The owner of a landmark Liberty City shoe repair business that was evicted in early 2013 to make way for a redevelopment project says no one has offered space in the project for his shop.
But owner Tyrone Greene said he’s heard nothing of the sort and plans to reopen the shop a block from his original store on Northwest 62nd Street and Northwest Seventh Avenue in a few weeks.
“No one has spoken to me about no offer,” said Greene.
Greene’s lawyer, Roderick D. Vereen, said Edmonson offered space in the transit village before Greene Dreams was evicted but that he hadn’t heard anything since.
Edmonson was traveling in South Africa last week, but said through a representative that she does not control who gets space in the new development.
“I had hoped that all the tenants on the 7th Avenue and 62nd corridor site being affected by the proposed development would have returned,” Edmonson said, in an email sent through her spokeswoman, Marta Martinez-Aleman, making no reference to Greene and other merchants’ demand they pay the same rent they paid before being displaced by the development.
“She knows he was offered to come back, but she doesn’t negotiate with tenants,” said Martinez-Aleman in an interview. “It’s the developer.”
Greene Dreams, which has served Liberty City for some 50 years, was located near the southeast corner of Northwest Seventh Avenue and Northwest 62nd Street.
The shop will reopen at 742 NW 62nd St., just the other side of Northwest Seventh Avenue. Greene’s equipment and stock has been in storage for the last 15 months.
“We’re trying to keep the dream alive,” said Greene. Miami-Dade County owned the former location but evicted the shop and tore down the building after deeming it unsafe.
Carlisle Development Group who was in charge of the project at the time, began construction on the affordable housing, retail and transportation hub a few months later.
Progress slowed after Carlisle came under federal investigation for padding construction costs and the project was transferred to Atlantic|Pacific Companies.
Lawyer Vereen said the county deliberately failed to maintain the building so it could evict the store and that he doubts Greene would want the county as landlord again.
Greene filed a lawsuit against the county for not honoring his lease and for failing to properly notify him before removing the building.
“I doubt very seriously that Greene Dreams is going to want be there,” Vereen said.
Contact Sofia Galiano at sgali003@fiu.edu; Karla Reyes is at kreye008@fiu.edu
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