After several failed attempts, Miami Beckham United might finally get the break it needs to build a Major League Soccer stadium in Miami.
Miami-Dade County announced Friday that it intends to sell a chunk of land in Overtown to the group, which is led by soccer star David Beckham. And nearby private property owners have also entered into contracts to sell their land to Beckham.
No prices have been disclosed. But according to a letter of intent from Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez, the Beckham group will have to “pay fair market value” for the county’s land plus property taxes.
That land, which is split into a handful of parcels at the corner of Northwest Sixth Street and Northwest Sixth Avenue, is occupied by several low-rise industrial buildings managed by the county’s Water and Sewer Department.
In total, Beckham will assemble roughly 9 acres from both public and private owners, according to a statement his group released. The Beckham group said it will make the purchase of county land once the site is approved by the Major League Soccer Board of Governance.
All together, the county-owned land on that block totals about 2.79 acres. Some of the eastern side of the block is owned by a limited liability company named New Miami River View, which is managed by Democratic fundraiser and lobbyist Christopher Korge and Thomas J. Korge of law firm Korge & Korge. The company also lists Barry Goldmeier, a Miami developer who builds rental apartment complexes.
The trio paid $1.4 million for 1.37 acres of the block in 2006, according to county property records.
There’s also a large, vacant and contiguous lot to the north of Miami-Dade’s land at 650 Northwest 8th Street. It measures 4.2 acres and is owned by Windsor Investment Holdings, a private company managed by Roland DiGasbarro of Coral Gables. That land was acquired out of foreclosure in 2010.
The Beckham group said it’s under contract to buy the Windsor property but didn’t mention other lots besides the county land.
Previous reports have said Beckham hopes to build a 30,000-seat soccer stadium that would cost an estimated $200 million — all of which, the group said, would be privately funded. The group announced its plans to build a Miami stadium nearly two years ago, but has faced multiple roadblocks since then.
“We’ve never closer to making [the stadium] a reality,” the Beckham group said in its statement.