Since Melreese Country Club is city-owned, Inter Miami and the city are co-applicants on the rezoning planMELREESE COUNTRY CLUB
Inter Miami CF has submitted a rezoning plan that "would use a controversial method to secure development rights" to allow the club to build Miami Freedom Park, a $1B commercial and stadium complex, according to Joey Flechas of the MIAMI HERALD. The team on Monday "applied for a 'special area plan,' a zoning designation that allows developers to gain greater development capacity in exchange for public benefits on certain land holdings." Although the plan "would not significantly change the elements" that club co-Owners David Beckham and Jorge Mas "outlined almost two years ago, the use of the special area plan designation highlights just how dramatically the development would change the park and the neighborhood." Because Melreese Country Club, the site of the planned redevelopment, is "city-owned property, and Inter Miami would be leasing the land for 99 years, the city and team are co-applicants on the special area plan." City administrators and team officials still are "negotiating the terms of the lease." Team owners "must apply for zoning to build anything on the property, a process that can take up to a year and requires approvals from city planners, state officials and ultimately, the City Commission." The club "wanted to begin the upzoning process in hopes that final approvals would coincide with approval of a lease" (MIAMI HERALD, 6/17).
MULTI-PURPOSE VENUE: ESPN.com's Jeff Carlisle noted in addition to a 25,000-seat stadium, the project "calls for the creation of a 58-acre park, office space, a hotel and a mall." While the club has been waiting for the Melreese site, it "built a 20,450-seat stadium," Inter Miami CF Stadium, in Ft. Lauderdale on the site of the old Lockhart Stadium. Inter Miami is expected to play in that venue for a "minimum of two seasons" (ESPN.com, 6/17).
