The miami City Commission is expected to approve a controversial $200 million condo and commercial development on public land in the heart of Overtown in what is likely to be a contentious special meeting Wednesday.
The project by Michigan developer Crosswinds, tapped by the city without bids more than three years ago, has been delayed by strenuous opposition from activists and Overtown residents. They say it does little to help mostly poor residents in desperate need of decent housing in the historically black neighborhood.
But opponents' options for continuing to block the project may be exhausted. They won a lawsuit that succeeded mainly in delaying a final decision by the commission, which voted 4-1 to approve it in October 2006 only to have an appeals court order a new vote.
Even if it is approved, critics question whether the Crosswinds project will actually be built amid a condo glut and a housing industry crisis in which money for construction and mortgages has dried up.
''It seems irresponsible to me that our commissioners would continue supporting building condominiums in this market,'' said Denise Perry, executive director of the Overtown activist group Power U Center for Social Change. ``Why would we advocate a project for which there is no market at this point?''
The city calls the project a vital spur to Overtown's revival, and it has won the support of the district commissioner, Michelle Spence-Jones.
Miami Real Estate
The project by Michigan developer Crosswinds, tapped by the city without bids more than three years ago, has been delayed by strenuous opposition from activists and Overtown residents. They say it does little to help mostly poor residents in desperate need of decent housing in the historically black neighborhood.
But opponents' options for continuing to block the project may be exhausted. They won a lawsuit that succeeded mainly in delaying a final decision by the commission, which voted 4-1 to approve it in October 2006 only to have an appeals court order a new vote.
Even if it is approved, critics question whether the Crosswinds project will actually be built amid a condo glut and a housing industry crisis in which money for construction and mortgages has dried up.
''It seems irresponsible to me that our commissioners would continue supporting building condominiums in this market,'' said Denise Perry, executive director of the Overtown activist group Power U Center for Social Change. ``Why would we advocate a project for which there is no market at this point?''
The city calls the project a vital spur to Overtown's revival, and it has won the support of the district commissioner, Michelle Spence-Jones.
Miami Real Estate
