LTC 152-2022 The Barclay Plaza Apartments152-2022
MIAMI BEACH
OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER
NO . LTC# LETTER TO COMMISSION
TO: Honorable Mayor Dan Gelber and Members of the City Commission
FROM : Alina T. Hudak, City Manag ~
DATE: April 18, 2022 ~
SUBJECT: The Barclay Plaza Apartments
The purpose of this Letter To Commission is to provide an update on the history of the
Barclay Plaza Apartments located at 1940 Park Avenue.
Miami Beach Community Development Corporation (MBCDC) purchased the Barclay
Plaza with Miami Beach Redevelopment Agency (RDA) funds in the amount of
$5,692,400 .00 . These funds were secured through the Declaration of Restrictive
Covenants, dated April 30, 2007, that required the property to be used as an affordable
residential rental project for a period of thirty (30) years from the date of the final certificate
of occupancy.
In 2011, the City allocated Community Development Block Grant funds ($75,018) and
HOME Investment Partnership Program funds ($500,000) to MBCDC to rehabilitate the
property . These loans would be forgivable had MBCDC developed and kept the Barclay
property affordable for the 30-year Affordability Period; however, in 2014, the building was
declared unsafe for habitation by the City's building department for failure to complete the
40 -year re-certification process. As MBCDC could not bring the building to code nor
operate the project to completion, MBCDC transferred the property to the City in exchange
for being released from the foregoing funding obligations .
Therefore, on January 30, 2015 , the City purchased the Barclay property as part of a
broader settlement for non-compliance with MBCDC. The following properties were
included in the settlement: The Barclay Plaza, The Madeleine Apartments, The Lottie
Apartments, the London House Apartments, and the Neptune Apartments . Except for the
Barclay, these properties are currently owned and operated as affordable housing units
by the City 's Office of Housing and Community Services. On February 2, 2015, the Barclay
Plaza Apartments was a victim of arson and criminal mischief, further condemning the
building.
In addition to the Declaration of Restrictive Covenants, in 2016, the City, in its proprietary
capacity, placed on the Barclay Plaza Apartments an additional Declaration of Restrictive
Covenant in favor of the City for a period of fifteen (15) years that also required the
property to be used as an affordable residential rental project.
As a direct result of the completed 2016 HOME/CDBG audit conducted by the Office of
the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD),
the City was required to repay HUD for the $1,078,420.00 of federal funds invested in
MBCDC related projects.
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Throughout 2016-2018 the City held industry meetings to gauge interest and concerns
regarding the redevelopment of the Barclay Plaza for households earning up to 140% of
Area Median Income (AMI). The City issued two Requests For Proposals (RFP) searching
for a private workforce housing developer. Unfortunately, there were no responsive
respondents to these RFPs.
Pursuant to a discussion that took place during the April 6, 2022, City Commission
meeting, the direction is to market the property simultaneously for sale and development,
under a Request for Proposals, to secure possible public/private development
opportunities, and to allocate any proceeds from any approved transaction toward low
income or workforce housing.
If the Barclay property is sold or developed for a use that is not affordable housing, these
covenants would have to be released to provide marketable title to the purchaser or
developer, as applicable.
If you have any questions, please contact the Office of Housing and Community Services .
ATH/~~