Bringing Miami Together
Bringing Miami Together
Bringing Miami Together
As we kickoff 2023, we reflect on 2022, a year full of collaboration, community engagement and lots of hard work by the Underdeck Committee and our partners. In conjunction with the City of Miami, the planning and development of this generational project has demonstrated the value and productivity of private and public sector groups working together for the benefit of the people of Miami. An important milestone was reached in November when the Underdeck Executive Committee approved a fully compiled Recommendations Report which documents the comprehensive work product of the Committee’s Working Groups throughout last year. This report was submitted to the City Manager in December and can be reviewed here. You can also view key takeaways from our work in 2022 in our “Year In Review” document, found here.
“The Underdeck” is a 33-acre public space that will be developed, under a reconstructed I-395, as a part of the “Signature Bridge” project. The Signature Bridge project is a partnership between the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and the City of Miami.
The Underdeck originates in Overtown and extends to Biscayne Bay near the Perez Art Museum Miami. Upon completion, the space will have a significant amount of green space and will also contain community based programming such as a heritage trail, legacy wall, pedestrian bridge, water fountains, plazas, recreation spaces, installations and concessions, among other features.
As a public space separate from the Signature Bridge, with its own identity and needs, this Underdeck website is designed to inform and engage the public, the community and all stakeholders.
As plans for the I-395 Signature Bridge solidified in 2019, concerned stakeholders at the Town Square Neighborhood Development Corporation (TSNDC) formed an ad hoc group, the Underdeck Advisory Board, to begin advocacy efforts for the public space beneath the expressway, currently known as “The Underdeck.” TSNDC is a Florida non-profit that was developed in 2011 to advocate for the needs of the area surrounding the Arsht, Museum Park, and American Airlines Arena.
The Underdeck Advisory Board consists of civic leaders, business leaders, philanthropic leaders, adjacent landowners, small business owners, nonprofits, and residents. Over the past three years, they have worked closely with City administration to advocate for state-level funding for this City of Miami project, to contribute to the development of the concept design submitted by the City to FDOT through their community engagement process, and to commit to solutions on this important project. This work unfolded into a formalized role when the City Commission approved a Memorandum of Understanding approving a collaborative planning process requiring heavy engagement and collaboration with all key stakeholders.
The Underdeck Advisory Board secured a Knight Foundation matching grant in the amount of $200,000 for the purpose of supporting community engagement in the planning and design of the Underdeck. TSNDC agreed to incubate the project for the purpose of receiving and administering the grant proceeds. Effective December 3, 2021, a Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) was entered into between the City of Miami and TSNDC. The fully executed MOU can be found in the footer in this website.
The parties intend to work in good faith to develop a mutually agreeable framework for design, implementation, operation, maintenance, programming and management of the Underdeck under a to-be-formed non profit corporation.
TSNDC formed the Underdeck Subcommittee Advisory Group (“USAG”) to promote and engage the community in support of the Underdeck project and to raise the funds to match the Knight Foundation grant and other expenses. In order to execute the work defined in the MOU, the USAG contracted LM Genuine Solutions to Manage Committee activities alongside the Executive Committee and Working Groups and serve as Lead Facilitator. The recommendations and deliverables that emerge from the MOU will be finalized and transmitted to the City for approval by the City’s governing body (the “City Commission”). Final recommendations are subject to approval by the USAG Executive Committee.
The Executive Committee is made up of:
This group has researched best practices on governance of public spaces and has been reviewing various governance structures nationally and locally. They are currently working on recommendations that would inform the governance of the public space. These recommendations will inform future bylaws.
Design and Working Group Update – The Concept Design
At the March Community Update, Mary Lydecker of Hargreaves Jones shared the design concept for The Underdeck space.
Consensus Plan
The City of Miami is working closely with FDOT and the Underdeck Committee to achieve a Consensus Plan. Once the Consensus Plan is achieved, any budget capital differential (delta) will be identified, and a joint funding development strategy will be developed by all parties to be considered by the City Commission. It is the administration’s intent to provide monthly progress updates to the City Commission until legislative action is brought forward for consideration.
The City of Miami has engaged WSP USA Solutions, Inc. and Hargreaves-Jones to manage and support the development and finalization of the Underdeck’s conceptual layout/design. City/FDOT Underdeck Group meetings/workshops have been held every Monday/Wednesday since December 3, 2021. Currently they, in conjunction with the Office of Capital Improvements, are working on:
The Underdeck Committee will continue to be in your Community.
Please check back here to see you where you can learn more about the Underdeck Committee and the Underdeck Project in 2023.
The Underdeck Committee will continue to be in your Community.
Join Us in December:
– Dec. 19 at 6:30pm: Virtual Meeting Calendar Invite (Option #1)
Register in advance for this meeting
– Dec. 20 at 9:00am: Virtual Meeting Calendar Invite (Option #2)
Your cloud recording is now available.
Topic: Underdeck Community Meeting Update (Option #2 Virtual)
– Dec. 20, 5:56 am Pacific Time (US and Canada)
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Your cloud recording is now available.
Topic: Underdeck Community Meeting Update (Option #1 Virtual)
– Dec. 19, 3:27 pm Pacific Time (US and Canada)
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– Community Update Meeting
Thursday, October 20th at 6:30 pm via Zoom
– Economic Development Special Interest Group
for Business Owners, Employers and Employees
Tuesday, October 11, 2022 at 6:30 pm
– Wednesday, September 7th, Overtown Performing Arts Center (OPAC), 1074 NW 3rd Ave
– Thursday, September 8th, Temple Israel of Greater Miami, 137 NE 19th St
Thursday, August 25th, 6:30pm
View meeting at the link below:
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Wednesday, July 13th, 6:30 pm
View meeting at the link below:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1X9PO43jiN8yEq4GbMkD3_efrsonBYMEG/view?usp=sharing
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Wednesday, June 1st, 6 pm
(Doors open at 5 pm)
900 Biscayne Bay
900 Biscayne Blvd
Miami, FL 33132
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Tuesday, May 31st, 6 pm
(Doors open at 5 pm)
Overtown, The Urban
1000 NW 2nd Ave
Miami, FL 33136
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Tuesday, April 19th, 6 pm
(Doors open at 5 pm)
Center for Black Innovation
937 NW 3rd Ave
Miami FL 33136
View meeting at the link below:
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Wednesday, April 20th 6 pm
(Doors open at 5 pm)
Biscayne Neighborhoods Association, Aria on the Bay
488 N.E. 18th Street
Miami, FL 33132Tuesday
View meeting at the link below:
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Passcode: $G.5Kk6G
Your survey results are in! Check out the Rebranding Research Report & Analysis Report developed by Jacober Creative as a result of your survey input, bringing us one step closer to name recommendations for The Underdeck.
Alan Fein is a Shareholder in Stearns Weaver Miller’s Litigation Department and a member of the Firm’s Board of Directors. For over three decades, Alan has successfully handled complex business litigation in South Florida and in the leading business courts in the nation, including the Delaware Court of Chancery, the Delaware Supreme Court, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Second Circuit, Eleventh Circuit and the District of Columbia. At the same time, he has developed one of the region’s most vibrant sports law practices, and brought vision and leadership to a number of community leadership roles.