The city of Miami is "withholding the master permit" for Miami Freedom Park, the site of the future Inter Miami soccer stadium, until the developers "pay the remainder" of the $25M that they "agreed to contribute toward park improvements and a public promenade," according to Tess Riski of the MIAMI HERALD. Records show the city "sent invoices totaling" $12.5M to a Miami Freedom Park official on Jan. 8. According to Assistant City Manager Asael Marrero, the payment "was due two days later on Jan. 10" when the city "issued a permit for the next phase of construction, allowing crews to begin building vertically." The city noted that Miami Freedom Park "paid the first 50% last year": $2.5M for the Baywalk-Riverwalk on Nov. 8 and $10M for parks on Dec. 26. Emails show the city "approved an 'early start' for the developers on Jan. 3," giving them permission to "begin vertical construction-- building upwards -- before they had the permit in hand." The city noted that a week later on Jan. 10, it "issued the vertical permit," which "should have triggered" the $12.5M payment from Miami Freedom Park (MIAMI HERALD, 1/17).
LEGACY ACT: Riski in a separate piece noted on display behind Miami Mayor Francis Suarez during his final State of the City address on Wednesday were "construction workers, a handful of cranes and the skeleton of what will one day become Suarez’s big-ticket legacy project," the future Inter Miami stadium. Suarez said, "Not only do I challenge anyone to find me a better deal. I’d actually like to know if there is one." Suarez stated that the project, which is "privately financed while getting funding from the state," will generate $2B in revenue for the city (MIAMI HERALD, 1/16).
