MIAMI (WSVN) - Major League Soccer is coming to South Florida in 2020, but plans to build a stadium in Miami’s Overtown neighborhood has some residents worried the structure could force them out of their homes.
“We’ve bought and paid for the land. We have our site,” said David Beckham about the stadium during Monday’s announcement.
Area residents voiced their opinions at a meeting, Thursday.
“Does Dade County have plans in the midst at any level to demolish this property?” asked one woman.
Miami-Dade County Public Housing Assistant Director Jorge Cibran replied, “No.”
The stadium is set to be built at the Overtown site, provided Beckham and his partners close the deal.
The idea isn’t sitting well with residents of public housing facilities like Culmer Place.
“You say you’re not gonna displace our families — I don’t believe that,” said concerned resident Kimmi Saunders.
“We need low-income housing!” said another woman.
“What type of transactions are occurring with our house?” asked another woman.
The county said Culmer Place and several other public housing neighborhoods are part of a plan that could call for redevelopment, which has nothing to do with any stadium in the works.
“Once they move to a point where we see, ‘OK, it is going to be redeveloped,’ we will start that engagement process and inform you of everything that is going to go on,” said Cibran.
Bishop James Adams organized Thursday’s meeting.
He used a flier made to look like an eviction notice as a tool to get people to attend. People who live near the stadium site found the fliers outside their homes earlier this week.
“For anybody who was distressed or stressed out, listen — we say we’re sorry,” said Adams during the meeting.
When asked if it was a responsible move to pass out fliers that were disguised as eviction notices, Adams replied, “It was responsible because for drastic situations, you gotta take drastic measures.”
The Beckham Group paid $9 million for the lot where the stadium will be built after the zoning process is complete.
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