A $1 billion at Claude Pepper Park promises to transform the west side of North Miami, but long-time unincorporated Miami-Dade residents who live in Mitchell Lake Estates, bordering the city, say the ambitious project threatens to upend the peace and stability of their long-established community.
The plan
Redwood Dev Co plans to construct eight residential towers, some rising up to 18 stories, with 2,193 units of workforce, affordable and senior housing. The mixed-use project also includes 121,500 square feet of retail space featuring a grocery store, medical center and restaurants; over 4,000 parking spots; and significant upgrades to Claude Pepper Park.
Those upgrades would bring an expanded Joe Celestin Center with classrooms, a computer lab, a kitchen, a gym, an event terrace and a banquet hall, a new amphitheater next to the center, running trails, repairs to tennis and basketball courts, a community pool and ADA-accessible recreation spaces.
鈥淭he park is very important to us. It has been a staple park for residents and local neighbors to be able to utilize,鈥� said Brian Sidman, founder of Redwood Dev Co.
The housing would stand on approximately 11 acres of vacant land west of the park. Redwood was selected through a city-issued RFP and gained Conceptual Master Development Site Plan approval from the North Miami City Council in
But the scale of the project has raised alarms for residents of Mitchell Lake Estates, which sits just behind the Joe Celestin Center.
Community concerns
鈥淲e live in a kind of bedroom community, and it's awfully quiet around here,鈥� said longtime homeowner Ronda Mims. 鈥淪ince they put the apartments on the west side of Seventeenth Avenue, we get traffic. It comes through Fourteenth Avenue, going all over the place. There are no speed bumps and kids can't even play outside in our neighborhoods.鈥�
LaToya James-Edwards, who has resided in the neighborhood since 1986, said the development鈥檚 scale doesn鈥檛 fit the neighborhood鈥檚 character.
鈥淚f you look around this community, it鈥檚 all single-family homes,鈥� James-Edwards said. 鈥淭o put something so monstrous in the middle of this quiet neighborhood, where we live next to a graveyard 鈥� they鈥檙e proposing an amphitheater. No one has considered the amount of noise or traffic going through our community.鈥�
James-Edwards noted that few developments in North Miami, especially on the west side, exceed six to eight stories.
鈥淭his is a Brickell project 鈥� not something for this area,鈥� she said.
Patricia Willis, who鈥檚 lived in the area for 28 years, said the park should remain exclusively for public use.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a park. They should have put activities for us to use as a park, not residential buildings. That doesn鈥檛 make any sense.鈥�
Lola Capers, another long-time resident, worries about infrastructure.
鈥淓ighteen stories is entirely too high for a residential development. That鈥檚 gonna add to traffic. I don鈥檛 think this community is equipped for that volume.鈥�
Residents also fear rising property taxes.
鈥淎 lot of the residents are retired or on fixed incomes,鈥� said James-Edwards. 鈥淲e're once again gonna be impacted in ways that we shouldn't. A lot of us work, but our salaries aren't changing. It's fixed as well.鈥�
Feeling left out
Sherril Marks, who has lived in Mitchell Lake Estates since 1972, said she never received word about the project.
鈥淲e are in a quandary right now because there was no input from the surrounding areas, either north or south of the park.
Mims echoed her sentiments.
鈥淭hey [the city and developer] sent out letters to surrounding houses, but I didn鈥檛 get any notification. It鈥檚 sneaky 鈥� they pick and choose who gets the letter. Nobody could voice an opinion if they didn鈥檛 even know what was going on.鈥�
The Miami Times contacted the City of North Miami to speak with Councilman Pierre Frantz Charles, who represents the area, but his office rejected an interview or written statement.
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Residents have sent letters to county and state officials requesting more transparency, a pause on the project, and a return to community-driven planning.
鈥淲e're needing someone from the county, someone from the state, someone to listen, to come and advocate on our behalf because at the end of the day, even though this is in North Miami, North Miami sits in the county of Miami-Dade,鈥� said James-Edwards.
One long-standing demand: a public pool that the entire area can use.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 mind sharing space, but not to the point that our quality of life is being diminished or that we鈥檙e totally ignored,鈥� James-Edwards said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e been advocating for years for a pool the whole community can use, not just North Miami residents, because of how adjacent this park is to the community.
鈥楢 transformational project鈥�
But Sidman sees the project very differently.
鈥淭his is a transformational project,鈥� Sidman told The Miami Times. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not just housing; it鈥檚 revitalizing the west side of North Miami, a live-work-play environment.鈥�
He said phase one, expected to break ground in early 2026, will begin with a senior housing building, followed by affordable family housing. He said the project was shaped by community feedback.
鈥淚f you look at the city of North Miami, most of the focus on where development dollars have been spent is on the east side of North Miami,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t's gonna become a vibrant community within a city.鈥�
Responding to concerns about height and scale, Sidman emphasized that not all buildings will be 18 stories and that the park will remain as is, with some upgrades. In an op-ed published by , Sidman noted that 鈥淭raditional, small-scale affordable housing projects 鈥� while important 鈥� lack the capacity to generate the broad economic and social benefits that master-planned developments provide.鈥�
The amphitheater, located next to the Joe Celestin Center, will be programmed in partnership with Miami community leader DJ Irie.
Sidman also said Redwood has hosted 鈥渁 number of meetings over the last couple of years.鈥� According to city calendars and social media posts, the developer hosted meetings in at the Joe Celestin Center. Mitchell Lake Estates residents said they weren鈥檛 aware of those meetings.
鈥淭his didn't come out of left field, Sidman said. 鈥淲e've engaged community outreach. Ultimately, everyone who would like to have a voice in the project had the ability to come to the meetings.鈥�
Sidman said developers gathered feedback from residents on what they wanted and needed, ultimately leading to what鈥檚 been presented.
鈥淭hey had to drive too far for groceries, for health services, or the pharmacy,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e took high attention to detail and notes on what residents were saying: there is a lack of services in this area, and that's why we planned around the site and the site plan to truly have enough retail to incorporate what the needs were for the community.鈥�
He also said Redwood will continue to host meetings.
鈥淚n a truly transformational project, you have to work with the community. It's not just one-sided,鈥� Sidman said. 鈥淭hat's the way to make areas thrive, by getting local feedback, and we want this project to be one that local individuals will be proud of.鈥�
When asked about the pool, he replied: 鈥淲e鈥檙e still working through that, but yes. Ultimately, that鈥檚 what the design calls for.鈥�
Looking forward
Yet for residents like Mims, the view is bleak 鈥� literally.
鈥淭he stores are on the ground floor, and the buildings are 18 stories high. I won鈥檛 even be able to see the sky.鈥�
James-Edwards said neighbors aren鈥檛 opposed to improvements, but want them to reflect the character of their community.
鈥淲e would love for them to redevelop the park, bring in more trees and open space, and make a walking path and gardens. There are so many things that could be done in that area that would benefit our longevity. That's what we want.鈥�
She added, "We want to ensure that our quality of life continues to increase and is not impeded by folks who are no longer coming into the community to look around to see if this project even goes with the aesthetics and the flow of the current community.鈥�
This story was produced by The Miami Times, one of the oldest Black-owned newspapers in the country, as part of a content sharing partnership with the SA国际传谋 newsroom. Read more at .
