The stalled American Dream Miami mega-mall could get a break on county tax subsidies
A proposal by Miami-Dade County Commissioner Juan Carlos Bermudez would water down a subsidy ban that was imposed seven years ago when the county approved plans for the retail theme park near Hialeah.
Construction never began, and the development process is so stalled that developer Triple Five is now in court with both a once-allied developer and the county itself over delays. Bermudez's resolution mentions the county litigation but notes that relaxing the 2018 subsidy ban could 'provide greater flexibility related to the development' of American Dream.
Bermudez was not immediately available for comment Monday. He first proposed the legislation last summer but pulled it before fellow commissioners had a chance to vote on it.
The legislation wasn't listed on Tuesday's agenda when it became public last week. Now, Bermudez's item is on the part of the agenda reserved for legislation that's filed too late for the required public notice of four business days. Under County Commission rules, any commissioner could on Tuesday request a delay of the vote to the board's next meeting on July 15.
Bermudez's proposed legislation would allow Miami-Dade to divert property taxes to cover about $60 million in local road construction and other infrastructure costs that otherwise would be the developers' responsibility. The legislation wouldn't directly authorize any subsidies for the project, but it would lift the restrictions that currently prevent American Dream from getting county dollars. Those restrictions were secured by rival malls when commissioners approved the development plan in 2018.
Earlier this year, Miami-Dade sued Triple Five to collect a $5 million penalty because the project did not open on time this year and did not secure the needed building permits by 2020, as required under an original agreement in which the county sold some public land to the developers in a no-bid deal. The project sits near Hialeah, where Florida's Turnpike meets Interstate 75.
Triple Five is also in court with the Graham Companies, the Miami Lakes developer that agreed to sell most of the land needed for the American Dream project.
Triple Five owns Minnesota's Mall of America and had planned an even larger combination of shopping and entertainment in the Miami area. While the two developers were allied in winning approval of the project and an adjoining development by Graham, the alliance split after Triple Five delayed building in the area.
Triple Five never finalized the purchase of the Graham land and now is suing to keep the potential land deal alive. Graham maintains that Triple Five no longer has a right to purchase the property.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Former Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer challenges Lindsey Graham in SC Senate race
Former South Carolina Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer is now in the race to oust U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham. Bauer said in a news release Wednesday morning that he is running for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate, launching a primary challenge of the state's senior senator who reported he had more than $15 million in the bank at the end of last quarter. 'Lindsey Graham has lost his way, and South Carolinians deserve a true conservative fighter to represent them in the United States Senate – 100% guaranteed,' Bauer said in a statement. Bauer's formal entry into the primary race was first reported by The Associated Press. Bauer already has a WinRed fundraising page that includes a photo of him with President Donald Trump. Bauer's campaign news release touts that he was an early supporter of the president in 2016, and 'has stood firmly with Trump on every issue, including the border, the economy and draining the swamp.' The campaign also points to how Graham has had public disagreements with Trump, despite the senator and the president being frequent golfing partners and allies. 'The people of South Carolina are fed up with Lindsey Graham and are ready for a much-needed change,' Bauer said. Graham, who was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2002, has a 34% approval rating among all South Carolinians. Among Republicans he is at 55%, according to a poll released in May by Winthrop University. The Palmetto State's senior senator has faced primary challenges before, and multiple challengers helped split the anti-Graham vote. Since being elected to the Senate, Graham has clinched the nomination in each of his reelection campaigns without the need to go to a runoff. Graham's reelection also has been endorsed by Trump, who is popular among the Republican voting base in South Carolina. Graham also is being supported by Gov. Henry McMaster and U.S. Sen. Tim Scott. In May, Graham rolled out a finance committee with a list of more than 90 prominent donors in South Carolina. Republican strategist Chris LaCivita, who served as Trump's 2024 co-campaign manager, also is working on Graham's campaign as a senior adviser. In recent weeks, Graham was a key senator in its passage of the 'Big Beautiful Bill' that includes key Trump priorities such as making tax cuts from the president's first term permanent and increasing spending on border security, defense and energy production, according to CBS News. 'Andre Bauer has spent his career chasing titles to feed his ego, running for five different offices and even trying to leverage Senator Graham and the White House for an ambassadorship,' Graham spokeswoman Abby Zilch said in a statement. 'When that failed, he launched his sixth campaign — proving once again, this is all about Making Andre Great Again.' Bauer, who was lieutenant governor from 2003 to 2011, told the Washington Examiner last month that Trump has privately urged him to get back into politics. 'He's expressed confidence in me four or five times in a row that I've seen him,' Bauer told the Examiner, adding he has yet to speak to Trump about the Senate race. Alex Latchman, the executive director of the Senate Leadership Fund, which works to elect Republicans to the U.S. Senate, worked on Trump's 2024 campaign in the early primary states. Latchman on X disputed Bauer's claim. 'This is bull----. I oversaw President Trump's South Carolina campaign and Andre was a massive pain in the a--,' Latchman posted. 'The (former) Lt. Governor thought President Trump's campaign was the Andre Bauer show.' Bauer was a member of the Trump's leadership team in the Palmetto State standing alongside Graham, McMaster, Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, and U.S. Reps. Russell Fry, William Timmons and Joe Wilson. However, Bauer wasn't on the stage with Trump on the night of the South Carolina presidential primary. Bauer ran for governor in 2010, and finished fourth in the Republican primary election. He also ran for U.S. House in 2012, but lost in a Republican runoff against eventual U.S. Rep. Tom Rice in the 7th Congressional District. Graham already had two primary challengers. Businessman Mark Lynch, of Greenville, has been in the race since February and put in $5 million of his own money boost his bid. Ethan Holliman, of Conway, also has filed paperwork with the Federal Elections Commission to run as a Republican for the seat and has loaned his campaign $20,000.
Miami Herald
6 hours ago
- Miami Herald
Developers agreed to terms of Miami mega mall deal. Now they want to change it
For the unsuspecting taxpayer, the different messages coming from Miami-Dade County's elected officials couldn't sound more dissonant: You have the mayor calling for budget cuts and warning about times of financial austerity. Then you have a commissioner proposing to allow property tax dollars to be used to help develop a mega mall. The developers of American Dream Miami, planned near Hialeah, understood the county's approval of the project in 2018 also came with a subsidy ban on the planned retail theme park. Now that the project is at least five years behind schedule — and Miami-Dade County has sued over the delays — there's a proposal to water down that ban. Developer Triple Five is also in court with a Miami Lakes developer over control of land located at Florida's Turnpike and Interstate 75. Asking for the county's help sounds like a Hail Mary to push through a project that's looking less feasible by the minute. Commissioner Juan Carlos Bermudez's proposal would allow the county to divert property taxes to cover about $60 million in local road construction and other infrastructure costs that otherwise would be the developers' responsibility, the Herald reported. Mayor Daniella Levine Cava supported the item as a way to expedite the construction of roadways in the area even if the mega mall doesn't get built. The proposal was placed on the County Commission's Tuesday agenda at the last minute but a vote was deferred to mid July. Some commissioners balked at the argument put forward by Bermudez linking the approval of his subsidy-cap legislation to another vote that was also on the agenda to accept $5 million from the developer to settle the county's lawsuit. The latter was also postponed. Commission Chair Anthony Rodriguez said it was a 'bad look' that 'you guys are saying you'll only come to this agreement if we get this,' the Herald reported. Commissioner Oliver Gilbert said he opposes letting Triple Five tap into property taxes to offset its development costs, saying, 'I don't see how that's a good deal for the people.' It is not. Bermudez called his legislation 'an opportunity to right a wrong,' the Herald reported. That's because some of South Florida's largest malls successfully lobbied the commission to impose the subsidy ban on American Dream when it was approved. Miguel Díaz de la Portilla, a Triple Five lobbyist and former county commissioner, equated that to 'interference from some mall owners who don't want competition.' Díaz de la Portilla said the company could attract $350 million in road construction dollars to Northwest Miami-Dade if it can tap into county money first. We don't disagree entirely with Bermudez and Díaz de la Portilla. There's no doubt that the subsidy ban was a political move, at least in part, to stifle competition. Alas, in 2018, Triple Five agreed to cover the $60 million roadway costs or persuade state or local governments to fund them. It's hard not to read this latest move as a desperate attempt to change the terms of the deal, especially given Triple Five's legal and financial issues elsewhere. An American Dream mall opened on state-owned land in New Jersey in 2019 with help from more than $1 billion in state and local aid, according to Surrounding municipalities have sued, accusing the developer of owing a combined $13 million in negotiated payments to them since the mall's opening. Triple Five has denied any wrongdoing, arguing that the mall didn't have to start making the payments because it hasn't reached 100% occupancy and so was not completely open. In March, a local judge rejected that argument, ruling in favor of one of the municipalities, reported. Miami-Dade County is under increased financial pressure from the drying up of pandemic federal funding and the costs associated with spinning off county departments such as police into independent offices. Levine Cava's administration says the county faces the worst budget shortfall since the 2008 Great Recession. With so many needs and an unpredictable next few budget years, is this the time to ask the county to allow a developer to access property tax dollars for a private project? The answer should be no. Click here to send the letter.
Yahoo
15 hours ago
- Yahoo
Is a 6-figure paycheck needed for financial security? More than a quarter of adults say yes.
This story was originally published on HR Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily HR Dive newsletter. A large majority of U.S. adults in a May survey by Bankrate, 77%, said they aren't financially secure, signaling a steady increase going back to 2023 and spelling potential complications for employers' pay strategies. Additionally, more than one-quarter of the 2,260 respondents said they'd need to earn $150,000 or more per year to feel financially secure and comfortable. That's nearly double the average full-time salary in the U.S. for 2023, which stood at $81,515 according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics cited by Bankrate. The company said that inflation has affected purchasing power, citing consumer price index data from BLS that showed a $100,000 salary in January 2020 had the same buying power as $124,353 in April of this year. 'Getting rich may have once been what many Americans fantasized about, but now, simply living comfortably feels like the new aspiration, as economic challenges make financial stability a rare luxury,' Sarah Foster, Bankrate's U.S. economy reporter, said in the firm's analysis. Bankrate's survey found a fair amount of pessimism on the part of respondents about their financial futures, too. Nearly one-third said they were not financially secure and likely never would be, which represented an increase from prior years. Only 29% said their version of the 'American Dream' seemed likely for them based on today's economy. By generation, Generation X workers were most likely to say they aren't financially secure, followed by Generation Z, millennials and baby boomers. Thirty-five percent of women said they aren't financially secure and never would be, compared to 29% of men. The percentage of women who said they were secure fell more quickly going back to 2023 compared to the share of men who said the same. 'Though many Americans hold onto the idea of returning to a 1950s-era 'Golden' America age, the days when a single, non-college educated breadwinner could sustain an entire family seem like they may be confined forever to the past,' Foster said. Overall, 3 in 5 U.S. workers say they live paycheck to paycheck, according to a 2024 PNC Bank survey, and nearly a third said they would like early access to their pay. The firm's survey of employers, meanwhile, found that 78% said their workers were financially stressed. Benefit plan participants likewise have reported mixed feelings on financial security, according to a Bank of America report on client benefit programs in the second quarter of last year. BofA said that a gender gap persists when it comes to feelings of financial wellness; men in the report reported higher average financial security scores than women. Base pay is only part of the talent attraction equation, however. Employers also rate access to benefits, work-life balance, training, equity and job security as being among their most desirable components in a job offer, according to a 2024 Randstad report. Compensation remained the most desired trait in the same report, though equity and financial security have moved to the 'forefront' of employees' priorities, a Randstad executive said in a press release. Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
