Overtown for sale?

Of course, the New Year couldn't begin without a little good ol' Dade County drama and antics from local government. As some of you may know, the Crosswinds Project, a supposed $200 million condo project set to erect in historic Overtown, is in lingo...again! Yesterday's Miami Herald is reporting that City and County government are in a "battle" over ownership of the property (located near the historic Lyric Theater on 8th Street and 2nd Ave) proposed for the project that could scrap it all together. The City has reportedly filed a lawsuit to stop County takeover of the land.

This isn't the first set of controversy for this condo project, which has been heavily supported by Commissioners such as Michelle Spence-Jones (City of Miami) and Mayor Manny Diaz (City of Miami). We'll have more about them later!

Power U for Social Change (shout out to you all!) fought back through the courts last to have the project delayed, as the organization claimed the supposed "mixed-income" units were too highly priced for current Overtown residents (sound familiar Dade County folks? yeah, the 'G-word' in effect). Power U had the 2006 approval thrown out, but according to the Herald, City of Miami officials approved it AGAIN last month (surprise, surprise!).

In all this decision-making, we have yet to hear what the residents of Overtown want and need for their own community...basically because local government isn't trying to hear that! $ is speaking loud and clear in Miami once again!

Check out the full report from the Miami Herald HERE