Coral Gables balks at long-term Underline cost jump

Coral Gables officials have agreed to look into the shifted Underline fee agreement with Miami-Dade County that see the city’s costs for the project’s maintenance rising to about $1 million a year.

At Tuesday’s meeting, the city commission discussed the initial annual agreement fee of $358,882 for the maintenance of the Underline that was recently changed by the county.

Now, those maintenance fees have shifted to roughly $180,000 for this year, and moving forward into the 2027 fiscal year, the county has requested the city to fund $1 million annually with an established request of 5% increase in escalation, and up towards roughly $4.9 million through a five-year commitment.

“I would like for staff to present on the next commission meeting, the fiscal year 2026, with the $180,000 maintenance fee of the Underline. I don’t have a problem with that. I’m ready to move forward on that,” Mayor Vince Lago said. “Then I want to have our team sit down in conversation with the county and with the Underline to see what the next three to five years will look like, because I will not support a project longer than three years, and with an increase, I will not. We need to be very careful.”

Approximately three miles, or 26%, of the Underline’s right of way runs through the City of Coral Gables, from Southwest 38th Avenue all the way to Southwest 57th Avenue. The city has already contributed over $7 million toward capital expenditures associated with the construction of the project since its inception in 2018.

The Underline is a 120-acre urban trail and park system transforming the land beneath the Metrorail into a walkable, bikeable public space stretching from downtown Miami to Kendall. The intent has been to improve connectivity across the neighboring cities of Miami, Coral Gables, South Miami, and unincorporated Miami-Dade County, enhance access to transit, and serve more than 125,000 residents who live within a 10-minute walk.

The Underline Conservancy, a public-private board composed of appointees by the Friends of The Underline and publicly appointed officials, oversees everything from daily maintenance and operations to public art and free programming along the 10-mile path. To keep things running long-term, it relies on contributions from both private and public sectors, including Miami-Dade County and the cities through which it runs, and the Friends of The Underline.

“We’ve had this scenario already. I’m not going to allow it to happen again. I want commitments, and I want to be backstopped to ensure that everybody’s skin is in the game,” the mayor said. “I want to have a very clear schedule, values, scope, cost, budget, and a plan of action fund over the next three to five years, and I need that same commitment from the Underline with the schedule, and I need the same commitment from the county.”