Residents, elected officials and community leaders gathered this month in Historic Overtown to celebrate the grand opening of 16 Corner, a multi-family affordable housing development project that restored five aging buildings into 44 modern apartments without displacing a single resident.
The renovation represents an achievement in a city grappling with rising rents and redevelopment pressure. Protected by a 30-year restrictive covenant, units are rent-stabilized for families earning between 30% and 90% Area Median Income (AMI), with some residents paying as little as $537 in monthly rent — far below the area’s medianof $2,400.
A model for anti-displacement
Originally designated unsafe in 2018, the historic 1950s garden apartments faced a future that likely ended in demolition. Instead, a public-private partnership redirected that trajectory. The Omni Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA), The Vagabond Group, Mt. Zion Community Development Corporation (CDC), the City of Miami and Miami-Dade County Housing and Community Development collaborated to save the structures.
Construction began in early 2019 and was intentionally phased at one building per year to ensure residents could remain housed. The first building was completed within months, allowing residents to return as early as May 2019. The renovated complex includes units ranging from studios to three-bedroom apartments.
City of Miami District 2 Commissioner and Omni CRA Chair Damian Pardo called the outcome extraordinary.
“This is such an unusual feat that has been accomplished here today,” Pardo said. “It hasn't displaced anyone. I feel like this project is a heart and soul project, and it really builds the character of the neighborhood and preserves the identity.”
District 5 Commissioner Christine King, chairwoman of the Southeast Overtown/Park West CRA, said the redevelopment was rooted in intentionality and respect for legacy residents.
"We are not forgetting the residents who have been here from day one," King said. "This is one step, and we hope that the families that are here can transition into their forever homes."
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Pardo noted that the Omni CRA invested $3.8 million in the project, while Miami-Dade County contributed about $1.2 million.
Speaking on behalf of Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, Miami-Dade County Chief Operating Officer Jimmy Morales placed 16 Corner within the county’s broader housing efforts, noting that Miami-Dade helped deliver more than 3,400 new housing units in 2025. Since 2020, he said, the county has built more than 9,000 units, with another 12,000 currently in the pipeline.
For longtime residents like Latika Johnson, the transformation is personal. Johnson lived in Overtown since she was 14, moved away, and eventually returned about a year ago to witness the neighborhood’s changes. She lives in a remodeled unit behind the newly renovated 16 Corner buildings.
“I lived in Overtown before, and apartments were not like this,” Johnson said, noting the significant improvement in her quality of life. “Overtown came from the bottom, but now it’s different. Everything is better.”
Preservation over demolition
Unlike many affordable housing projects, which introduce large new developments to historically working-class neighborhoods, 16 Corner focused on preserving existing housing.
“Most of the time when you think about affordable housing, you think about new mega-structures,” said Miami-Dade County District 3 Commissioner Keon Hardemon. “What’s special here is that we didn’t do that. This was about preserving affordability and improving the standard of living for the people already here.”
Hardemon explained that properties like 16 Corner often sit neglected until investors aggregate them for demolition because renovation costs are high and profits are low. Community redevelopment agencies, he added, change that equation, allowing governments to partner with developers aligned with community goals.
"When you look around Overtown, Overtown has many buildings that are similar to this," Hardemon said. "We want to ensure that we continue to invest in those smaller buildings so that the people who are in Overtown, who have lived there, continue to live there. But now they live there in more dignity than they used to in the past."
For decades, Hardemon noted, Overtown was defined by headlines about poor living conditions. Projects like 16 Corner are helping shift that narrative.
“The streets and the community are looking much better,” he said. “Soon, these vacant lots will not be here anymore. That’s the sign of a healthy, grown community.”
Faith-based development
A key partner in the project was the Mt. Zion Community Development Corporation, affiliated with the historic Mt. Zion Baptist Church.
Rev. Walter “Pete” Peterson, vice chair of the Mt. Zion CDC, described 16 Corner as both a spiritual and practical investment.
“The book tells us that without a vision, the people perish,” Peterson said. “For people, this is a start—an opportunity toward homeownership, toward working from home, toward stability.”
Larry Capp, chair of the Mt. Zion CDC, said 16 Corner is only the beginning. He announced plans for a future affordable housing development known as Graham Ross Tower, named after the church’s two longest-serving ministers.
The project, planned for the church’s parking lot, is expected to break ground in 2026. It may even include space for Jackson’s Soul Food, a local restaurant favorite specializing in home-style cooking.
Challenges behind the scenes
The 16 Corner project wasn’t all smooth sailing. Behind the fresh paint and modern finishes was a complicated and often frustrating development process.
Avra Jain, founder of The Vagabond Group, said preserving affordable housing in aging buildings requires significant personal and financial sacrifice. She waived her developer fee and personally financed portions of construction to keep the project moving despite post-pandemic economic volatility.
"First building was $700,000. The last building, a million dollars,” she said.
Jain also described serious infrastructure challenges, including the discovery that none of the buildings were connected to a functioning sewer system. She recalled a moment when she refused to connect new plumbing to a compromised city pipe.
"What's stuck in the pipe is an old plumber snake," she said. "I am not connecting to that pipe. Clearly they had plumbing issues for a long time.”
The issue was resolved only after intervention from the Miami-Dade County Mayor’s office, highlighting what Jain described as the need for more streamlined coordination between agencies.
She also pointed to regulatory delays, including a year-long holdup over framing inspections and confusion about sidewalk jurisdiction. Jain called for a dedicated “hotline” for affordable housing developers and more flexibility around parking and setback requirements on small lots.
Those challenges, Pardo said, reflect deeper infrastructure issues across the city.
"It doesn't do you any good to be an affordable apartment that floods," Pardo told The Miami Times. “Right now we only have 10% of our stormwater master plan as a city-funded, so that means of a $4 billion plan, we've only funded 400 million."
Pardo said the City Commission is already discussing placing a bond measure on the August ballot to address urgent infrastructure needs, driven by gaps left in the Miami Forever Bond after inflation drove up project costs.
This story was produced by The Miami Times, one of the oldest Black-owned newspapers in the country, as part of a content sharing partnership with the WLRN newsroom. Read more at miamitimesonline.com.
