Photo: Eduardo Schneider
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Miami-Dade Roundup
The Miami-Dade Women's Fund launches website to assess barriers for women in the community
SPOTLIGHT
Gender Equity Dashboard
The Miami-Dade Women’s Fund has launched an online dashboard that provides local data on how women are faring in terms of economic mobility, personal health, safety and leadership positions. The dashboard, available on the nonprofit’s website (womensfundmiami.org), is designed to show where barriers to well-being exist for women so that community leaders can make more informed decisions, says interim Executive Director Marya Meyer (at right).
While local, gender-specific data for 2020 and 2021 are not yet available, Meyer says the pandemic likely has exacerbated disparities in areas such as labor force participation. In 2019, 75% of women in Miami-Dade were working vs. 84% of men, according to the dashboard. Meyer says one way to close the gap is to make child care more affordable, given that women tend to be the primary caretakers of their children and might not earn enough to cover day care center expenses.
“Some are saying that people don’t want to work anymore,” Meyer says. “That’s simply not true. Many just can’t afford to go back to work.”
TECHNOLOGY
- New York-based financial technology company Republic acquired Miami-based Arora Project, which helps startups raise money through crowdfunding. Financial terms were not disclosed. Arora founder and CEO Krishan Arora joined Republic’s executive team.
- Miami-based cryptocurrency infrastructure provider MoonPay raised $555 million in a round of funding led by New York investment firms Coate and Tiger Global Management.
- Miami-based non-profit CodePath received $2.25 million from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to provide more technology education programming to students at Florida International University, Miami Dade College and Florida Memorial University.
TRANSPORTATION
- DHL Express Americas completed a $78-million expansion of its shipping hub at Miami International Airport, growing from 125,000 square feet to 206,000. The company plans to create about 100 new jobs.
REAL ESTATE
- Developer Carlos Rosso partnered with Midtown Development and the Standard hotel group to build a 12-story, 228-unit condo in Miami’s Midtown neighborhood. The Standard-branded project is expected to open in 2023.
- Miami-based Related Group joined billionaire Teddy Sagi and Aventura-based BH Group to develop a residential project along Biscayne Bay in North Miami. BH Group plans to develop three boutique condos, with 28, 31 and 35 units, in Bay Harbor Islands. Connecticut-based developer Richman Group says its proposed Water Side project in southern Miami-Dade will include 266 affordable apartments along with retail space. The developer also will help build a bus stop along U.S. 1 near the project’s 4.7-acre site.
SPORTS
- The Miami Dolphins teamed up with Fairwinds Estate Winery in Calistoga, Calif., to create 347 Club, a new wine subscription service. The late Dolphins coach Don Shula won 347 games over his career.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
- The Florida Small Business Development Center at FIU received a $2.5-million grant from the U.S. Small Business Administration to launch the Miami-Dade Small Business Resource Navigator Program, part of an American Rescue Plan initiative to support underserved businesses. The Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce moved its offices to the 31-story SunTrust International Center to be closer to Miami’s growing number of finance and tech companies downtown. The chamber previously was at the Hilton Miami on Biscayne Boulevard.
- The Miami-Dade Beacon Council says it helped lure 32 business expansions and relocations in 2021, accounting for nearly 5,000 job commitments. Additions include Blockchain.com, investment giant Blackstone, CI Financial and Ford, which chose Miami as a test market for its new “robotaxi” service.
RETAIL
- Fitness studio chain Barry’s moved its headquarters from Los Angeles to Miami, where it occupies a 9,000-sq.-ft. office in Wynwood.
POLITICS
- Art Acevedo was fired as Miami’s police chief after a tumultuous six-month tenure in which he clashed with his elected superiors, most notably when he remarked that the city was run by a “Cuban mafia.” Acevedo, who was born in Cuba, had been Houston’s police chief before taking the top job at the Miami Police Department last spring. Assistant Miami Police Chief Manny Morales was named interim chief in October.
