Monorail project advances. Next up: Reducing $60M yearly bill to county taxpayers

Genting and partners were the only bidders in a transportation competition launched at their request last year, and Miami-Dade commissioners on Tuesday agreed to consider the lone proposal to build a $770 million monorail system linking Miami with Miami Beach.

The monorail group won a lopsided vote to have its plan evaluated, with only one No vote. But commissioners also warned they wanted a final plan with a significantly cheaper price tag than the current $59 million yearly tab, which would sap money from other commuting routes awaiting transit projects..

“We don’t have a lot of money to spread around,” said Commissioner Joe Martinez during the online meeting of the board. “Of course, it takes away from other corridors. Any corridor that comes first takes money away from the other ones.”

The proposal would create an elevated monorail running the four miles between South Beach and the Miami mainland, with a station built on Genting land next to where it once announced plans for a casino resort. The partnership would advance the $770 million needed to build the system, and then be paid back and earn a profit over 30 years through government payments.

For now, those payments are listed at $59.4 million a year, according to the proposal submitted by Genting and lead partner Meridiam, the investor behind the for-profit PortMiami tunnel.

People familiar with the proposal say county bidding rules prevented them from factoring in subsidies the project expects from Florida, Miami and Miami Beach — government dollars that would bring down how much Miami-Dade would have to pay each year to the consortium.

Miami-Dade also could pursue federal dollars from stimulus funding under discussion in Washington as a way to boost the economy during the coronavirus pandemic.

If approved later this year, the “Miami Beach Monorail” system would be the first new train line under the county’s 2016 effort known as the SMART Plan. The process launched transit studies for six of the county’s busiest commuting routes.

So far, Miami-Dade has approved a rapid-transit bus system for South Dade and an Aventura station for the existing Brightline rail network, which shut down during the coronavirus crisis. Miami-Dade is preparing to invite proposals for rail projects along Northwest 27th Avenue, the SMART Plan’s North Corridor.

The monorail project would also deliver on the long-sought transit option known as “Baylink,” connecting the mainland with Miami-Dade’s most popular beaches. The effort began in the 1980s, and supporters said they didn’t want to let momentum stall for a lack of other bidders.

“We need to make sure we are moving as quickly as possible,” said Commissioner Eileen Higgins, whose district includes the Miami Beach side of the proposed route. “We are already at Year 30 and a half on this project.”

The lone No vote for considering the monorail was Commissioner Xavier Suarez. “The whole thing has been handled wrong,” said Suarez, a candidate for mayor in 2020 to succeed a term-limited Carlos Gimenez. “No wonder we ended up with only one bidder.”

With the commission vote, Gimenez’s administration can evaluate the monorail proposal and bring back a recommendation to the board. The competition began last summer when Genting and partners submitted a monorail proposal while the county and Florida were paying a consultant to study the Beach commuting route and settle on the best transit option.

In September Miami-Dade launched a competition for transit modes under consideration, including monorail and extending the existing Metromover system from Miami to the Beach. In December, the study recommended both options, but found a Metromover extension would attract about 25 percent more riders than monorail.

No transportation company opted to submit a proposal using Metromover when bids came due in March.

Gimenez said two other transit developers were in talks with the county as the deadline approached. One disbanded before submitting a proposal and the other asked for more time but was denied, he said.

Commissioner Rebeca Sosa supported the evaluation, but raised concerns that the county drew so little interest for the Beach project.

“I wish we could have more people competing,” she said.