A multibillion dollar plan to redevelop more than 60 acres of public land in Little River and Little Haiti has moved closer to becoming a reality — marking a qualified victory for labor advocates seeking jobsite protections for construction workers.
On Tuesday, the Miami-Dade County Commission’s Housing Committee advanced a proposal from the Swerdlow Group to reconstruct a collection of public housing buildings in what’s been touted as one of the biggest redevelopments in Miami’s history. The proposal calls for more than 5,000 mixed-income housing units, the introduction of big box stores and a new Tri-Rail station.
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Members of the Build a Better Miami Coalition — a collection of resident and labor advocacy groups — attended the public meeting to express their concerns and make requests of the developers. Namely:
— Responsible subcontractors who protect construction workers on the project.
— Heat protections for workers during construction.
— More affordable housing for people who make less than $90,000 a year.
— Living wages for the jobs created by the new development.
— A grant fund for local businesses to keep them from being displaced.
In response to a bevy of public comments at the housing committee meeting, the developers committed from the dais to protect workers from heat while on the job, should the project be approved.
“This is a historic moment for Miami’s construction workers,” said Candido, a construction worker and member of the labor advocacy group WeCount! “This win proves that developers can and must take responsibility for the safety of their workforce.”
From 2011 to 2022, an average of 40 American workers a year died and 3,389 were injured from exposure to environmental heat, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration said last year. The Environmental Protection Agency found that from 1992 to 2022, a total of 986 workers across all industry sectors in the United States died from exposure to heat. This represents an average of 34 deaths per year.
Last year, the Florida legislature and Gov. Ron DeSantis preempted local governments from passing any laws that would require contractors to protect workers from extreme heat. By working those protections into a lease agreement, this proposal circumvents that preemption.
The developers also responded to the request from Build a Better Miami members about protecting local businesses. Little Haiti resident Ashley Toussaint requested that the county and the developer put aside at least $1 million in grant funding for local businesses that may be displaced by the project’s construction.
Michael Swerdlow of the Swerdlow Group said that won’t be necessary.
“In the construction of this project, no small business will be relocated or affected,” Swerdlow said.
Swerdlow added that local businesses will benefit from national brands, like Home Depot, entering the area because he believes it will attract more visitors and consumers.
Residents of the existing Little River public housing units are not as pleased with Swerdlow’s commitments, as they feel left out of a process that stands to change their lives.
“We are confused. No one has talked to us about this enormous project which will impact our daily life. We residents of subsidized housing want and need an opportunity,” said Erica Varela, resident of Victoria Homes, a county-owned public housing project.
Miami-Dade County Commissioners Marlene Bastien and Eileen Higgins urged the developer and the county’s Department of Public Housing and Community Development (PHCD) to do more community engagement about the project with online meetings to hear all resident concerns.
Bastien also encouraged PHCD to add the requests from the community groups to a “Community Benefits Agreement” between the county and Swerdlow Group. PHCD Director Alex Ballina said he would speak with county attorneys to see what additional benefits could be added.
The committee voted unanimously to move the proposal forward. The item will now go before the full county commission at a later meeting.
