Miami CRA approves security-contract access, $200,000 arts grant, $3.5M greenway pledge and Ninth Street contract increase

The Southeast Overtown Park West Community Redevelopment Agency on July 24, 2025, unanimously approved four measures that authorize use of a city security-services contract, establish a public-arts grant, pledge funds for the I‑395 underdeck greenway and increase the professional-services agreement for the Ninth Street Pedestrian Mall.

The board voted to: allow the CRA to access the City of Miami contract for security-guard services pursuant to Section 18-111 of the Code of the City of Miami; establish a public-arts activation and beautification grant with funding not to exceed $200,000 (Exhibit A is the application); commit up to $3,500,000 to the City of Miami for development and coordination of the I‑395 underdeck greenway (the Reverend Edward T. Graham Heritage Trail Project); and amend the professional-services agreement (PSA) with Hood Design to add up to $2,600,000 for additional landscape-architectural services for the Ninth Street Pedestrian Mall, bringing the contract not to exceed $2,900,000 and updating the proposal attached to the resolution.

Why it matters: the largest allocation — up to $3.5 million — is designated to support the I‑395 underdeck greenway project being coordinated with the City of Miami. The arts grant is intended to fund public-arts activations and beautification within the CRA area. The Hood Design amendment increases the agency’s contracted design capacity for the Ninth Street Pedestrian Mall.

Meeting action and context: the executive director, James D. McQueen, introduced the four items and asked Deputy Executive Director Vincent T. Brown to read them into the record. There was no public comment. A motion to pass the items was made and seconded; the chair called the vote and the board approved the items unanimously, with Items 2 (the arts grant) and 4 (the Hood Design amendment) approved as amended.

Details of each item:

- I‑395 underdeck greenway (Reverend Edward T. Graham Heritage Trail Project): a resolution authorizing the executive director to meet a funding commitment to the City of Miami for development and coordination in an amount not to exceed $3,500,000. The resolution text appears on the meeting record as Item 3.

- Ninth Street Pedestrian Mall — Hood Design PSA amendment: a resolution, previously deferred, authorizes the executive director to amend the PSA with Hood Design and allocate additional funds not to exceed $2,600,000 to increase the existing contract capacity for additional landscape-architectural services; total contract not to exceed $2,900,000. The item also updated the attached proposal (resolution cited as RFP 23-01 / CRE 23-0063, Exhibit B).

- Public arts activation and beautification grant: a resolution establishing the grant program and approving funding for the program not to exceed $200,000. Exhibit A was identified in the record as the grant application form. The item was approved with an amendment (the record does not specify the amendment text).

- Security-guard services: a resolution with attachments authorizing accessing the City of Miami contract provision for security-guard services for the Southeast Overtown Park West CRA pursuant to Section 18-111 of the Code of the City of Miami.

Votes at a glance: all four items were approved in a single vote; the meeting record reports the motion carried unanimously with Items 2 and 4 approved as amended.

Public participation and next steps: there were no public speakers on these items. The executive director and staff will proceed with contract access, grant program setup, the funding commitment process with the City of Miami and the Hood Design contract amendment as authorized by the resolutions.