Codina's struggle: the approval process for Beacon Lakes took three years, millions of dollars and a tough skin. But Armando Codina is finally breaking ground on his biggest project yet in Airport West - Deal Profile

South Florida CEO, Oct, 2003 by Barbara Perkins

As for the characterization of the property as environmentally sensitive, Renfrow says that was not accurate. "This is not pristine land. It's not what you'd call The Everglades. It was an old dump. There are some things out there that were grandfathered in, like a fat-rendering plant. They take dead animal carcasses and make cosmetics and soaps with that stuff." The Codina Group, in fact, was able to get much of the land designated as a "brownfield" this summer, which means that it is so environmentally damaged that it qualifies for tax breaks to help clean up the site.

Another major objection to overcome was the issue of need. As part of the process to alter the urban land boundary, Codina had to show that fresh land was needed for Beacon Lakes. The county's planning department initially came up with a study showing that some 5,000 acres were still available for development in Airport West. That led to an initial recommendation for denial by the planning department. But Codina successfully argued that the acreage available in Airport West was lower than county estimates, that what was available was fractured into scores of tiny plots, and that the original county study contained property from Homestead Air Force Base up through Opa-Locka.

"On final analysis, after review and after analyzing supply and demand, our recommendation was to adopt it [the Beacon Lakes plan]--with modifications related to roadway improvements," says Diane O'Quinn Williams, director of the Miami-Dade Department of Planning and Zoning. "We thought this case was unique [and] that we did have a shortage of industrial land, and that this development was supportive of airport operations."

Ironically enough, the delays which Codina faced in the approval process may have proven to be a benefit. Had the project been built last year, it would have faced a downturn in industrial demand in the Airport West area, especially from the Fortune 500 companies the park will attract. That demand is now on the rebound, and "I think we're going to hit this just right," says Codina.

"To be honest I thought this would be a two-year process and it was three, and I didn't think it would be so bloody," says Codina. "I had a project that I wanted to do for economic development in Dade County [Codina projects the creation of 9,600 jobs and $10 million in annual tax revenue] and to help the tenants that want to stay here ... I had the feeling that things were going to be tough, but I didn't think it would be this slow and long."

As far as press coverage, says Codina, "I didn't think that I would be portrayed the way I was portrayed." Fortunately, he says, The Miami Herald remained evenhanded in its coverage. "There was a lot of pressure on the Herald editorial board to take a negative position because of the articles in the South Florida Business Journal," says Codina. "When I met with Kathleen Krog and Joe Ogelsby, I was treated fairly and to her credit ... Ms. Krog visited the site and knew this was not in the Everglades and was not a pristine site, as she had been told.