A long-planned urban park project beginning in Miami’s Black-majority Overtown neighborhood is suddenly $60 million short of its financing goal after President Donald Trump’s administration yanked the funding.
The 10.5-mile, 33-acre development — known commonly as the Underdeck, but officially named the Rev. Edward T. Graham Greenway — is meant to reconnect areas in the city previously divided by the construction of Interstates 95 and 395 in the mid-1960s.
Once completed, the $82 million undertaking would stretch toward Biscayne Bay, connecting pedestrians to myriad amenities and cultural centers.
Former President Joe Biden’s administration allotted Miami $60 million in March 2024 for the project, part of a much larger, state-run development overhauling I-95, I-395 and State Road 836 that includes construction of a signature bridge and viaduct in the city.
The funding was set aside last year through the federal Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods grant program. Last week, the U.S. Department of Transportation told Miami the money is no longer coming after the passage of Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill.”
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said last year that the city would spend about $20 million on the project.
City Commissioner Damian Pardo, who chairs the Omni Community Redevelopment Agency that is involved in funding the Underdeck project, called the loss of funds “a profound setback” emblematic of the “larger challenges of continued underfunding for projects” to address historic injustices, preserve local culture and tackle “long-standing deferred maintenance” in Miami.
“I remain committed to working with our residents, community partners, stakeholders, and all levels of government to find alternative solutions and funding sources,” he said in a statement.
“We must not lose sight of the vision for a reconnected Overtown, nor our responsibility to safeguard Miami’s history and legacy while building a stronger, more inclusive future.”
In a statement to the Miami Herald, City Commission Chair Christine King said the project would proceed, albeit at perhaps a slower pace than previously contemplated.
“If we have to do it one section at a time,” she said, “that space will be representative of our struggles, our culture, and our resiliency.”
Miami-Dade Commissioner Eileen Higgins, a candidate for Mayor who represents the city at County Hall, said the withheld money represented the latest in a series of “disastrous decisions from the Trump” administration.
“With strong bipartisan support, the project offers an important opportunity to reconnect Overtown, and deliver an iconic park and green space for the neighborhood,” she said in a statement Monday. “This … isn’t simply a rejection of a community project for the City of Miami, but also a rejection of an important project to (the Florida Department of Transportation) and critical investments into our city’s future.”
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