Town Park Plaza South Welcomes 45 Families

the Miami Times

By Erik Bojnansky

Miami Times Contributor

Dec 23, 2020

After being away from their homes for more than a year, dozens of individuals, couples and families returned to a newly renovated Town Park Plaza South, just a few days before Christmas.

Crystal Demps, a resident since 1975, said she is grateful for the renovations and new kitchen appliances, and thrilled to be back home in time for the holidays.

“I’m thankful for everything,” said Demps, tearing up.

The homecoming event was marked by the Southeast Overtown Park West Community Redevelopment Agency (SEOPW CRA) on Tuesday morning with a press conference, speeches and a breakfast buffet. But for the residents, the best holiday gift was to see their new one- to four-bedroom apartments, with new walls, kitchen appliances, granite countertops and bathrooms.

Located just east of I-95 at 1798 NW 5th Ave., Town Park Plaza South consists of 116 units spread out in 16 buildings. Originally built in 1971, the community is one of the few examples of a federal Housing and Urban Development subsidized co-op for very low-to moderate-income families left in the United States. Residents pay 30% of their income to help maintain the building and also receive a share in the co-op.

But by the early 2000s, conditions had deteriorated far beyond what residents could pay to help maintain it.

“We were in a very deplorable state,” said Pauline Baithwaite, a 30-year resident and past president of the development’s co-op board.

When HUD refused to help, Baithwaite said residents pleaded for assistance from the county and city.

In 2017, SEOPW CRA committed $13.5 to renovate Town Park Plaza South. By the end of the project, that cost ballooned to more than $15 million. Conducted in phases by H.A. Contracting, residents were relocated to other housing units within the CRA when available while their units were being worked on. When units weren’t available, residents were given vouchers of $1,000 a month to go toward rent elsewhere.

Forty-seven of Town Park Plaza South’s 116 units were completed prior to the pandemic. The next 45 units were substantially completed this past July, but, unfortunately, city permitting regulations held up the granting of a temporary certificate of occupancy, or TCO. Among other things, the City of Miami demanded that SEOPW CRA and the co-op board cough up an additional $136,000 TCO fee.

Miami City Commissioner Jeffrey Watson

Gregory Reed

To prevent the project from going even further over budget and enable more Town Park Plaza residents to move back into their co-ops before Christmas, Miami City Commissioner Jeffrey Watson pushed for a new code that would disallow the municipality from charging multiple TCO fees for publicly funded affordable housing projects. It was passed unanimously by the Miami City Commission on Dec. 10.

“It comes as no financial impact to the city and it winds up being the right thing to do,” Watson, whose district includes Overtown, told The Miami Times. Besides bringing some “certainty in these uncertain times” for Town Park Plaza, he said the code can be applied to future affordable housing projects funded by the City of Miami and the CRA.

Edward Burgess and his wife lived in Town Park Plaza South for more than 20 years; the couple had to be away from their home for 18 months. When asked what that was like, Burgess winced.

“Terrible,” he said, “but we got through it.”

Ginetta James lived in Town Park Plaza South with her son for 10 years. She had to be relocated for 18 months as well.

“We just wanted to get back. We just wanted to get back,” she said.

Crystal Demps, Town Park Plaza South resident, in her newly renovated home.

Gregory Reed

Demps said there was a strong sense of community at the co-op prior to the renovations.

“We used to have a party every holiday. Halloween parties. Easter Parties. Christmas … We even had dances for the kids,” she recalled.

But work isn’t quite done yet. There are still 24 units be to be completed, although SEOPW CRA anticipates that work should be done by the end of January.

Cornelius Shiver, executive director of the agency, said it is also hard at work completing renovations at Town Park Plaza North, a 169-unit project that is nearly 80% complete which has so far cost SEOPW CRA more than $22 million. Coming soon is a rehab of the 147 units that make up Town Park Village No. 1, a project that will be financed by an $18 million grant.

Shiver said the goal is to use the increase in property taxes collected within the booming Miami Worldcenter section, located in Park West, to help fund affordable housing projects within Overtown, thereby enabling the area’s current residents to remain as the surrounding area gentrifies.

Karla Colon, Town Park Plaza South resident.

Gregory Reed

“We are trying to send a message that those who have suffered the longest … should be the first benefiting from anything the CRA does,” Shiver said.

For her part, Braithwaite said she is extremely pleased that this milestone at Town Park Plaza South has been achieved.

“It is a welcoming site, especially for the holidays,” she said. “I am overwhelmed with joy and happiness. The inside of the units are so beautiful. So beautiful.

The Miami Times is the largest Black-owned newspaper in the south serving Miami's Black community since 1923. The award-winning weekly is frequently recognized as the best Black newspaper in the country by the National Newspaper Publishers Association.