Homestead Town Center: OIG alerted on 23.85 public acres and Miami-Dade approved sale

Homestead Town Center: OIG alerted on 23.85 public acres and Miami-Dade approved the sale. The Miami-Dade Inspector General questioned several key points.

Miami-Dade’s Inspector General questioned the price, corporate structure, third-party funding and changes to the project. Still, the Board approved the sale 9-0, with four commissioners absent.

A report from the Miami-Dade Office of Inspector General, dated April 26, 2023, questioned the proposed non-competitive sale of 23.85 acres of public land to Homestead Town Center, LLC.

The OIG noted that the $12,466,872 price was not the average of two independent appraisals of the specific land, but a pro-rated calculation based on the Property Appraiser’s value of a larger parcel. It also documented successive changes to the project, doubts about third-party financing, lack of information about the promised containers, and a corporate structure with less visibility into the beneficial owners. Despite those caveats, the Board approved the sale on July 6, 2023, 9-0, with four commissioners absent (Sen. Rene Garcia, Danielle Cohen Higgins, Eileen Higgins and Raquel A. Regalado), according to the county’s official roll call for matter 231067.

Key findings in 5 points

The Office of Inspector General formally warned against the sale.

Report IG22-0004-O dated April 26, 2023, signed by Inspector General Felix Jimenez, recommended verbatim: “the OIG does not believe that a non-competitive sale of 23.85 acres of County-owned land in South Dade for a container park and/or a mixed-use residential development in its current form is in the best interest of the County.”

The price did not arise from two independent appraisals of the specific land. According to the OIG, the $12,466,872 was calculated pro rata on a larger 29.7 acre parcel appraised by Property Appraiser, not from the average of two independent appraisals of the 23.85 acres under sale.

The Board approved the sale 9-0, with four absent, two months and ten days after the OIG report.

On July 6, 2023, the BCC adopted Resolution R-665-23 (Matter Legistar 231067) sponsored by District 9 Commissioner Kionne L. McGhee and seconded by District 2 Commissioner Marleine Bastien. Absent on roll call: Sen. René García, Danielle Cohen Higgins, Eileen Higgins and Raquel A. Regalado.

The transaction had previously been the subject of a Mayor’s Veto sustained by Daniella Levine Cava on February 1, 2022, when a motion to reconsider Agenda Item 11A5 Substitute (Legislative File 220161) failed 3-8 and then a motion to reverse the veto, made by McGhee and seconded by then-chairman Jose “Pepe” Diaz, also failed 3-8.

The project changed three times in fifteen months. Initial container park → live-work-play with up to 1,200 residential units (October 2022) → plan with no stated residential component (February 2023). HTC also reported several successive changes in the composition of its ownership and two final partners with stated capitalizations of $84 and $8 for a project submitted to the county as an initial transaction of approximately $34.3 million.

The Office of the Commission Auditor’s memorandum: a second review prior to vote

In addition to the Inspector General’s final report, the Homestead Town Center docket incorporated another relevant institutional review: the Office of the Commission Auditor’s memorandum, dated May 4, 2023, under the title “Homestead Town Center, LLC Conveyance of County Property.” The document was addressed to Chairman Oliver G. Gilbert III and Board members by Adeyinka Majekodunmi, CPA, Commission Auditor, as a supplement to the agenda file related to the proposed sale of county land to HTC.

The OCA explained that its review was issued pursuant to Resolution No. R-129-22 and the new requirements of Implementing Order 8-4, which mandated an independent and simultaneous review of proposals to lease or convey county property before the item came before the Board. In other words, this memorandum was not a policy opinion: it was part of the formal process of prior control over the transfer of public property.

The OCA’s review examined Homestead Town Center, LLC, Homestead Town Center Investment Partners, LLC, its principal disclosures-AhmandR. Johnson and Jossua Parini-aswell as consultants, strategic firms, affiliated entities, related investors and financing documents. The memorandum itself identifies as source documents the Cider Moon Investment Group LLC Letter of Intent, the HTC Project Financing Plan, the Centennial Bank Confidential Letter of Intent, the April 3, 2023 Ownership Disclosure Affidavit, the April 11, 2023 Purchase and Sale Agreement, and the April 26, 2023 OIG Final Report.

Although the OCA did not supersede the OIG’s findings, it did confirm important elements of the corporate and financial map on the record. In its Exhibit 1, the OCA identified HTCIP as a 100% principal of HTC, Johnson as 92% and Parini as 8%; it also classified Centennial Bank as a lender, Cider Moon Investment Group as investor related and Fidelity Health Care Group LLC as investor related. That OCA table reinforces that the file was not limited to a single buyer, but a network of entities, financiers, consultants and affiliates that had to be evaluated before transferring public land.

The memo also recorded two material findings within its review: first, that StanTec Consulting Services, Inc. had three OSHA violations with penalties of $9,450, then in contested status; second, that Qaran Glenn, identified in the OIG report as the organizer of the company that provided the majority of HTC’s initial funding, had an open Federal Tax Lien for $123,705.83 dated June 6, 2019.

Another key point of the OCA was the documentary connection to Kaven Jean-Charles. The memo noted that Jean-Charles, an officer of Manifezt Foundation Incorporated, was listed as an Authorized Representative signatory on HTC’s Articles of Organization with the State of Florida. It also indicated that Manifezt had previously received a county lease under Resolution R-746-21, although it clarified that no violation of that lease had been reported. This clarification is important: the information does not prove contractual irregularity, but it does expand the map of institutional relationships linked to the HTC file.

Taken together, the OCA memorandum functions as a second layer of documentation in the case. While the OIG questioned the propriety of moving forward with the non-competitive sale in its proposed form, the OCA confirmed the existence of a complex structure of ownership, financing, consultants, related investors and affiliated entities that the Board had before it before it prior to voting to transfer the 23.85 public acres

Late funders with unexplained relationships. A Georgia company (The Fidelity Health Care Group, LLC) contributed $550,000 with no documented explanation of its relationship with HTC; a fund called Cider Moon Investment Group offered $16 million for 50% equity; and Centennial Bank proposed a loan of up to $40 million with a first mortgage on the public land sold.

Documentary chronology of the HTC file

The following table summarizes the critical dates for the Homestead Town Center docket based on the primary documents verified by NMD: the February 6, 2023 OIG Memorandum, the April 26, 2023 OIG Final Report IG22-0004-O, the May 4, 2023 OCA Memo, and the Legistar matter 220249 (Mayoral Veto) and matter 231067 (R-665-23) dockets.

What happened

The conditional route to a residential component

The residential point was not minor. According to the OIG, the Declaration of Restrictions in the docket prohibited residential development unless the county first obtained federal authorization. The OIG describes the clause (page 3):

“Despite the litany of restrictions, the DoR allows HTC to petition the BCC-at any time prior to the expiration of 15 years-to modify the permitted uses to allow for residential development.”

And add on the same page:

“The DoR will not allow residential development unless the County obtains a waiver of that encumbrance from the United States Air Force (USAF).”

The federal origination restrictions – including the full Indenture R-909-04 regime with its seven chain-of-title transferable contractual restrictions – are developed in Part 1 of this series. In this installment, the relevant fact is another: before moving toward housing, the OIG recommended seeking federal authorization, obtaining new appraisals, and then deciding whether to open competition or continue with HTC. The OIG is explicit about the order, on page 6:

“If such authorization is secured, then the County should obtain new appraisals to determine the fair market value of the subject property. The BCC could then decide whether to open the process to competitive bids or pursue HTC’s prior mixed-use development proposal.”

The Board approved the sale on July 6, 2023 without completing the sequence recommended by the OIG. Subsequently, by Resolution R-383-25 (matter 250744), the county approved a contract amendment and ordered to pursue federal approval to allow affordable/workforce housing on a portion of the property – the path the OIG had marked as conditioned on prior federal authorization. Resolution R-997-25 (matter 252084) subsequently extended the closing date to March 27, 2026.

The operating operator documented by the OIG was not listed as a formal owner.

The OIG report documents, in sections IV.B and IV.C, a situation that merits a separate record. Neither of the two partners identified in the latest Ownership Disclosure Affidavit – Johnson and Parini – is listed as a signatory to the operating documentation of Homestead Town Center Investment Partners, LLC (HTCIP), the Delaware entity that owns 100% of HTC.

The name that does appear on all such operational documentation is that of Mr. Kaven Jean-Charles. The OIG documents (pages 11-12) that Jean-Charles was the only name listed for HTCIP with Harvard Business Services, its Registered Agent in Delaware; that the credit cards used to pay franchise fees and Mail Forwarding services were registered in his name; and that the email contact for HBS was kaven@bearatlantic.com. Bear Atlantic Group, LLC is the private consulting firm of which Jean-Charles is CEO.

In an interview the OIG held with Jean-Charles on February 13, 2023, Jean-Charles stated that he was a “monthly paid consultant” for Mr. Johnson – with no equity interest – and acknowledged that he handled the payments, opened the HTC bank account, set up the credit card processing via Stripe, and set up the website. The OIG records verbatim (page 24):

“with exception of the loans from Mr. Parini (totaling $90,000), all financial contributions have been made from individuals or organizations with no ownership interest in the project. In fact, most payments have been made from accounts controlled by Mr. Kaven Jean-Charles, including the down payment for the containers.”

That is: the person who appears to control relevant operational and financial aspects of HTC during the entire negotiation with the county, according to the OIG, was not either of the two declared owners, but a consultant who claimed to have no equity interest but who appears in every documented financial link of the transaction.

Adding to that configuration is a piece of information from HTCIP’s Limited Liability Corporation Agreement that the OIG documents (page 9). The agreement, electronically signed on November 29, 2022 – one year and two months after the entity was registered in Delaware – shows Mr. Johnson with a 92% membership interest and Mr. Parini with 8%. The capital contributions of the two partners upon incorporation were, to quote verbatim from the OIG report:

“$84 and $8, respectively.”

That is: eighty-four dollars and eight dollars. For a project that HTC itself presented to the county as an initial operation of approximately $34.3 million – which would scale to an estimated total development of up to $235 million – the initial capitalization stated by the partnership’s registered owners is ninety-two dollars in total.

Delaware LLC and less visibility on beneficial ownership

HTCIP, the Delaware corporation listed as 100% owner of HTC as of April 2023, was not elected in Florida. That, in itself, is not irregular – developers frequently choose Delaware for tax and procedural reasons. But the OIG documents it because it has a material consequence for transparency of the filing. In verbatim quote from the report (page 10):

“Unlike the State of Florida, Division of Corporations, the State of Delaware, Division of Corporations does not require entities disirous of incorporating in Delaware to provide information such as names of corporate officers, directors, managers, etc. The State of Delaware, Division of Corporations provides information only as to the existence of a registered entity and the name of the registered agent.”

HTCIP’s registered agent in Delaware is Harvard Business Services. The only name listed on the HBS documents is Kaven Jean-Charles. Jean-Charles told the OIG during a February 13, 2023 interview, according to the report (page 22), that he chose to establish HTCIP in Delaware because, in his words, it was a preferred state for keeping investor names private. The report’s verbatim quote records, “he chose to establish HTCIP in Delaware as it is a preferred state to keep investors’ names private.”

Georgia’s $550,000 that turned up without explanation

Another OIG observation (pages 15 and 24): a company called The Fidelity Health Care Group, LLC – registered in Georgia on June 15, 2015 by Qaran Glenn – deposited $400,000 into Jean-Charles’ (Bear Atlantic Group) personal account on June 14, 2022, the same day that the $388,000 down payment was made to Giant Containers for the purchase of the project containers. Subsequently, the same company deposited another $150,000 into HTC’s Mercury account. In total, the OIG documents $550,000 from Fidelity Health Care Group, LLC directed to HTC operations. The OIG writes (page 24):

“HTC fails to provide any information explaining why The Fidelity Health Care Group is financing the obligations of HTC.”

Jean-Charles stated to the OIG that he “knows of” Fidelity but does not know Mr. Qaran Glenn personally. The report further states (page 24):

“The OIG observes that nowhere in HTC’s response does it address its financial condition. The OIG is reminded by the express policy stated in IO 8-4 – that an ‘entity’s financial condition’ relates to whether it is a ‘responsible entity.'”

Promised containers: redacted sender and unfulfilled events

The container park was not a decorative piece of the project – it was the initial visible phase of HTC’s commitment to the county and the justification for the Permit Agreement signed in September 2022. On the containers that were to constitute that initial phase, the OIG documents three specific anomalies.

First: the payment to Giant Containers of the $388,000 down payment was executed on June 14, 2022 via a wire transfer from Chase Bank. The voucher HTC provided to the county showed the date, amount, and recipient – but the sender’s name had been redacted. The OIG describes the situation (page 14):

“On this document, the name of the remitter was redacted, showing only the last four digits of the account number as (…0716) as shown in the excerpt on the next page.”

Through its independent due diligence, the OIG determined (page 15) that the payment did indeed come from the Chase account of Bear Atlantic Group, LLC – the firm controlled by Jean-Charles – and that on the same day, a transfer of $400,000 from The Fidelity Health Care Group, LLC had funded that account.

Second, the containers had a stated public use agenda. The justification for the September 2022 Permit Agreement was that HTC wanted to have the container park ready for the October 2022 NASCAR event at Homestead-Miami Speedway. After that event passed without the containers in place, HTC indicated to the County that it could have facilities ready for the April 2023 Air Show at the Homestead Air Reserve Base. The OIG writes (page 6):

“No containers have been placed on the facility to date.”

Third, the OIG was unable to confirm full payment for the container contract or the physical location of the containers purchased. The sales contract with Giant Containers, executed by Ahmand Johnson on June 12, 2022, was for 21 containers of various sizes, for a total amount of $770,000, with a 50% down payment required within 10 days of signing. The down payment of $388,000 was paid on June 14, 2022. But the remaining balance – and the location of the containers – remained undocumented.

Cider Moon: $16 million for 50% equity, no documented experience

The last Letter of Intent that HTC submitted to the county, dated February 1, 2023, identified a fund named Cider Moon Investment Group, LLC as an equity investor for $16 million in exchange for a 50% interest in HTC. The OIG devoted four pages (18 to 21) to due diligence on Cider Moon. The most relevant observations:

First observation, which the OIG raises as a central editorial question in the financial file (page 18):

“Cider Moon’s equity investment of $16 million is more than sufficient for the purchase price of the entire 23.85 acres of County-owned land. Yet, Cider Moon is willing to accept 50% equity in the project.”

The OIG continues, on the same page, with comparative data:

“The County initially sought the market value ($13,994,178) for the property but made concessions due to the unique nature and approach to economic development and agreed to the Property Appraiser’s value of $12,466,872. This was a decrease of approximately $1.5 million.”

That is: the county had initially sought $13.99 million for the land and, after concessions, reduced the price to $12.47 million. Cider Moon was offering $16 million for half of the project. The question the OIG raises with that sequence of figures, without expressly asking it, is whether the county was transferring public land below its capturable market value in a transaction where a private investor was willing to contribute more than the full cost of the land for only half of the project.

On Cider Moon’s experience with Container Park-type projects, the OIG documents (page 20):

“Cider Moon’s stated experience is centered on the acquisition of existing properties that require ‘little to moderate cosmetic renovation work.’ There is no mention of any experience in the development or construction of commercial properties or entertainment facilities, i.e., container parks.”

And about the documentation that both Cider Moon and the co-financing bank submitted to the county, the OIG notes (page 20):

“Last, we note that both Cider Moon’s and Centennial Bank’s LOIs lack any project description.”

Centennial Bank: $40 million first mortgage on sold public land

The financial structure of the project, according to the February 2023 Letters of Intent, contemplated two components: equity from Cider Moon for $16 million in exchange for 50% of the project, and a commercial loan from Centennial Bank for up to $40 million for the development phase. The OIG quotes Centennial’s LOI directly (page 20):

“Centennial Bank’s LOI, dated February 28, 2023, states that it intends to ‘[e]stablish terms and conditions for financing up to $40 million for the Homestead Town Center Development.’ The collateral would be a First Real Estate Mortgage on the subject 23.85-acre parcel located at the southwest corner of SW 280th Street and SW 127th Avenue.”

The collateral clause is, in terms of public oversight, materially significant. The 23.85 acres of public land that the county was to transfer to HTC would immediately become encumbered, in the first instance, by a mortgage of up to $40 million in favor of a private bank. If the project failed financially, the bank – not the county – would have first claim on the asset. The land that the county transferred under the Economic Development Conveyance became tied to the dynamics of the private financial market in the same transaction.

Container park as “loss leader”: HTC’s admission

One of the most direct admissions in the record comes not from the OIG but from HTC itself. In its October 2022 Updated Project Proposal, in a section called Misc Compliance Responses – which the OIG reproduces verbatim as Exhibit 1 of the report – HTC describes the financial model for the first phase of the project. The OIG cites the passage on page 17:

“HTC has modeled Phase I (Temporary Container Park) as a lost leader and projects the HTC will not be able to recoup the principal investment of $5.89 million unless absorbed into the multi-phase development.”

The OIG does not correct the spelling but does document the meaning: the initial phase of the project, the $5.89 million container park – the most visible public piece of HTC’s commitment to the county – was conceived by HTC as a loss-making operation that only becomes profitable if the county authorizes later phases of the development, including the residential component.

The container park cost estimate also changed between the October 2022 Updated Project Proposal and the February 2023 financial plan. The OIG summarizes the difference (page 17):

“This projection – that the container park would be a loss leader – was made when the temporary container park was only estimated to cost $5.9 million. The latest February 2023 project description shows that, excluding land acquisition, the container park will cost $18.7 million. The OIG is concerned about HTC’s inconsistent and shifting positions.”

Attempted fast-track to the BCC on February 7, 2023

The OIG opens its report by explaining why it issued an interim memorandum in February 2023, prior to the final report in April. The reason is documented on page 2:

“Much of Mr. Dotson’s criticism pertains to the timing of the OIG’s February 6th memorandum, wherein we noted the potential that the land sale could be added to the BCC’s February 7th agenda. That potential was very real as evidenced by email correspondence between County staff, the County Attorney’s Office, and the Commission Auditor on the Friday afternoon before the February 7th Board meeting.”

The OIG’s conclusion on fast-track was documented as an explicit recommendation to the Board (page 22):

“This matter should not be considered by the BCC, until RER, the Internal Services Department (ISD) and the Commission Auditor have received all requested documentation and have had sufficient time to perform their reviews.”

The legal attack on the OIG and the OIG’s response

Three days before HTC submitted its formal response to the draft report, on April 3, 2023, attorney Albert Dotson – managing partner of Bilzin Sumberg, one of Miami’s largest law firms – sent a letter to the BCC, the Mayor and the County Attorney’s Office accusing the OIG of “biased” and asking, in a quote incorporated into the report (page 1):

“What is really driving the OIG’s conduct?”

The OIG responded in the Preface section of the final report (page 2) without qualification:

“Mr. Dotson makes the claim that the OIG may retaliate against HTC and its team. This straw man fallacy is pure distraction. The OIG unequivocally states that this office does not retaliate or discriminate. We present our observations and evaluations objectively consistent with our charge to provide our assessment of proposed projects, programs, contracts, and transactions ‘to assist the [BCC] in determining whether the project or program is the most feasible solution to a particular need or problem…’ Section 2-1076(d)(4) Code of Miami-Dade County.”

The other $1/year deal from the same operator

The OIG report on Homestead Town Center contains a footnote – number 17 on page 11 – that deserves separate entry because it connects the HTC case to another county settlement.

Mr. Kaven Jean-Charles, the consultant that the OIG documents as an effective HTC operator, is also the president of Manifezt Foundation Inc, a 501(c)(3) organization registered in Florida. According to the OIG report footnote, in verbatim quote:

“The Manifezt Foundation leases and operates the County-owned Larcenia J. Bullard Plaza in Richmond Heights as a business incubator. The lease is for 30 years. The Manifezt Foundations pays $1 per year for the lease and receives operating expense reimbursements up to $451,868 per year for the duration of the lease. (See Resolution No. R-746-21).”

That is: the same person who operationally controls HTC and was going to seat Cider Moon as a 50% partner in a $12.4 million deal also operates another county property under a 30-year lease for $1 per year, with operating expense reimbursements of up to $451,868 per year. That other transaction is not an Economic Development Conveyance under F.S. 125.045 – it is a lease of public real estate to a non-profit entity – but the operator connection is the same. NMD will investigate Resolution R-746-21 in future installments.

Why it matters

The Homestead Town Center case matters because it shows how a non-competitive sale of public land can go forward even when the Inspector General himself notices substantial flaws: price without two independent appraisals of the specific land, successive changes to the project, doubts about the buyer’s financial capacity, unexplained third-party funds, opaque ownership, and a possible transition to housing that required prior federal authorization.

The public question is not whether the project sounded attractive. The question is whether Miami-Dade adequately protected the public trust before transferring 23.85 acres of county land – and whether formal warnings from the two county offices charged with overseeing such transactions, the Office of Inspector General and the Office of the Commission Auditor, actually translated into changes to the contract before the vote.

Editorial note

This article does not assert that there is a criminal, ethical or judicial finding of corruption. It documents formal warnings from the Office of Inspector General and the Office of the Commission Auditor, public decisions by the Board, project changes, financing concerns and transparency risks in a non-competitive sale of public land. All references to persons, companies, votes or documents are attributed to official sources or cited public records.

Continue reading cas-001 series

• ➤ Deliverable 1 – The Amazon-Miami-Dade contract (published May 9, 2026)
• ➤ Part 1 – 601 acres and 7 restrictions Indenture R-909-04
• ➤ Part 3 – Amazon and VSGS: the county’s first historic enforcement under F.S. 125.045.

If you have information

News Miami Dade continues to investigate the systemic pattern of public land transfers in Miami-Dade County. If you work or worked at the Internal Services Department, the Office of Inspector General, the Office of the Commission Auditor, any of the development firms, or if you know about aspects of the post-vote monitoring process that are not on the public record, contact us:

• Website: newsmiamidade.com
• Email: newsmiamidade305@gmail.com
• Telegram: channel @newsmiamidade305

Your identity will be protected.

Sources consulted

Level 1 – Official primary sources

• Office of Inspector General Miami-Dade County – Report IG22-0004-O on Homestead Town Center, April 26, 2023 –27-page PDF signed by Felix Jimenez, Inspector General.
• 2. Office of Inspector General Miami-Dade County – official site.
• 3. Florida Statute 125.045 – Economic Development Powers
• 4. Matter 220249 – Mayoral Veto (Item 2A1, 1 February 2022) – Sustained veto by Major Daniella Levine Cava on the first version of the Homestead Town Center deal; motion for veto override failed 3-8.
• 5. R-665-23 / matter 231067 – Approval of sale to Homestead Town Center, LLC, July 6, 2023 – Vote 7-1. Confirmed by OIG Annual Report 2023.
• 6. R-383-25 / Matter 250744 – 2025 amendment to HTC contract: extends closing date 180 days and mandates seeking federal approval for affordable/workforce housing.
• 7. R-997-25 / matter 252084 – additional extension of the closing date until March 27, 2026.
• 8. Resolution No. R-746-21 – Lease from County-owned Larcenia J. Bullard Plaza to the Manifezt Foundation Inc for 30 years at $1/year with refunds up to $451,868/year (referenced in footnote 17 of OIG Report IG22-0004-O; Legistar file pending download and primary verification).

Level 2 – Verified outside media coverage

• 9. Miami-Dade commissioners giving away land to favored groups – The Real Deal, April 2025 magazine edition (coverage of the general pattern of “no-bid land deals”).
• 10. Developers Exploit Back-Door Land Deals in Miami-Dade – The Real Deal, 6 April 2025.

Previous NMD coverage

• 11. The Amazon-Miami-Dade contract – first installment of cas-001 series, News Miami Dade, 9 May 2026.
• 12. 601 acres and 7 restrictions Indenture R-909-04 – Part 1 of the second installment of the cas-001 series (full federal contractual regime).

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