MIAMI | Swerdlow Megadevelopment | FT | FLOORS

[Urbannizer]

Developers got city land for affordable housing in Little Havana. Is it a good deal?

The unusual no-bid deal, which Carollo conceived of and oversaw, was not a secret.

The agreements to transfer land to the developers won unanimous City Commission approval in a December hearing and attracted modest news coverage. Carollo, termed out and having failed to make the runoff for the mayor’s seat he had been campaigning for, resigned the next day, a week before the inauguration of his successor in District 3. On Thursday, a modified agreement with one of the developers won City Commission approval.

The original agreements, under which two developers have received city land at no cost, also came with a city commitment for millions of dollars more in direct subsidies to the four planned housing projects, raising questions over whether they represent a good deal for Miami taxpayers and the Little Havana community.

The three developers, who were set to receive $4 million each toward their housing projects from District 3 funds under the Carollo deal, must now apply for financing from the city in a public vetting process.

That will happen in a public hearing May 6, when the city’s Housing and Commercial Loan Committee, an appointed board, will review applications from developers Nir Shoshani and Michael Swerdlow for up to $4 million each from federal housing money that’s allocated to the city every year.

“Swerdlow has a track record that’s second to none, and Nir has a lot of experience. He is a serious player,“ Carollo said.

All three also plan to use property-tax breaks provided under the state’s Live Local Act for their Little Havana projects but won’t seek to use its controversial zoning provisions, which allow for supersized buildings if a percentage of apartments is set aside as workforce or affordable housing.