Residents riled over lack of Marlins community improvement

While many in the East Little Havana community had hoped that the new Florida Marlins stadium — which is a third of the way through its $642 million development inside the former Orange Bowl — would revitalize the area, neighborhood activists say little improvement has come. The project, which is expected to be complete in 2012 and was largely paid for with public dollars, has spurred little retail investment in the Miami neighborhood, and some city officials say that little planning was done to capitalize on the opportunity to improve the area. Current Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado voted against the stadium during the planning stages, and said that developers’ promises to bring activity to the area were hollow. “There was never a [community] plan,” Regalado said. “We’re looking at the possibility of a charter school. But other than that, it’s just words, words, words.” [Miami Herald via Palm Beach Post]