Miami Mayor Tomás Regalado said Wednesday that the city should have more of a presence on the global stage.
Regalado delivered his third State of the City address Wednesday morning in front of hundreds of people, many of whom were the city's top brass.
After delivering about a dozen thank you messages, the mayor talked about how the city government took on Miami’s housing crisis, and got some of the biggest banks in the country involved in the process.
“We are not simply going to complain about the state of abandoned properties and the many hurdles that we face with the banking industry to resolve these issues. Rather, this administration has taken a proactive approach to protecting our neighborhoods and revitalizing our economy,” Regalado said, emphasizing that the city met with executives from Chase, Wells Fargo, Bank of America and Sabadell United to look for solutions.
As a result the city got those banks’ “commitment to work with the city in the citation of abandoned properties,” get their help demolishing uninhabitable properties, and help residents stay in their homes, he said.
The mayor also touted the city’s progress in dealing with the dismal economy. He promoted an investment of more than $1 billion in mega-projects over the past year, including the $800 million Brickell City Centre, whose construction will begin in the coming months. The project will encompass four city blocks and include hotel and condominium towers, parking, shops and offices.
“This project alone will be generating 1,700 construction jobs in the next four years and, when finished, it will employ 3,800 people,” Regalado promised. “The Swire Group project will provide our city with over $4 million annually in property taxes, plus over a million dollars more in parking surcharges.”
Regalado said such private sector investments and a decreasing crime rate are bright spots for Miami's future.
Regalado’s daughter and Miami-Dade School Board member Raquel Regalado was right by his side, sitting on the dais, during his speech. Little Lucas Beyras wowed the crowd as he sang the national anthem to kick things off, and hit some more high notes with "God Bless America" to close.
