Mega mall near the Everglades remains on hold
MIAMI – One of the biggest mega malls in the nation remains just a dream.
Nearly a decade after the big announcement, the American Dream Miami retail theme park mall remains grounded. CBS News Miami explored how our tax dollars could play a role in the delay.
The site itself is nestled between I-75 and the Florida Turnpike. In 2015, this land was purchased to build what's being touted as the biggest mall in America.
"An entertainment destination," shared attorney Miguel Diaz de la Portilla, representing American Dream Miami.
Almost a decade later, Diaz de la Portilla was in the Miami-Dade County Commission chambers on Monday, seeking help to get the project moving, blaming the delay on how badly the pandemic hit the retail industry. He also mentioned delays in negotiating with the county and state.
People living within a mile of the new mega-mall seemed stressed about one thing: the traffic!
"Traffic is going to be crazy around here," exclaimed Frank, a man who lives within a mile of the proposed mall site.
"We need to have a helicopter to leave my house. It's going to be that bad," said Carmen, another resident.
Commissioner J.C. Bermudez, said he believes a change is needed to improve infrastructure.
"We already have a problem in this part of the district getting people in and out," stressed Bermudez.
To move forward quicker, he proposes overturning a ban on using public money for the mega-mall project.
"You want to talk about a subsidy," asked Bermudez while sitting on the dais Monday during a committee session. "Let's talk about the baseball stadium. I'm not advocating for anything along those lines."
While we sat in his office, he pointed to two maps showing sizeable growth around the mall site from 2016 to 2024, and the need for better infrastructure.
"It's about leveraging those few local dollars for local public roads to get up to $350 million of state dollars for the I-75 interchange and entire infrastructure throughout the entire northwest Miami-Dade area," said Diaz de la Portilla.
For a project, people in the area may no longer want.
"I don't think it's a place to have a mall," said Emily, another resident in the area.
"I don't even know anymore," added Frank.
"I've been waiting, but at the same time, when is it going to finish," asked Carmen.
A question that remains unanswered, as ADM has yet to break ground on the project.
Both Bermudez and DIaz de la Portilla tell me tax dollars, if ever approved by the county commission, would be used for roads and infrastructure only, not for ADM's massive mall project.
At the time this article was written, no date had been set for the commission to debate and vote on lifting the American Dream Miami ban using government subsidies.
