Miami-Dade Commission Considers Land Buy Near Airport For $17 Million

The Miami-Dade Commission is considering purchasing a warehouse property on Northwest 25th Street for $17 million in order to provide future parking and/or a staging area for future construction at Miami International Airport.

The seller has already provided the four tenants at the property — including a luxury car rental business — with a notice of termination of their leases and will reportedly pay for the demolition of existing buildings within six months of purchase, according to a county memo prepared by Chief Operating Officer Jimmy Morales.

“The Property is east of MIA and is intended to be utilized by the Aviation Department for any compatible land use such as parking, or as a lay down yard (i.e., construction staging area), which is a designated area where materials and equipment can be stored and used in connection with a construction project, ensuring the project begins on time and managed more efficiently,” Morales says in his memo, adding that the zoning (industrial-heavy manufacturing) allows for the proposed uses, “including surface and/or structured parking.”

Miami-Dade Aviation has several big projects in the pipeline, including the $400 million cargo facility and the $270 million redesign of the Central Terminal — the first $40 million phase of which coming — and there is already limited space on the airport campus to stage the construction.

“The acquisition of this Property will allow the Miami-Dade Aviation Department to utilize the land for parking or as a construction staging area to better organize and facilitate the implementation of its capital improvement portfolio. The Property could also be used for any compatible land use that meets MIA’s demand for global air travel and air freight cargo or for operational purposes,” Morales wrote.

Two state-certifieid appraisers provided appraisals of the property came in at $17 million and $17.2 million, but Miami-Dade Property Appraiser records show that the three parcels at 3901 and 3975 Northwest 25th Street and 3900 Northwest 26th Street, have a combined market value of $11.9 million. The larger parcel has a market value of $10.5 million and the two smaller parcels, which are now used for surface parking, are a combined $1.4 million.

It wouldn’t be the first time the county (read: taxpayers) pay a higher value for a property. Recently, the commission voted to purchase the La Quinta Hotel on U.S. 1 to use as housing for senior homeless, paying $14 million, or $4 million over the appraised value. Commissioners Daniella Cohen Higgins and Rene Garcia voted against it.

The seller of these three parcels has disclosed that there is some contamination on the 150,000 square foot property, Morales said. An initial report by the Miami-Dade Aviation Department’s civil environment engineering division reported no immediate areas of concern, based on the proposed uses. But the county can conduct a more thorough environmental study, he added.

In the memo, Morales says the company is based in Delaware — which is always a red flag — but Florida Department of Corporation records show it is based in Denver, with an address at a co-working, shared office space. MIA at 25th Street is apparently a partner company with Prologis, the largest industrial property owner in South Florida, which is listed as one of the tenants at the Denver address.

District 6 Commissioner Kevin Marino Cabrera proposed the item on the agenda. Several attempts to reach him were unsuccessful.

Source: Political Cortadito