Developers Wanted In Miami For 23.7M SF Redevelopment Of Government Complex
Miami-Dade County is searching for developers to redevelop a swath of buildings it owns into a project as large as 23.7M SF.
The county opened the bidding process Wednesday, offering up 17 acres around 111 Northwest First St. to replace 1.1M SF of existing government buildings, parking lots and a small amount of retail, a parcel dubbed MetroCenter. Miami-Dade is offering the land on a 99-year ground lease with the developer that submits and presents the winning proposal.
In total, the site houses 11 properties. These include a section of the Cultural Plaza and HistoryMiami Museum at 20 Northwest First Ave., government parking spaces at 120 and 150 Northwest Second Ave. and extra parking available at the Children’s Courthouse located at 155 Northwest Third St. The site also includes the Hickman office space located at 275 Northwest Second St., The Real Deal reported.
While developers can build a broad variety of commercial uses, the county's RFP stipulates the county wants new space to replace the old: 36K SF of offices for commissioners, conference rooms, 7K SF of chamber space, 60K SF of office space for a parks department headquarters, a new space for HistoryMiami, a new Downtown Miami Public Library, 45K SF of health, wellness and recreation space, daycare space and 2,000 county parking spots.
The county's priority, as stated in the RFP, is mixed-income housing and high-density commercial development — the site could accommodate between 17M and 23.7M SF. The county wants developers to include hospitality, retail and office space and is seeking mixed-used spaces for educational and tourism facilities, which will be a walk from Miami Brightline's Central Station and connected to the Government Center Metrorail and Metromover stops.
It's unclear when the county expects to choose a winning bid, but the RFP states that it expects construction to commence within 24 months of the development agreement being struck.
