For Immediate Release:
 April 01, 2003

Media Contact:
Wayman Bannerman
wgb@miamidade.gov
305-375-4832


Problem-Ridden Richmond Heights Shopping Center Demolished to Make Space for New Development

Commissioner Moss Will Hold Community Meetings to Discuss Potential Usage


(Miami-Dade County, FL) -- A 47-year-old shopping center at the corner of Lincoln Boulevard and Carver Drive in Richmond Heights that became a sore spot in the community and was deemed unsafe by the Miami-Dade County Building Code Compliance Department was demolished on March 28, 2003, making room for a new development in the South Miami-Dade neighborhood. The property was targeted for redevelopment by County Commissioner Dennis Moss in his 1993 "Moss Plan," the Commissioner's economic revitalization plan for his district after the destruction of Hurricane Andrew. Commissioner Moss and the Miami-Dade Office of Community and Economic Development have overseen the fate of the property, which sits on a half-acre plot of land, since the County purchased it in 2001 with $257,419 in federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds.

"Unfortunately, the property was found to be unfit for rehabilitation because of severe building code violations, so it had to be demolished," said Commissioner Moss. "At least now, the space can be used for something positive in this community."

Commissioner Moss plans to hold meetings in the next two months with Richmond Heights community members to gain input on how the plot of land should be used, but said that he hopes to see some kind of facility built there that will inject new revenue into the area's economy.

The shopping center grew to be a sore spot in the Richmond Heights community because of various criminal activities. The demolition and relocation expenses for the three retailers leasing space at the property were also paid with CDBG funds because of the Uniform Relocation Act of 1974, which mandates such provisions for residents of properties acquired with CDBG money.
 

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MIAMI-DADE COUNTY COMMISSIONER DENNIS MOSS DISTRICT 9