City of Miami trying to annex 1,600 acres

This week, the city of Miami began a lengthy process of trying to annex about 1,600 acres near the Miami River and Miami International Airport — including valuable neighborhoods that are home to about 100 international corporations such as Burger King and Toyota.

The areas affected would be Melrose Park and Palmer Lake, Blue Lagoon West, Blue Lagoon and Waterford, and the unincorporated area near Northwest 36th Street south of State Road 112. According to a study done in August, there are about 11,000 residents living in this area, and it had a tax base of about $1.33 billion in 2013.

Miami’s budget director, Christopher Rose, told the Miami Herald that annexing these communities — a proposal which has been on the table for months — will boost city profits and benefit area residents in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, who often mistakenly call the city for services. Mayor Tomás Regalado agreed.

“It’s important for the commission to look a few years from now,” Regalado told the Herald. “The Miami River will be more important as the Panama Canal [expansion] moves forward and as the Port of Miami accommodates bigger ships…That area is the future.” [Miami Herald] — Kristina Puga