Two weeks ago, seventy members of South Miami’s business community came to City Hall to their view of the local economic climate to the City Commission. Local merchants noted that the internet has changed retailing forever, but they asked for two things: a friendlier parking environment and more residential housing in the downtown. No disagreement on parking. Can we add more residential and preserve our “small town character”?
I’ve asked South Miami residents what “small town character” means to them. They’ve told me it means being able to walk to the stores where they shop. It means being comfortable and safe walking or biking around town. Shade trees should line the streets, and the downtown streetscape should have a human scale. It means bumping into people you know when you shop or dine out, and having the staff at your favorite store or restaurant recognize you when you enter. It’s a good place to raise kids and walk your dog. You can get to know your elected officials.
The new economy has not been kind to small towns in America. Those that have not become bedroom communities to larger cities have seen their downtown streets wither while the new Walmart at the edge of town provides minimum wage jobs without benefits. In this challenging climate, South Miami stands to lose its small town commercial district, character and all, unless we draw more patrons to our downtown. South Miami has entered a zero sum competition with Miracle Mile, Coconut Grove, Merrick Park, Dadeland, and even Wynwood – it’s a jungle out there. A walk around our downtown reveals some changes. South Miami’s patrons are becoming younger, hipper, and less car oriented. Shops that sell home decorations are not their thing, but they are flocking to shops like Tea and Poets. Sidewalk eateries that serve food by the piece on chunks of wood are packed. Some restaurants in the white tablecloth tradition are thriving, but not all. We will not turn the clock back to the days before internet and Uber but we can encourage development of more residential units downtown that will bring more foot traffic to our downtown.
Apartments near Metrorail are in high demand. I hear the new building on the Metrorail site will include some residential units. Shops at Sunset will be reworked to create human scale facades on Sunset and Red, the barren side of Red Road will be redone to include shade trees, bike lanes, and shop windows, and the perennially vacant north end will include apartments and a hotel. Reconfigured, the City Hall site could include residential as could the blocks of asphalt surface lots south of SW 73rd Street. When it comes to small town character, “mixed use” beats the strip mall every time. If we go back to the definitions of “small town character,” we will find the needed transformation consistent with those qualities, and able to provide the injection of life that our downtown merchants need.
For more information, contact me at 305-342-0161 or send emails to MayorStoddard@gmail.com.
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