$ 20 Million for Cutler Bay

Hard work by the Town staff and intense last minute lobbying by the Mayor, Vice Mayor and Town manager resulted in the Miami Dade County Commissions approval this week of $20 million of county funds to be given to Cutler Bay to improve Caribbean Blvd. and implement the Old Cutler charrette.

The Old Cutler Road Charrette Area Plan is the citizens’ vision for the enhancement of a two and a half mile segment of Old Cutler Road.

It represents the ultimate growth and form of their community and the creation of a recognizable center for the south Old Cutler area, which stretches between SW 200th Street and SW 224th Street in south Miami-Dade County. The Old Cutler Road Charrette Area Plan grew out of a design charrette held from June 21st through June 28th, 2002.

The Charrette was held at the Edward Whigham Elementary School and was well attended by residents, property and business owners, representing a diverse cross-section of the community as well as County staff and elected officials, who all worked together to define the elements of this master plan. During the week, the design team set up its studio in a storefront at the Old Cutler Town Center, where the doors remained open to the public all day. A presentation of the work in progress was held on Friday, June 28th where the community embraced the concepts included in the Charrette Area Plan. Work is documented in the form of a Charrette report and recommendations summary as a follow up to the initial public workshop. The citizens with the assistance of a proffesional team, studied the many challenges faced by the community and the proposed specific solutions.

A series of presentations by County Staff were held and during that time further citizen and professional input was taken into account. The Board of County Commissioners (BCC) passed a resolution (# R-439-04) on April 13th 2004, thereby accepting the Old Cutler Road Charrette Area Plan Report and its recommendations.