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Cutler Bay’s development called Legacy Park now can move forward.
The town conducted a special mail-in election with a deadline of 7 p.m. Mar. 22 to vote on a General Obligation Bond for up to $37 million to fund the construction of a park, community center and municipal complex — which would include a new town hall.
The bond was approved with 3,340 votes in favor of the measure and 1,699 votes against it. Cutler Bay has 28,840 registered voters, so only 17.5 percent returned their ballots by the deadline.
The project, to be built on a 16-acre parcel along Old Cutler Road and SW 212th Street, formerly known as the “potato field,” will allow for the relocation of the Town Hall complex from the property adjacent to Southland Mall. That property was traded in exchange for the property on Old Cutler Road that had been zoned for up to 480 residential units.
Mayor Tim Meerbott is excited about the project.
“Since we incorporated in 2005, Cutler Bay residents have regularly approached the council to express their concerns about vacant parcels in town being developed into more residences and the added traffic that would bring,” Mayor Meerbott said in a released statement.
“We heard our residents and took action to ease some of their concerns by acquiring this land and stopping the possibility of more residential units. Now, it will become the jewel of south Miami-Dade, a central space our community and future generations will enjoy.”
The bond would be paid back through a slight increase in property taxes over the next 30 years, likely in a series of steps as funds are needed for the project.
According to town officials, next to be done is for an RFQ (Request for Qualifications) to be issued to find and select the best qualified architectural firm to design the site and lead the public involvement meetings. That process is expected to take several months.
Town manager Rafael Casals thinks Legacy Park will open in four to five years.
“Over the next year or so we’re going to be doing the most challenging part of this project — that is to decide the final design for this site, what it will look like, what features we will go with,” Casals said.
“We’ve received over 850 resident surveys with some feedback and ideas, but now we’re going to be holding a series of public involvement meetings and really digging deep to learn what our community wants,” Casals added. “It’s extremely important that residents be involved in this process so we can make sure this project is truly a representation of our wonderful community.”
