Freedom Park, soccer stadium are economic, environmental wins for Miami

Big decisions never come easy. Converting Melreese Country Club into Miami Freedom Park was no exception. As my fellow Miami City commissioners and I considered the proposal, Miami’s ill-fated history with stadiums hung heavy over our heads: Do we repeat past mistakes, or do we learn from them? Through years of hardfought negotiations, I can say that we chose the latter.

The financial terms of the soccer stadium agreement are a big win for Miami. Equally as important, this is an environmental win for the city. As a staunch environmental advocate, I continually asked why, in a growing city of concrete and towers, would we redevelop our largest parcel of green space? The answer is, because it makes sense. We will be trading a contaminated parcel of land for a cleaner and larger one, all without spending a penny of taxpayer money.

I came into politics seven years ago after fighting the city for the remediation of a contaminated park in front of my home. During my two terms as commissioner, I have worked with city administration to finalize the cleanup of 85 contaminated acres in six city parks and to expand our parks system through legislation and funding. The Greenway ordinance that I have introduced will allow us to complete the five-mile Miami Baywalk through greater downtown Miami.

Furthermore, the “No Net Loss” provision in the city charter requires us to replace any green space that is converted to other uses. That is exactly what is happening in this situation.

Let’s look at Melreese in its current form. As you fly into Miami International Airport, the golf course has the visual appeal of a vast and healthy green space. However, this verdant facade hides an untreated landfill just inches below the sod. Kids can learn to golf there, but they cannot sit on the grass because remediation was insufficient for park use. Moreover, the large quantities of fertilizers, weed killers and pesticides used to maintain the golf course flow directly into the abutting Miami River.

As for accessibility, the discounted rate for a Miami resident to play a few hours of golf on that grass is $90. These factors alone might have been enough for another city to give away the land and offer a subsidy. In Las Vegas and Buffalo, residents are subsidizing two new stadiums to the tune of more than $750 million each.

But Miami’s history — and our commission — demanded that there be zero subsidy, zero free land, market-rate commercial rent and tax revenues to the city. Jobs will start at $18 an hour and include organized labor in construction and hospitality. This combination of positives was unprecedented, but the No Net Loss provision still remained. I held firm that, in addition to the cited financials, the developers would have to commit to:

Receive no discount on its market-rate rent for the cost of the contamination cleanup.

Complete a $30 million contamination remediation of the entire site, at their own cost.

Create a new open, free-to-the-public 58-acre park, at their own cost.

Create $20 million worth of new parks throughout the city to make up for the lost green space on site, at their own cost.

Provide $5 million toward completion of the 10-acre Miami Baywalk Greenway, at their own cost.

I challenged this project to become the best stadium deal any city in the country has ever written. As the swing vote to put the item on the ballot, and then approve the deal, I had the leverage to make sure every single one of my demands for the city was met. And they were. The developers agreed to every term.

When this project is completed, we will have cleaned up a major landfill with a state-of-the-art remediation process and gained beautiful new park space. I believe that economically and environmentally, this project will make Miami proud for many years to come.

Ken Russell represents District 2 on the Miami City Commission. He is a candidate for U.S. Congressional District 27.