A consortium of retired Argentinian sports stars, including NBA Hall of Famer and ex-soccer player Juan Sebastián Verón, wants to build a $337 million mixed-use project on county-owned land in Homestead.
A majority of Miami-Dade County commissioners last week authorized Mayor Daniella Levine Cava to negotiate a possible 99-year lease agreement with Ponte Vedra Beach-based VSGS Facilities for roughly 20 acres at 28451 Southwest 127th Avenue near Homestead Air Force Reserve Base.
Two commissioners, Raquel Regalado and Danielle Cohen Higgins, voted against the resolution after failing to defer the measure to allow more time to address concerns about the project.
The investment group would develop a complex entailing a 10,000-seat soccer stadium, a 38,000-square-foot basketball facility, a 200-bed student housing building, a 5,000-square-foot sports medicine center, a hotel with up to 150 rooms and sports fields, county documents show.
Commissioners approved the project despite concerns about the potential impact the massive development would pose to the base’s operations, and on separate federal plans to turn the air base into a space port for rocket launches. The project is also near 72 acres of protected park land.
In addition to Ginobili and Verón, other partners in VSGS include Dario Sala, ex-general manager of Jacksonville Armada FC, and Riccardo Silvia, president and co-owner of Miami FC, a soccer team in the USL Championship League, and co-owner of AC Milan soccer teams.
The 20 acres is within 123 acres of land that was previously part of the air base, but that the federal government deeded to the county in 2004. Miami-Dade planned to sell the entire 123 acres to a steel mill developer for $16.8 million in May 2019, but negotiations have stalled, county documents show.
In July, Miami-Dade exercised a clause in the steel mill agreement allowing the county to retain ownership of 20 acres and reduce the purchase price accordingly.
Miami-Dade County commissioner Kionne McGhee sponsored the resolution for the VSGS project. During Thursday’s county commission meeting, McGhee insisted that the air base, Homestead city officials and surrounding municipalities would have input on the planned development before Levine Cava finishes negotiations.
“This is not an item that is fully baked or fully inclusive,” McGhee said. “The reason we allowed this item to go to the administration for due diligence is to give the people of south Dade the opportunity to bring forth their thoughts and concerns.”
Regalado and Higgins countered that they had received calls from local elected officials in south Miami-Dade, as well as business trade groups and residents, who said that the investment group had not met with them. Regalado noted she found out more about the project’s details from the media than from county staff.
“It does create a conflict for us,” Regalado said. “We need to know how this impacts other areas and what the safeguards are.”
Peter England, chief strategy officer of the Economic Development Council of South Miami-Dade, said the proposal lacked a full vetting process. “We think there is a great deal of due diligence that needs to take place,” England said. “The site has been designated as a space port territory by the state. There are also concerns by part of the base on how the project would impact its operations.”