Related Urban signals withdrawal from Old City Hall project; council closes negotiations and orders re-advertisement

Albert Milo, president of Related Urban, told the City of Homestead council on Jan. 22 that after more than three years of work his firm no longer felt confident moving forward with the proposed redevelopment of the Old City Hall site and related parcels. Milo told the council, “I just don't have a warm and fuzzy about making, you know, several hundred million dollars of investment in the city of Homestead.”

The announcement followed a presentation by the city manager summarizing the latest Related Urban offer and the developer’s environmental testing. City Attorney Michael Pearl advised the council on the next steps; he recommended closing the current solicitation and instructing staff to notify the proposer. Pearl said, “At this point, I would close the process. I would direct staff to write a letter informing that we've decided based on the solicitation that was issued not to proceed.”

Why it matters: the Old City Hall parcel sits at a premier downtown corner that council members described as a potential catalyst for broader downtown redevelopment. Related Urban’s withdrawal leaves the city with decisions about how to re-market the property and how to preserve any community benefits negotiated so far, including a proposed VA clinic, arts commitments and a retail anchor that had been part of the developer’s offers.

What the council did: Councilman Tom Davis moved and Councilman Austin Roth seconded a motion directing staff to close the solicitation, terminate negotiations with Related Urban, accept a formal withdrawal letter when provided, and immediately re-advertise specified parcels. The council also directed staff to: (1) review Related Urban’s vendor invoices for the firm’s site environmental testing and reimburse reasonable costs; (2) re-advertise the southeast parcel (the Flanagan’s/restaurant parcel) using a Section 162 notice; and (3) begin entitlement groundwork and consideration of the western parcel for a VA clinic or library site. The motion passed unanimously.

Council discussion and developer remarks: Milo described a long effort that began in mid‑2021 and said Related invested in environmental testing and planning. He said the firm reduced proposed density and adjusted financial terms over time but concluded current market and process uncertainties make the project commercially impractical for Related. Milo added, “We've never failed in any project. We've never walked away from any project. … I just don't have a warm and fuzzy.” Several council members — including Vice Mayor Fletcher and Councilman Roth — thanked Milo for the work and expressed disappointment that the redevelopment had stalled. Several members said they want a prompt, broader visioning process before re‑advertising the remaining balance of the site.

Next steps and staff instructions: the council instructed staff to obtain Related Urban’s approved work order(s) for the developer‑paid environmental testing and return to council with a recommended reimbursement amount. Staff was also directed to re‑advertise the Flanagan’s parcel under the Section 162 statutory notice and to coordinate a focused visioning/charrette on the remainder of the Old City Hall site before issuing a nationwide solicitation. The city attorney and manager were authorized to take administrative steps to close the negotiation file and implement the council’s direction.

Quotes from the meeting are attributed to speakers on the record. The developer indicated he would follow with a formal withdrawal letter to the city attorney. The council did not approve any redevelopment agreement at the meeting and left open further planning and community visioning before re‑advertisement.