4 min read

Reimagining an abandoned rail corridor in Little Santo Domingo –
 The Allapattah Collaborative CDC is leveraging a rich cultural history and a passion for the arts to build a community connector.

Published Oct 27, 2026
By
  • Knight Foundation
Knight Foundation
Photo credit: Clara Toro

Little Santo Domingo, a cultural district in the neighborhood of Allapattah in Miami, FL, is changing fast and growing fast, but that growth has not flowed evenly back into the community or its residents. Part of this is due to a physical and symbolic divide slicing the neighborhood: an abandoned rail corridor that functions as a wall between residents and new institutions taking root nearby.

The Allapattah Collaborative CDC wants to build bridges where there were once walls through its project Reclaiming the Rail: the Allapattah Cultural Connector. Where infrastructure has divided this community, they want it to connect — on the community’s terms, in the community’s voice.

The organization plans to spend the next twelve months reimagining and rebuilding this corridor. The project will reactivate the rail as a public space that supports walking and biking, hosts public art and performance, celebrates cultural heritage and circulates residents and visitors between the neighborhood’s residential core and its emerging arts district.

We spoke with Fernando Ortiz, the Preservation and Community Development Manager of The Allapattah Collaborative CDC about what the revitalized corridor would mean for the city.

Knight Foundation
Mural in the Allapattah neighborhood in Miami. Photo credit: Clara Toro

When did you begin working at the Allapattah Collaborative CDC? What about the organization got you excited about their work?

I began working at the Allapattah Collaborative CDC in July 2024 because I was new to Miami and wanted to get involved with an organization that was focused on economic development, urban planning, cultural preservation and support for small businesses. Being able to do that work in Allapattah’s Little Santo Domingo, a neighborhood I identify with, was the best opportunity I could ask for. Being able to connect with people who look like me, speak my language and face the same challenges as me — it makes doing the work even more impactful.

In your own words, what is one question your project is trying to answer?

How can local community members empower themselves to reimagine their communities to better serve their needs through art and culture?

How did the idea of your proposed project come about?

The idea for Reclaiming the Rail came about because we saw the development pressures throughout our neighborhood in Allapattah, yet we also saw the missed opportunities to embrace and better connect with existing and new neighbors who are providing valuable resources to Allapattah. We also saw how infrastructure like the rail and highways create structural violence and make mobility and connectivity difficult, so we decided to work with that infrastructure and not against it.

We decided to connect our neighborhood using art, culture and infrastructure to promote cultural preservation and economic development.

“Infrastructure like the rail and highways create structural violence and make mobility and connectivity difficult, so we decided to work with that infrastructure and not against it.”
Knight Foundation
Fernando Ortiz
Preservation and Community Development Manager at The Allapattah Collaborative CDC

Tell us a bit more about the problem your project is attempting to solve within your community.

The Allapattah community sits between important assets for the City of Miami like the Miami International Airport and the I-95 highway. Infrastructure has shaped how our communities mobilize and grow. We wanted to empower our residents and businesses through engagement and planning, to reimagine what these shapes could look like and how they can better serve us.

We seek to enhance economic development and cultural preservation by not only connecting parts of our community to each other, but by building gateways and corridors that enhance our historic sites, our commercial corridors and that make our neighborhood safer, cleaner and more attractive to those who are already here.

Why did you choose to apply for KCC?

ACDC decided to apply for the Knight Cities Challenge because we value the work and support that Knight Foundation brings to Miami. We saw an opportunity to not only make a physical change in the neighborhood, but to root new possibilities through meaningful community engagement and visioning opportunities. We wanted to ensure the community of Allapattah was at the forefront and not the backend of innovation and opportunity.

What is an aspect of your work that you’re most proud of?

Ensuring the longevity of our Little Santo Domingo commercial corridor, which was identified in 2023 by the National Trust for Historic Preservation as one of America’s “11 Most Endangered Historic Places.” We seek to change that and create a more vibrant corridor that preserves our cultural and economic legacies.

Learn more about the recipients of the Knight Cities Challenge and how they’re impacting communities across Knight cities.

Knight Foundation
Mileyka Burgos-Flores (left, founder and CEO), Fernando Ortiz and The Allapattah Collaborative CDC team. Courtesy of The Allapattah Collaborative CDC.