Miami-Dade County intends to knock down a small-scale public housing complex with 24 apartments in the West Grove to make way for a new multifamily development with at least 300 units including workforce and affordable housing.
Miami-Dade County is moving to redevelop another public housing site in the West Grove — a plan that would add at least 300 more units to a stretch of Douglas Road where more than 1,200 new units are already planned or under development.
The county is seeking a developer to demolish and redevelop the 24-unit Stirrup Plaza Family public housing property at 3707 Percival Ave on the west side of Douglas Road.
The new project would include at least 300 residential units, described in the solicitation as affordable and workforce housing, with a maximum height of six stories.
The county’s request for proposals (RFP) represents its latest effort to replace low-rise public housing in the West Grove with larger mixed-income developments, a process the county says will expand the supply of affordable housing.
But West Grove residents say the county’s plans don’t account for their concerns about the pace and scale of development — including how those plans could displace residents and erode the character of the Grove’s historically Black neighborhood.
Clarice Cooper, president of the Coconut Grove Village West Homeowners and Tenants Association (HOATA), lives on Oak Avenue, just a block south of the latest proposed project.
The lifelong West Grove resident said she’s watched new development reshape her neighborhood for years, including along Grand Avenue, where major luxury and market-rate developments are replacing the businesses and homes she grew up with.
Cooper said she had heard rumors years ago that the nearby site could eventually be redeveloped. But she was surprised to learn that the solicitation process has been underway for a year.
The RFP was authorized by the County Commission last October, with Miami-Dade District 7 Commissioner Raquel Regalado sponsoring the resolution.
The lack of notice is part of a broader frustration among West Grove residents, who say they’ve learned about major changes to county-owned properties only after redevelopment plans are already moving forward.
Residents point to two other recent large-scale projects along Douglas Road that they say were approved without adequate community input.
In June 2025, the county approved Integral Florida’s $159 million Eviva project, which would replace 24 two-story public housing units east of Douglas Road with 450 mixed-income apartments across two blocks, including a high-rise tower.
Months earlier, the County Commission approved Related Urban Development Group’s proposal to replace a three-story senior housing project at Douglas Road and Day Avenue with a mixed-use development.
While the project was initially approved as a single tower, neighbors were surprised to learn in July that newly revised plans now call for a second 25-story tower, bringing the project’s total to 818 units.
Read more: Second High-Rise Tower Proposed for Stirrup Plaza
Jamila Stephens, who serves with Cooper on the HOATA board, said the county made little effort to seek community input before moving those major projects forward.
“The concept of having public housing and using public land and not getting the public’s input on it — it doesn’t even make sense,” she said. “You’re not even trying to get people’s input. You’re not seeing what the community wants.”
According to the county, four developers have submitted proposals for the Stirrup Plaza Family site: Bimini Grove CR, Housing Trust Group, Leo & Day Builders Group and Cornerstone Group. Cornerstone Group developed the neighboring Platform 3750 apartment building on the corner of Douglas Road and U.S. 1, also on county land.
Bimini Grove, a partnership of Miami-based Coral Rock Development, Trè Bèl Housing and BM Capital Investments, submitted a proposal to redevelop the site in June 2025 — the same month the county met with residents to discuss future plans for the property.
Four months later, the County Commission authorized the mayor to advertise an RFP inviting developers to submit proposals for the Stirrup Plaza Family property.
The RFP states that proposals must offer a minimum of 300 total residential units, along with community amenities such as green space and retail. Unlike the larger towers planned nearby, the building would be capped at six stories along Day Avenue and three stories along Percival Avenue, where it would face single-family homes.
Under the RFP, the developer must also provide a one-for-one replacement of the 24 existing public housing units at Stirrup Plaza Family through the federal Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program.
The current residents would be guaranteed the right to return to the new property, and the developer would be responsible for the costs of their temporary relocation.
Final rents for the replacement units will remain “subject to federal program requirements and the financing-plan review,” according to the document.
While the overall project is described as “mixed-use affordable and workforce housing,” the solicitation does not specify a required breakdown of affordability.
Under Bimini Grove’s original proposal, 40% of the project’s apartments would have been reserved for low-income families earning no more than 60% of Area Median Income (AMI). The remaining 60% would have been reserved for working families earning no more than 120% of AMI. In 2025, the county’s median income was $87,200.
The county told the Spotlight in September that there is no anticipated award date.
In the meantime, Cooper said, nearby residents remain uncertain about what comes next for the site and whether they will have an opportunity to shape its future.
Regalado, the county commissioner who represents the West Grove, did not respond to multiple requests for information about the RFP, including what plans, if any, she or the county have to discuss the proposed project with West Grove residents.
“They tell us that they try to keep us apprised, and then of course we go by the wayside, and the next thing you read in some newspaper is whatever they plan to do, and nobody’s talked to us about it,” Cooper said.
“We’re worried about what rabbit is gonna be pulled out of the next hat that comes up,” she added.
Sinclair Holian is a Spotlight reporter and Report for America corps member covering gentrification and development in Coconut Grove. She joins us through our partnership with Report for America, a national organization that places journalists in local newsrooms across the United States.
This Spotlight article got me thinking: “What if I was one of the two dozen families living in one of those two-story public housing units. How would I feel about swapping my family’s current life at ground level with my kids and dog in a 1950’s outdated 2 Br/1Ba detached unit for a brand-new, way up in the sky apartment on the same street?”
Of course, as a renter in subsidized projects both now and to come, I wouldn’t have any say in the matter. It would be “take it or leave it.” It’s just 24 families and the County is planning to build 450 mixed-income apartments to replace them. You can’t stop progress, right?
But then HOATA’s Jamila Stephens questioned what’s really going on: “The concept of having public housing and using public land and not getting the public’s input on it — it doesn’t even make sense. You’re not even trying to get people’s input. You’re not seeing what the community wants.”
It’s one thing to say “take it or leave it” to 24 families, and quite another to say that to the oldest historic Black community in Miami.
What if the City and County finally made good on a promise made over 30 years ago? It’s called St. Hugh Oaks on Douglas Road, where 23 homes for ownership were promised to West Grove residents. All were built and none delivered. Maybe now would be a good time to honor that promise.
Wonderful Spotlight reporting by Ms. Holian (once again) – and “Amen” to Mr. Parrish, Ms. Cooper, and Ms. Stephen’s statements!
Unfortunately the City and County have a long history of broken promises made to Village West – and for these projects to move ahead without significant community discussion, and 100% transparent, binding community benefits agreements is another let-down in the use of our public assets.
“Affordable” housing promises to Village West have long been a ruse to allow developers’ into publicly owned lands, without clarifying if their definitions of “affordable” would actually be “affordable” for the affected community.
Thanks to the Spotlight for its good work – our elected officials should know that Miamians (more than ever) are calling for accountability in the use of our public assets. These properties are meant to actually benefit the public, and not developers’ profit margins.