A feud between the city of Miami and the agency that will "manage the parking garages at the Miami Marlins’ new Little Havana ballpark is making it more unlikely that ground-floor retailers will set up shop by Opening Day in April 2012," according to Patricia Mazzei of the MIAMI HERALD. The city and the Miami Parking Authority have yet to "agree on the fine print of a deal laying out how the garages will be run." Potential retail and restaurant tenants "can’t sign leases until the two sides have inked the agreement." City commissioners "put forth a proposed contract two weeks ago after a commercial real-estate broker warned that time is tight for businesses to open their doors in the four months left before Opening Day." To speed up the process, the "semi-autonomous parking authority set a special board meeting for Wednesday to finalize the deal." But board members "voted unanimously for the agreement -- only if the city first agrees to a pair of changes." The changes will "push back the signing of any leases by at least another two weeks ... further diminishing the chances that any retail stores will be up and running in the garages by the start of baseball season." No restaurants, "which take considerably longer to set up, will be open, either" (MIAMI HERALD, 12/1).
