Miami-Dade weighs 99-year land deal for Hialeah Metrorail parcel

Miami-Dade County will consider a 99-year development deal for a one-acre parcel under the Metrorail tracks in Hialeah, where Eileen Piñeiro’s Pine Development LLC wants to build 36 apartments and a 46-space parking lot beside the planned Hia-Line. The proposal is scheduled for the county Housing Committee on July 14, on land that Hialeah and Miami-Dade have already identified as the first segment of a public linear park.

The land sits off East Fourth Avenue in a narrow rail corridor stretching nearly a mile between NW 37th Avenue and East 4th Avenue. Hialeah’s City Council backed the Hia-Line on April 9, 2024, in a 7-0 vote, calling for 5,000 linear feet of underutilized space beneath the MetroRail line to be activated. The city resolution called the area unattractive medians and vacant land used for illegal parking, dumping and vagrant activity.

Miami-Dade followed with Resolution R-300-25 on March 18, 2025, directing the mayor to negotiate a management agreement with Hialeah and provide status reports. The measure was prepared at the request of co-prime sponsors Senator René García and Commissioner Kevin Marino Cabrera. County staff must weigh two uses for the same land: a park intended to knit the corridor together, and a development plan that would leave room for that park while adding housing and parking.

Piñeiro’s company was filed on October 7, 2022, remains active, and lists her as manager. The registered agent is Damas Law in Coral Gables. Pine Development’s plan would leave much of the site landscaped and undeveloped so the future park could still fit. Hialeah officials warned that the city had not been briefed on the county land deal and that any project of this kind should involve direct coordination with the city and its residents.

The Underline is Miami-Dade’s public-private model for rail-adjacent land. It is planned as a 10-mile corridor linking eight Metrorail stations and serving 107,000 residents within a 10-minute walk when complete. Phase 1 opened February 26, 2021, Phase 2 opened April 24, 2024, and Phase 3 was expected to be completed in 2026.