The Civic Center Metrorail Station in Miami-Dade's Health District has carried a new name for more than two years now: UHealth | Jackson Station. The rebranding, finalized under a 20-year agreement, pays the county nearly $2.9 million and stands as the first paid transit station naming deal Miami-Dade has ever closed — a milestone that took county officials nearly two decades to reach.
Miami-Dade's Board of County Commissioners unanimously approved the marketing partnership in June 2024, according to official county legislative records. The station, located at 1501 NW 12 Avenue in the heart of the Health District, became UHealth | Jackson Station on July 1, 2024, and was unveiled under its new name on July 12, 2024, as Miami's Community Newspapers reported, serving as a shared landmark for the University of Miami Health System and Jackson Health System. Hoodline's own coverage at the time detailed the same rebranding.
Under federal transit regulations, every dollar generated from the naming rights sale has to flow directly to Miami-Dade's Department of Transportation and Public Works for transit uses — the money legally cannot be diverted into the county's general fund, according to Miami Today. That restriction matters because it's part of what makes the deal a genuine new revenue stream rather than a budget shuffle, and Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava's office of innovation and economic development led the negotiations that produced it.
A Deal Two Decades in the Making
The agreement capped a 17-year effort by the county to commercialize transit station names, per the same Miami Today account. None of those earlier efforts produced a signed, paid deal — making UHealth Jackson the county's first success after nearly two decades of trying.
Levine Cava said the partnership showcases collaboration among the private sector, the public health system and county government, and that it improves access to healthcare while supporting healthier living, according to Miami's Community Newspapers. Metrorail carries more than 13.4 million riders annually, and the newly renamed station alone logs roughly 90,000 boardings a year, with hundreds of thousands more pedestrians and motorists passing through the surrounding area each year.
County officials framed the deal as more than a rebrand. Miami-Dade District 1 Commissioner and Board Chairman Oliver G. Gilbert III said the renaming represents a milestone in the county's commitment to accessible public transit, and suggested similar partnerships could improve other transit hubs across Miami-Dade. Commissioner Keon Hardemon said the collaboration will benefit his district, its communities and public transportation broadly, while UHealth's Dipen J. Parekh and Jackson Health's Carlos A. Migoya each said the renaming demonstrates a commitment to expanding community access to care, according to Miami's Community Newspapers.
One Station Paid, the Next One Free
Nine months after that paid deal closed, county policy took a different turn. In March 2025, Miami-Dade Commissioners voted 11-0 to rename the Park West Metromover Station to Miami Worldcenter Station — without requiring any naming rights fee or cost reimbursement from the development's backers, Miami Today reported. The contrast has left the county's approach to station naming looking inconsistent: one sponsor paid nearly $3 million under the same legal authority that let another sponsor rename a station for nothing.
UHealth paid to update signage at the station. Miami's Community Newspapers reported that the UHealth | Jackson name now appears on digital and static signage throughout the Metrorail system and online, with partner branding added to several features and elements of the station itself. Miami-Dade's Francesca de Quesada Covey said the marketing partnerships program helps the county improve services while creating private-sector opportunities.
The UHealth Jackson deal is billed by the county as a first-of-its-kind revenue opportunity specifically for transit assets.
A Growing Health District Around the Station
The station sits inside the Miami Health District, which is drawing new investment nearby: The Triangle, an 8-story, 112-unit workforce apartment project under construction at 1750 NW 15th Street Road under Florida's Live Local Act, is being built within walking distance of the station specifically to house hospital staff, as Hoodline reported earlier this month.
To mark the rebranding, UHealth deployed mobile clinics along Metrorail stations in August 2024 offering children's vaccines, health screenings and educational materials, according to Miami's Community Newspapers. County officials described the Health District partnership as a potential model for future naming projects across the transit system.
