Current Conditions Report - Opa-Locka Community Development

City of Opa-locka Sustainable
Communities Challenge Initiative:
Current Conditions Report
September 2012
Prepared By
Carras Community Investment, Inc.
Judd K Roth Real Estate Development
Reese Fayde & Associates
Disclaimer:
This report has been prepared by Reese Fayde & Associates (RFA) in accordance with
the terms and conditions of the RFA-Opa-locka Community Development Corporation
(Client) Agreement. No warranties or guarantees, expressed or implied, are included in
or intended by the materials, except that they have been prepared, in conjunction with
the manpower and resources devoted to the assignment by Agreement, using generally
accepted practices and standards consistent with the level of skill, care, and diligence
exercised by professionals that perform the same or similar services. RFA disclaims
responsibility to the Client and others with respect to any matters outside the scope of
the OLCDC-RFA Agreement.
RFA cannot promise or guarantee materials to be without error or omission, complete,
or up-to-date as they are a work in progress. As such, users should not quote or cite
materials. When in doubt, users should seek appropriate advice on the particular facts
and circumstances at issue from an independent, professional advisor. The use of
information in these drafts should be considered on an “as is” basis and at the reader’s
own risk.
Credits:
The work was made possible by an award from the U.S. Department of Housing and
Urban Development, Sustainable Community Challenge Planning Grant in cooperation
with: planning and management resources of the City of Opa-locka; the Opa-locka
Community Development Corporation; national and local technical experts including
Carras Community Investment, Ana Gelabert-Sanchez, Mary Means + Associates,
EJP Consulting Group LLC, Economic Stewardship, Inc., Judd K. Roth Real Estate
Development, and South Florida Regional Planning Commission; and a host of other
public, private and community stakeholders dedicated to the ongoing development and
revitalization of the City of Opa-locka.
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Table of Contents
1. Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2. Access and Neighborhood Location . . . . 3
3. Current Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
a. Transportation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
b. Community Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
c. Housing Conditions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
d. Regional Economic Trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
e. Local Economic Trends. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
f. Infrastructure Deficiencies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
4. Summary and Strategies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
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1.Introduction
Developing a comprehensive plan and appropriate sustainable strategies for community
development requires a clear understanding of the current economic, social, and
physical conditions within the community. This existing conditions report examines
key conditions in Opa-locka, Miami-Dade County, Florida. The report presents data
and planning information. It is intended as a snapshot of some of the conditions most
commonly used by communities to monitor their overall economic and social strengths
and weaknesses. It is not an analysis but rather a starting picture of factors that can
inform planning and priority-setting in Opa-locka.
2.Access and Neighborhood Location
The City of Opa-locka was founded by aviation pioneer Glenn Curtiss in 1926, in
connection with the development of a general aviation airfield. The City has an area
of 4.2 square miles and is located in northeastern Miami-Dade County, Florida. The
1926 development theme of Opa-locka is based on 1001 Arabian Nights and original
Moorish Revival architecture is still evident. Figure 1 shows the age of the housing stock
and identifies the neighborhoods developed prior to 1939. Subsequent development
within Opa-locka resulted in an historic Miami-Dade neighborhood and an area of heavy
industrial concentration.
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Figure 1: Age of Opa-locka Housing Stock
1 Dot = 1
Housing Units by Year Structure Built 1999 or Later
Housing Units by Year Structure Built 1995 to 1998
Housing Units by Year Structure Built 1990 to 1994
Housing Units by Year Structure Built 1980 to 1989
Housing Units by Year Structure Built 1970 to 1979
Housing Units by Year Structure Built 1960 to 1969
Housing Units by Year Structure Built 1950 to 1959
Data Source: Claritas 2008 Demographic Update
Housing Units by Year Structure Built 1940 to 1949
Housing Units by Year Structure Built 1939 or Earlier
Opa-locka is accessible by multiple state and interstate roadways:
• SR826 (Palmetto Expressway) is situated to the north. SR826 connects to I-75 on the
west side and I-95 on the east side.
• SR924 (Gratigny Parkway) is situated to the south and connects to SR1 (Dixie Highway)
on the east.
• SR916 (135th Street) is the major industrial east/west road in Opa-locka.
• SR823 (Red Road) serves north/south traffic on the west side.
• SR953 (Le Jeune Road) serves north/south traffic on the west side of downtown and
separates the general aviation airport and the residential neighborhood.
• SR817 & 9 (Northwest 27th Avenue) serves north/south traffic on the east side of
downtown.
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Existing roadways, drainage canals, and land use have resulted in the development of
distinct neighborhoods within the City of Opa-locka (Figure 2):
•
•
•
•
•
•
Downtown Core and Historic Opa-locka
The Barracks
Nile Gardens
Magnolia North
Magnolia Gardens
Industrial
Figure 2: Opa-locka Neighborhoods
Historic Opa-locka
Magnolia North
Barracks
Magnolia Gardens
West Zone 1
East Zone 1
Nile Gardens
East Zone 2
Residential Cluster 2
Residential Cluster 1
Data Source: Community Redevelopment Plan, 2011 &
Direct Field Observation, 2012
Some neighborhoods are primarily industrial, while others are primarily residential. For
example, Nile Gardens contains mostly industrial activity, while the Downtown historic
core is more residential. Figure 3 identifies the different land uses of the area, and Figure
4 shows the concentration of residential versus industrial uses of the City.
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Figure 3: Land Uses in Opa-locka
Figure 4: Industrial vs. Residential Land Uses
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Some of these neighborhoods are isolated. Opa-locka’s most northeastern
neighborhood, Magnolia North, is disconnected from all streets to the north and east as
shown in Figure 5 in red. Barricades block Ali Baba Avenue where it meets 151st Street,
which makes this portion of the avenue and the surrounding neighborhood inaccessible
to nonlocal traffic. This portion of Ali Baba Avenue, originally intended as a commercial
corridor, is now as a result overly wide and desolate.
Running parallel to this section of Ali Baba Avenue are the railroad line and State Road
9. Together these form the southeastern border of Magnolia North, imposing another
barrier between it and its southern neighbor, Magnolia Gardens. Just west of Magnolia
Gardens are two neighborhood sections named East Zone 1 and 2 for the purposes
of this report. These two residential zones are in close proximity to each other and to
Magnolia Gardens, yet they are entirely cut off from one another by a narrow waterway
and the State Road 9/NW 27th Avenue connection. NW 27th Avenue is an arterial that
is separated in some areas by a planted median, cutting off access for pedestrians and
motor vehicles. To make matters worse, the east/west neighborhood streets located to
the east of NW 27th Avenue are not aligned with any of the streets west of NW 27th
Avenue.
Figure 5: Isolation of Magnolia North
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The top three land use categories in the City are industrial, governmental, and
commercial. Industrial uses alone account for more than 34% of the City’s land. Vacant
land of any type (commercial, residential, etc.) composed 22.63% of the City’s land in
2011 (Figure 6).
Figure 6: Opa-locka Land Uses
The industry in Opa-locka is dominated by engine suppliers and repair shops for cars, boats
and airplanes. Opa-locka is also a center for junk yard and recycling businesses. 135th Street
in Opa-locka is known as the primary location for used car parts in all of Metro Miami-Dade.
The Boulevard Industrial Park is located at the northeast corner of NW 22nd Avenue and
Opa-locka Boulevard, and is bounded on the east by a lake and to the north by the Opa-locka
canal, which runs southeast through the neighborhood. This industrial area is composed of
older buildings, generally constructed in the late 1960s or 1970s.
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3.Current Conditions
a. Transportation
The City of Opa-locka is rich in transportation resources. It is centrally located and
accessible from all parts of the metro area. The community is situated in a sector of
Miami-Dade County that has excellent transportation options. The City is well served by
the Interstate roadway system, airports, and public transit. Transportation infrastructure
includes excellent road access to highways and expressways, with easy access to the
Palmetto Expressway, I-75, and I-95 (Figure 7).
Figure 7: Road Accessibility in Opa-locka
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Opa-locka is highly accessible to all parts of Miami-Dade County. The Miami
International Airport (MIA) is located nearby and the Opa-locka Executive Airport
(OPF), a division, was in 1967 the busiest airport in the world with over 650,000 flight
operations. OPF has an extensive runway system and significant land resources for
industrial and shipping commerce. OPF has the capacity to serve large transport planes,
which makes it an exceptional air transportation resource.
Opa-locka is served by both regional rail and Tri-Rail service. Regional rail serves the
airport, the harbor, and many areas in metro Miami-Dade. The existence of rail service
provides commuters easy access to regional and international destinations. Local public
transportation is provided by Miami-Dade County Transit. Four transit bus routes serve
Opa-locka and connect to all areas of Miami-Dade metro.
b. Community Challenges
Despite its excellent transportation resources, the community faces extraordinary
challenges. One indicator of the severity of community-wide problems is the designation
of all areas of Opa-locka as Deeply Distressed Qualified Census Tracts. As a result of
historic influences, the community suffers from the following problems:
• High poverty (Figures 8, 9, and 10): The census tracts in Opa-locka are among
the poorest in the region. Almost four out of every five households in Opa-locka
are receiving some form of government assistance. The concentration of Section
8 subsidized housing has created whole neighborhoods of only very low income
households. Thirty percent of the families in Opa-locka live below the poverty level.
Median household incomes within the City are estimated to be $18,424, which is in
contrast to the $41,533 median household income for the wider Miami-Dade County
area. All of Opa-locka’s neighborhoods have at least 14.62% of their population living
in poverty.
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Figure 8: Median Household Incomes
Figure 9: Average Household Incomes
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Figure 10: Residents Living in Poverty
• Food desert (Figures 11 and 12): With rare exceptions, the only places to buy food
are fast-food restaurants and convenience stores that sell fatty, sugary, processed
products. No full-service grocery exists in Opa-locka. The only “fresh market” in the
City is the Opa-locka/Hialeah Flea market, discussed later in this report.
Figure 11: Lack of Food Stores
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Figure 12: Limited Supermarket Access
• Disinvestment and lack of local financial institutions (Figure 13): There are eleven
establishments within the City borders that will cash checks for individuals for a fee
but only one bank branch where a resident or business can complete transactions. No
major commercial bank is located within Opa-locka.
Figure 13: Lack of Bank Branches
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