Activists working to slow Grand Ave. displacement

Posted on Sunday, September 11, 2005

COCONUT GROVE

Activists working to slow Grand Ave. displacement

Village West leaders want to help renters who will be displaced find new housing. Some have also asked for concessions from developers who want to change the face of Grand Avenue.

BY LAURA MORALES
llmorales@herald.com

Village West leaders have formed a transition team to help current Grand Avenue residents find homes when their buildings are razed for new developments.

"We don't want to wait until the bomb drops," said Will Johnson, president of the Village West Homeowners and Tenants Association and a team member. "We need to start setting aside funds and looking for alternative housing now. "

A group of developers lead by Julio Marrero is planning to turn several Grand Avenue properties into condominiums and retail space.

Activists also recently presented a list of concessions they want from the developers that would assure some affordable housing for area residents and preserve the community's character, among other things.

In exchange, community leaders would support construction plans for seven-story buildings -- two levels above the city's five-story limit for the neighborhood.

Marrero had not responded to the requests as of Friday and could not be reached for comment.

The idea for the transition team came from County Commissioner Carlos Gimenez, said Johnson, who in addition to being a community leader works as an aide to the commissioner, whose district includes Coconut Grove.

''He saw the rough transitions going on in places like Overtown and wanted to help make the transition in the Grove go as smoothly as possible,'' Johnson said.

Rev. Willie Allen-Faiella, pastor of St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, will serve as the team's chairwoman.

''I felt compelled to do whatever I can to make sure that our poorest residents are taken care of when they lose their homes,'' she said Friday.

Other team members include Bank of America, the Ministerial Alliance, the local NET office, developer Marrero, advisors from Fannie Mae and the Miami-Dade Housing Authority.

During their first meeting later this month, the team will distribute a survey for residents to fill out. This will help them to better assess the needs of local renters.

As for the concessions, a detailed list includes the following requests to the developer:

• Two of the residential units in each of the six planned Grand Avenue projects -- or two entire apartment buildings off Grand -- would be rented out to current residents and managed by the Village West Land Trust.

• Funding to preserve other historically important local properties and to create a neighborhood ''Walk of Fame'' in honor of the area's Bahamian heritage.

• An equipped executive office and meeting space, large enough for up to 25 people, in one of the Grand Avenue commercial spaces.

• A lease, with option to buy, for a commercial retail space of at least 1,500 square feet on Grand for the Coconut Grove Meat Market. Also, an agreement to freeze the meat market's rent at the current rate for the next five years. Recently, owner Angel Arias was faced with a $600 rent increase.

• Financial contributions to a tenant transition fund that would provide vouchers covering moving expenses and first month's rent to displaced Grand Avenue tenants.

• $60,000 per planned project for development and funding of a youth summer employment program for up to 50 local minority teens each summer.

• At least $10,000 each for the rehabilitation of up to 10 Grove area single-family homes. This would apply to each of the six projects planned by the developers.

• Affirmative action in the recruitment of qualified minority and female contractors and subcontractors and equitable guidelines for hiring, transfering, compensating or terminating employees.

Land Trust chairman Richard Holton said Friday that the negotiation group is still waiting for word from Marrero that he will sign the agreement

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