UniversityCity - Miami, Florida

Working with the City of Sweetwater, Florida International University, Florida Department of Transportation, the Miami Dade Expressway Authority, Miami-Dade Transit, and TY-Lin International, we helped transform a budding partnership into a major program initiative focused on building a new city center and economic engine in western Miami-Dade County. In addition to facilitating the creation of a more formal structure, we provided substantial assistance with fundraising, including the eventual receipt of a federal TIGER grant of over $11 million.

In only three years, UniversityCity has already attracted four new private projects and resulted in significant adjustments to the FIU campus master plan and projects.

Our role included facilitating the development of a bold, shared vision that includes creating a place for FIU students to have a more residential campus experience, including places to shop and have fun off-campus.

For FIU, the initiative helps accomplish its strong commitment to community engagement, address looming housing shortages as it continues rapid enrollment growth, and compete for talent with new lifestyle options for students, faculty and staff.

For the City of Sweetwater, the initiative helps substantially improve the tax base, transform their place-brand, and bring even more FIU services to help aid existing residents, including elderly and young students.

The strong partnership and financial commitments from the City and FIU helped attract major federal funding for a pedestrian bridge, connections to a new Bus Rapid Transit station, new public parking, streetscape improvements, and a $30 million private mixed use project requiring no public subsidy.

FIU’s innovative Advanced Transit Oriented Development concept (ATOD) along with the Informed Traveler Program using smartphone technology for travel planning also emerged from the strengthened project were “tech transfer” benefits of the project.

As part of the process, FIU also adjusted its campus master plan to complement the emerging private development in Sweetwater. Total private and public investment in the UniversityCity vision is expected to exceed $125 million in less than three years.