The Miami Worldcenter retail and residential complex won approval Tuesday for a special taxing district in the city’s Overtown neighborhood, fending off a fierce challenge by community and labor organizers.
At issue was a taxing mechanism designed to let developers fund about $72 million in infrastructure improvements through a special assessment charged on their properties’ tax bills. Future owners within the Miami Worldcenter footprint would pay the tax, and Miami-Dade has hundreds of “community development districts” throughout the county.
“They’re not taxing the government. They’re not taxing the residents. They’re taxing themselves to put in the infrastructure that government cannot afford,” said Audrey Edmonson, the county commissioner representing Overtown.