Miami Worldcenter name may get ride on Metromover station

The Park West Metromover Station could be renamed this week for the nearby Miami Worldcenter development without the county receiving naming rights payments or repayment of its costs in making the name change.

The resolution by Commission Keon Hardemon to permanently name the 800 NE Second Ave. site the Miami Worldcenter Metromover Station comes without a prior committee hearing. It also reverses a 17-year county aim after it hired a consultant to sell naming rights for transit stations.

The last transit station to be renamed was last June, when Miami-Dade sold naming rights to the Civic Center Metrorail Station to the University of Miami’s Health System for just over $2.9 million for 20 years. The station became UHealth Jackson Station last July 1.

UHealth was to pay the cost to update wayfinding signs with the station’s new name and throughout the Metrorail system.

UHealth was also to pay to install digital high-resolution displays, wall mounted and in kiosks, “for informative content, branding, and engagement material for transit riders passing through the station.” An advertising program managed by Outfront Media Group would still sell other outdoor advertising at the station.

By federal rules, funds from a transit naming rights sale must go to the county’s Department of Transportation and Public Works for transit uses. UHealth holds options to renew its deal for two 10-year periods.

The county commission approved the UHealth Jackson deal unanimously with no discussion or prior hearing.

Mr. Hardemon’s resolution says reasons to hand the Park West station’s name to the Miami Worldcenter development are that it is “critically important to the economic revitalization and enhancement of the Downtown Miami area and to the county as a whole” and that it would “promote and identify this landmark which is expected to have a positive impact on the growth of our local economy and the tourism industry.”

The legislation says the project, which has been rising piece by piece for years, “is a 27-acre multi-block, mixed-use development that will include residential, commercial, and hospitality uses, including over 300,000 square feet of retail, restaurant, and entertainment space” between Northeast Sixth and 11th streets.

Miami Today reported in January that the Park West Metromover Station was to close for up to six months as part of a project to modernize the station, with the county saying the revamp is a key component of the Miami Worldcenter development.

The county’s Department of Transportation and Public Works, in partnership with developers of Miami Worldcenter, were to complete a series of enhancements to revamp the station’s appearance and boost safety for commuters.

During the renovation, Metromover vehicles are bypassing the Park West station.

One notable improvement, the county said, included installation of brighter, more efficient lighting throughout the station and its surroundings, providing a safer and more welcoming environment, particularly during evening operating hours.

Changes are to replace platform tiles, add new entrance canopies and refurbish escalators to improve flow and safety, install new platform seating, and restore concrete walls and ceiling with fresh paint and sealing.

Similar closures and improvements have been made to the Freedom Tower and Museum Park stations, the county said in January.

The transit system has been trying to sell off its stations’ names since 2008, when it hired Front Row Marketing Services to bring in deals along the Metromover line. Front Row estimated the county during the 2008 real estate crash could get from a low of $2,500 a year for the Third Street Station to $48,000 a year at Bayfront Park. The company estimated $42,500 for the Omni stop, $37,000 for Government Center and $32,000 for Eighth Street in Brickell. Those deals were never made.

The county has succeeded, however, in highly publicized naming rights sales, most recently getting $117 million to name the county’s basketball arena Kaseya Center for 17 years after an ongoing center naming deal with currency trader FTX collapsed along with FTX.

The county has 22 more Metrorail stations and the other Metromover stations remaining for possible naming rights deals, as well as the 14 new rapid transit bus stations along the South Dade Transitway that is to open this year. No names have yet been announced for those busway stations.