Experts say Homestead needs coordinator to turn former military land into successful project

By Jaime Levy
   With the US Air Force likely to OK the transfer of surplus land at Homestead Air Reserve Base to Miami-Dade County, the next hurdles in using it to rejuvenate South Dade's economy appear to be the need for a unifying redevelopment agency and
   linking the disjointed nature of the tracts.
   John Lynch, a military land reuse consultant with Spectrum Group in Alexandria, VA, compared three other realigned bases he has worked with to Homestead.
   "All three had huge success for two reasons. One, the community organized a nonprofit, community-oriented real estate management entity," said Mr. Lynch, a member of an Urban Land Institute panel commissioned by the county and the Beacon Council to analyze potential for the land. "Two, the Air Force provided adequate land suitable for redevelopment."
   South Dade, doubly hit by Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and the closing and subsequent realignment of Homestead Air Force Base in 1993, has long been awaiting an "economic shot in the arm," said Mary Finlan, executive director for the Homestead-Florida City Chamber of Commerce.
   Several community leaders and land experts stressed the importance an oversight agency would be to coordinate the proposed redevelopment project, at the center of which is an eco-tourism hub called "Destination Everglades." The Urban Land Institute report cited the lack of such an agency as a major detriment.
   "It was very clear to the panel that there was a lot of mistrust in the community," said Peter Smirniotopoulos, chairman of the Urban Land Institute panel and founder of national real estate consulting firm Peter's Group/Consulting. "The best way to make an endeavor like this work is to bring all the stakeholders together and provide a mechanism by which they can have confidence in the process.
   "The creation of a redevelopment agency," he said, "is fundamental to a successful plan."
   County Commissioner Katy Sorenson, who represents southern Miami-Dade, said a redevelopment agency would likely be formed in the next two months.
   A conference to gauge the interest of various investors and developers could be held in mid-March, said Assistant County Manager Bill Johnson, who submitted the county's application for the land transfer in Washington, DC.
   Another of the panel's recommendations related to the non-cohesiveness of the land that would be transferred to the county.
   "The surplus land from the former Homestead Air Base has limited value in today's market, especially given its current condition," the panel wrote. "The acreage consists of a hodge-podge of non-contiguous parcels. The site has limited access and very poor visibility from both major north-south corridors: US1 and Florida's Turnpike.
    The success of the Destination Everglades project, the panel wrote, " is dependent on securing 30 acres of land more favorably situated... to capture existing and future tourist traffic. The panel hopes to secure this acreage by offering 300 acres of Homestead Air Reserve Base surplus property in exchange."
   But Mr. Johnson said the Air Force's general counsel told him such a swap will be the "death knell" of the proposal.
    "They're giving us 717 acres," Mr. Johnson said. "The jobs have to be created on those acres, not off-site."
   Partly because of the undesirability of this land, Ms. Finlan said, she remains skeptical of how effective the county's plans - which are likely to get the go-ahead from Washington, DC, according to a Department of Defense representative - are going to be.
   " I just don't know," she said. "It's been so long. It's very hard to get to feel like something will work. It's hard to picture, but it feels so good to move at all."
   The plan submitted by the county for development of the Air Force property, which narrowly gained approval from commissioners on Dec. 6, pinpoints five separate - but co-existing - uses for the land.
   The five major projects proposed in the county's application for the land transfer are:
   NAn interactive visitor and information center, dubbed "Destination Everglades" by an Urban Land Institute panel that analyzed potential uses for the property. The county's proposal, the final version of which was compiled by Goodkin Consulting, in alliance with PricewaterhouseCoopers, calls for a center operated by the National Park Service. It would target the 1.5 million travelers who annually drive down US 1 and Florida's Turnpike into the Keys or Everglades National Park.
   NA center for environmental and ecological research and training that would work with local colleges, universities, environmental groups and government agencies to provide teaching and research opportunities.
   NA 100-room hotel and conference center to cater to the visitor center and the research center.
   NAn amateur sports activity and training center that would be adjacent to a 213-acre site that the county has already designated as a park space. "Sports tourism and sports businesses are good, clean growth activities," the county's proposal reads.
   NMilitary retiree housing. The proposal suggests building about 250 units that would target non-commissioned military retirees who could "take advantage of the existing military amenities" on the site.
   The proposal's guidelines are loose and need not be followed exactly. To that end, other possibilities already have been suggested, such as a movie studio proposed by County Commissioner Joe Martinez. The idea met with support from commissioners who heard a presentation by Water's Edge Productions, which expressed interest in building a studio in the area.
   To gauge developer and investor interest in the area, the county is planning a developers'conference for mid-March. If the plan is approved by the federal government - which Assistant County Manager Johnson said he expects to happen by the end of January - county officials say they will issue a request for proposals in the next several months, soon after a redevelopment agency is established.