re-train workers living in Dade to prepare for the demands of 21st century business.
It also includes a CEO Ambassador program that taps local business leaders including SoftBank International Chairman Marcelo Claure and developer Armando Codina to augment the work of the Beacon Council, the county’s official economic development agency, in attracting and retaining major employers.
And Levine Cava named former Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine as RENEW’s special adviser, for the cruise and tourism industries as they work to revive themselves amid the pandemic’s devastation.
The mayor provided few other details but emphasized that the program would focus on building up workers and businesses already in Miami-Dade — and tell new ones arriving to not overlook them.
“We want to make sure our investors are all about talent development at home,” she said. “We are going to collaborate with local and international partners to retain and grow innovative local companies. We want to build a culture of value, in which not only businesses but the community itself is supported.”
As of December, Miami-Dade counted some 176,000 fewer jobs than it had 12 months prior, with another 80,000 workers having dropped out of the labor force entirely. While the county’s unemployment rate has fallen to 7.3% from a pandemic-high of 14.5% in July, it remains well above the record-low 1.5% seen in the months leading up to the outbreak.
Levine Cava said RENEW was already working to lure major companies, specifically naming J.P. Morgan Chase, Microsoft and investment fund Citadel.
Exactly how much those companies might invest here remained unclear Thursday. The Miami Herald confirmed in January that Microsoft was looking to open a new office in Miami-Dade; a Microsoft spokesperson did not respond Thursday to a request for comment. While Citadel confirmed last fall it would be opening a new Miami office, it emphasized it would not represent a major new presence. A representative for Chase said Thursday the bank had no plans to open a new corporate office in the area.
Representatives for Levine Cava referred questions to the Beacon Council, which said it could not comment on confidential projects — a common practice during recruitment efforts.
This story was originally published February 25, 2021 at 5:34 PM.
