Vast American Dream Miami given boost via new area roads

Restrictions on funding for local roads in Northwest Miami-Dade that could benefit a long-awaited American Dream Miami mall were lifted last week as county commissioners were told the roads will permit pending state highway construction.

The Florida Department of Transportation and the governor’s office are interested in doing significant work along I-75 that would add one or two interchanges, commissioners were told by county Chief Operating Officer Jimmy Morales, but they need a partner to add local connectors.

That local spending until last week was specifically barred by 2018 action that gave zoning approval to the American Dream Miami that has yet to begin. The successful resolution from area Commissioner Juan Carlos Bermudez removed that roadway roadblock.

The original prohibition on road spending came at the behest of mall owners who would compete with the American Dream project. The awaited project has been earmarked for entertainment, three hotels, retailers and restaurants, an indoor ski park, skating rink, indoor water park, aquarium, submarine rides, gardens, a multiscreen luxury theater complex, and an arts center for live performances.

Lifting the road spending ban in the area, Mr. Bermudez told commissioners, would give the developers of that project “greater flexibility … but that’s not our problem.” His interest, he said, is in creating more opportunities for other infrastructure to be built in the surrounding area.

This isn’t just about “this infamous mall that may or may not be built,” he said. “I could care less. I care about roads. I care about people coming in and people coming out…. I’m not for public dollars going to a private entity.”

The vote, said Commissioner Danielle Cohen Higgins, was “to remedy these unintended consequences” that barred local roadway construction.

Commissioners Micky Steinberg and Eileen Higgins voted against the resolution without comment.

The post Vast American Dream Miami given boost via new area roads appeared first on Miami Today.