If you’ve driven US 1 from Southwest 184th Street to Homestead recently, you’ve likely seen the changes: a rapid transit line now runs through the corridor, new developments are rising, and the former Southland Mall is being reimagined.
More than three decades after Hurricane Andrew devastated south Miami-Dade, leaving 250,000 residents homeless, the region is at a turning point.
What was once a disaster zone is now one of the county’s fastest-changing corridors. But as growth accelerates, so does the question of how to preserve the communities that endured the hardest years.
Rebuilding after Andrew
For longtime residents and civic leaders, South Dade’s growth story begins with recovery. Wilbur B. Bell remembers the devastation firsthand.
“Everything got blown away. My business, a Perrine staple grocery store, was shut down for almost two years,” Bell recalled.
Then, local community members and business owners came together and took the lead in rebuilding South Dade through the Cutler Ridge Council — now the Economic Development Council (EDC) South Miami-Dade — of which Bell is a founding member. That effort helped lay the groundwork for future development, particularly through critical infrastructure.
“The only way we could really build something out … was to extend the sewer line down U.S. 1,” Bell said. “By doing that, we create more value, a lot of value for the county and for the residents.”
Peter A. England, the EDC’s chief strategic officer, said the council eventually fueled incorporation efforts in Pinecrest, Palmetto Bay and Cutler Bay.
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Today, he views South Dade as one of the county’s last frontiers.
“Within Miami-Dade, there’s not a whole lot of developable area left. By default, we wind up as the target,” he said.
That growth brings both opportunity and pressure.
“The growth is going to come,” England said. “It’s the managing of that growth that’s going to be the challenge to all of us, to government and the private sector as well.”
Long-awaited investment
County Commissioner Kionne McGhee, who represents District 9 and grew up there, said the current momentum is the result of years of groundwork in infrastructure and public-private partnerships.
“If you had stood at the corner of US 1 and 184th Street ten years ago and tried to describe what South Dade would look like today, most people would have told you it sounded like a dream. And in a lot of ways, it was,” McGhee said. “For too long, we were the part of Miami-Dade that got mentioned last, funded last and remembered last.”
Among the most visible changes is the South Dade TransitWay connecting Florida City to Dadeland. McGhee called it a turning point for a region burdened by "super-commuting."
“Before the TransitWay opened in October, a commute from Florida City to Dadeland could eat up two hours of your day,” he said.
While concerns remain about traffic signals and wait times, McGhee said the county continues to work on those issues, noting railway as the long-term goal.
“The 20-mile dedicated corridor was always meant to carry trains, not just buses, and I will keep fighting until the day we cut the ribbon on a real rail system from Florida City to Dadeland.”
The corridor is already driving housing. McGhee pointed to Quail Roost Station, which opened in April 2025 with 200 affordable apartments, among other transit-oriented developments.
“Connecting people to transit only matters if they can afford to live near it. That is the whole idea behind transit-oriented development, and South Dade is finally getting it right,” McGhee said.
In Cutler Bay, officials are also planning around transit access. Town manager Rafael Casals said redevelopment of the former Southland Mall into Southplace City Center reflects decades of resident input.
“The vision from the residents in 2002 in that area was to make it look like the next hub, like downtown Dadeland or Downtown Doral,” Casals said.
The 83-acre mixed-use project is expected to include 5,500 residential units, a 120-key hotel and expanded retail space.
District 8 County Commissioner Danielle Cohen Higgins, who represents Palmetto Bay, Cutler Bay and Homestead, described Southplace as a “prime example of strategic growth done right.”
“Its proximity to the transit corridor makes it a smart investment that supports transit and avoids sprawl,” she said.
Casals said future investments in civic infrastructure are also part of that strategy.
“In five years, the Old Cutler Road corridor will be built out. We will have a new town hall, pool and community center in Central Park (Legacy Park), and by us being there, it’s going to attract a lot more restaurants that are still interested in going to that corridor as well,” he said.
Jobs closer to home
Even as South Dade’s population has grown, many residents still leave the area for work. England said that the imbalance has worsened traffic and quality of life across the region.
“The idea of creating jobs in South Dade is critically important, and further, given what's happened to the cost of living, it's not just a matter of creating jobs, but rather creating good jobs,” he said.
The EDC is targeting industries like aerospace, healthcare and logistics.
“At one point, Miami-Dade was really a service-based economy, largely around tourism and agriculture,” England said. “Unfortunately, those service jobs really don’t put bread on the table anymore.”
Aerospace is at the top of the list, with the Homestead Air Reserve Base (HARB) and nearby land designated as spaceport territory, unlocking incentives through state partners like Space Florida and positioning the region as a hub for aviation, defense and space-related manufacturing.
“This is going to provide the kind of well-paid jobs that this county demands,” England said.
He noted that the HARB is the biggest economic engine in South Dade, generating over $364 million into the local economy infiscal year 2023.
Homestead city manager Nzeribe Ihekwaba confirmed that companies are moving in, including Global Engine Stands (GES), which recently signed a 10-year lease, as first reported by the South Florida Business Journal.
“They are moving in and will be creating dozens of new jobs,” Ihekwaba said. “We are offering them assistance to make sure their transition is successful.”
Healthcare is expanding, too, with an emphasis on pharmaceutical manufacturing and medical services.
“We’re working closely right now with Noven Pharmaceutical — help them with their job training needs,” England said.
One of the most anticipated projects is the new Costco on long-vacant land in West Perrine, which broke ground on March 30. It is projected to bring $217 million in economic impact and about 400 jobs.
“The developer agreed to provide 5,000 free Costco memberships to families earning less than $50,000 a year. Because progress that does not reach the kitchen table is not really progress at all,” McGhee said.
In Homestead, the Sports Performance Hub at Homestead Regional Park— a future stadium for Miami FC — will include a hotel, sports academy, sports medicine center, youth boarding school and a new home for the Homestead Championship Rodeo.
McGhee said it is a once-in-a-generation investment.
“We are talking about 4,300 construction jobs and somewhere between 600 and 610 permanent positions, and we are working with workforce partners to build the pipelines that connect South Dade residents to those opportunities.”
Preserving identity
Still, with the cranes and construction have come a familiar concern: when does growth become too much?
Cohen Higgins said the answer lies in Thematic Zoning Districts, a community-specific zoning framework designed to preserve and shape a neighborhood's identity, developed through planning studies and resident input.
“We listen first, then act,” she said. “That’s why we advanced Thematic Zoning Districts to protect neighborhood character as development happens. At the same time, we’re holding the line on the Urban Development Boundary. Growth isn’t the problem; irresponsible growth is.”
She also emphasized corporate accountability, following recent news that the Amazon facility in Homestead is closing for a $200 million retrofit, affecting 1,000 jobs.
“When Amazon opened a fulfillment center in South Dade, it committed to hiring hundreds locally. As they retrofit that facility, they must continue to honor those commitments,” Cohen Higgins said.
The Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners' Intergovernmental and Economic Impact Committee will vote on aresolution on April 15 to enforce the terms of a job-creation agreement between Amazon and the county.
While large projects dominate headlines, small businesses remain the backbone. Bell opened his grocery store in 1969 with just $600 and a home refrigerator, eventually becoming one of the largest employers in the local Black community.
“I made the money in Perrine, I kept the money there, and I invested the money there,” Bell said, noting the store remains open to the public.
For McGhee, success is about the stability of the people.
“I want a working mother in Perrine to be able to walk her child to a great school in the morning, hop on transit to a good job, and come home to a neighborhood she can afford and be proud of,” he 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.
