Local News. Local Matters.
As luxury towers rise across Miami, developers are paying millions of dollars into a little-known city fund that trades bonus height and density for cash — fueling parks projects, affordable housing deals and growing concerns about overdevelopment.
The trash incinerator’s smokestack was demolished in 1974, but Old Smokey continues to cast a shadow over the lives of Grove residents who grew up near the City of Miami solid waste facility.
A last-minute recommendation from the City Attorney’s Office would preserve some development rights in Coconut Grove and other protected neighborhoods under Miami’s controversial affordable housing density transfer expansion.
After more than a year of public debate, the design plans for Kirk Munroe Park and Fuller Street in Coconut Grove’s central business district are headed to the Miami City Commission for review and final approval.
A revised version of the controversial affordable housing density transfer program would exclude Coconut Grove from some aspects, but other late-stage changes — including a doubling of allowable bonus density — have dramatically expanded the scope of the proposal set for a final vote Thursday.
Wallace and her family are working to restore The Ace, the former “colored only” movie house and event space on Grand Avenue, with grant support from the City of Miami and the National Park Service. We caught up with her inside the Ace.
The waters surrounding Coconut Grove have improved since Miami-Dade County began monitoring the health of Biscayne Bay, but the overall picture remains grim.
Organizers collected more than 20,500 signed petitions, more than enough to win a spot on the August ballot, but the Miami-Dade County Supervisor of Elections has rejected nearly half of those petitions.
A last-minute substitution memo revealed previously undisclosed spending tied to LoanDepot Park, along with dozens of new city positions and expanded budget powers for City Manager James Reyes — all approved without discussion by the City Commission.
As tree removal permits accelerate across the City of Miami, tree advocates are urging residents to challenge proposed removals by filing appeals – a time-consuming process that reflects the public’s growing concern about the loss of tree canopy.
