The potential to develop 10,000 homes around a city center is among seven land use changes affecting Kendall and due for action as amendments to the Miami- Dade Comprehensive Development Master Plan this year.
Two of the May 2015 CDMP applications border Krome Avenue and, if approved, would effectively build out the remaining vacant land on both sides of N. Kendall Drive between SW 167th and SW 177th (Krome) avenues.
The largest creates a “Green City” on 860 acres on the north side of N. Kendall Drive from 167th Avenue to Krome Avenue, a move requiring expansion of the Urban Development Boundary (UDB).
Expected to draw heavy environmental opposition for its location adjacent to county well fields, the application projects a density of 40 units per acre in a town center with hotels, shopping and a health-sports center surrounded by residential housing clusters.
Website property records show the major parcels owned by the Miccosukee Tribe for Sub-Division by Miami Everglade Land Company. The Miami Herald reported the Cordoba family of Key Biscayne as the main developer of the involved properties, assembled over the past 15 years. The area is designated by the county for growth after 2020.
Opposite Green City to the south, future commercial development is proposed in a second West Kendall CDMP by Neighborhood Planning Company LLC, South Miami, seeking to place 61 acres in two land parcels solely for business/office use at the southeast corner of Krome and N. Kendall Drive, rather than reserving a portion of one parcel for industrial development.
Although noting the area is “underserved by industrial uses,” the application states the change was partly initiated due to the West End Strategy research report of District 11 Commissioner Juan C. Zapata citing the need to increase the employment base in West Kendall.
New development both north and south of N. Kendall Drive was given impetus this year by commencement by Florida Department of Transportation that began four-laning Krome Avenue south of SW Eighth Street (Tamiami Trail) to Homestead, first leg of a $58.9 million project begun Feb. 15.
That was the primary reason for a third CDMPchange of 4.08 acres at the northeast corner of SW 200th Street (Quail Roost Drive) and SW 177th Avenue from business/ office and agricultural to business /office only, also outside the UDB. Four-laning Krome and the “pressure of new business office locations” were cited for the revision, according to the applicant, the Kaufmann Family Trust, based in Stuart.
During the current schedule, Planning Department recommendations are scheduled to be published on Aug. 25 with public hearings on Kendall projects by Community Councils in September, according to a spokesperson for the Department of Economic and Regulatory Resources that regulates zoning.
All amendment applications are due for public hearings before the Planning Review Board on Oct. 19 and Miami- Dade commissioners on Nov. 18.
Semi-annual CDMP amendment cycles are initiated in May and November of each year, providing an approximate 10-month process to approval or rejection. Small scale (not more than 10 acres) may conclude within seven months. Other May 2015 applications within or near Kendall include:
• Changing agricultural to business/ office use on 10 acres at the southeast corner of SW 127th Avenue and 56th Street (Miller Drive), located on the west edge of Horse Country, for development of a shopping/office center by S. E. Investments Inc., Ponte Vedra, and Miller Country Plaza.
• Changing 10 acres from industrial/ office use on the Future Land Use Plan to provide for townhome development at the corner of SW 134th Street and 132nd Avenue, sought by Jose and Raquel Carro, 13003 Zambrana St., Coral Gables, and Capital Investments Trust Inc.
• Change of 2.19 acres at the northeast corner of SW 112th Street and 184th Avenue from office/residential to business/ office on land now occupied by a day nursery, limited to 100 children, sought by Brown Development Group of South Miami.
• Change from low density residential to business/office use for 2.46 acres at 8800 SW 56 St. to adjust current property use by a restaurant, established in 1975, classified “Small Scale.”
The eighth CDMP request in the May 2015 cycle and the only one not involving southwest Miami-Dade seeks rezoning of 1.16 acres at NE 109th Street and 13th Avenue for parking expansion at an existing shopping center.
