Miami could spend more than $8.7 million over five years to help maintain The Underline, a 10-mile linear park that snakes below the Metrorail from Brickell to the Dadeland South station.
Today (4/10), the Miami City Commission is expected to authorize the city manager to negotiate a new funding agreement with The Underline Conservancy, the organization that manages and programs the park. If approved, the city will commit $8,702,869 toward the public-private project through 2030 to keep The Underline clean, safe and vibrant for the residents and visitors who traverse it.
The Underline is a 120-acre urban trail and park system transforming the land beneath the Metrorail into a walkable, bikeable public space stretching from downtown Miami to Kendall.
When finished in 2026, it’s expected to improve connectivity across the neighboring cities of Miami, Coral Gables, South Miami and unincorporated Miami-Dade County, enhance access to transit and serve more than 125,000 residents who live within a 10-minute walk.
The Underline Conservancy, a public-private board composed of appointees by the Friends of The Underline and publicly appointed officials, oversees everything from daily maintenance and operations to public art and free programming along the 10-mile path. To keep things running long-term, it relies on contributions from both private and public sectors, including Miami-Dade County, the cities through which it runs and the Friends of The Underline.
The organization has laid out a funding plan that commissioners are considering today to ensure the project stays sustainable, citing its economic, environmental and social benefits that include hundreds of jobs, over 2,000 free annual programs and 2 million annual visitors to the City of Miami.
The city’s contribution, totaling $8,702,869 from fiscal 2025 through 2030, would cover roughly 18% of The Underline’s yearly operations, maintenance and programming costs. The agreement includes a 5% cost escalation per year and requires the Underline Conservancy to provide annual reports detailing financials, environmental impact, community programming as well as the number of people employed and visitors.
According to the organization’s proposed funding plan, the city’s contribution starts at $1.57 million in the 2025-2026 fiscal year and rises to just over $1.9 million in 2030. The rest of the annual expenses, projected to total more than $10.7 million by 2030, would be covered by Miami-Dade County, private donors and other municipal partners through which the Underline runs.
The Underline is being developed in three phases and includes pedestrian and bike paths, upgraded intersections, lighting, native landscaping and community amenities like butterfly gardens, playgrounds, courts, picnic areas and public art. It will also improve transportation access to 24 schools, two hospitals, one university and more than 10,000 businesses in the area.
Phase 1, known as the Brickell Backyard, stretches for half a mile from the Miami River to Southwest 13th Street. It opened to the public in 2021. Phase 2, which opened in April 2024, runs 2.3 miles from Southwest 13th Street to Southwest 19th Avenue, connecting neighborhoods like The Roads, Silver Bluff and Shenandoah.
Phase 3, the longest segment at 7.5 miles, is under construction. It will extend from Southwest 19th Avenue all the way to the Dadeland South Metrorail Station, passing through the City of Miami, Coral Gables, South Miami and unincorporated Miami-Dade County. This final stretch is expected to open in stages between 2025 and 2026.
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