Historic Overview

Following the contentious McDuffie riots of 1980, which reportedly left over $10 million worth of property damage in the Liberty City neighborhood and led to the loss of over 3,000 area jobs, the budding Magic City was riddled with growing inequality, particularly for low-income Black neighborhoods. Despite the nascent municipality’s booming population growth and popularity worldwide, many historically marginalized communities were underinvested and being left behind to struggle for livability and quality of life. In response, many community development corporations began emerging to target investments into these much needed communities. 

In 1984 the Miami-Dade County Surtax program was established, followed by the federal Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) in 1986. Soon thereafter, the National Affordable Housing Act was passed in 1990 while locally the State created the Sadowski Fund in 1992. These opportunities for reinvestment led to a small group of concerned community builders to coordinate collective efforts advocating on behalf of Miami, focused on addressing racial equity and quality of life through comprehensive community development. This became the cornerstone of the coalition to increase investments and develop assets for low-income communities.

Neighborhood Stabilization

The coalition initially focused on convening community development corporations (CDCs, aka nonprofit developers), community housing development organizations (CHDOs), and community development financial institutions (CDFIs) to offer peer-to-peer engagement and expertise on producing and preserving housing affordability and economic stimulus in Miami-Dade county. As SFCDC's membership base grew and engaged a wider audience of stakeholders and practitioners, it began offering technical assistance and capacity building training. By 2009, the coalition served as the backbone for the Miami-Dade NSP Consortium, featuring six of our coalition members, seeking federal funding from the Neighborhood Stabilization Program to re-stabilize local communities in response to the 2008 market crash. SFCDC organized its members as well as policy advocacy to help secure nearly $90 million for the County to redevelop more than 1,200 units of affordable housing. This was among the first and biggest points of pride for the coalition demonstrating our efficacy in collective impact that resulted in targeted investments into our community.

Research & Incubation

In 2016 we partnered with the National Association for Latino Community Asset Builders (NALCAB) to commission an Equitable Development Action Plan (EDAP) for 17th Avenue in Allapattah. This research effort led to the incubation of the Allapattah Collaborative Community Development Corporation, a place-based CDC in the City of Miami. By supporting the establishment of this needed community organization through technical assistance, research, and community engagement, it has become a beacon for the Allapattah community and a catalyst for economic development. Today, they continue to serve as a close partner and valued member of the Coalition, actively collaborating on campaigns such as Public Land for Public Good Miami among others.