It’s time to dissolve the Miami Downtown Development Authority
Op-Ed by James Torres, President, Downtown Neighbors Alliance
The Miami Downtown Development Authority (DDA) was established 58 years ago in 1967, when Lyndon B. Johnson was president and Robert King High was Miami’s mayor. That’s right—this agency was created before Miami even had air conditioning in most buildings, let alone the skyline we have today. Back then, Downtown Miami was struggling with urban decay, and the DDA was pitched as a way to breathe life into a fading city core.
Now, it’s 2025, and Downtown Miami is booming—not because of the DDA, but in spite of it. Yet this outdated agency insists it’s still needed to “attract businesses,” “bring in events,” and “support economic development.”
Read related: Miami DDA gives UFC $100K for event, despite protest from downtowners
Let’s be real—Miami sells itself. We already host Ultra Music Festival, Formula One, world-class concerts, major marathons, and international conventions without the DDA cutting corporate welfare checks. Businesses and investors aren’t choosing Miami because of the DDA’s bloated budget—they’re coming here because Miami is one of the most desirable destinations in the world.
Yet instead of shutting down after long outliving its purpose, the DDA has become an expensive, wasteful bureaucracy, taxing residents to fund itself and hand out corporate welfare to billion-dollar companies.

We have long been sounding the alarm about the DDA’s reckless spending, but their latest move—a $100,000 taxpayer handout to a $12 BILLION corporation, UFC—was the final straw.
A Pattern of Waste and Exploitation
This isn’t the first time we’ve had to step up and fight against the DDA’s blatant disregard for downtown taxpayers. Last year, we successfully led the effort to stop their tax increase, forcing them to reduce their budget by $1.2 million and lower the millage rate. This victory came despite the DDA’s attempts to downplay their $13.5 million tax extraction, with Commissioner Damian Pardo shamelessly dismissing it as “just $2-$6 per household”— a tone-deaf and dishonest attempt to minimize the real burden on our community.
Where Is Our Money Really Going?
Downtown, Brickell and Edgewater residents pay over $13.5 million in additional taxes each year to fund the DDA. Yet instead of prioritizing real issues like crime, homelessness, and cleanliness, the DDA squanders our money on luxuries for itself and unnecessary corporate handouts.
According to the DDA’s own financial disclosures from its February 28, 2025, Board Meeting Package, this is how our money is being spent:

$3.85 million is spent annually on salaries and benefits.
Over $566,000 on office rent and parking.
$425,000 on “communications and promotion” instead of actual services.
$1.19 million on sponsorships that do little for residents.
$3.35 million on vague “special initiatives” with no clear benefit.

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Representatives of homeowners in Downtown Miami, Brickell and Edgewater joined forces last week to respectfully ask the Miami Downtown Development Authority — an agency that focuses on promoting and strengthening the “economic health” of Downtown Miami — not to give $100,000 to the UFC for events at the Kaseya Center, formerly the American Airlines Arena.
The UFC has a reported net worth of $12 billion, according to Forbes, and do not need, nor should they be getting, any taxpayer handout, these leaders said.
And really, what is $100K when you have $12 billion?
“This is beyond wasteful; it’s offensive,” said a joint statement from James Torres, presidents of the Downtown Neighbors Alliance, Ernesto Cuesta, president of the Brickell Homeowners’ Association, and Rick Madan, president of the Biscayne Neighborhoods Association, posted days before the meeting took place Friday.
But they were ignored.
In a post on social media, the DDA said that the resolution passed by the board of directors will “keep UFC 314’s Fight Week in Downtown Miami.” The events in April reportedly benefit local charities, offer free “family friendly” activities and deliver a big economic impact to local businesses.
Read related: Miami DDA Director resigns amid political power shift and chaos
Commissioner Manolo Reyes, who chairs the DDA, did not respond to calls from Political Cortadito, as usual. But a DDA spokesperson — and the agency has one of Florida’s top PR and crisis management teams on retainer — told Ladra this week that the UFC event in 2023 sold out at 19,000 fans and produced more than $47 million in economic impact for Miami-Dade. They apparently also were going to go somewhere else this year without the, er, um, incentive. Las Vegas was courting them, hard. But it’s difficult to imagine that another city wouldn’t pay $100K for a $47M return.
The $100,000 is to bring the UFC “fan village” so that people will have reason to hang out downtown — and spend their money — before and after the fights.
The DDA is governed by a 15-member board of directors — three public appointees and 12 downtown property owners, business owners, and/or residents. The board sets policy direction, which is then implemented by a multi-disciplinary team under the oversight of an executive director. “As an autonomous agency of the city, the Miami DDA advocates, facilitates, plans, and executes business development, planning, capital improvements, and marketing and communication strategies,” states the city website.

It has a budget of about $13.5 million through a special tax levy on properties within its district boundaries in downtown, Brickell and Edgewater. But those community leaders question the benefit they get in return.
“Instead of prioritizing real improvements, the DDA continues to waste taxpayer money on frivolous spending while ignoring the pressing needs of our community,” their statement last week read, recommending a dissolution of the agency. “The solution is simple: Downtown and Brickell residents should not be taxed at all for a redundant agency that prioritizes waste over the well-being of the people who actually live here.”
On Tuesday, Torres doubled down with an op-ed calling for the “outdated” agency’s dissolution and detailing some of the expenses reported most recently. That includes $3.85 million spent annually on salaries and benefits and another $3.35 million on “special initiatives,” with no further details about what those are. Close to $2 million are spent on sponsorships, like the UFC’s $100K.
Read related: Residents win rollback on ordinance for huge LED signs in Downtown Miami
The DDA also gave at least $80,000 in grants to businesses suffering the construction chaos on Flagler Street. Each business received a grant valued up to $5,000, which doesn’t seem like a lot. According to the agency, it has distributed $622,000 in grants to downtown businesses since 2021.
The $100K would be better spent on public safety, the neighborhood leaders said in their joint statement. They said aggravated assaults are up by a whopping 225% in Downtown Miami, while robberies have doubled, thefts have gone up by 61% and vehicle break-ins are up by 50%.
And that wasn’t completely ignored. The DDA on Friday also allocated $550,000 for additional police services in the Central Business District and Brickell areas. According to their social media statement, the board plans to expand additional police patrol services to Edgewater and has committed $1.2 million to this effort.
“But crime isn’t the only crisis downtown and residents are dealing with,” the joint statement said. “Rampant homelessness, overflowing garbage, and worsening cleanliness issues are degrading our quality of life while the DDA ignores these urgent problems. Instead of addressing the real needs of our community, they continue wasting money on corporate sponsorships, lavish offices, and bloated staff expenses,” the statement reads.
“Downtown Miami has no shortage of venues or major events—Formula One, Ultra Music Festival, marathons, concerts, and conventions flood our streets every year. Downtown sells itself—we don’t need to bribe global corporations to come here. That money should go to crime prevention, beautification, and public safety—not corporate welfare.”
The post Miami DDA gives UFC $100K for event, despite protest from downtowners appeared first on Political Cortadito.

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If you’re following the District 2 race in Miami, you’ve likely seen incumbent Commissioner Sabina Covo‘s ads on TV.

This week, Downtown Neighbors Alliance President James Torres, who has a much smaller warchest and can’t afford a lot of network time, posted his first video web ad, a fast-paced 30-second spot that calls for new blood at City Hall and calls out the current state of dysfunction.

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Miami City Commissioners deferred making a decision last week on allowing up to 45 giant LED billboards downtown — and some critics worry the can will be kicked down the road until after the November election. You know, so commissioners don’t have to be held accountable.

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