MIAMI – A plan to convert hotel rooms near the Southland Mall into affordable housing units for low-income seniors cleared a hurdle at the Miami-Dade County Commission Wednesday. That’s despite officials in Cutler Bay, where the site is located, opposing the project.
All but three commissioners — Danielle Cohen Higgins, Kevin Marino Cabrera and Anthony Rodriguez — voted to lift a legislative hold placed on the La Quinta Inn & Suites conversion plan and advance it to a final vote on Sept. 17.
The hotel is located at 10821 Caribbean Blvd., between U.S. 1 and Florida’s Turnpike. The county purchased it in 2023 as part of a Miami-Dade Homeless Trust plan to turn it into a complex called “Hideaways by the Bay.”
Several seniors who live at the Rescue Mission, and hope to move to the converted hotel, attended Wednesday’s meeting wearing shirts that said, “I would make a great neighbor.”
That includes 67-year-old retired TV engineer Anthony Wells.
“Most of us are seniors at the Mission,” Wells said. “That’s not our home. We need a place to live.”
Cutler Bay’s Town Manager Rafael Casals was at Wednesday’s meeting; he clarified that officials are not opposed to providing housing for low-income seniors, but rather to the proposed location.
“We welcome the seniors, just not at that location,” Casals said.
Officials have suggested alternative locations within Cutler Bay, in part citing cost concerns. Town officials said they do not believe it is fiscally responsible, as the Homeless Trust plans to pay $4 million above the property’s appraisal value.
“To house seniors, formerly homeless individuals in our community, it is a small price to pay,” Ron Book, who leads the Homeless Trust, said.
Cohen Higgins raised fiscal concerns as well. She noted that the Homeless Trust might be in non-compliance with county code concerning regular independent financial audits. The Homeless Trust responded by offering a different “interpretation” of the auditing process.
“I will hold firm in standing with the residents of District 8 in opposition,” Cohen Higgins said.
Audit report:
Cutler Bay officials also have concerns about how the project interfaces with a $1 billion redevelopment plan in the area.
Homeless Trust executives explained that part of the $4 million is to cover the developer’s franchise liquidation fee and the cost of rebookings, given that the property has been under contract for more than a year. Book previously ascribed opposition to the plan as a case of “not in my backyard.”
He reiterated that stance Wednesday.
“NIMBY is alive and well down there,” Book said. “Their biggest contention was this would limit or kill the billion-dollar mall redevelopment. We worked out every condition that the mall developer wanted for this property, we had agreed to those terms, negotiated until 11:30 p.m. last night and started again this morning.”
Despite concerns from Cutler Bay, the majority of county commissioners made it clear that they intended to move forward, considering the broader issue of homelessness amid the county’s affordable housing crisis, which threatens to push fixed-income seniors into homelessness.
“If we don’t provide housing for poor people in our communities they will, in fact, be homeless,” Commissioner Keon Hardemon said.
Officials said that’s especially apparent with the upcoming Oct. 1 start of Florida’s controversial anti-camping law, which prohibits counties from allowing homeless individuals to sleep in public and allows businesses and individuals to file civil suits against counties, creating urgency to move forward.
Related: Miami-Dade releases recommendations ahead of new homeless law
“This problem is going to be dire, state law is going to make it worse for us,” Commissioner Eileen Higgins said.
They emphasized that tackling homelessness is a countywide issue and not district-specific, saying the cost is justified to ensure low-income seniors receive housing, given the overall need for even more units.
“This is one of the many difficult decisions we have to make regarding homelessness,” Commissioner Raquel Regalado said.