Good Morning everyone, today I have an article on a housing project trying to do the right thing once they find an old cemetery beneath their proposed buildings.
I also have the link to yesterdays tv add for the Twin City Opera House I did as part of COGS
Fulfilling a pledge, the affordable-housing developers whose construction crews unearthed a long-forgotten ....colored'' cemetery in Northwest Miami have substantially revised their building plans to turn what remains of the old burial ground into a memorial park.
But now they are in a race to save their federal financing, which could be withdrawn if they can't get shovels in the ground for a new phase of construction by early next year at the project on Northwest 71st Street just east of I-95.
The developers, a partnership of Biscayne Housing Group and Carlisle Development, have struck a legal agreement with the YMCA, which owns the property, and a community group that wants the burial ground preserved. The city historic preservation board will decide Tuesday whether the cemetery merits consideration for designation as a historic landmark.
The developers and the YMCA do not object to historic designation. But they need the city to hurry approvals for the revised blueprint -- a process that can take months and several public hearings -- to satisfy the federal deadline.
Otherwise, the second phase of the 310-unit project, designed to provide rentals for low- and moderate-income working families, would be in jeopardy, said Biscayne Housing Group principal Michael Cox. Because the project is funded with federal stimulus money for ....shovel-ready'' projects, it must be under way by March.
....It's a disaster for us and for Miami if we lose that funding,'' Cox said.
Under the agreement, the developers would build a green, tree-shaded memorial park around the one apartment building that was unwittingly constructed atop a portion of the old cemetery -- which did not show up on any public records when the development was approved.
The developers would also maintain the park. A memorial would be designed with members of the black community.
To do so, the developers had their architects, Corwill, of Coral Gables, almost completely revise their approved site plan by eliminating a parking garage and a parking lot. They also shifted a residential tower off the cemetery site and onto the western half of the extensive property. Parking would be combined in one large structure off the burial ground.
....It's a wonderful example of what can happen when nonprofit, for-profit and community come together,'' said Alfred Sanchez, CEO of the YMCA of Greater Miami.
A BUFFERAlthough a 1925 real-estate map that turned up after the cemetery was found in April showed the east-west width at 150 feet, the developers agreed to go well beyond that, making the memorial park 231 feet wide, Cox said. That would provide a buffer between the cemetery grounds and additional construction and driveways.
....We want to do the right thing. I think we have a great solution,'' Cox said. ....The idea is not only to provide access, but an approach that can have benches and signage on the history of the site.''
Because the redesign is so extensive, the developers must reapply to the city for a ....major use special'' permit and other permits that had already been granted. Those permits also require approval by the City Commission. Initial feedback from city planners, Cox said, ....has been very positive.''
If the preservation board eventually designates the cemetery, it could also need to review the new plans to ensure compatibility with the historic site. But designation is not a sure thing because, under the city preservation ordinance, cemeteries are generally excluded from consideration as historic sites unless they are the resting place of notable figures. So far, there is no evidence of that in the Lemon City cemetery.
HUNDREDS OF BODIESBackers of designation, however, note that evidence found since the cemetery's discovery convincingly demonstrates that perhaps hundreds of pioneering black Miamians -- most working people, many of Bahamian extraction -- were buried there in the early 20th century. What is unclear is how many remain buried in the cemetery. All markings are long gone. The site was partially built on at least twice previously, disturbing or eradicating at least some graves. Some bodies may have been moved long ago.