Alfred Sánchez, President & CEO, Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce (GMCC)

June 2026 — Invest: sat down with Alfred Sánchez, president and CEO of the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce, to discuss how the region’s rapid economic and population growth is shaping priorities around transportation, workforce housing, talent development, and resiliency. Sánchez emphasized that Miami’s growing pains reflect its upward trajectory, noting, “The challenges we’re facing are because of the abundance of opportunities that have been presented to us.”

How has the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce contributed to Miami’s growth over the past year?

Miami continues to experience extraordinary growth. Our population is rising, our GDP outpaces both the state and the nation, and roughly 150–200 of the 1,000 people who move to Florida each day choose Miami. That momentum creates both opportunity and pressure, which is why the Chamber focuses so heavily on our four priorities: transportation, workforce housing, workforce development, and resiliency.

We work through 13 program committees and in collaboration with partners such as the Beacon Council, other chambers, the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau, and the South Florida Regional Planning Council. A recent success is the opening of the South Dade Bus Rapid Transit line — something the Chamber began championing a decade ago. Ridership is already exceeding expectations.

We’re also helping get the next phase of the SMART Plan back on track, particularly the Northeast Corridor. That project had federal, state, and local funding aligned, but administrative changes disrupted the process. We’ve worked closely with congressional leaders and state partners to reopen those funding pathways. These projects are essential not just for Miami but for regional mobility throughout South Florida.

What challenges or opportunities has Miami’s rapid growth created for residents and employers?

Growth brings enormous opportunity but also undeniable challenges. Traffic, housing affordability, and the rising cost of living are at the top of that list. Our environment is also our economy, so resiliency remains a constant priority.

Housing illustrates the issue clearly. The median single-family home price rose from about $375,000 in 2019 to roughly $650,000 today. It may soften, but won’t return to previous levels. Yet compared with markets like San Francisco, Los Angeles, or New York, we are still relatively affordable. That’s why people moving here from those cities continue buying, which highlights the real issue: wages. It’s not purely a price problem; it’s a salary problem.

To understand today’s challenges, you also have to look back. Twenty years ago, the Chamber led the One Community, One Goal initiative, which identified our anchor industries and the emerging sectors Miami needed to build, including technology and aviation. Those strategies worked. In a sense, we are now a victim of our own success. The question today is how we manage that success so residents can thrive alongside new investment.

What role is GMCC playing in advancing workforce housing, particularly through public-private partnerships?

Workforce housing has been a major priority for us for years. The Live Local Act provides helpful tax incentives, but the most powerful tool available is public land. We worked with the University of Miami to create a virtual land bank, mapping publicly owned parcels across the county, cities, and school system. When you see the full inventory, it’s striking how much land could be leveraged for housing.

Public-private partnerships are key. Jackson Health System’s collaboration with Related Group is a great example. Jackson contributes land it already owns, lowering the cost basis and making the project financeable for both the developer and the bank. The result is housing that serves nurses, paramedics, doctors, and the broader community. Similar models can be replicated using municipal and school-system land at low cost to support more workforce units.

Our Workforce Housing Committee also brings together 150–200 industry professionals a few times each year — developers, construction firms, architects, engineers, lenders, and others — to share information on zoning, financing, and policy. Behind the scenes, we worked extensively with the county to ensure it would not opt out of Live Local, because lenders needed that certainty before moving forward. Now the groundwork is in place, and more projects are beginning to emerge.

How is the Chamber addressing workforce development and the demands of Miami’s evolving tech economy?

Miami’s tech story began long before the pandemic. Foundations like Knight invested heavily in building a startup ecosystem. By 2018–2019, Kauffman ranked Miami the No. 1 city for startups, though we lagged in scale-ups because we lacked a strong base of technology investors.

That changed when COVID hit and Miami remained open. Tech CEOs arrived and saw firsthand that Miami was already a global city — a banking hub with a vibrant urban core, strong companies, and cultural depth. They stayed, invested, and brought venture capital with them. Billions in VC dollars now flow into South Florida annually.

But our talent pipeline is still catching up. Our colleges and universities weren’t producing engineers at the volume needed. So the community mobilized. Miami Dade College launched an AI center and expanded cybersecurity training. Universities broadened tech programs. CareerSource South Florida and other partners accelerated job-training pathways. The Chamber helps knit these efforts together and connect employers to talent pipelines.

We also launched partnerships like our recent event with OpenAI, where 200 small businesses learned how to use generative AI tools. We’re building similar initiatives with other major tech companies. Although we’ve only been fully reopened since 2022, we’ve made tremendous progress — but we still have work to do to meet demand.

How do you view the role of public-private partnerships in transportation and transit-oriented development?

The Chamber has long championed P3s. The PortMiami Tunnel, for instance, was nearly defunded at the last minute, and the Chamber helped secure the state support needed to keep it alive. The I-595 express lane project in Broward is another regional example of a successful P3.

For Miami’s future, workforce housing and transportation are the two areas where P3s can deliver the most impact. Transit-oriented development is especially promising. By combining publicly owned land, Live Local incentives, private-sector expertise, and bank financing, we can build dense, livable communities around transit corridors. The South Dade BRT line will accelerate this, and Live Local limits local barriers to density along these routes.

We’ve also looked internationally for best practices. On a Chamber delegation to Tokyo, we studied how new developments integrate housing, commercial space, services, education, and transportation from the start. That holistic approach is exactly what Miami needs to stay ahead of growth rather than constantly react to it.

How does GMCC respond to concerns about public transit safety and user experience?

Some concerns stem from misunderstandings. For example, Brightline incidents are tragic, but in many cases, they result from people ignoring signals. I’ve personally witnessed cars driving around lowered crossing arms. The trains aren’t the issue; public behavior is. We need stronger awareness and shared responsibility.

As for crime on buses or trains, I ride our system and don’t see a systemic safety problem. Incidents occur everywhere, but overall, our public transit is safe and efficient. To build confidence, we host Transit Day, where members ride together and experience the system firsthand.

As density increases around stations, we also have to plan for livability — childcare, retail, services, and public spaces that create real communities rather than anonymous clusters of housing. That’s another way to reinforce both safety and quality of life.

What message would you leave with Miami’s business community as the region navigates this period of transformation?

We are at an extraordinary moment. Miami is transitioning from a largely service-based economy to one increasingly powered by tech, fintech, and other high-wage sectors. That shift is real, and major players are here for the long term.

Yes, we face serious challenges in transportation, housing, and wages. But these challenges exist precisely because opportunity has arrived at an unprecedented scale. The challenges we’re facing are because of the abundance of opportunities that have been presented to us.

If business, government, and education continue working in lockstep through organizations like the Chamber, I have no doubt we will meet these challenges and build a more prosperous, resilient Miami for the next generation.