Developers agreed to terms of Miami mega mall deal. Now they want to change it | Opinion

For the unsuspecting taxpayer, the different messages coming from Miami-Dade County’s elected officials couldn’t sound more dissonant: You have the mayor calling for budget cuts and warning about times of financial austerity. Then you have a commissioner proposing to allow property tax dollars to be used to help develop a mega mall.

The developers of American Dream Miami, planned near Hialeah, understood the county’s approval of the project in 2018 also came with a subsidy ban on the planned retail theme park. Now that the project is at least five years behind schedule — and Miami-Dade County has sued over the delays — there’s a proposal to water down that ban. Developer Triple Five is also in court with a Miami Lakes developer over control of land located at Florida’s Turnpike and Interstate 75.

Asking for the county’s help sounds like a Hail Mary to push through a project that’s looking less feasible by the minute.

Commissioner Juan Carlos Bermudez’s proposal would allow the county to divert property taxes to cover about $60 million in local road construction and other infrastructure costs that otherwise would be the developers’ responsibility, the Herald reported. Mayor Daniella Levine Cava supported the item as a way to expedite the construction of roadways in the area even if the mega mall doesn’t get built.

The proposal was placed on the County Commission’s Tuesday agenda at the last minute but a vote was deferred to mid July. Some commissioners balked at the argument put forward by Bermudez linking the approval of his subsidy-cap legislation to another vote that was also on the agenda to accept $5 million from the developer to settle the county’s lawsuit. The latter was also postponed.

Commission Chair Anthony Rodriguez said it was a “bad look” that “you guys are saying you’ll only come to this agreement if we get this,” the Herald reported.

Commissioner Oliver Gilbert said he opposes letting Triple Five tap into property taxes to offset its development costs, saying, “I don’t see how that’s a good deal for the people.” It is not.

Bermudez called his legislation “an opportunity to right a wrong,” the Herald reported. That’s because some of South Florida’s largest malls successfully lobbied the commission to impose the subsidy ban on American Dream when it was approved. Miguel Díaz de la Portilla, a Triple Five lobbyist and former county commissioner, equated that to “interference from some mall owners who don’t want competition.” Díaz de la Portilla said the company could attract $350 million in road construction dollars to Northwest Miami-Dade if it can tap into county money first.

We don’t disagree entirely with Bermudez and Díaz de la Portilla.

There’s no doubt that the subsidy ban was a political move, at least in part, to stifle competition. Alas, in 2018, Triple Five agreed to cover the $60 million roadway costs or persuade state or local governments to fund them. It’s hard not to read this latest move as a desperate attempt to change the terms of the deal, especially given Triple Five’s legal and financial issues elsewhere.

An American Dream mall opened on state-owned land in New Jersey in 2019 with help from more than $1 billion in state and local aid, according to NorthJersey.com. Surrounding municipalities have sued, accusing the developer of owing a combined $13 million in negotiated payments to them since the mall’s opening.

Triple Five has denied any wrongdoing, arguing that the mall didn’t have to start making the payments because it hasn’t reached 100% occupancy and so was not completely open. In March, a local judge rejected that argument, ruling in favor of one of the municipalities, NorthJersey.com reported.

Miami-Dade County is under increased financial pressure from the drying up of pandemic federal funding and the costs associated with spinning off county departments such as police into independent offices. Levine Cava’s administration says the county faces the worst budget shortfall since the 2008 Great Recession.

With so many needs and an unpredictable next few budget years, is this the time to ask the county to allow a developer to access property tax dollars for a private project? The answer should be no.

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