Miami-Dade commissioners approve county-controlled entity to manage public-housing portfolio

Commissioners on the Miami-Dade County Board of County Commissioners approved a measure to create a special-purpose entity that would allow the county commission itself to serve as the governing board for entities that acquire and manage county-owned public housing properties, Commissioner Higgins said during a committee meeting.

Commissioner Higgins described the proposal as a response to a multi-year housing crisis tied to the Miami Beach Community Development Corporation portfolio, saying the county “owned 16 buildings” that at one point threatened to displace “360 some families.” She told colleagues the county has worked with HUD and the state ethics commission and received written permission to proceed with a governance structure in which the Board of County Commissioners would serve as the board of the special-purpose entities.

Supporters said the change would let the county avoid creating a dozen…