Allapattah's 18-acre city site has no RFP after Miami eased rules
The holdup on one of Miami's largest public parcels is the procurement mechanism, not the market.
An 18-acre city-owned site in Allapattah that houses Miami’s motor pool, public works operations and Fire Station 5 still has no request for proposals on the street, six weeks after commissioners eased the rules meant to get one issued. As of August 25, the city has not publicly posted the RFP, despite City Manager James Reyes telling commissioners in April that a draft was being hand-delivered to the district office for review.
Why it matters
This is a live read on how the City of Miami runs land dispositions, and it sits on a different parcel and mechanism than the Allapattah stories this outlet has already covered. The Allapattah Community Redevelopment Agency’s $243 million TIF roadmap, approved July 23, funds infrastructure and housing across the broader 1,660-acre district. Neology’s $175 million raise, reported July 29, is private capital for a nearby private project. This site, at 1950 NW 12th Ave and 1970 NW 13th Ave, is city-owned land the commission itself controls, and the RFP that would let developers bid on it has stalled inside the procurement process, not the market.
The numbers
Miami-Dade County parcel records list the property as two folios totaling 18.74 acres, folio 0131350010010 at 1950 NW 12th Ave (9.27 acres) and folio 0131350000163 at 1970 NW 13th Ave (9.47 acres), both classified for municipal office-building use. A February commission resolution had directed Reyes to prepare a final draft RFP within 30 days and layered on extra requirements, including detailed development budgets and relocation plans for existing city operations. On July 9, commissioners unanimously rescinded that February measure, restoring the city manager’s standard procurement authority to prepare and issue the solicitation without those added conditions.
What’s next
Under the city’s standard process, Reyes now has authority to prepare and issue the RFP on his own, with any resulting development agreement returning to the commission for final approval. District 1 Commissioner Miguel Gabela has said he wants the site’s municipal functions preserved on-site while adding housing, with estimates ranging from 1,000 to 2,500 units. No date has been set for when the solicitation will post.