Melreese golf operator signs 3-year extension. What’s it mean for Inter Miami soccer?
The operator of the city-owned Melreese golf course has signed a three-year contract extension, confirming that Miami wants to keep the property open as a golf course amid protracted negotiations to redevelop the site into a massive commercial complex and soccer stadium for Inter Miami.
The agreement, finalized Dec. 6, was obtained by the Miami Herald through a public records request. It allows the De Lucca family, which has managed International Links Miami Melreese Country Club for decades, to continue operating the golf course through Sept. 30, 2024, unless the city moves to terminate the contract to make way for the redevelopment. The agreement allows the city to cancel the contract with two months’ notice if a lease is approved for the redevelopment plan.
On Monday, City Manager Art Noriega said in a statement that lease negotiations that have dragged on for two years could be nearing the end. The extended deal with the De Lucca family ensures that the golf course can stay open while the developers apply for zoning changes, even if a lease is approved soon.
“Negotiations with Miami Freedom Park continue to move forward and the administration is preparing to brief commissioners in the next few weeks,” Noriega told the Herald. “Even if an agreement was signed tomorrow, golf course operations would continue on for some time, because of the significant time period the developer would need to dedicate to planning and entitlements before any actual site work could begin.”
Since 2018, retired soccer star David Beckham and his local partners who own Major League Soccer franchise Inter Miami have pursued building a $1 billion mall and soccer stadium campus on the Melreese property, which is directly east of Miami International Airport at 1802 NW 37th Ave. That year, voters authorized city administrators to skip the typical public bidding process and negotiate a 99-year lease for the redevelopment that would include hotel rooms, office space, a 25,000-seat stadium, soccer fields atop a parking structure and a 58-acre public park.
Negotiations did not begin in earnest until several months after the referendum due to ethics complaints that were eventually dismissed and disagreement on the City Commission over which law firms should represent the city in the talks.
Miami Freedom Park remains a major unresolved item on the agenda of Mayor Francis Suarez, who’s championed the project since it was first presented in summer 2018. The lease documents require approval from four of the five city commissioners before the redevelopment can move forward, and one commissioner has pledged to vote “no” since day one.
While other commissioners have said they’ll base their vote on the deal’s financials and the plan to replace several acres of lost parkland, Commissioner Manolo Reyes has remained a staunch opponent of Miami Freedom Park. At a Dec. 3 ceremony where officials co-designated 37th Avenue “Charlie De Lucca Way” in honor of the late patriarch of the family who runs Melreese and the well-regarded youth program First Tee, Reyes challenged Suarez to rethink his position on Miami Freedom Park. The exchange was captured on a video posted to social media by documentary filmmaker Billy Corben.
“It’s a great shame that this beautiful, beautiful green space could be developed into a massive shopping center and restaurants,” Reyes said at the ceremony. “So Mr. Mayor, I ask for your indulgence for saying this, but I really hope that you go home and really think about what your position is on this golf course.”
This story was originally published December 13, 2021 at 5:47 PM.
