City abandons plan to seize Miami River property from private owner to create park
The city of Miami has abandoned its plan to seize property on the Miami River from a private owner after reaching a new agreement to buy land in Little Havana from the same owner — this time for the purpose of building affordable housing.
The decision lands after years of effort on the city’s part to acquire a Miami River site via eminent domain from South River Warehouse LLC. That effort culminated in a weeklong trial in December where a jury valued the approximately 15,000-square-foot site at $10.78 million.
The endeavor was championed by City Commissioner Joe Carollo, who hoped to turn the riverside property into a public park — something he said is desperately needed in his District 3.
But the latest maneuver will not result in a park. This time, the city plans to buy five connected parcels of vacant land in Little Havana to build affordable housing. The Little Havana land is owned by an LLC that has “common ownership” with South River Warehouse, according to city records.
Under the new agreement, the city will pay just under $10.9 million. That includes $9 million for the Little Havana land and approximately $1.9 million to cover legal fees that the property owner accrued in its protracted battle with the city, as well as other costs affiliated with the property sale.
The funds will come from the District 3 budget rather than the city’s general fund, Carollo said. The City Commission unanimously approved the deal at a meeting Thursday.
The resolution gives the city the flexibility to return back to the Miami River property if the new deal falls through, according to the city attorney. But City Manager Art Noriega said at the meeting that he was “absolutely confident” that the city would execute the agreement to buy the Little Havana property.
“I in no way, shape or form feel like we’re gonna not finalize and consummate this deal, and we’ll be abandoning the eminent domain,” Noriega said.
Arturo Ortega, property manager of South River Warehouse, told the Miami Herald that he is satisfied with the new agreement.
“I’m just ready to put it behind me,” Ortega said.
In December, after hearing days of testimony from Ortega and expert witnesses, a jury determined that the slice of land on the Miami River is worth $10.78 million.
In explaining why he pivoted from desiring a park on the Miami River to now wanting to build affordable housing in Little Havana, Carollo said he considered the price the jury set to be “on the high side.”
Beyond that, Carollo said he wasn’t even sure if he had enough votes on the City Commission to approve the sale of the Miami River property.
Instead, Carollo said the Little Havana land is “a very important piece of real estate,” calling the new agreement a “much, much better deal.”
“The bottom line was that this other property was one that we always looked at, and we also wanted it,” Carollo said.
Meanwhile, construction is well underway at the Miami River site for a restaurant that will be operated by hospitality mogul Roman Jones. Ortega said construction is expected to be completed in June and that the restaurant could open by the end of the year.
This story was originally published January 28, 2025 at 3:13 PM.
.jpg)