Florida Memorial University partners with developer for multi-million dollar upgrades
William McCormick and his staff had been trying to recruit professors to Florida Memorial University, the only historically Black university in South Florida, but ran into an issue: new hires couldn't find affordable housing.
'Even when we interviewed qualified candidates, they would accept the job, but then they couldn't find proper housing,' McCormick, FMU's interim president told the Miami Herald. 'So we didn't get quality hires on board because they just couldn't afford to find some place to stay.'
The average salary for an employee at Florida Memorial is $77,611, according to Salary.com, a website that contains compensation data, but the median cost of a home in Miami Gardens, where FMU is located, is more than $530,000, according to Zillow, and the average cost of rent is $3,000.
The solution that the university found was to partner with a Miami-based developer to build workforce housing for its employees and residents and additional student housing with the hopes of accommodating its current student population and increasing enrollment. The partnership with Redwood Dev Co would add at least six residential buildings with 300 units each on partially-vacant land owned by the university just outside of its campus in Miami Gardens near the Miami-Opa-locka Executive Airport.
Another 1,000 dorms will also be built on campus, co-founder and principal David Burstyn told the Herald. Plans also call for updated amenities, including a cafe, new basketball courts, a turf field, and academic facilities. All told, the development could cost between $500 million and $1 billion, he said. Construction is expected to begin within the next 12 months. Details on the price for the workforce housing units have not been released.
The partnership is similar to other private-public partnerships developers do with municipalities. FMU will lease its land for a select amount of years to developers at a low rate, and Redwood Dev Co will find the financing for the development.
'What we're going to be doing in that first phase is a complete face-lift of the front of the university with the security-guard gate, landscaping and giving a real curb appeal, freshness for the community,' Burstyn said. 'So when you drive through FMU, you could really see that this is a project that is being underway and has not only the short-term but the long-term vision.'
McCormick said he also wants to grow the student population from 1,300 to about 3,000 students, something that additional beds could help with. Right now, the university has about 800 beds for students.
When McCormick saw the lack of affordable housing in South Florida cost FMU new hires, he realized the university had enough land to meet a need on campus and for its potential employees . He eventually met with Burstyn about potentially building housing on and near campus and other potential upgrades on campus. A plan was presented to and approved by the FMU board of trustees at a February meeting, McCormick said. 'There's a big need in Miami-Dade, and being able to present an opportunity for them to get some decent housing, I think it's a good testament to our commitment to [residents] as they've been committed to us,' he said about the affordable housing.
'Part of this vision of President McCormick is what's also going to help the growth of the university,' Redwood Dev. Co co-founder and principal Brian Sidman said. 'By having additional housing on the workforce side and helping the local community, we will also help with his vision for the university in terms of growing the student population with new best-in-class facilities.'
Developers have also partnered with Miami-based architect Kobi Karp, who wants to maintain the history of the 146-year-old institution while highlighting it as an 'educational destination.' Karp said the school's location near the border of Broward and Miami-Dade counties makes it a prime institution to attract students across South Florida.
'We want to step up and create a campus that is relevant and compatible,' Karp told the Herald. 'I have a desire, with the president and his whole team, to create a signature destination here, second to none.'
McCormick views the partnership as a possibility for other HBCUs that might be running into a similar issue. 'How many other HBCUs across the country could benefit from a model that we are creating, a national model?' he wondered. 'We're going to start local, bring the benefits and show the diversity of ideas and vision, the innovation, and create this development ecosystem on the campuses of HBCUs.'
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