Some major changes may be coming to the West Grove soon. According to the Herald, The Point Groupe is trying to build a large mixed use development on Grand Avenue between Plaza Street and Hibiscus Street and Florida Avenue and Thomas Avenue (see image below). To be known as “Grand Village”, the development is slated to have 150,000 square feet of retail space including a grocery store, 500,000 square feet of office space, 113 apartment units, 30 houses, 25 “townhomes”, and if a land use change is approved — gulp — an underground parking garage.
Last Wednesday, the City of Miami’s Planning Advisory Board (makes recommendations to the commission) voted 7-1 to defer a vote over land use changes that would allow construction to begin if approved by the city commission. “You’re very close, but you’re not quite there yet and need a little more time”, said PAB member Ernest Martin.
So it appears that Grand Village has a good chance of being approved by the city commission and thus getting built. However, will this be a good or bad thing for the West Grove? The truth is, it will probably be a combination. Though I cannot make an expert judgment because I am without specific project details (i.e. percent of affordable units to own/rent, type of retail being courted, etc.), I can make some general points to guide us in considering the potential impacts.
First of all, when analyzing this project, it’s important to understand that the West Grove is a tiny neighborhood completely surrounded by well-off communities. It’s proximity alone to the Center Grove, Biscayne Bay, and Merrick Park makes the West Grove extremely valuable and sought after land. Thus, I get the feeling that there’s a lot of developers and real estate agents out there that currently view the West Grove as an obstacle to profit, not an opportunity to foster an ethnically and socioeconomically diverse community. You also get the feeling that there’s residents in adjacent neighborhoods who would love to see a project like this get built so that the West Grove can be gentrified. One sure indication? This is the type of development that Grove NIMBYs usually have crucified before it even gets going. However, I haven’t heard a whole lot of anti-development chatter yet.
With that said, it’s obvious to anyone who’s been in that area lately that the West Grove needs help. It’s shameful that neighborhood conditions can be so good just a couple blocks to the east; I’ve said it before, the Center Grove/West Grove demarcation is one of the starkest examples of ethnic and socioeconomic polarization I’ve ever seen.
So with that in mind, a project like this has the potential to boost the West Grove economy and add some stability to the community. If enough of the housing units are affordable (at least 30%), the project could go a long way toward boosting the local economy and fostering a diverse mixed income community. Moreover, the increased density and mixed use will be good for the community as it is in close proximity to the Douglas Road Metrorail station.
However, this project could easily go the other direction and completely gentrify the West Grove, pushing out long time residents and keeping people with moderate incomes from being able to afford moving in. If more than 70% of the housing units are market rate or higher, wholesale gentrification will likely be the result. If the urban design is cold, introverted, and auto-centric, it will turn building occupants away from the street and their community, almost like a compound. If the retail and offices cater primarily to higher end demands, it could alienate lower income families and complete the cycle of gentrification.
These are some issues we need to keep in mind as the Grove Village project moves through the planning stages. This is too significant a project to allow a mediocre final product, especially in a community that has suffered as long as the West Grove.
Photos: Miami Herald (Top), Windows Virtual Earth (Map)
Just hope that it’s not a walled community, that is so common and it keeps it from being open and pedestrian friendly.
I think that this will likely gentrify the community, and I wonder if that is exactly what the grove wants.
Just curious, can you think of any examples of any rough or downtrodden neighbordhoods anywhere in the US that have ever been turned around by any means other than gentrification (or the fact that the neighborhood was improving leading to gentrification)? As supply and demand goes it would seem the reason poor people can afford an area is because it is undesireable to everyone else. If an area improves then more people would want to live there, the prices will go up and the poor will no longer be able to live there and they would have to move to another place that is undesirable. Neighborhoods can improve but not for the people who live there. It seems the poor will always be living where ever it is that everyone else doesn’t want to live.
Dave,
There are certainly many examples of communities turning around without wholesale gentrification. Unfortunately, however, your assumptions about the cycle of poor getting pushed out is pretty relevant in Miami.
Actually, my neighborhood in Brooklyn (Clinton Hill) is a decent example of one that has been gentrified, but is still very ethnically and socioeconomically diverse. This is in part because there is a good mix of housing in the neighborhood, including public housing, affordable housing (especially in the form of co-ops), and then Brownstones that range from moderately expensive to very expensive depending on condition and location. Of course it helps tremendously to have the density to easily have such a housing mix. This is a big problem in Miami, where low-density neighborhoods can almost be inherently exclusive since it typically takes at least medium density to accommodate a respectable number of affordable and public housing units. Plus, NYC’s public housing program is one of the best in the country, compared to both the City of Miami and Miami-Dade County’s, which are among the worst.
Another example is Newark, which is very slowly moving in the right direction regarding balanced gentrification, thanks in large part to a strong commitment by community organizations to look out for the working class. It seems to me that in the Grove, as well as many other places in and around Miami, the poor/working class do not have much of a voice while the NIMBY voice is deafening. Of course this results in wholesale gentrification, bad urban planning, and exploitation…no one wins.