The district spans 10.16 acres, bounded by US 1, Red Road, Sunset Drive and Southwest 58th Avenue.<\/p>\n
A CDD is a special-purpose government that can use tax-exempt bonds for infrastructure, with the debt paid through assessments levied on property owners inside the district rather than from the county\u2019s general fund.<\/p>\n
Accordingly, county records state the SoMi CDD\u2019s creation carries no fiscal impact on Miami-Dade, and the ordinance specifies no district debt is a county obligation.<\/p>\n
CDDs must be created by a landowner petition, under Florida law<\/a>, and in this case the petitioners are Sunset Opportunities B1 LLC and Sunset C1 LLC. A unanimously approved June 3, 2025, resolution by the South Miami Commission supporting the district identified Alex Vadia\u2019s Midtown Development \u2014 whose sister company, Midtown Opportunities, bought Sunset Place for $65.5 million<\/a> in late 2020 \u2014 as the developer that sought the CDD.<\/p>\n The single largest line item in the proposal is a $49 million public parking structure, followed by a chilled water main facility costing an estimated $41.7 million. Other costs covered by the CDD will be for telecommunications, security and lighting, roadways and signalization, landscaping, stormwater, and water and sewer systems that Miami-Dade will own and maintain.<\/p>\n Vadia\u2019s proposed use for the property constitutes what would be the biggest recent redevelopment<\/a> on South Miami\u2019s books: 1,513 residential units, a 1,300-seat movie theater, more than 200,000 square feet of retail and towers reaching 33 stories, designed by London-based Heatherwick Studio with ODP Architecture & Design.<\/p>\n The project also includes the redevelopment of the South Miami Metrorail Station, City Hall and a nearby library, Regalado said, though 5L doesn\u2019t mention those components.<\/p>\n South Miami Commissioners approved a development agreement in 2024 and passed a resolution backing the CDD.<\/p>\n Filings estimate annual district assessments of $2,475 for condos under 851 square feet, $3,725 for units between 851 and 1,750 square feet, and $4,975 for larger ones. Over the 30-year term the district anticipates for its bonds, the capital share alone runs from about $51,750 to $103,500 per unit, though buyers can prepay at closing.<\/p>\n Notably, these assessments come on top of county and city property taxes, and homestead exemptions will not lower them.<\/p>\n Regalado told Florida Politics after the vote Tuesday that she\u2019d modeled the SoMi CDD after the Midtown CRA<\/a>, but made it \u201ceven more restrictive.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt really is an infrastructure CRA that has a transit component. It doesn\u2019t have housing. It doesn\u2019t have a community benefit \u2014 the infrastructure is the community benefit \u2014 and this area needs an enormous investment in terms of water and sewer infrastructure, but also the widening of sidewalks and the resurfacing of streets and the signalization,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s really what this focuses on, because we\u2019re going to take it from a commercial use to a residential use that has commercial, so the footprint, in terms of infrastructure, grows exponentially.\u201d<\/p>\n 5L took almost five months to pass. Commissioners approved the ordinance, filed April 10, on a 12-0 vote April 21. Regalado requested a deferral on June 2, and a vote on the item was again postponed July 21.<\/p>\n The version adopted Tuesday was a substitute that swapped one name on the CDD\u2019s initial five-member Board of Supervisors, replacing development executive Dean Warhaft with Evergreen Venture Group principal Gustavo Cabrera, a government consultant and former executive with MasTec, the company behind Miami Freedom Park.<\/p>\n Other Board members include Vadia, Midtown Development partner Richard Perez, Midtown Development Director of Finance Azam Malik and Midtown Development Director of Asset Management Antonio Ferrer.<\/p>\n Sunset Place opened in 1999 on the former site of Bakery Centre, itself a failed 1980s retail experiment. The mall was a popular destination for shopping and entertainment, anchored by an AMC movie theater, Virgin Megastore, Barnes and Noble, Rainforest Caf\u00e9 and LA Fitness.<\/p>\n The theater, bookstore and gym are still up and running, as are several other spots like Gametime, though many storefronts have gone vacant for years after foot traffic eroded in the late 2010s.<\/p>\n Vadia said in 2021, shortly after he bought the property, that the mall\u2019s occupancy sat at just under 60%<\/a>. He paid roughly 41% less for the spot than the previous owner.<\/p>\n Some social media users<\/a> have taken to referring to Sunset Place as the \u201cBackrooms of Miami<\/a>\u201d \u2014 a reference to the liminal horror series and 2026 movie, \u201cBackrooms<\/a>\u201d \u2014 due to its combined capaciousness and comparative emptiness.<\/p>\n 5L will take effect Sept. 11 unless Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava vetoes it \u2014 an unlikely possibility; her administration recommended adoption.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Screenshot-2026-09-01-174710-640x837.png\")
<\/a>A map of the Downtown SoMi Community Development District\u2019s bounds. Image via Miami-Dade County.<\/p>\n