In 1999, the United States Department of Housing
and Urban Development (HUD) designated the
Miami-Dade County Empowerment Zone as one of
thirty-one communities in the country. The
purpose of the Empowerment Zone federal
initiative is to create jobs and business
opportunities by offering various tax credits
and cash incentives in the most economically
distressed areas of the country.
What sets the Empowerment Zone initiative apart
from previous urban revitalization efforts is
that the community drives the decision-making.
Residents decide what happens in their
neighborhoods, not government officials. Each
Empowerment Zone community has written
"benchmarks" or quantifiable goals that
determine how the funds will be spent and what
the results of the activity will be.
The Empowerment Zone / Enterprise Community
Program is a Presidential initiative designed to
create self-sustaining, long-term economic
development in areas of deep poverty and
unemployment. The program provides federal
dollars, economic incentives, and other
assistance to federally designated rural and
urban communities.
Tax Exempt Bond Financing - A special tax-exempt
bond, outside of the state volume cap, that may
provide lower than market interest rates for
large-scale business expansion and job creation
projects.
Deductions - An IRS Section 179 Expensing
increase that may provide up to $37,000 for
investments in capital and equipment.
Qualified Zone Academy Bonds - A bond program
that may provide funds for the use of a
“Qualified Zone Academy”, which is a public
school or academic program within a public
school at a secondary level or below that meet
certain requirements. Certain banks, insurance
companies and corporations that are actively
engaged in the business of lending money, can
receive a tax credit as an incentive to hold
these bonds.
Revolving Loan Fund Program - A program that
may provide easier access to capital and
affordable financing to small and minority-owned
businesses that do not meet standard credit
criteria. Loans will range from $10,000 to
$250,000 and must be used for general business
purposes, excluding real estate. The initial
available capital is expected to be $4,000,000.
Welfare-to-Work Credit - A credit that may
provide businesses with an incentive to hire
long-term family assistance recipients.
Brownfields Tax Incentives - An environmental
clean up cost deduction that may provide an
incentive to clean up certain sites that are
contaminated with hazardous substances.
Work Opportunity Tax Credit - A federal tax
credit that may provide businesses with
incentives of up to $2,400 for each eligible
employee and up to $3,000 for each eligible
summer youth employee.
The Miami-Dade Zone is managed by the
Empowerment Zone Trust, a non-profit
organization responsible for maximizing the use
of federal dollars. The City of Miami works
closely with the Trust through City departments
and the Neighborhood Assemblies. Led by
representatives who live and work directly in
the community, these Assemblies are responsible
for determining the best use of their community
dollars.
Five of the eight neighborhood assemblies are in
the City of Miami, nearly 75% of the entire
Miami-Dade Zone. They are: Allapattah, Wynwood,
Overtown, East Little Havana, and Model City. In
addition to the areas participating in the
Neighborhood Assembly process, the City of Miami
portion of the Empowerment Zone also includes
much of the downtown central business district,
west Omni and Watson Island. While each
neighborhood has its own architecture, history
and character, they share the common advantage
of an excellent location— the City of Miami.
Allapattah, home to produce markets and
industrial properties, is well situated between
the airport and the seaport. The 20th street
merchant's corridor, between 27th and 17th
avenues, is now famous for its multiple garment
manufacturing and wholesale retail outlets
attracting buyers and exporters from all over,
especially from Latin America and the Caribbean.
Nearby, the Produce Market, the largest open-air
food distribution center in Miami, serves local
supermarkets and "bodegas" alike with the
freshest variety of South Florida produce,
tropical fruits and many other products. The
area is also home to the Medical Center which
features world renowned facilities such as the
Bascom Palmer Eye Institute. The largest
industrial area of the City is located in Allapattah. Many trades are well represented
here and a wide range of services are offered:
clothes manufacturers, auto repair shops, paint
and body shops, carpentry and upholstery shops,
junkyards, shipyards and dry docks located along
the banks of the Miami River.
Wynwood/Edgewater, home to the fashion and
garment trade, shares the same benefits of
proximity to the airport and seaport with the
added advantage of nearby highways and rail
line. It’s proximity to Miami's downtown
business district and its attractive, reasonably
priced high-rise residences with beautiful views
of the bay, make it especially appealing for many
of those who work in the heart of the City.
Places of interest in the area include the Bakehouse
Art Complex, a training locale and
exposition center for many aspiring local
artists and craftsmen which boasts the only
certified jewelry school in the Southeastern
United States. Nearby, the Fashion and Garment
District is a concentration of manufacturing and
wholesale distribution retail outlets that have
special appeal for shoppers from all over the
world. The Bacardi Company, manufacturers of the
world renowned rum, with its famous ceramic tile
façade, stands like a beacon on Biscayne
Boulevard.
Overtown, one of Miami’s oldest neighborhoods
rich in history, is located within minutes of
both the central business district and the
regional medical center. Overtown has played a
historic role in the life of the City for
decades, as a center of American black culture
and commercial activity with significant
potential for both commercial and residential
growth through public and private investment. Overtown's
location is a plus, centrally located to the
business district and well as to the city's
major medical and civic centers. It is also
conveniently close to the downtown campus of
Miami-Dade College.
East Little Havana is a mostly residential
community lying directly East of downtown along
the historic Miami River. Landmark sites and
attractions within the East Little Havana area
include the Orange Bowl, home of the well-known
University of Miami Hurricanes football team. The 2506
Brigade Memorial stands in honor of the Cuban
patriots who fought in the ill-fated Bay of Pigs
Invasion of Cuba in April 1961. Máximo Gómez
Park, better known as "Domino Park" is the place
where old, middle aged and young people meet
over a traditional game of dominoes. Along the
Miami River, many river related industries are
found while yachts, sailboats, cruisers and
houseboats pack more than a score of public and
private docks.
Model City is located at the north end of
the city and consists of a number of districts
these include, residential, commercial, cultural and
educational that together comprise a single
community of quiet homes, entrepreneurial
activity and economic growth. Its population is
made up mostly of African-American residents. In addition
an area is in transition, where
local business leaders together with active
community members, are shaping a new and better
quality of life within the neighborhood.
Click here to find out if your property is
located within the Empowerment ZoneFor more
information on the Empowerment Zone, please
contact:
Miami-Dade County
Office of Community and Economic Development (OCED)
701 NW 1st Court, 14th Floor
Miami, FL 33136
Office: 786.469.2100
Fax: 786.469.2170
|
