FIU presents strategic plan, urges North Miami Beach to focus infrastructure, performance metrics and targeted economic redevelopment

Florida International University researchers presented a pair of plans and recommended actions aimed at guiding North Miami Beach’s development over the next decade.

The presentations by FIU’s Metropolitan Center emphasized three priorities: a capital improvements push to repair aging infrastructure; stronger, integrated community and economic development decision-making; and adoption of performance measures that let residents and officials track results, the presenters said.

The plans are strategic rather than prescriptive. “We did not do a business plan. This is a strategic plan,” Dr. Howard Frank told the commission, describing a 20,000–30,000-foot view intended to steer future project-level decisions. He said the team grounded recommendations in nearly 500 resident surveys, 20 interviews with city leaders and multiple stakeholder roundtables.

Dr. Ned Murray, who led the economic development study, said the city has “representation” of advanced and targeted industry sectors but lacks a critical mass. He recommended focusing on redevelopment nodes (the boulevard gateway, Nineteenth Avenue and an innovation district near 150th/160th) and on small business growth, targeted workforce training and multi-point marketing to attract employers and retain residents.

Key findings the teams highlighted included: - Infrastructure: repeated stakeholder feedback that streets, signage, public amenities and other assets are “long in the tooth” and must be addressed as a foundation for economic growth. - Integrated decision-making: a recommendation to tie planning, zoning and economic development into an integrated function so tax base gains from new development outweigh added city service costs. - Performance metrics: creation of a common dashboard to track quality and cost of services, economic indicators and project return on investment. - Workforce and education: concern from residents about local schools and the need for more targeted workforce training aligned with growth sectors.

The FIU teams proposed an eight-pillar approach that bundles infrastructure, code enforcement, workforce, education engagement, placemaking and targeted redevelopment. “Job 1 is infrastructure,” Frank said. Murray added that North Miami Beach has higher-than-typical labor-force participation and pockets of young professionals—assets to build on—but that many residents commute out of the city for work, which weakens the local tax base.

Commissioners pressed for quick next steps and implementation structure. Several requested a retreat-style workshop to refine priorities, clarify roles and assemble a working group that would prepare an implementation plan with budgeted actions. City staff said they would distribute the full reports to commissioners, schedule a follow-up and propose a timeline for a centennial-year rollout of near-term projects and community engagement.

The presenters stressed the plans are meant to be “living” documents that guide incremental action rather than fixed prescriptions; commissioners asked staff to return with a proposed implementation calendar and a format for tracking key performance indicators.