Grand Central Park Opens Today, But Is It A Waste Of Taxpayers' $200,000?

Grand Central Park

​When Tiffany Dallas, a master's student at Florida International University, started researching her thesis on redeveloping Overtown, she was fascinated by Grand Central owner Brad Knoefler's plan to turn a blighted patch of land opposite his club -- once the home of the Miami Arena -- into a temporary urban park. But the more Dallas studied the plan, the more she questioned why taxpayers should spend $200,000 on a park that will disappear in two years. 

Dallas spoke last week with Knoefler to get his take on her criticism. The Grand Central owner concedes that he fell months behind schedule on opening the park, but says a sluggish city bureaucracy is to blame.

And even if the park is only temporary, Knoefler argues it will improve quality of life in a long blighted corner of town.

"When more people are out and about, residents would be more apt to report illegal behavior to the authorities," he says. "When you work with people from the community, you will get results."

Here's Dallas's essay in full. Below, you can read her Q&A with Knoefler.

History has shown us that any large development if left unchecked leads to the displacement of African American communities. The land that once was a part of these neighborhoods become something so unrecognizable that all we have left are the memories of what once stood. There is another problem brewing in Overtown. A local developer Brad Knoefler has proposed the construction of "Florida's first instant park", to be completed in 30 days. He is so confident in his deadline that he has been working with landscape architect Walter Meyer, on a documentary called How to Build a Park in 30 Days.

But groundbreaking took place on October 18th -- a full three months ago -- which already means he has failed to meet one of his promises.

That is just the edge of the quagmire of issues associated with this project. Grand Central Park Miami is currently under construction on the five acre property located at 700 NW 1st Ave, where the old arena once stood. Mr.Knoefler had proposed the idea to the CRA with $200,000 of their money can create a self-sustaining green park that also can be used for events. It would generate revenue by charging admission and parking for those who live outside the limits of the CRA.

This all sounds great, if you don't listen. The land is private, yet the money from the CRA actually is public, since it is generated from property taxes from those living in the area. Mr.Knoefler has also personally guaranteed to pay Mr. Straub the monthly lease of $22,917. Even more intriguing is that the full terms of the agreements are unknown and unavailable to the public. Initially, the park would not be entirely open to the public due to limitations largely attributed to expensive insurance costs. The length of the limitations is also unknown.

Perhaps what stands out most of all is that the park is not even planned to be a fixed area within Overtown. It is only temporary for the next two years. Which coincidentally is about the same amount of time that is will take Straub to obtain construction permits for a convention center.

This project is a waste of Community Redevelopment Agency money. Public funding is used to develop private land temporarily while permits are being processed to build something that most likely will not even benefit members of the community. Knoefler had proposed this park last year as an attempt to create green space, eradicate blight within Overtown. The site had been littered with construction debris. Green space is great, if it was permanent.

Instead of using CRA money to fund this project, why didn't Knoefler pay for it himself or fine Straub daily for not maintaining the site and letting it remain an eyesore? Just because you own land within the inner city doesn't mean you do not have to maintain it. Overtown desperately needs redevelopment solutions to benefit the community as a whole instead of being used as a pawn in rich developers chess game. We should not stand by and let those with more political power do as they wish. The last time that happened in Overtown I-95 and I-395 were constructed and bisected the area into four quadrants, delegitimizing Overtown's role as the center of Black Miami. We must come together and plan for the future of one of our most influential communities.

Here's Dallas's question-and-answer with Knoefler:

Dallas: Why was the project delayed by two-plus months?

Knoefler: Government red tape, specifically the city of Miami's inefficient payment system, and their retracting on a promise of top soil as roadblocks that slowed park construction. $10,000 was needed to purchase the top soil required for planting. The CRA had approved payments to the City of Miami and the vendors paid late, resulting a two-week program delay over the holidays. My team and I had actually completed phase one in 30 days. It included site work, planting of 250 trees and pathways that comprised 80 percent of the work necessary for completion."

I hope that Grand Central Miami will become a fixed area within Overtown. I agree with Mr. Knoefler that it could be the catalyst to begin the process of neighborhood redevelopment which is severely needed. If the park does stay, it will not be a waste of taxpayer money. Yes, most of us are concerned with job creation but cleaning up the landscape has the ability to attract new businesses, which in turn will bring jobs. We are all aware of the difficulties of finding work, despite unemployment decreasing by 2.5 percent recently. This may sound positive, but keep in mind that the unemployment rate only counts those that are actively seeking work, those who are not are not included in this figure. In reality, Miami isn't doing as well as most think. If the temporary plans remain and a convention center does appear, then we will clearly see a waste of our money. For now, it is far too soon to make that call.

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