feasibility study<\/a>\u00a0argues that Opa-locka is the only finalist with an immediately buildable, fully controlled site.<\/p>\n“The feasibility study, the market analysis, the infrastructure study, site control, as well as appropriate zoning \u2014 Opa-locka is the only site that has all of that,\u201d said Logan.<\/p>\n
The proposed 4.5-acre site at the Opa-locka Regional Service Center already has roads, utilities, and compatible zoning. The city and state control the land, eliminating acquisition risks and keeping early development costs low. The area is also a transit-oriented development zone just steps from Tri-Rail.<\/p>\n
\u201cOpa-locka\u2019s site is simply a turnkey operation,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cIt is already a site in operation by the state of Florida, so it\u2019s simply redeveloping the land or repurposing the building for the Black History Museum.\u201d<\/p>\n
The study places Opa-locka\u2019s site-preparation costs below $500,000 and between $500,000 and $2 million for St. Johns, where foundation costs could be 20-50% higher. It estimates a cost of \u201ca few hundred thousand dollars\u201d for Orange County\u2019s Eatonville site, but notes needed assessments, utilities and drainage before that location could be build-ready.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe site in St. Johns is a vacant site. It has no infrastructure; it\u2019s wetlands. It has no roads leading to it, and they don\u2019t have site control. Eatonville, though, is in a little bit of shape; they can\u2019t start today. There\u2019s no facility nowhere around it. We can start day one,\u201d Logan said.<\/p>\n
Demographics and tourism\u00a0<\/p>\n
The study further argues that Opa-locka is the most culturally aligned with the museum\u2019s mission. The historically Black city is 52% Black and sits within Miami-Dade\u2019s population of more than 500,000 Black residents \u2014 the largest Black community in Florida. Surrounding neighborhoods or municipalities such as Liberty City, Miami Gardens, Overtown, Little Haiti, and North Miami create a built-in ecosystem for programming and partnerships.<\/p>\n
By contrast, St. Augustine is 8.1% Black with a declining Black population, while Eatonville, though historically significant, has only about 1,730 Black residents.<\/p>\n
Logan noted that South Florida has long been a crossroads for Black migration and early settlement, from freedom seekers who forged ties with Native Americans to those who later moved through the region to the Bahamas and back. Those early movements, combined with the region\u2019s railroad-era growth, define South Florida\u2019s history.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t know Florida history without knowing South Florida history, and you can\u2019t know South Florida history without knowing the City of Miami, the City of Opa-locka, and the City of Palm Beach, which were among the stops of the Flagler Railroad and [Seaboard Air Line Railroad],\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
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During the Jim Crow era, Opa-locka was a community not intended for or occupied by African Americans. Black men built the city along with their white counterparts but were not able to leisurely enjoy attractions in the city and with their families until the veteran boom in the 1950s.<\/p>\n
(Amelia Orjuela Da Silva for The Miami Times)<\/p>\n
Further, during the Jim Crow era, Opa-locka was a community not intended for \u2014 or occupied by \u2014 African Americans. Black men built the city along with their white counterparts but were not able to leisurely enjoy attractions in the city and with their families until the veteran boom in the 1950s.<\/p>\n
Tourism, the study notes, also favors Opa-locka. Miami-Dade draws 26 million to 27 million annual visitors \u2014 far more than St. Augustine\u2019s 6\u20137 million \u2014 and more than 40% of those express interest in cultural and heritage tourism. That distinguishes Opa-locka from Orlando\u2019s theme-park-driven tourism and from St. Johns\u2019 Spanish-colonial identity.<\/p>\n
Dr. Babacar M\u2019Bow, Ten North Group\u2019s curator, said AOT demonstrates the type of cultural footprint the museum could scale statewide.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are part of the larger Miami and are emerging as one of the top cities for art and culture in the world,\u201d he said. \u201cThat is the basis on which we believe,\u00a0if there has to be a Florida State Museum for Black history and culture, it should be located in Opa-locka.\u201d<\/p>\n
Haitian artist Philippe Dodard, a longtime AOT participant, agrees with that sentiment. His three-container installation traces the African diaspora from its origins, through the Middle Passage and the Haitian Revolution.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you walk through the city, there are memories already there,\u201d Dodard said.<\/p>\n
Opa-locka\u2019s proximity to Miami International Airport and major highways strengthens accessibility, according to the study, and Miami-Dade offers the state\u2019s largest pool of museum and art\u00a0 professionals through institutions such as Miami Dade College and Florida International University. The study projects the museum could attract 200,000\u2013500,000 yearly visitors and generate $12\u2013$18 million at stabilization.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s at stake<\/p>\n
For Opa-locka officials, the museum represents cultural recognition and a catalyst for redevelopment.<\/p>\n
\u201cA museum, like a stadium, is a catalyst for redevelopment,\u201d Logan said. \u201cYou attract housing, mixed-income housing, businesses, restaurants, bookstores. It\u2019s also about how do you redevelop the neighborhood\u00a0to make sure that current residents benefit from it, but also you’re attracting visitors and new residents?\u201d<\/p>\n
Still, he acknowledged, politics is always a major factor, even when economics and community impact favor one site.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is not to say that politics doesn’t consider the economic value or the relative impact on residents, but it does participate in any discussion,\u201d Logan said. \u201cWe\u2019re very fortunate to have Speaker [of the House Daniel] Perez from Miami-Dade County, who is economically efficient and really wants the best for the people of Florida. That increases our ability to participate and be, if not the site, at least a major site.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ten North has launched a campaign<\/a>to show lawmakers and tourists that it is the best site for a future Florida Museum of Black History.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Opa-locka\u2019s Art of Transformation (AOT), the Miami Art Week activation that drew hundreds to historic downtown from Dec.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":78736,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[44071,44057,44075,44074,44079,44065,44069,44052,44072,225,227,226,44064,44077,44060,44063,44053,44073,44061,44068,44059,44078,44051,44055,44070,44080,44058,44062,44076,44066,44056,44054,44067],"class_list":{"0":"post-78735","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-hialeah","8":"tag-babacar-mbow-ten-north-curator","9":"tag-eatonville-florida-black-history-museum","10":"tag-flagler-railroad-south-florida-history","11":"tag-florida-black-migration-history","12":"tag-florida-heritage-tourism-economic-impact","13":"tag-florida-legislative-museum-site-debate","14":"tag-florida-memorial-university-st-augustine-site","15":"tag-florida-museum-of-black-history-site","16":"tag-haitian-artist-philippe-dodard-diaspora-art","17":"tag-hialeah","18":"tag-hialeah-headlines","19":"tag-hialeah-news","20":"tag-historic-opa-locka-city-hall-exhibitions","21":"tag-jim-crow-era-opa-locka-history","22":"tag-liberty-city-cultural-heritage-tourism","23":"tag-little-haiti-cultural-partnerships","24":"tag-miami-art-week-opa-locka","25":"tag-miami-cultural-tourism-growth","26":"tag-miami-gardens-black-cultural-ecosystem","27":"tag-miami-international-airport-museum-access","28":"tag-miami-dade-black-community-demographics","29":"tag-miami-dade-cultural-institutions-fiu-mdc","30":"tag-opa-locka-art-of-transformation","31":"tag-opa-locka-feasibility-study-museum","32":"tag-opa-locka-preservation-association-alex-van-mecl","33":"tag-opa-locka-redevelopment-catalyst-museum","34":"tag-opa-locka-regional-service-center-site","35":"tag-overtown-black-history-programming","36":"tag-seaboard-air-line-railroad-heritage","37":"tag-speaker-daniel-perez-miami-dade-advocacy","38":"tag-st-johns-county-black-history-museum-bid","39":"tag-ten-north-group-willie-logan","40":"tag-tri-rail-transit-oriented-development-opa-locka"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78735","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=78735"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78735\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/78736"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=78735"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=78735"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=78735"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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