Development of the $1 billion Miami Freedom Park is off to a rough start with a contractor alleging its owners haven’t paid a past due six-figure bill.
Indianapolis-based Hunt Construction Group, led by CEO Robert Hunt, sued Coral Gables-based Miami Freedom Park LLC in Miami-Dade Circuit Court last month for allegedly skipping out on three invoices totaling roughly $590,000.
Last year, Miami Freedom Park hired Hunt to provide preconstruction services for the soccer stadium-anchored mixed-use project at the former Melreese Golf Course in Allapattah owned by the city of Miami, according to a contract attached to the complaint. The project is being developed by billionaire Jorge Mas, his brother Jose Mas, retired international soccer star David Beckham and Los Angeles-based Ares Management.
In 2022, Miami Freedom Park signed a 99-year lease with the city of Miami to redevelop the 58-acre site at 1400 Northwest 37th Avenue. Prep work for the project began in 2023. The same group owns Inter Miami CF, the Major League Soccer franchise that currently plays at DRV PNK Stadium, which is on a 34-acre site the team leases from the city of Fort Lauderdale.
A spokesperson for Miami Freedom Park, and Jason Perkins, Hunt Construction’s attorney, did not respond to requests for comment.
Hunt Construction worked for Miami Freedom Park between March and August of last year, the complaint states. During that time span, the contractor sent the development entity three bills for $125,000, $265,749 and $193,468. Miami Freedom Park subsequently ignored a demand letter sent in September, the lawsuit alleges.
Meanwhile, Miami Freedom Park’s owners and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez recently faced a firestorm of public criticism over a $20 million commitment the project developers made for public green space, published reports state. Three years ago, the Miami City Commission approved the lease and a development agreement with a stipulation that half of the public green space money would be spent on city parks in other districts, and the other half for a park within the 58-acre mixed-use site.
But last month, Suarez successfully sought city commission approval allowing Miami Freedom Park to spend the entire $20 million for the project’s public park. The other city districts would still receive $10 million, but from another source of funding.
Approved by a citywide referendum in 2018, the Arquitectonica-designed Miami Freedom Park would entail a 25,000-seat stadium, three hotels with a combined 750 rooms, 400,000 square feet of office space and 600,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space.
