Another developer has donated to the Underline, a planned 10-mile linear park and trail in Miami-Dade County.
Swire Properties is committing $600,000 to the Underline’s Brickell Backyard, the first portion to be developed. The trail, which starts at the Miami River, runs underneath the Metrorail tracks to Dadeland South. Meg Daly, founder of Friends of the Underline, told The Real Deal it is the biggest donation to the project so far.
Swire is in the midst of developing Brickell City Centre, a $1.05 billion mixed-use project with condos, retail, office and hotel components that connects to the Brickell Metromover station. Stephen Owens, president of the Hong Kong-based development firm, is a member of the Underline’s board of trustees.
The donation will be used for the construction of the Brickell portion, joining developers Pinnacle Housing Group, 13th Floor Investments and the Adler Group, which together donated a combined $75,000 in February. Brickell City Centre, which fronts the Underline on the west end, will connect with the Eighth Street Metromover station and nearby green space.
Temporary art installations for the Underline will be unveiled at a VIP reception held at the Brickell City Center’s EAST, Miami hotel later this month. The installations, funded by an ArtPlace America grant, will be unveiled throughout the Metrorail corridor in the fall. “All four [installations] focus on getting people to interact with the art,” Daly said.
Twenty percent, or $24 million, of the estimated $120 million project is being raised privately. The total cost includes $80 million for the trail, $20 million for intersections and $20 million for destination parks.
Each portion has its own budget, Arden Karson, Related Group senior vice president, previously told TRD. The project has already secured $7 million in public funding that the Underline designated for the Brickell segment. That breaks down to $3 million from Miami-Dade County, $2 million from the state of Florida, $1 million from the city of Miami impact fees and $1 million from a Florida Department of Transportation grant. The Knight Foundation has also given about $515,000 over the past two years, Daly said.
James Corner Field Operations, which designed the High Line in New York, is designing the Underline.