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Opa-Locka city hall

Miami

Old Neighborhood Shows Off Its Architectural Glory

Beaches, tourists, Art Deco buildings, and high finance corporations define one image of Miami. But behind the glitz there is another. Officially designated "the poorest city in America" by the federal government, Miami ranks last among major cities in median income (according to the 2000 census), with an unusually small middle class and a low homeownership rate.

A growing number of community development corporations (CDCs) have come into being since the mid-1980s to respond to the critical housing and social needs in Miami-Dade County. Thanks to their efforts, supported by government and private investors working together, some distressed neighborhoods-neighborhoods as diverse as South Beach and East Little Havana-have undergone astonishing metamorphoses.

Another success story is the Opa-Locka neighborhood, home to the largest collection of Moorish/Arabian architecture in the country. With federal and private sector support from Living Cities, working through the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), the Opa-Locka CDC launched a series of successful commercial revitalization projects. One of the largest was the restoration in l992 of the historic Hurt Building, which now houses a women's clinic and several small businesses.

The CDC has also completed a façade revitalization program and a business development initiative that expanded ten businesses, created more than 50 new jobs, and now provides technical assistance to 100 local businesses. Even the historic Opa-Locka train station, abandoned since 1980, has been rehabilitated and space made available for community gatherings and offices of local charities. Because its community has been designated an Enterprise Zone, the Opa-Locka CDC now qualifies to offer local, state, and federal tax incentives to businesses that locate there.

Since its inception in 1980, Opa-Locka CDC has also produced some 1,500 units of housing. A host of additional housing and commercial development projects are in the pipeline.