The UM Life Science & Technology Park, which officials hope will elevate South Florida into the ranks of the nation’s elite biotech corridors, is being touted as both an important resource and a good neighbor for Overtown and the surrounding communities.
In Overtown, a 45-year-old man sits in an examination room at the Jefferson Reaves Sr. Health Center, asking questions of his primary care physician about the new high-blood pressure medication just prescribed for him.
A few miles away, at an elementary school named for America’s first great black female poet, students participate in a mentoring and tutoring program designed to boost their academic performance and encourage them to become citizens dedicated to service.
From affordable health care to after-school tutoring programs and parenting workshops, University of Miami initiatives have been entrenched in Miami’s Overtown community long before the institution broke ground on its Life Science & Technology Park, the first phase of which is scheduled for completion near the historic neighborhood next summer.
