When thinking 'small' leads to big change: How Miami's 3C initiative is transforming affordable housing
Miami Homes for All helps to fight displacement, starting in Overtown
By Amelia Orjuela Da Silva, Miami Times Staff Writer
The Starke family show plans for their two ongoing developments in Brownsville and Overtown. (3PM MEDIA/TEEKAY)
The heart of Overtown was filled with hope on Dec. 11, when local leaders, developers, and community advocates gathered for the groundbreaking of Palm Plaza during the “3C Groundbreaking and Progress Update.” The event marked a new step in Miami’s ongoing fight for affordable housing.
Miami Homes For All (MHFA), a housing advocacy nonprofit, spearheads the 3C initiative in Miami — short for Connecting Capital and Community — a nationwide effort by the Center for Community Investment (CCI) to address housing needs and racial inequities in development in five cities.
Palm Plaza will maintain the current 18 units as affordable housing once the development is completed. (Amelia Orjuela Da Silva for The Miami Times)
Located in Overtown, Palm Plaza has been a family-owned affordable housing complex for nearly 50 years. Purchased by Evans H. Starke in the late 1970s for $13,000, it has been providing homes to Overtown residents for generations. After Starke’s passing in 2020, his son Leonardo inherited the property. However, the building was in desperate need of renovations that cost over a million dollars, a sum the family struggled to afford.
The Starke family has owned Palm Plaza for nearly 50 years and will soon start renovations. (3PM MEDIA/TEEKAY)
That’s when LaUntrice Starke, Leonardo’s wife, started looking for help within the county. She soon reached out to Miami Homes For All and the 3C initiative.
“When we connected with the 3C initiative, it was like a perfect marriage,” Leonardo said during the event. “3C stood for not only ‘preserve affordable housing units’ but ‘preserve family property.’”
The planned renovations for Palm Plaza will begin in January 2025, keeping all 18 units affordable for households earning up to 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI). Monthly rents will start at approximately $900, significantly below the average rent of $2,042 for a one-bedroom in Overtown.
Property owners and developers with MHFA's Annie Lord and the 3C team lead Lisa Martinez. (3PM MEDIA/TEEKAY)
The initiative assists small property owners and developers in managing their land by helping them secure public funding grants and providing support with permitting and zoning regulations. Miami’s Omni Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) has also been key in the process; it provided the Starke family with $900,000 for renovations and offered temporary housing for current residents to occupy during construction.
“Those are the projects that are more and most appealing to us,” Isiaa Jones, the CRA’s executive director, told The Miami Times. “Building generational wealth, investing in opportunities where you're bridging the gap of this affordable housing shortage that we have and investing in our local people.”
The 3C initiative represents a collaborative effort between nonprofit organizations, property owners, developers, and Miami-Dade County to prevent displacement of Black and Hispanic residents amid rapid gentrification and to support the revitalization of historically underserved neighborhoods. That includes identifying and addressing the needs of people who want to build or preserve affordable housing on existing properties. With a median rent of $2,600 for a one-bedroom apartment, Miami ranks among the least affordable cities in the U.S.
“Today is a celebration,” said Annie Lord, Miami Homes For All executive director, at Wednesday’s groundbreaking ceremony. “We’re kicking off this first project, Palm Plaza, one of 15 projects in our 3C initiative.”
(L-R) MHFA Executive Director Annie Lord, CCI Executive Director Omar Carrillo Tinajero, Commissioner Keon Hardemon, Chairwoman Christine King and Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. (Amelia Orjuela Da Silva for The Miami Times)
Addressing Miami’s housing crisis
The 3C initiative aims to deliver more than 150 small and medium-sized affordable and workforce housing developments in five neighborhoods: Overtown, Allapattah, Liberty City, Little Haiti, and Brownsville — communities under growing pressure resulting from gentrification and rising rents.
Lord emphasized the importance of small-scale development, known as "missing middle housing," which falls between single-family homes and mid-rise apartment buildings. This approach leverages existing properties, particularly those owned by Black and Hispanic families, to create more affordable units quickly and cost-effectively.
"Small-scale development can be faster, less costly, and fit within the zoning of many of Miami’s neighborhoods," Lord explained. "With projects like these, we’re showing that smaller-scale affordable housing is both necessary and achievable. It's happening here today."
Miami-Dade County District 2 Commissioner Marleine Bastien recently sponsored a resolution establishing a county policy that prioritizes creating, developing, retaining, and financing missing middle housing. The resolution directs the county mayor to submit a report outlining the creation of a Missing Middle Housing Program within 90 days.
Ensuring community involvement is also central to the 3C initiative’s approach to prevent displacement. The initiative partners with local organizations to amplify grassroots voices in planning and decision-making. In Overtown, Touching Miami with Love, funded by MHFA and JPMorgan Chase, is one such partner.
“We just want Miamians to be able to participate in it, especially Miamians who have typically been excluded and disenfranchised from that growth and development,” Lord said. “We want them to have an ownership stake in it too.”
Reflecting on the future
Earlier this year, a Miami Homes For All report found that Miami-Dade County is short 90,181 affordable housing units for households earning $75,000 or less. Leaders at the event reflected on the progress made by the 3C initiative and the significance of this work.
CCI’s Executive Director, Omar Carrillo Tinajero, expressed pride in the initiative’s accomplishments.
“When we started three years ago, we had an audacious goal — to tackle the systemic barriers that have held a lot of communities back,” he said. “It is such a tremendous honor to be here and see the progress that has been made."
Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava highlighted the importance of empowering small-scale Black developers.
“That's going to foster more equity in the housing market and create opportunities for generational wealth and historically marginalized communities,” she said.
District 3 Commissioner Keon Hardemon, who represents Overtown, reflected on the community’s history and the partnership between local government and community organizations.
“People describe Overtown a million times as the hole in the doughnut, and I never believed that,” Hardemon said. “Overtown is the doughnut. It's just that, for some reason, some people prefer not to eat the creamy filling in the middle, but Overtown is the creamy filling in the middle.”
Christine King, Chairwoman of the City of Miami Commission, echoed this sentiment, praising Overtown’s resilience.
“That expressway that came through our community near decimated the Overtown community,” she said. “But the residents in Overtown are resilient. They are resilient, and they did not give up."
King further expressed her optimism about the future.
"Through efforts like this, and with partners like you all, we are going to solve our housing crisis. And together, we will ensure that the development that happens in Miami is inclusive, sustainable, and equitable.”
As the dust settles on the groundbreaking, additional projects are on the horizon. The Bestman Dorsey Duplex, led by Overtown resident Dr. Evalina Bestman, is in the financing stage, while the Peach Project, also in Overtown, is already under construction. Several other affordable housing projects are in various stages of development across the 3C initiative’s target neighborhoods.
Looking ahead to 2025, the initiative will begin identifying new property owners interested in creating small-scale affordable housing, continuing to expand its impact on Miami’s housing landscape.