Miami-Dade commissioners backed tapping new property taxes to borrow $9 million for SkyRise Miami, a funding plan opposed by the project’s hometown mayor.
With only three No votes, county support for the planned 1,000-foot observation tower passed by a comfortable margin Tuesday afternoon. The decision marked a comeback for SkyRise developer Jeff Berkowitz, since the spending proposal nearly died in a 6-6 tie last month. Miami Mayor Tomás Regalado objected, saying he had pledged to city voters that no tax dollars would go to SkyRise when he championed it in a referendum over the summer.
Miami voters overwhelmingly approved the SkyRise project in August, and the money comes from a $2.9 billion borrowing program passed in a Miami-Dade referendum 10 years ago. County Commissioner Audrey Edmonson cited public support as one reason for switching her November No vote to a Yes on Tuesday.
“Who am I to turn around and say the voters didn’t know what they were voting for?” she said.