Mayor Gimenez To Lay Out Plans For Revitalized Liberty Square Complex

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) - Hoping to curb the crime and violence in so-called "Pork and Beans" public housing complex of Liberty Square, Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez will announce plans Monday to raze it and rebuild.

The Mayor's Office said the $74 million revitalization project, financed by county, state and federal money, will transform the public housing project and create jobs in the neighborhood.

The full Board of County Commissioners must approve reallocating $32 million of General Obligation Bond money for the project.  They are expected to vote on the item in the next two months. From there, the county will put out a Request for Proposals to developers to begin the design and construction process.

The revitalization is expected to create approximately 2,290 jobs and more than $285 million in economic output within the next four years.

The Mayor's Office said the project will work closely with the Employ Miami-Dade initiative who will assist in providing employment training for residents.

"The diversity of Miami-Dade should be represented in the workforce that builds the new Liberty Square and new projects in Liberty City," said Mayor Gimenez. "With a mixed income and mixed use community, diversity will also be reflected in those that will reside there."

Groundbreaking for the project, the largest the county's Department of Public Housing and Community Development has ever taken on, is slated for the beginning of 2016.

Approximately 2,000 people live in Liberty Square's 709 housing units. The first phase of the project would temporarily move one-third of them to the nearby Lincoln Gardens complex once construction begins. All Liberty Square residents in good standing with their leases will be guaranteed a place to live in the new facility.