Overtown renaissance sparks hope and concern
The Miami Times
By Amelia Orjuela Da Silva
This article originally appeared in The Miami Times.
More than $39M from HUD have been granted to Miami-Dade County and the city of Miami for Overtown revitalizations.
(Instagram@mayordlc)
HUD's $40M grant aims to redevelop historic neighborhood, but residents fear displacement
Overtown, a historic Black neighborhood once known as the "Harlem of the South" for its thriving arts and business community, is on the verge of a major transformation. A more than $39 million grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), awarded through the Choice Neighborhoods program, is helping to redevelop key public housing sites and improve infrastructure.
But while the move signals progress for some, long-time residents worry that the revitalization could erase the neighborhood’s cultural heritage.
Revitalizing Overtown
Culmer Place renderings include a pool and a fitness center.
(Courtesy of Atlantic Pacific Companies)
The HUD grant, awarded in July 2024, will focus on redeveloping Culmer Gardens and Culmer Place, two public housing developments built in the 1970s and 1980s. A local developer, Atlantic Pacific Companies (APC), will replace the old buildings with more than 1,000 mixed-income units.
“The HUD grant was the result of a very competitive national ‘beauty contest,’ which took into account all of the great things that were already happening in Overtown, such as the new Underdeck, grocers like Target, Publix and Aldi coming to the neighborhood, and the progress we had already made with the first phase of Culmer Place being under construction,” said Kenneth Naylor, president of development at Atlantic Pacific Companies.
The current look of Phase I of Culmer Place in Overtown, set to be completed in the spring of 2025.
(L-R) James D. McQueen, SEOPW CRA's executive director; Chairwoman Christine King and Commissioner Keon Hardemon.
“This is a huge win for us,” King told The Miami Times. “The partnership between Commissioner (Keon) Hardemon and myself, with the support of Camillus House and our public safety team, helped make this grant possible.”
Camillus House is coordinating and providing case management and supportive services for the overall development of the Culmer Gardens and Culmer Place housing units.
A new chapter
Atlantic Pacific Companies has pledged to increase the number of units from 226 to 1,056. The redevelopment will include a variety of housing options: 621 affordable housing units, 212 market-rate units, and 10 workforce townhomes. Only the existing 226 units will remain as public low-income housing.
Culmer Place's adjacent apartments will soon undergo redevelopment.
“We understand the fear of gentrification, especially with rising rents in Miami, but we are working actively to mitigate those effects,” said King.
Atlantic Pacific, whose offices are located in Overtown, views the development as an opportunity to invest its “time, expertise, and resources right in our backyard.”
“We respect the rich cultural history of Overtown and want to make sure the redevelopment of Culmer is something residents and community stakeholders are proud of,” said Naylor.
Chairwoman Christine King
A critical concern throughout this redevelopment has been ensuring that no residents are displaced. Naylor said the company has held more than 15 resident meetings over the past six years to keep residents informed and involved, underscoring its commitment to ensuring that the community members who have lived in Culmer Gardens and Culmer Place for decades can return once the new homes are ready.
The first phase, currently under construction, is set to be completed by the spring of 2025 and will include 239 units, along with amenities such as a fitness center, community rooms and a large community pool.
Displacement and gentrification
Overtown was once known as the "Harlem of the South" for its thriving arts and business community.
Nicole Crooks, Catalyst Miami
Nicole Crooks, a community engagement manager at Catalyst Miami and an Overtown resident since 2011, is one of the voices leading the charge for more inclusive and equitable development.
“Any development that happens in Overtown really has to be rooted from a space of inclusivity and equity,” Crooks said, “redevelopment that occurs without the tremendous amount of displacement where any development is actively prioritizing the residents of Overtown over profit.”
She also advocates implementing permanent affordability and rent stabilization to ensure families can stay long-term. Crooks is also concerned about the dissolution of the Overtown Community Oversight Board, which once ensured community input in development decisions. She insists that without a community-driven approach, redevelopment risks becoming an extractive process, where residents bear the costs of gentrification while outside investors reap the rewards.
Keith Ivory is a lifelong resident and a historian who provides tours around the neighborhood.
Local historian and lifelong resident Keith Ivory shared similar concerns, noting that urban renewal projects have often failed to benefit the people who need it most.
“Overtown has become a golden egg for developers,” Ivory explains. “Even though there are incentives for developers to come in under the guise of ‘I'm building in a low-income neighborhood,’ the residents never end up really benefiting from it.”
Crooks adds that the cultural legacy of Overtown is at risk as historic buildings are replaced by generic new constructions.
“Development should benefit the people who have been here the longest,” Crooks emphasized. “Without binding community benefits agreements — guaranteeing affordable housing, local hiring, and environmental protections — we risk making the same mistakes of the past.”
Nicole Crooks is a community engagement manager for Catalyst Miami an Overtown resident.
Crooks added that housing should be limited to only 30% of people’s income because, in Overtown, people are often pressed to find somewhere else to live with a household income of less than $12,000.
Eric Bason, another resident, shared Crooks' frustration. He feels that the neighborhood’s rich cultural history is being erased in the name of progress.
“If we say we love our culture, then we need to take steps to preserve it. It’s about ownership — owning homes, owning businesses,” he said.
Bason, who has been involved in community advocacy, points out that many of the changes in Overtown are happening without input from its residents. He explained that most meetings about new developments involve more developers than residents in the room.
“They’re talking about subsidizing rents for a few years, but what happens after that?” he said. “There are no real solutions for long-term residents. They’re building these places near transit stations and downtown, but they’re not building for low-income families. The gap between ‘affordable housing’ and ‘low-income housing’ is huge.”
Overtown’s legacy and visual appeal
SEOPW CRA established the Facade Beautification and Workforce Training Program, members of which just completed Culmer Village.
On the other hand, James D. McQueen, executive director of the Southeast Overtown/Park West Community Redevelopment Agency (SEOPW CRA), who is also a long-time resident, believes in preserving the cultural heritage of Overtown while also revitalizing the area.
“Our vision is to make Overtown a thriving arts and entertainment hub again, bringing back the sense of community and pride lost when I-95 fragmented this neighborhood,” he said.
McQueen and the SEOPW CRA are working on several initiatives to enhance the visual appeal of Overtown, including a Facade Beautification and Workforce Training Program. The program, in collaboration with Florida International University, provides residents with job skills in carpentry and painting, offering hands-on experience in rehabilitating buildings in the community. Members just finished the Culmer Village Townhouses.
“It’s not just about beautifying the neighborhood, but about empowering people with skills that lead to jobs,” McQueen said.
Overtown’s future
The construction of I-95 and I-395 in the 1960s was considered the end of a prosperous era for Overtown.
In addition to housing, the HUD grant will support crucial infrastructure projects designed to improve connectivity and mobility, working hand in hand with the $84 million “Underdeck,” a park and pedestrian corridor beneath I-395, linking Overtown with downtown Miami. These efforts are part of the broader $332 million transformation plan to revitalize Overtown.
“This is a community that has been waiting for revitalization for decades,” King said. “This is not just about new buildings; it’s about restoring pride and opportunity for the people who’ve lived here for so long.”
Red Rooster in Overtown is helping to attract more visitors to the area.
By Amelia Orjuela Da Silva
This article originally appeared in The Miami Times.
More than $39M from HUD have been granted to Miami-Dade County and the city of Miami for Overtown revitalizations.
(Instagram@mayordlc)
HUD's $40M grant aims to redevelop historic neighborhood, but residents fear displacement
Overtown, a historic Black neighborhood once known as the "Harlem of the South" for its thriving arts and business community, is on the verge of a major transformation. A more than $39 million grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), awarded through the Choice Neighborhoods program, is helping to redevelop key public housing sites and improve infrastructure.
But while the move signals progress for some, long-time residents worry that the revitalization could erase the neighborhood’s cultural heritage.
Revitalizing Overtown
Culmer Place renderings include a pool and a fitness center.
(Courtesy of Atlantic Pacific Companies)
The HUD grant, awarded in July 2024, will focus on redeveloping Culmer Gardens and Culmer Place, two public housing developments built in the 1970s and 1980s. A local developer, Atlantic Pacific Companies (APC), will replace the old buildings with more than 1,000 mixed-income units.
“The HUD grant was the result of a very competitive national ‘beauty contest,’ which took into account all of the great things that were already happening in Overtown, such as the new Underdeck, grocers like Target, Publix and Aldi coming to the neighborhood, and the progress we had already made with the first phase of Culmer Place being under construction,” said Kenneth Naylor, president of development at Atlantic Pacific Companies.
The current look of Phase I of Culmer Place in Overtown, set to be completed in the spring of 2025.
(L-R) James D. McQueen, SEOPW CRA's executive director; Chairwoman Christine King and Commissioner Keon Hardemon.
“This is a huge win for us,” King told The Miami Times. “The partnership between Commissioner (Keon) Hardemon and myself, with the support of Camillus House and our public safety team, helped make this grant possible.”
Camillus House is coordinating and providing case management and supportive services for the overall development of the Culmer Gardens and Culmer Place housing units.
A new chapter
Atlantic Pacific Companies has pledged to increase the number of units from 226 to 1,056. The redevelopment will include a variety of housing options: 621 affordable housing units, 212 market-rate units, and 10 workforce townhomes. Only the existing 226 units will remain as public low-income housing.
Culmer Place's adjacent apartments will soon undergo redevelopment.
“We understand the fear of gentrification, especially with rising rents in Miami, but we are working actively to mitigate those effects,” said King.
Atlantic Pacific, whose offices are located in Overtown, views the development as an opportunity to invest its “time, expertise, and resources right in our backyard.”
“We respect the rich cultural history of Overtown and want to make sure the redevelopment of Culmer is something residents and community stakeholders are proud of,” said Naylor.
Chairwoman Christine King
A critical concern throughout this redevelopment has been ensuring that no residents are displaced. Naylor said the company has held more than 15 resident meetings over the past six years to keep residents informed and involved, underscoring its commitment to ensuring that the community members who have lived in Culmer Gardens and Culmer Place for decades can return once the new homes are ready.
The first phase, currently under construction, is set to be completed by the spring of 2025 and will include 239 units, along with amenities such as a fitness center, community rooms and a large community pool.
Displacement and gentrification
Overtown was once known as the "Harlem of the South" for its thriving arts and business community.
Nicole Crooks, Catalyst Miami
Nicole Crooks, a community engagement manager at Catalyst Miami and an Overtown resident since 2011, is one of the voices leading the charge for more inclusive and equitable development.
“Any development that happens in Overtown really has to be rooted from a space of inclusivity and equity,” Crooks said, “redevelopment that occurs without the tremendous amount of displacement where any development is actively prioritizing the residents of Overtown over profit.”
She also advocates implementing permanent affordability and rent stabilization to ensure families can stay long-term. Crooks is also concerned about the dissolution of the Overtown Community Oversight Board, which once ensured community input in development decisions. She insists that without a community-driven approach, redevelopment risks becoming an extractive process, where residents bear the costs of gentrification while outside investors reap the rewards.
Keith Ivory is a lifelong resident and a historian who provides tours around the neighborhood.
Local historian and lifelong resident Keith Ivory shared similar concerns, noting that urban renewal projects have often failed to benefit the people who need it most.
“Overtown has become a golden egg for developers,” Ivory explains. “Even though there are incentives for developers to come in under the guise of ‘I'm building in a low-income neighborhood,’ the residents never end up really benefiting from it.”
Crooks adds that the cultural legacy of Overtown is at risk as historic buildings are replaced by generic new constructions.
“Development should benefit the people who have been here the longest,” Crooks emphasized. “Without binding community benefits agreements — guaranteeing affordable housing, local hiring, and environmental protections — we risk making the same mistakes of the past.”
Nicole Crooks is a community engagement manager for Catalyst Miami an Overtown resident.
Crooks added that housing should be limited to only 30% of people’s income because, in Overtown, people are often pressed to find somewhere else to live with a household income of less than $12,000.
Eric Bason, another resident, shared Crooks' frustration. He feels that the neighborhood’s rich cultural history is being erased in the name of progress.
“If we say we love our culture, then we need to take steps to preserve it. It’s about ownership — owning homes, owning businesses,” he said.
Bason, who has been involved in community advocacy, points out that many of the changes in Overtown are happening without input from its residents. He explained that most meetings about new developments involve more developers than residents in the room.
“They’re talking about subsidizing rents for a few years, but what happens after that?” he said. “There are no real solutions for long-term residents. They’re building these places near transit stations and downtown, but they’re not building for low-income families. The gap between ‘affordable housing’ and ‘low-income housing’ is huge.”
Overtown’s legacy and visual appeal
SEOPW CRA established the Facade Beautification and Workforce Training Program, members of which just completed Culmer Village.
On the other hand, James D. McQueen, executive director of the Southeast Overtown/Park West Community Redevelopment Agency (SEOPW CRA), who is also a long-time resident, believes in preserving the cultural heritage of Overtown while also revitalizing the area.
“Our vision is to make Overtown a thriving arts and entertainment hub again, bringing back the sense of community and pride lost when I-95 fragmented this neighborhood,” he said.
McQueen and the SEOPW CRA are working on several initiatives to enhance the visual appeal of Overtown, including a Facade Beautification and Workforce Training Program. The program, in collaboration with Florida International University, provides residents with job skills in carpentry and painting, offering hands-on experience in rehabilitating buildings in the community. Members just finished the Culmer Village Townhouses.
“It’s not just about beautifying the neighborhood, but about empowering people with skills that lead to jobs,” McQueen said.
Overtown’s future
The construction of I-95 and I-395 in the 1960s was considered the end of a prosperous era for Overtown.
In addition to housing, the HUD grant will support crucial infrastructure projects designed to improve connectivity and mobility, working hand in hand with the $84 million “Underdeck,” a park and pedestrian corridor beneath I-395, linking Overtown with downtown Miami. These efforts are part of the broader $332 million transformation plan to revitalize Overtown.
“This is a community that has been waiting for revitalization for decades,” King said. “This is not just about new buildings; it’s about restoring pride and opportunity for the people who’ve lived here for so long.”
Red Rooster in Overtown is helping to attract more visitors to the area.
