Wynwood Business Improvement District moves to expand

A mural in Wynwood (Credit: Phillip Pessar)
A mural in Wynwood (Credit: Phillip Pessar)

The Wynwood Business Improvement District’s board of directors unanimously backed plans to increase the size of the special taxing district, during a meeting Wednesday.

Proposed boundaries (click to enlarge)

Proposed boundaries (click to enlarge)

The expansion aims to incorporate dozens of properties that were previously left out of the BID, including a few parcels controlled by Wynwood’s largest property owner Moishe Mana, who has plans to build a miniature city near I-95.

The expansion will add about $300,000 to the BID’s coffers, which will pay for security, lighting, sanitation, marketing, and other amenities. The three-year-old Wynwood BID, which is governed by area landowners, also helped create the guidelines for the Wynwood Neighborhood Revitalization District, which governs future development within the booming arts district.

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The BID expansion is far from being a done deal. The Miami City Commission is scheduled to rule on the new Wynwood BID at its July 29 meeting. After that, 51 percent of the property owners within the new map’s boundaries would have to vote to be a part of the Wynwood BID. Those property owners will have a chance to cast ‘yes’ or ‘no’ ballots over the course of five months.

Albert Garcia, vice chairman of the Wynwood BID, is confident that most of the owners of properties previously left out of the district will now want to be included.

“There is strong interest,” Garcia said. “They want to receive our services, securing, and planning efforts.”