A notice about the future of North Park at Scott Carver left longtime resident Caprice Brown believing her Liberty City housing complex could be demolished.
The notice referenced demolition and the federal Rental Assistance Demonstration program, known as RAD. Brown said previous meetings about the property’s future had been canceled, leaving residents unsure of what was actually being proposed.
“All of a sudden now, they putting these notes on our door,” Brown said. “We weren't warned about this.”
But Miami-Dade housing officials told The Miami Times that demolition is not part of the plan currently being contemplated.
Instead, North Park could change ownership and undergo renovations through RAD, which would convert its public housing assistance from Section 9 to Section 8 and potentially bring additional money into a property where residents and officials acknowledge significant maintenance needs.
“Nothing is set in stone yet,” said Kyle Flood, director of the Development Division for Miami-Dade County Housing and Community Development (HCD). “Nothing has been approved by the board yet. Everything is very preliminary.”
The county learned over the summer that affiliates of McCormack Baron, North Park’s current owner and management company, were discussing selling their ownership interest and transferring management responsibilities to Smith & Henzy, Flood said. The prospective owner has expressed interest in renovating the existing apartments rather than demolishing them.
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North Park at Scott Carver contains 354 apartments and townhomes, including 177 public housing units that could be affected by the proposed conversion of the property’s public housing assistance, according to Miami-Dade County records.
For Brown, promises of renovations come after years of watching the property deteriorate.
Walking through North Park, she pointed to tarps stretched across the roofs of several buildings and grass and vegetation growing around the property. Brown said residents have complained about roof leaks, flooding and mold, along with difficulty getting maintenance issues resolved.
“We deserve better management and a safe and respectful place to live,” Brown said. “We are people, not just numbers on a redevelopment plan.”
Brown said some residents are reluctant to speak publicly about conditions at North Park because they fear retaliation from management. She said residents have worried that raising complaints could jeopardize their housing.
“It’s hard to get people out here because people scared to open their mouth,” Brown said. “But I cannot be afraid at this point. I have to say something.”
Bernadine Dent, who has lived at North Park since it opened about 14 years ago, has her own history with the property.
Dent uses a wheelchair and said she spent seven years fighting McCormack Baron, with help from Legal Aid, to obtain a wheelchair-accessible ramp and parking space near her building. Before the ramp, she said, leaving her building sometimes required traveling in the street.
“I can’t get out of my building,” Dent recalled. “I had to fight them seven years with Legal Aid and ADA approval for a handicap spot and a ramp.”
Miami-Dade officials acknowledged receiving complaints from North Park residents.
“We have received quite a few complaints from residents out there, and we’ve addressed them each individually,” said Victor Atkins, HCD’s assistant director for housing programs.
Atkins said McCormack Baron remains responsible under its current agreements for addressing problems at the property. When HCD receives a complaint, he said, the department sends it to the company through its liaison and follows up on the corresponding work order.
Tanya Ragsdale, a regional manager with McCormack Baron, declined to comment on residents’ concerns and referred questions to the company’s corporate office.
McCormack Baron also acknowledged “deferred maintenance and capital needs” at North Park in a statement to The Miami Times.
The company attributed those needs to several factors, including insufficient Section 9 operating subsidies, depleted reserves, pandemic disruptions and rising insurance and operating costs.
“Our first priority remains safe, quality, affordable housing for North Park at Scott Carver residents,” the company said.
Atkins said the county agrees with that assessment in part.
“I don’t know if we would actually say that that is the total sum of what has occurred out of North Park, but yes, there has been a lack of funding,” Atkins said.
That funding gap is part of the argument for RAD. Section 9 operating subsidies are generally lower than funding available under the Section 8 platform, Atkins said.
Flood said the prospective owner is considering a “refresh” of the existing units and could seek additional financing through the Florida Housing Finance Corporation.
The terminology surrounding that process contributed to residents’ fears that their homes would instead be torn down.
“I think the confusion perhaps comes in with the fact that the actual action that you must submit to HUD is referred to as a demolition/disposition application,” Atkins said, “but demolition would not be involved.”
That clarification was news to Brown and Dent, who said the information they had received led them to believe demolition remained a possibility.
Residents are expected to have an opportunity to ask questions at a community meeting Thursday, Oct. 8, at the NFL YET Center.
Even if the buildings remain standing, renovations could temporarily displace residents from their apartments.
Flood estimated relocation could last roughly 30 to 45 days, depending on the condition of a unit. Residents could stay in another available unit at North Park, an extended-stay hotel or temporarily leased housing nearby, he said.
HUD’s RAD rules require relocation costs to be covered and give residents in good standing the right to return following temporary relocation. Miami-Dade also requires a tenant relocation agreement providing a local right to return, Flood said.
Those protections are particularly important to Dent.
Before moving to North Park, she lived in the former Scott-Carver public housing development. She said she was displaced when it was demolished, and recalled ending up in a hotel with her children and riding buses while trying to secure another place to live.
“I don’t want to be another story that sits on a bus stop handicapped with nowhere to live,” Dent said.
Miami-Dade Commissioner Marleine Bastien, whose district includes portions of Liberty City and who chairs the County Commission committee overseeing housing matters, has also become involved.
Dent said Bastien’s office previously helped her during a dispute over renewing her lease at North Park.
“The Commissioner will remain engaged throughout the process to ensure residents are protected and receive assistance,” Bastien’s office said in a statement to The Miami Times.
For now, Flood stressed that the sale has not been completed, the RAD conversion has not been approved, and residents are not being immediately relocated.
Thursday’s meeting could provide residents with more details about what comes next.
Brown said residents want improvements at North Park, but what they want before those changes begin is a clearer role in deciding what happens to the place they call home.
“Before anything happens to our homes, residents deserve transparency and a voice in the process,” Brown said.
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.
