When news broke that Miami would lose more than $60 million in federal funding for the long-planned Underdeck project — now officially named the Rev. Edward T. Graham Greenway — many in Overtown saw it as yet another setback for a community scarred by broken promises. But business leaders say they are determined not to let the cut derail momentum.
The 10.5-mile, 33-acre greenway was designed to reconnect neighborhoods divided by Interstates 95 and 395, which displaced thousands, erased more than 300 businesses, and shrank Overtown’s population from 50,000 to 10,000. Planned features include an amphitheater, dog parks, walking and biking paths, plazas, play areas, food vendors, and a pedestrian trail stretching to Biscayne Bay.
The Biden administration awarded $60 million through the Neighborhood Access and Equity Program, but the Trump administration’s new “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” rescinded it.
“When you look at the historic narrative of Overtown, this is like another sort of punch in the gut,” said Christopher Norwood, founder of Hampton Art Lovers. “This decision by the federal government reminds us of what was done in the past, and I thought that we moved away from that.”
READ MORE: Miami hopes to 'right the wrongs of the past,' using $40 million federal grant for Overtown housing
Underdeck opportunities
Trina Harris, president of the Overtown Business Association and a business owner, said the Underdeck will bring new opportunities to businesses in the neighborhood. (shopsovertown.com)
For Overtown, the Underdeck promise had both symbolic and financial significance. Trina Harris, president of the Overtown Business Association (OBA) and owner of Suite 110 Urbanwear, envisioned small businesses benefiting from spaces under the greenway.
“It’s a space that can generate dollars for parking. Small businesses potentially can get contracts — whether it's through landscaping, beautification or activations to host events,” she said.
She also noted a broader impact in major corporations coming to Overtown.
“We have major cruise industries that are coming into Overtown. We have high-rise buildings that are here and will house thousands of individuals. We have other high-stakes businesses that want to be near the community of Overtown, and this affects all of them,” she said.
Resilience over setbacks
But for OBA Executive Director Metris Batts-Coley, the funding loss isn’t a setback.
“You can’t miss what you never had,” she said. “We didn’t have the funding. We were hoping to get the funding, but we haven’t received it yet. So we’re still hopeful. When you write grants, you overwrite. That funding represented our project getting completed quicker, so the ripple effect will benefit these businesses.”
Weeks before it became known that the federal grant had been rescinded, officials announced that the final funding for the project had been secured. The City of Miami and the Florida Department of Transportation had agreed to cover the $23 million that would have followed the federal grant. Then, on July 24, the city commission voted on a combined $7 million from the Omni and Southeast Overtown/Park West Community Redevelopment Agencies (CRAs), described as the final step needed to unlock the $60.3 million and advance the project’s design and construction.
For Batts-Coley, the absence of federal funding won’t halt their momentum.
“That can’t stop us because we have survived without resources for a very large amount of time, and sometimes we don’t give ourselves credit,” she said. “This is not a setback. This is a reset. So this is a pivot.”
Batts-Coley pointed to other projects already advancing, such as the planned Ninth Street Pedestrian Mall, which she says is right in the heart of the neighborhood and close to popular venues.
“This is an opportunity for the people traveling to come right into our neighborhood, and it’s going to be a ripple effect that we are gonna benefit from,” she said.
Main Street momentum
One strategy gaining traction is the Main Street approach, a community-based economic development model focused on revitalizing historic commercial corridors.
“We became an official Florida Main Street designee in February 2025,” Batts-Coley explained during an OBA community meeting last Thursday. “Being a Main Street designee gives us opportunities to take advantage of national resources and understand this business model.”
The designation covers Third Avenue and Eighth Street north to 17th Street, with proposals to extend further into the Omni CRA. Third Avenue — known as Dorsey Boulevard — remains the neighborhood’s commercial spine, but Batts-Coley stressed that businesses “off Main Street” must also be supported.
The model, she explained, works through four pillars: organization, design, promotion and economic vitality.
On organization, she called for a unified voice.
“We are the organization. It’s not ‘me,’ it’s ‘we,’” she said. “We are looking at the developing opportunities that are coming to us. If we adopt this model, there will be no long-term barriers.”
She described design as improving sidewalks, lighting and storefronts; promotion as telling Overtown’s story; and economic vitality as ensuring businesses thrive.
“Businesses are generating money when people can leave one business and walk to the other. How do we get the traffic to come?” she said.
Batts-Coley emphasized that the model provides grant opportunities and evidence-based frameworks for nonprofits as well.
“Because you're located in the Overtown Main Street District, this is now a piece that you can add to your application, and then we have funding sources that we get alerts on, that we can share.”
The goal is to create jobs, attract new enterprises and sustain existing ones.
“That’s the end game. It’s how we make money. Because when we make money, we can take care of our communities. We can create scholarship funds. We can buy the block. We can invest in businesses,” Batts-Coley said.
Committees will be established for each of the four pillars, and the OBA will meet monthly for what she called “mastermind sessions.” The OBA has also launched a fee-based membership to expand collaboration.
What’s ahead
Despite the loss of federal funding for the Underdeck, business leaders say they remain committed to building a sustainable economic future. Harris said they’ll continue to advocate for the project and press city leaders to find alternatives.
“It's not been a lot said on that front on his side, but at the end of the day, this is a major blow for our community,” she said of Mayor Francis Suarez. “It will be a major win for him if he can definitely secure some of those dollars back for this project.”
The OBA is focusing on practical support — helping businesses develop Facebook pages and proposal submissions, and hosting monthly networking events at Lil’ Greenhouse Grill.
“The Main Street initiative is gonna be tremendous for the community of Overtown. We need activation. We need to come together to create what we want to see. We can't wait for anyone else,” Harris said.
Terrance Cribbs-Lorrant, executive director of the Historic Black Police Precinct and Courthouse Museum shared a similar sentiment:
“This Main Street connection to the community of Overtown is only going to amplify the reach that we know our history should provide on a more positive level. I'm anticipating new faces, new businesses, new places that are comfortable, and for everybody to really embrace Overtown’s Main Street.”
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.
