South Florida cities aim to fight housing crisis with controversial free land deals

South Florida officials are increasingly turning to a controversial tool to combat the region’s housing crisis: giving away public land to private developers at no cost. Examples include former Miami City Commissioner Joe Carollo’s no-bid Little Havana deals last year and a recent move to add affordable housing to the up-and-coming luxury enclave West Palm Beach. Carollo orchestrated the no-bid deal just before resigning from office in December, ceding city-owned parcels worth over $8 million to developers Swerdlow Group, Nir Shoshani and Nuri Dorra, the Miami Herald reported.  Carollo framed the move as a vital legacy for a district where […]

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