Miami’s Future Growth Must Be Shared, Sustained, and Strategic.

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Francis X. Suarez, Mayor of Miami

Miami is back. And the rest of the country has taken notice. But just as we have captured the imagination of the country, we must capture theses new opportunities to make our residents lives better. Simply put: this must be more than a great Miami moment, this must be a greater Miami movement. Driving Miami’s continued economic growth needs to rest on three governing principles.

First, it needs to be a shared prosperity. Unlike past periods of growth, we need to build in a shared vision and shared mechanism for our residents to access a growing market and to activate our greatest resource—our people. Our vision for bringing high-quality, high-paying jobs to our City is to prepare Miami RESIDENTS and their CHILDREN for the future and to create the next generation of leaders right here in Miami. We realize that drawing owners and executives of tech companies to Miami is not enough: we need to put our people first—by building and investing in a workforce development pipeline—from MDC to FIU and UM!

This extends to small businesses and entrepreneurs who have struggled over the past year. This why we launched both an Emergency Rental & Utility Assistance program and an Eviction Prevention Program, helping just over 690 low-income City households that suffered job loss, reduced income, or were facing possible eviction due to COVID-19, with close to $1 million in aid expended to date. And we have rolled out the Miami Mortgage Assistance Program for Miami homeowners who had fallen behind on their mortgages due to COVID-19 hardships, helping about 100 households since then with assistance totaling $737,820 to date. And today, I am proud to announce that we have received an additional $140 million dollars in funding from the federal government; and we will work with the Commission at the next Special Commission Meeting to ensure our residents receive immediate relief.

Second, it needs to be a strategic prosperity. Now time to thrive, not just survive. We can no longer rely simply on our tax climate, tourism, and warm weather. We must look forward to competing for and capturing the industries of the future that will drive our growth, deliver value, foster new businesses, and generate more high-paying jobs for all of our residents. Over the past year, Miami has run three targeted business assistance programs for Miami businesses that suffered a loss of revenue due to COVID-19, helping 92 businesses to date, with just over $1.3 million combined in assistance expended. This also requires a pro-active strategy toward leveraging our location and local talent. For example, Miami can be the biotech and medical technology hub of the hemisphere. We already have multiple top-rated hospitals along with medical schools and a vast transportation capacity. We have the building blocks of a tech cluster that could attract global talent and deliver cutting edge medical care for our residents and for thousands of visitors each year!

Third, it needs to be a sustained prosperity. It isn’t just about importing the worlds brightest minds, we already have them HERE in Miami. Our next challenge is focused on forming and fostering Miami’s brightest minds by ensuring that Miami has a world-class education system!  Right now, 76% of African American and 62% of Hispanics could get shut out or be under-prepared for 86% of jobs in the US by 2045. (Apjit Walia, September 2, 2020) But right here in Miami, we produce one of the largest amounts of Hispanic engineers and African American STEM scientists in America (Ishoof, 2020). And as long as I am Mayor of Miami, we will do everything in our power to expand these opportunities for ALL OF OUR CHILDREN so they can LIVE, WORK, THRIVE, and STAY in Miami.

We cannot have a growing economy without an affordable housing market for our workers, our owners, and our children. Over the past year, we have finalized contracts for $10.1 million in Miami Forever bond funding for seven new housing developments that have started construction or will start construction in 2021. Leveraging those dollars to the tune of 20 to 1 will give us $200 million dollars of projects for $10 Million dollars of government investment. Once completed, these new sites will add 722 much needed rental units for low-income and workforce households in the City — part of the first tranche of the Miami Forever Bond dollars set for housing-related efforts.

We have administered both an Emergency Rental & Utility Assistance program and an Eviction Prevention Program, helping just over 690 low-income City households that suffered job loss, reduced income, or were facing possible eviction due to COVID-19, with close to $1 million in aid expended to date. And we have rolled out the Miami Mortgage Assistance Program for Miami homeowners who had fallen behind on their mortgages due to COVID-19 hardships, helping about 100 households since then with assistance totaling $737,820 to date. And today, I am proud to announce that we have received an additional $140 million dollars in funding from the federal government; and we will work with the Commission at the next Special Commission Meeting to ensure our residents receive immediate relief.

What worked in the past will not work in the future. And those who look to the past cannot lead for the future. Our future prosperity must be shared, sustained, and strategic. It must reflect the needs and diversity of our city. And it must include the creativity, ambition, and innovation of Miami residents who have built more than just a city but a future for their children.


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