Commissioner Dennis C. Moss sponsors resolution renaming the future Richmond Heights Shopping Center in Memory of Senator Larcenia J. Bullard

Commissioner Dennis C. Moss sponsors resolution renaming the future Richmond Heights Shopping Center in Memory of Senator Larcenia J. Bullard

By Jamil Rivers

On March 16, 2013 Miami-Dade County lost one of its most venerable advocates in Senator Larcenia J. Bullard, who served as the first woman to be elected to District 118 in the Florida House of Representatives.  Her work to rebuild South Miami-Dade County in the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew is evident as the community continues to grow and develop.

Miami-Dade County Commissioner Dennis C. Moss honored the memory and service of Senator Bullard by sponsoring a resolution renaming the future Richmond Heights Shopping Center as the Larcenia J. Bullard Plaza.  “Senator Bullard was instrumental in bringing millions to redevelop our community,” said Commissioner Moss.

With over two decades of service, Bullard successfully passed such legislation as the State Facilities / Emergency Shelters Bill, which provides for the use of certain state facilities as emergency shelters, and the Good Samaritan Act, which gives emergency responders immunity from civil liability.

The significance of this legislation along with many educational initiatives she proposed was recognized by the League of Cities, who named Senator Bullard “Quality Citizen of the Year.”  Senator Bullard was honored as the “2012 Legislator of the Year” during the 18th Annual Delta Days at the State Capitol.

Larcenia J. Bullard Plaza will be located on Lincoln Blvd. and Carver Drive in the historic community of Richmond Heights. Commissioner Moss stated that, “This was the right facility to name in her honor. It is located in the district she represented all of her political life and is one block away from the home that she lived in for decades, in the Richmond Heights Community. Also, the mixed use development will include a historical room that will highlight her life, the history of the Richmond Heights community and the history of other Black communities in South Dade.”

The building of the new center is a part of The Moss Plan, a redevelopment plan sponsored by Commissioner Moss, that identified this section of the community as blighted in the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew.  Neighborhood residents and organizations such as the Richmond Heights Home Owners Association and the Richmond Heights Community Development Corporation requested that Miami-Dade County through the Moss Plan, fund a program to alleviate these conditions by acquiring and re-developing the old shopping center site.

Larcenia J. Bullard Plaza will stand as a fitting tribute to the Senator and to the tradition of civic engagement that Richmond Heights has come to be known for.