County approves $400 million expansion project at Miami airport.

The Miami-Dade County Commission unanimously approved a 40-year lease that will allow a developer to build a $400 million cargo hub at Miami International Airport.

Under the agreement passed by county commissioners on July 16, Miami Gateway Partners LLC will lease 11.2 acres of land at 1701 N.W. 63rd Ave. where the company will build the Vertically Integrated Cargo Community (VICC), a 784,087-square-foot cargo facility. In exchange, the county will receive $512 million in revenue and rent over the 40-year lease term, a memo from Miami-Dade COO Jimmy Morales stated.

Miami Gateway Partners is a joint venture between Houston-based Airis Aviation Development and Vancouver-based Vantage Airport Group. The developers will make a minimum investment of $400 million to construct a four-level automated vertical cargo handling structure.

The project is expected to augment the cargo capacity of Miami International Airport (MIA) from about 3 million tons annual to at least 4.5 million tons, Morales’ memo to county commissioners stated. That increase in capacity is needed, Morales added, because cargo volume at MIA is expected to reach four million annual tons in 2031 and about five million annual tons by 2041.

“These projected cargo volumes put MIA at risk of considerable cargo volume leakage to competing airports and cities,” Morales’ memo stated. “The loss of MIA’s cargo market share would jeopardize Miami’s commercial dominance in the Americas and the airport would risk losing its status as a ‘premier passenger and cargo hub’ in the not-too distant future.”

During the development of the VICC, more than 8,500 construction jobs will be created, and Miami Gateway Partners has committed to creating a design and build team in which 60% of the firms are headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Morales stated. In addition, 2,500 permanent post-construction jobs are expected to be on site, he added.

The VICC originated from an unsolicited proposal from Airis and CCR USA Airport Management back in October 2020 that sought a 50-year lease with a minimum investment requirement of $1.1 billion. After years of negotiations with the county, CCR withdrew from the team and was replaced by Vantage as new lease terms were crafted.

The new facility is projected to be finalized by 2029.

Source: https://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida