On Thursday, March 25, 2021, Friends of The Underline held its second Community Connection Meeting. Participants heard about our civic commons initiative, construction, safety,  programming, and the technology master plan. We heard from our Chief Operating Officer Patrice Gillespie Smith; our Chief Advancement Officer, Amy Rosenberg; and our Chief Technology Officer, Breanna Faye, and UrbanSense, a firm working with The Underline to create a roadmap that leverages the intersection of the digital and physical space.During the meeting, The Underline team members offered a variety of ways for the community to engage with our staff and presented some exciting initiatives. Construction and Safety:

• Phase I is complete
• Phase II is at 90% design and will have a community engagement meeting in April.
• Phase III is about to be advertised where firms from all over the country will be invited to bid.  The bid should be awarded in early 2022, followed by community engagement and then construction should begin by the end of 2022. 
• Friends of The Underline will meet with FDOT regarding the pedestrian signals’ timing on 7th and 8th streets.  We have heard quite a few complaints and would like to get the pedestrian phase included in the signal cycle so pedestrians will not have to push the button to cross these busy streets. 

Art & Programming: Come to The Underline and view our new mural by artist Edny Jean Joseph supported by Louis Wolfson III and Pinnacle Communities.

In another few weeks, enjoy our artist commissioned ping pong tables that have the dual purpose of bringing attention to climate change and providing fun, outdoor activity! 

We have already featured performances by Miami City Ballet and the Arsht Center. On April 3rd, we will launch our PAWS at The Underline program in partnership with Miami-Dade Animal Services and Friends of Miami Animals Foundation. Join us for giveaways and adopt a dog or cat!

April is Poetry Month, and we will be partnering with O, Miami on a 3-day event series showcasing the talents of 44 amateur poets. 

Technology:  

• We are working on providing technology infrastructure for Phase 1 with plans to expand to future phases as well.
•  We have been working with Miami Dade College MAGIC students to create an interactive AR game that we will be announcing soon.
• The creation of a Tech Master Plan is underway in partnership with UrbanSense, giving the community more to look forward to as our opening approaches. 

Miami Dade College, Wolfson Campus, President Dr. Beatriz Gonzalez shared some great community updates; Summer Term beginning May 10th and June 21th (all formats). Rising Black Scholars (April 5th deadline) and Fast Track Sharks features free tuition options if accepted.

The community showed great interest in the construction and design initiatives presented during this first Community Connection Meeting. They also had the opportunity to provide feedback on shared goals through an interactive live poll that you can view here and ask questions to our team and guest speakers, who were happy to respond. 

Q & A updates were provided. Click here to see our Q&A results.

If you missed this meeting, don’t worry! A recording of the Community Connection Meeting #2 is available here.

Our next meeting will take place on Thursday, July 8 at 6:00 pm. Click here to register. Until then, we encourage you to stay involved with The Underline by volunteering and joining our Facebook group here. You may also send questions or comments to hello@TheUnderline.org. Hope to see you at our next Community Connection Meeting!
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About Community Connection Meetings:
Community Connection Meetings are virtual quarterly meetings put together by The Underline to connect directly with our team and community. This is where you will have a chance to make yourself heard and learn more about The Underline’s progress and initiatives. Community Connection Meetings are managed and produced by our Community Outreach Manager, Masi Faroqui.