Duo would like to redevelop Gwen Cherry/ Poinciana Park

There might not be a Melvin Bratton without Gwen Cherry Park.

That’s where the Miami Hurricanes legend first ran track, first got recruited and, of course, first played football. So when the opportunity arose to redevelop the Poinciana/Gwen Cherry Project, the Liberty City native dreamed big.

Bratton and Liberty City-raised Audrey James want to transform the area into something the pair calls the Royal Poinciana Project, a mixed-use housing community with a trade school, supermarket and a multicultural food hall showcasing cuisines found throughout Miami-Dade. Additional features include a gas station, an after school program and space for various shops.

“This right here supersedes everything I’ve ever done in the sports arena,” said Bratton, who played two years for the Denver Broncos and founded Zenith Developers Group in 2020. The project will be Bratton’s first in the continental U.S.; he also has partnered with Coastline-Nakash Equity Capital and Coastal Construction on a hotel project in Puerto Rico.

An estimated $300 million will be needed to redevelop the more than 23 acres of county-owned land, funding that James says they already secured.

“Me and Mr. Bratton know what the community needs and that’s what we’re aiming toward,” said James, the founder of the Luther James Cox Community Development Corporation, a nonprofit that primarily assists veterans and their families with everything from food to clothing.

At a time when developers nationwide are scooping up land in Miami-Dade like fumbles on Sundays, Bratton and James represent a homegrown approach. Both came of age in the Liberty Square Housing project. Both graduated from Miami Northwestern. And, most notably, both desire to better the community that raised them.

“That’s where I started my career,” Bratton said, “and I want to finish it with developing [the Royal Poinciana] and being able to take the kids off the street.”

Bratton and James will need the county commission’s approval before proceeding, something they hope to receive in the coming months. Under the proposal, the county would receive 20% of profit from the project. The partners say the project will create 1,500 permanent jobs and James’ nonprofit which, due to its nonprofit status, is a valuable asset to the project because of its lending powers.

“I would be able to lend funds out to the community for people to enhance their company, their organization or to get businesses started,” James said.

Bratton and James said they intend to collaborate with the county before developing plans or renderings.

The very idea of the project intrigued Realtor Neal Oates Jr.

“Anytime positive development comes into a neighborhood, I think it just helps the community,” said Oates, the owner of South Florida-based World Renowned Real Estate. “A project like this, where it’s mixed use, is beneficial for housing and also for employment and job creation.”

More than the shiny buildings and potential job creation, Bratton just wants kids from Liberty City to understand that anything is possible.

“I want an inner city kid to say that ‘Mel Bratton and Audrey James came from this neighborhood and they came back to develop it,” Bratton said. “We’re giving hope.”