Homestead and Florida City see population growth

The City of Homestead is continuing to see growth as more people are moving to the city. During a meeting of South Dade leaders, Mayor Steven Losner gave a presentation on recent developments in the city. “We are finally seeing more retail stores and restaurants coming to Homestead. Residents have wanted to see more businesses in the city.” Losner also said that one new Amazon facility will open during the summer in Homestead.

Homestead lawyers are in the final stages of negotiations with incoming city manager Dr. Nzeribe Ihekwaba. He will be giving his notice to Miami, where he has been serving as deputy city manager. His first day of work is projected to be March 25th. During a previous council meeting, he spoke passionately about his goals to improve the city.

Homestead council members and community leaders are in the process of discussing a moratorium on new housing construction in the city. “My focus is on high density building projects,” said Losner. He and other leaders would like to see a moratorium of one year for the construction of high population density housing.

Most of the new housing that has been approved recently has been very high density in nature. The projects are usually mixed use, with stores and restaurants on the first place and apartment homes on the upper floors. The problem is that a growing number of Homestead residents are concerned about more traffic, more use of infrastructure, such as water and sewer, and more students in the schools. City leaders have said they would like to see more stores and restaurants.

Florida City is also continuing to see a large population growth over the coming year. During a meeting of South Dade municipal leaders, Mayor Otis Wallace gave a report on the status and future expectations for the city. He believes the city will double in population in about a year and a half from about 4,300 residents to more than 8,000 residents. “We are seeing a boom in residential housing. We are seeing massive development. A problem is that we don’t have enough affordable housing being built,” he said.

In recent years, Florida City leaders worked to assemble a large group of vacant lots so they could be developed into homes that moderate income residents could afford. The first phase of Florida Town Center, which will bring more businesses to Florida City, is now underway.

Wallace has said that he believes it is important for the city to have more restaurants, stores and other businesses because people need places to shop and work. “More commercial development will mean more jobs for our residents,” said Wallace. “I want our residents to be able to shop and eat in restaurants here. I want people to be able establish careers here,” he said.