‘Have to find a way:' Black leaders in Miami weigh defunded Overtown park's future

Miami Herald

3 days ago

A week after Miami officials were notified a $60 million federal grant to fund a planned urban park in Overtown was rescinded, community and business leaders are focused on next steps to bring the park to the historically Black neighborhood.
Plans for the Underdeck park have been in the works for at least three years, with an expected completion of 2027. Still, Miami Commission Chairwoman Christine King said the lack of funding would delay the project, not suspend it indefinitely. King said commissioners are still trying to process everything, but said immediate next steps would be for them to identify additional funds for the $82 million project, adding that the city, the Omni CRA and the Southeast Overtown/Park West CRA have already invested in the project. Those conversations could happen as soon as September when commissioners return from recess.
'We just got notice last week so, it's a bit of a culture shock, but I'm not discouraged,' she said. 'I understand different administrations have different priorities. They don't always align with the previous administration's priorities. I am looking at this as an opportunity. It's not going to stop us from curating this space. It may slow the process a bit, but the intention remains. This space is important.'
Last year, the Underdeck project was awarded $60 million for the 33-acre park through the federal 'Rebuilding Communities' program, which sought to reconnect communities that were divided by transportation infrastructure decades ago and have been overlooked in more than 40 states. Similar projects were planned in Atlanta, Birmingham, and Philadelphia. The cut of the $60 million was a part of the One Big Beautiful Bill passed by Congress last month.
RELATED: Trump administration kills $60 million grant for Overtown Underdeck park in Miami
The park would be created at street level under the elevated I-395 span being built above in a separate state effort. The park would be home to much needed green space in an area also experiencing gentrification. Plans would include bike paths, walking trails, playgrounds, an urban garden and dog parks stretching from the Overtown's eastern corridor near I-95 to the city's museum district.
The Underdeck project's underlying goal was to connect the parts of Overtown that had been disenfranchised when the I-395 expressway was built.
In the 1960s the construction of I-95 and I-395 right through the heart of Overtown fractured the community and displaced many of its Black residents. The recent film, 'Interstate,' examines the impact of building interstates in marginalized communities, such as Overtown.
Historian Marvin Dunn, who moved to Overtown when he was 11, recalls a community without a single apartment that had a vibrant entertainment area where Black performers flocked. But Dunn said Black people were already slowly leaving Overtown as communities began to integrate, but the Interstate construction forced many Black people out of their homes.
'What happened with the expressway was all of a sudden — 'Wham! You got to go!' The space is gone,' said Dunn.
The Trump Administration's U.S. Department of Transportation made it clear that the intention of the project doesn't align with their goals, calling it a Biden-era initiative that 'tied critical infrastructure funding to woke social justice and climate initiatives that diverted resources from the Department's core mission.'
'Congress was right to cancel this program, which prioritized DEI and Green priorities while ignoring the core infrastructure needs of the country,' a DOT spokesperson told the Miami Herald in an email.
Congresswoman Frederica Wilson said the rescinding of the funds was 'caught up in a web of other projects' to try and balance the budget. Wilson said getting funding for the project will be her top priority when she speaks to the U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy sometime in September.
'I feel he will understand what this project is all about, and what will happen to Miami-Dade County, and especially the downtown area, if this project were not completed,' she said.
But Wilson noted that getting back funding for the project would be an uphill battle given the targeted attacks from the Trump administration on projects and entities that even seemingly promote diversity, equity and inclusion.
'When you go as far as to not understand what DEI really is, this is what our country was built upon. This is who we are. You can't get rid of diversity. You can't run from equity. You can't destroy inclusion. We're here together,' she said. 'So we have to use whatever tools we have and that have been given to us to manage and to survive and to make our cities practical for the people that we serve, and in order to do that, we need help from the federal government.'
Still, Wilson and commission chair King are not deterred from finding the funds to complete the project.
'While it is challenging to replace $60 million, throwing our hands up is not an option,' King said. 'We have to keep moving forward. We have to find a way, and we will.'
Dunn said the canceling of the funding was a 'kick in the gut to the community' and that he envisioned a place where Overtown residents could get fresh food from gardens at the park, similar to his Dunn's Overtown Farm along Third Avenue.
'I saw in my vision lime trees, banana trees, mango trees, large swaths of callaloo, collard greens, cabbage…I thought it was going to be that garden multiplied by 1,000 times,' he said, noting how important green space is to a community. 'It helps you emotionally. It settles you down.'
Tina Brown, chief executive officer of the Overtown Youth Center, said she knows of families that never recovered from the interstate being built in their community. The park would help highlight Overtown's rich cultural history and connect Overtown to the rest of Miami, said the Overtown native.
'The green space project would provide high visibility to a historically Black community that's been long disenfranchised, and really provide an opportunity for residents to feel proud about the place that they live, work and play in,' she said, adding the project likely would've provided job opportunities for Overtown residents and housing stability for people who live in the area.
Metris Batts-Coley, executive director of the Overtown Business Association, said the park would also add much needed foot traffic in the area for businesses. Batts-Coley said the park's location near Brightline transit station would make it easier for residents in Palm Beach to get to the neighborhood, generating revenue for Overtown businesses and letting visitors learn the community's history.
Still, she's optimistic that the city and community leaders will work together to get the project completed.
'I don't know of any other community that deserves this opportunity, other than the historic Overtown neighborhood,' she said.
Miami Herald reporter Doug Hanks contributed to this report.