Burgess Seeks Deals To Build Carnival Center Parking

By Deserae del Campo
County Manager George Burgess has ordered an aide to develop deals to build parking garages for the Carnival Center for the Performing Arts by Oct. 31. Two firms are known to be involved.

The center, which opens next month, has 2,500 interim spaces.

In a Sept. 12 memo, Mr. Burgess told Assistant County Manager Roger Carlton to develop "potential agreements for one or more permanent parking structures to serve" the center.

The county is looking to Indiana-based Maefield Development, which plans to build City Square Retail Center. Company officials say Maefield will build a 4,300-space garage, with 1,500 connected to the Carnival Center. They are seeking a $200 million grant from the City of Miami.

Also involved is Charleville Development Corp. Paul Murphy, who owns Charleville with partner Arva Jain, said he has been talking with county and center officials for three months about building two garages. "I’m not sure where negotiations are now," he said Tuesday, "but since this memo is out, I see they are taking it into consideration."

County land on Northeast 12th Street where center construction trailers stood is targeted. Mr. Murphy said county officials would like a two-story garage there because it would not block views of the center.

Also under consideration is Northeast Second Avenue and 13th Street, where a 12-story garage could add 1,000 spaces. Mr. Murphy said a six-story hotel and condo could rise atop the garage and 600 spaces would be allocated to center patrons. He said he sold that site to the Florida Department of Transportation when it was needed for "extensions to the I-395."

Once the state "releases the lot, we can buy it back or have the option to lease the property," he said.

"Both development firms have reached out to us, and we have held some conversations to date," Mr. Carlton said. "The financing is a part of the investigation. We are going to look at two concepts of financing and ownership, which will evolve from the discussions." Advertisement