Control of the site used to build the detention facility known as “Alligator Alcatraz” has been handed back to Miami-Dade County now that the facility has closed, officials said.
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The county-owned Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport was seized by the state of Florida in June 2025.
“The return of this property to Miami-Dade County marks an important turning point. From the beginning, I have been clear that this detention facility should never have been built, and now we have an opportunity to shape a better future for these lands,” Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said in a statement Tuesday.
The detention facility officially opened the following month before closing less than a year later.
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Miami-Dade said it regained control of the site following a joint inspection by county and state officials.
“Our immediate responsibility is to fully understand and address the impacts left behind. At the same time, we are moving forward with our goal of permanently protecting this land and restoring it as part of the greater Everglades ecosystem,” Levine Cava said. “We will work with our federal, state, Tribal, and environmental partners to chart the right path forward and ensure these lands are protected for generations to come.”
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