A lease of Miami International Airport land on the runway this week will provide an option to bring perishables into the airport and PortMiami that now are diverted to Northeastern ports and trucked back to South Florida. The deal could add $318 million to the county’s revenue.
The agreement being heard by the Appropriations Committee stems from an airport-seaport partnership to increase trade and products that arrive in the US through South Florida by creating a facility to sanitize incoming goods and provide cold storage for them.
“We are expecting it to be highly innovative with technology and really be able to increase the products that come through here based on the functions that this facility will offer, really cutting edge and state of the art,” Hydi Webb, PortMiami director and CEO, explained to Miami Today before a developer was chosen.
The agreement on the table would have Mandich Group LLC of Hollywood create the facility. Mandich won a request for proposals process to design, construct, manage, operate and maintain the phytosanitary and cold chain processing facility on 14.6 acres at 7449 NW 12th St.
The project is six years in the making already, Ms. Webb said. In 2019, she explained, the port received a $33 million Port Infrastructure Development Program grant from the US Department of Transportation Maritime Administration for the facility.
“The way the grant was drafted, it has to be within a 10-mile radius from the seaport,” she said. “We’re doing this in partnership with MIA to increase the trade and the products that come through both of our facilities, so we will actively be using this facility together.”
The seaport is strapped for land, said Ms. Webb. The goal is to have off-port fumigation nearby that can be shared by others to increase business. Commodities most expected to be treated in these types of facilities, she said, are perishables such as fruits, vegetables and flowerts. These perishables are being treated here now; the goal is to increase the products that come in.
“We want to be able to treat … meats and poultry and grains, perhaps medical equipment, and bring it all through, increasing our trade numbers,” she said.
The lease with Mandich would be for an initial 35 years with two five-year renewal options. The Federal Aviation Administration would have to approve the lease.
The county requested proposals for the project in September 2023, two came in, Mandich ranked higher, and lease negotiations lasted from last June to January.
“We’re just really excited about this project,” said Ms. Webb. “There’s a cold storage component to this as well in addition to the phytosanitary. The cold storage component assists with this so we can store, warehouse and move the goods more timely and sensitively through the whole process and more efficiently.”
The cold chain processing will be built to “provide value-added services, including … cold storage, warehousing, distribution, repackaging, cross docking, pick and pack services, perishable product mixing and packaging, and storing of perishable goods,” says a memo to commissioners from Jimmy Morales, county chief operating officer.
The facility is expected to increase trade and create opportunities for South Florida.
“This is going to be sort of one of a kind, state-of-the-art facility,” said Ms. Webb. “Really, there’s not that many in the country right now that do both of these functions.”
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