YWCA South Florida鈥檚 Overtown headquarters at 351 NW Fifth St., which offers education, wellness and economic resources to women and families, could soon transform into a mixed-use and mixed-income housing development.
The 104-year-old organization with a mission to eliminate racism and empower women requested modifications to its land deed in a city of Miami resolution 鈥� which was approved by commissioners last month 鈥� to redevelop its Overtown campus as well as land owned by the South Florida Community Land Trust to its north.
鈥淲e know that affordable, safe, dignified 鈥� inspirational even 鈥� homes that families can feel really proud of being there ... and aren鈥檛 spending exorbitant amounts of money on has become almost obsolete in South Florida,鈥� Kerry-Ann Royes, YWCA South Florida CEO, told The Miami Times. 鈥淟and is scarce. Property is scarce. The major drivers that we know are making women and working families successful are housing and child care. This is our opportunity to respond today to what we feel is a growing crisis for working families and women.鈥�
YWCA鈥檚 deed amendment request will go before the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners for approval.
鈥淲hat that (city agenda) item did, is it provided us the flexibility to deliver on part of the reason why we were given the land in the first place,鈥� said Royes, who explained that providing housing has been part of her organization鈥檚 mission from the start.
鈥淲e trust that it will also pass pretty quickly in the county because it really isn鈥檛 deviating from anything that was in the original deed,鈥� she continued.
Royes says that because the proposed project is still in its preliminary stages, she couldn鈥檛 provide the total number of units to be built by Tr猫 B猫l Procida Development Group, how much the development would cost, or specify how many units would be earmarked for affordable and workforce housing.
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The amendment was approved by the city of Miami on the condition that 50% of all residential units would be reserved for tenants earning up to 120% of the Area Median Income. According to Miami-Dade County鈥檚 metrics, that would be a household income of about $136,200 for a family of four or $95,400 for a one-person household.
鈥淭his is like any other (housing) project. We want to protect affordability and that鈥檚 going to be a priority,鈥� said Royes. 鈥淲e want to make sure families can actually afford to live in these spaces and that workforce can live there.鈥�
In addition to residential units, the development will retain YWCA offices and all services currently provided on-site, such as financial literacy resources, after-school programs, tech labs, entrepreneurship support, maternal and child health education, child care, early childhood education programs, educational facilities, job training and soft skills development courses through an expanded partnership with CareerSource.
It will also feature green space and social areas for gatherings.
When asked whether YWCA will welcome commercial use of the property, Royes said: 鈥淓verything will be intentional. We鈥檙e talking to our local community, our CRA, our Overtown residents, downtown Miami and in-between residents to see what the community really needs. We鈥檙e not just going to build commercial spaces just to build. It鈥檚 going to have to be missioncentric.鈥�
Royes told The Miami Times she could not provide us with renderings until the organization has held meetings with stakeholders and community members to discuss the proposed construction plans and building design.
Revenue generated from the project will be used to support YWCA programming.
YWCA says it has plans for a similar development in Miami Gardens, a predominantly Black city where the organization鈥檚 Intergenerational Center is located, but additional details were not provided.
This story was produced by Miami Times, South Florida鈥檚 oldest Black-owned newspaper, as part of a content sharing partnership with the 港澳天下彩newsroom. The reporter can be reached at jcharles@miamitimesonline.com.
