Miami Today: Week of Thursday, January 7, 2016

WEEK OF THURSDAY, JANUARY 7, 2016

A Singular Voice in an Evolving City

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BANKING & FINANCE

5-year Dodd-Frank rollercoaster ride goes on, experts say, pg. 13 EXTRAS IN BRICKELL: Miami commissioners have approved legislation tied to improvements within the road right-of-way along parts of Sixth, Seventh and Eighth streets and South Miami Avenue. The improvements are part of Brickell City Centre, a vast mixed-use development nearing the end of its first phase.

A Special Area Plan (SAP) for the project was adopted in 2011 and amended in 2013. The SAP includes non-standard improvements within the right-of-way. Brickell City Centre Project LLC had requested permission from the city and Florida Department of Transportation to construct and maintain the improvements within state road right-of-way adjacent to the SAP. The company will construct and maintain the improvements and indemnify the city. Improvements might include vending machines, flagpoles, decorative and ornamental lighting, ash urns, trash receptacles, bicycle racks, bus benches and shelters, ATMs, valet parking stations, play and entertainment areas, kiosks, tables and chairs and pedestrian shelters.

Bankers wait, hoping for more Fed rate hikes in 2016, pg. 16

THE ACHIEVER

BY SUSAN DANSEYAR

ARTFUL DEAL IN WYNWOOD: A Wynwood art gallery site that sold for $2 million in April 2013 has just been sold again for triple that amount, $6 million, or $723 million per square foot. The site is in an area of Wynwood that in October received zoning and land-use changes that allow for denser residential developments. The new owners are looking to bring two food-and-beverage concepts to the 8,300-square-foot building, which sits on a 12,188-square-foot lot adjacent to the new 250 Wynwood building. Former owner 310 Warehouse Interests sold the site at 310 NW 24th St. to 310 Wynwood LLC, a joint venture of the Miculitzki Family and Cabi Developers. Gaston Miculitzki of Briteway Properties represented the buyer and Central Commercial Real Estate broker Ari Dispenza represented the seller in the deal.

MAKING WASTE: Miami-Dade residents generate 4.05 pounds of solid waste per person per day on average, or 1,477 pounds per person every year, according to figures Mayor Carlos Gimenez submitted to county commissioners last month. The US Environmental Protection Agency nationwide figures the average American produces 4.4 pounds daily, the Mayor reported. The report also found that the county’s water and sewer department used 135 gallons of water per person each day. The county compiled the figures at the request of Commissioner Juan Zapata.

Photo by Marlene Quaroni

Ana-Marie Codina Barlick

Creating 120-acre Downtown Doral, Gables projects The profile is on Page 4

River team opens mouth on soccer stadium plan

BY JOHN CHARLES ROBBINS

As David Beckham’s group works to get land in Overtown for a Major League Soccer stadium, the Miami River Commission wants a voice in decisions.

The 650 NW Eighth St. site Mr. Beckham’s group seeks is within the Miami River Corridor, about two blocks north of the river and one block east of Seybold Canal. The site in Overtown is adjacent to the Spring Garden Historic District.

The plan calls for buying about 10 acres of private and county-owned land for a privately-financed, 25,000-seat stadium.

At the request of member Ernie Martin, the river commission added the stadium plan to its agenda Monday. Dr. Martin is a member of the Spring Garden Civic Association.

The commission agreed it wants to be labeled a stakeholder in the evolution of the stadium and will communicate that to Miami Beckham United and city government.

At a December meeting held by Mr. Beckham’s group, representatives promised that once a solid plan is prepared, stakeholders will be invited to comment.

“I believe we should be one of those

AGENDA

44 million passengers airport high

stakeholders,” said Dr. Martin.

At the community meeting, Spring Garden homeowners expressed concerns about the impact of the stadium on their neighborhood. A major worry is an influx of people and cars into the single-family area.

Traffic and other concerns were raised Monday, including lack of parking and soccer relying on alternatives to parking, including use of river water taxis to get fans in and out.

Mr. Beckham’s group has touted the proposed site about three blocks from Metrorail’s Culmer Station as transit friendly.

Supporters of a MLS team returning to Miami mention the long tradition of fans “marching to the match,” Dr. Martin noted.

The site Miami Beckham United targets will need land use and zoning changes, he said, and “will have to pass through the review process of the City of Miami.”

That process is expected to include review by Miami’s Planning, Zoning and Appeals Board, the Urban Development Review Board and ultimately the City Commission, he said.

“I ask that we indicate we want to be a stakeholder at the table,” Dr. Martin said.

He wants the river commission to weigh in on topics related to the stadium, including water taxis and the need for taxi landings, a potential parking waiver request, and the impact the stadium could have on abutting neighborhoods.

“The river corridor can encompass this,” said Commission Vice Chair Jay Carmichael regarding the stadium. “It impacts the river as a destination, and we do want the river to be a destination.”

County Commissioner Bruno Barreiro said he was invited to the Dec. 17 community meeting.

“I have serious concerns,” he said Monday. “There are a lot of questions unanswered.”

Those questions concern parking needs, the size of the structure, how people will get to and from the site, how much of a role mass transit will play, how the development will impact neighboring communities and more, said Mr. Barreiro.

River commission member Patricia Harris agreed.

“There are a lot of basic questions that need answers,” said Ms. Harris: “Ingress and egress. Noise. Lighting. Hours of operation.”

Miami International Airport officials had reason to celebrate New Year’s Eve as they closed out the year by welcoming the 44-millionth passenger of 2015, shattering the record of 40.9 million set in 2014.

It was also an auspicious start for 2016. The airport logged another achievement when it set a new single-day passenger record of 159,217 on Jan. 2, surpassing the former high of 155,620 reached just two weeks prior on Dec. 19.

Final, audited 2015 statistics are due this month.

Without a doubt, Aviation Director Emilio T. González said this week, he expects the airport to remain on an upward trend in 2016, adding more international airlines and routes.

“These record-setting numbers were exclamation points on another amazing year at MIA,” he said. “Adding 3 million more passengers in 2015 means a huge influx of business revenue and job creation for our local tourism industry.”

Last week, officials said passenger traffic that far into the holiday season had flown well ahead of projections, with a 9.4% increase Dec. 21-30 from the same period in 2014.

The weekend before Christmas Day saw the airport’s three busiest single days of 2015, said Greg Chin, aviation communications director. He said the tally was 147,841 travelers Dec. 18, the short-lived single-day record of 155,620 on Dec. 19, and 147,856 Dec. 20.

On Dec. 22, the airport’s Skytrain was shut down after two cars left the tracks during an earlymorning maintenance check.

Since its opening in September 2010, the elevated peoplemover has been transporting up to 9,000 travelers hourly to and from four stations within mile-long Concourse D. Despite the loss of Skytrain for the full day, Mr. Chin told Miami Today, the airport saw 136,400 passengers Dec. 22, 4.5% more than Dec. 22, 2014.

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VIEWPOINT: THERE’S NO CRYING IN TENNIS, SO DON’T ...

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HOMELESS TRUST WANTS UNTAXED CITIES TO PAY UP ...

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PLANNERS ASK STATE ABOUT A TWO-WAY CALLE OCHO ...

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MIAMI TODAY

VIEWPOINT

WEEK OF THURSDAY, JANUARY 7, 2016

MIAMITODAY Miami Today is an independent voice of the community, published weekly at 2000 S. Dixie Highway, Suite 100, Miami, Florida 33133. Telephone (305) 358-2663

Instead of tennis crying about moving out, look around first What’s the only line by Tom Hanks that anyone remembers from the 1992 baseball movie “A League of Their Own”?

All together now: “There’s no crying in baseball!”

It’s time we said the same Michael Lewis about tennis – “There’s no crying in tennis.”

Each failed step in the legal battle by the owners of the Miami Open on Key Biscayne to expand in county parkland and add more stadiums seems to have ended with a threat to take the tournament elsewhere unless they get their way.

It’s like kids in a sandlot ballgame when someone threatens to take the only bat and go home unless he gets to play shortstop.

Before the owners lost their final court appeal, the Miami Open head had said that folks in Beijing and Dubai would love to have the tournament. Closer to home there’s speculation of a move to Orlando, though owners have a contract for eight more years in Key Biscayne’s Crandon Park.

Then after owners lost the final battle in December, their lawyer, Gene Stearns, was quoted as saying “They’ll certainly have to consider their options. Under

the circumstances, this has become a hostile environment to conduct business.” He even said the contract with the county to play in the park isn’t valid because the owners didn’t get what they wanted in court.

Of course, now the sneaker is on the other foot. When this newspaper was supporting top-level pro tennis in Crandon Park, Mr. Stearns in 1990 was suing to prevent it. But now he’s quoted as threatening, “At some point it’s going to be gone. The only question is when.”

Tennis is making a big racket, for crying out loud. Does that mean the tournament gets its way regardless of what the law says? Do we reward owners for being bad sports?

The rules fit both sides. Losing fair and square is a loss, just like it is in center court in the Miami Open finals.

Quit crying. Live with it.

Don’t get us wrong: we supported the tournament from day one when most of Key Biscayne and Mr. Stearns were saying it would disrupt island life. Now most islanders love it, just like the rest of Miami. So do we.

The Miami Open is a huge attraction.

It brings us big bucks with visitors of high quality from around the globe. It overflows with great publicity. Bravo.

In fact, if the courts had ruled for expansion of the tennis site we wouldn’t have minded. But the courts have found that the parkland is under the oversight of a four-person board that has the right

to decide whether the Miami Open can pave over more open space, and it can’t.

All the crying in the world isn’t going to change the law. Legal avenues seem exhausted. There are no do-overs.

That doesn’t mean the operators must sit still.

They can take a page from the thenFlorida Marlins playbook and pretend other cities are chasing them with great offers.

In the case of the Marlins, the county buckled and committed $3 billion, including interest, for a lovely stadium that still can’t draw flies, much less fans.

But the Marlins spoiled that ploy here by admitting later in public that they’d had no other offers and it had all been a sham. Now county officials don’t even mention the Marlins by name.

The Miami Open needs another route.

And fortunately, some exist.

The open can partner with business or governments of all sorts to stay right here in Miami-Dade. If operators find another suitable site in the county, in fact, we’ll bet county hall would let them break their contract so they could play elsewhere hereabouts.

And, yes, there are lots of choices.

Just ask Florida International University, which has lists of sites to lure the Youth Fair to vacate its county park home so that FIU can have that land too.

Sites are plentiful – though workable spots might be a tad harder to come by.

The Miami Open could be played just up the road on Virginia Key in parkland

the City of Miami just created beside Miami Marine Stadium. Of course, tennis and the Miami International Boat Show would have to coordinate schedules, but it’s worth a look – particularly since the Miami Open could still use its present Virginia Key parking.

Or take Homestead, where a baseball complex the city built for Cleveland Indians spring training was abandoned before the first spring. And if that doesn’t work, FIU has picked out a dandy Homestead spot where it wants to put the Youth Fair. Maybe it would work better for tennis.

Or maybe FIU, the Youth Fair and the Miami Open could split up Tamiami Park three ways instead of two, making it a three-way fight instead of the present two-way battle for land.

Or how about around Dolphin Stadium, with land and parking aplenty?

The area handles pro sports well. Just add tennis.

If none of those works, there’s always the vacant southeast corner of PortMiami. Everybody else has tried to use it, including professional soccer, which rated it superb. The county is hot on getting a paying tenant soon. Why not tennis?

Cutting a deal for any of these could work. We have good sites for all, including tennis.

So the Miami Open should buck up.

There’s nothing to pout about. Remember, there’s no crying in tennis.

In human capital crisis, we need more H-1B visas, not fewer It’s no surprise that the US is ranked among the top three nations in competitiveness according to the latest report from the World Economic Forum. Only Switzerland and Singapore score higher than our na- Jerry Haar tion.

Two of the main factors explaining US competitiveness are technology and human capital. In the first instance, the world has seen a quantum leap in the proliferation of technology within the last decade, not only among multinational firms but start-ups, as well. U.S. patents, investment in R&D and the commercialization of products, processes and services are most notable.

As for human capital, the U.S. is home to the world’s leadings universities, and the market’s insatiable demand for scientists, technologists, engineers, and mathematicians (STEM) continues unabated.

However, the nation currently faces a human capital crisis—a lack of home grown STEM professionals. American students not majoring in STEM. Fewer and fewer U.S. students are majoring in STEM, either at the undergraduate or postgraduate levels, opting instead for business, education, psychology, and pre-law courses of study.

For decades now, the stopgap measure to fill the needs of companies and institutions confronting a shortage of highly skilled workers has been the H1B non-immigrant visa program, granting a temporary stay (3-6 years) for the

The Writer Jerry Haar is a business professor at Florida International University and a senior research fellow at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business.

STEM professional. Proponents argue that the cap set on these visas (85,000, including 20,000 for U.S. master’s degree graduates) is far too low, given industry needs for highly skilled professionals. Opponents cite employer fraud and abuse and wage depression by outsourcing to foreign firms operating in the U.S. in their criticism.

Should the H-1B visa program be dramatically expanded? There is compelling evidence that such benefits accrue not only to U.S. industry but to both the workforce, overall, and to major urban areas in particular. A recent study by UC Davis and Colgate University economists found that H-1B driven increases in STEM workers contribute significantly to total factory productivity growth in the U.S. and across cities. Additionally, U.S. states with a large inflow of highly educated foreign-born workers had faster growth in patenting per person and increased the probability of patenting for natives (by 18%)—what is known as “spillover” impacts.

What about the argument that there are sufficient qualified Americans available to perform STEM jobs, 60% of which are computer-related? Well, if there were there would be no need for the H-1B visa program to begin with. In an anlysis by the Conference Board of

job openings in the 100 largest metropolitan areas, 43% of vacancies for STEM occupations with H-1B requests are reposted after one month of advertising, suggesting that they are unfilled compared with 32% of job postings for all non-STEM occupations. Again, American college students choose nonSTEM majors but even if they were interested in STEM, college students’ high school grounding in science and math is poor compared to students from other countries. For example, in math U.S. teenagers rank lower than their peers in 63 other nations. So, such students may opt out of a STEM major after low grades their freshman year in math and science classes.

What about the argument that H-1B workers depress the wages of nativeborn workers, leading companies to give preference to them in hiring and even replacing U.S. employees with H1B workers? In a study by Brookings Institution economists, the researchers found that H-1B visa holders actually earn more than comparable nativeborn workers and even within the same occupation and industry for workers with similar experience. Additionally, H-1B workers in the computer field perform different tasks that complement those of native-born workers (e.g., software developers rather than analysts). These foreign workers are highquality professionals who increase productivity for their employers and help firms and labs expand with the higher demand for natives.

“The H-1B visa petition process requires that employers confirm that the salary offered to the H-1B worker is

the higher of either the prevailing wage or the actual wage paid by the employer to U.S. workers in the same position,” said Gina M. Polo, Miami-based immigration attorney and Chair of the Florida Bar, Immigration and Nationality Certification Committee.

The emerging STEM ecosystem in South Florida is populated by a very significant number of foreign professionals and entrepreneurs. They have come here through a variety of visa programs.

If our nation, our state and our county are to innovate and compete successfully, foreign talent is indispensable. If and when immigration reform actually becomes a reality, a major increase in H-1B visas granted annually should be a hallmark of any legislative initiative.

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TODAY’S NEWS

WEEK OF THURSDAY, JANUARY 7, 2016

MIAMI TODAY

9

Navigation district says state let Miami Circle site go to ruin

BY JOHN CHARLES ROBBINS

The Florida Inland Navigation District is taking the Florida Department of State to task for ignoring its obligation to maintain the Miami Circle.

Grievances were aired Monday at a Miami River Commission meeting about the condition of the historic site at the mouth of the river, on the edge of Brickell.

The site is home to a 2,000year-old Native American circular artifact, uncovered in 1998 during a routine pre-construction survey, later designated a National Historic Landmark and now reburied.

The navigation district allocated more than a half-million dollars to shoreline stabilization at the Miami Circle as part of an agreement with the state department to take care of the sensitive area.

After years of neglect, the navigation district is demanding the state meet its obligations or risk an action to recover the hefty grant.

“Unfortunately, I’m here with not so great news,” Spencer Crowley III told the river commission.

Mr. Crowley is an attorney who represents Miami-Dade County on the board of the navigation district, a group that helps fund waterfront improvement projects.

“We worked very hard to get that site up and running, as part of the riverwalk,” Mr. Crowley reminded the river commission.

But the Miami Circle has suffered from inattention and is in “really bad shape,” he said.

From loads of trash accumulating to illegal parking and a general lack of maintenance, he said, the Miami Circle is in trouble.

“The site is generally in a bad state of affairs… it’s a really sad situation,” Mr. Crowley said.

The navigation district and the Florida Department of State made an agreement Feb. 7, 2008, that called on the navigation district to grant the department $548,808 for the Miami Circle Shoreline Stabilization Project.

The Miami Circle site holds a 2,000-year-old Native American artifact. The Miami River Commission saw this photo taken at the circle site.

Among the department’s responsibilities under the agreement – and required by rules of the grant – is to maintain the project “in accordance with the standards and maintenance for other local facilities and in accordance with applicable health standards” and to keep the project “reasonably safe and in reasonable repair to prevent undue deterioration and to encourage public use.”

Mr. Crowley reported to the river commission: “Unfortunately, the state is not living up to its obligations.”

The navigation district board has discussed the situation at length, and in a Dec. 11 letter to Secretary of State Ken Detzner, the board’s chairman asks that the state address the problems.

Mr. Crowley shared the letter with river commission, along with attached photos showing the site’s condition.

“In spite of numerous written and e-mail communications to the Department describing the deteriorating conditions and lack of maintenance of the Project, from both [the navigation district’s] Miami-Dade County Commissioner and from the Managing Director of the Miami River Commission, the Department has failed to correct the situation,” wrote Board Chair J. Carl Blow.

Before the navigation district, or FIND, moves to get back its grant money, the chair asked the secretary to intervene, the letter says.

“If this problem is not resolved,

NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA

PLEASE ALL TAKE NOTICE THAT a meeting of the City of Miami Commission has been scheduled for Thursday, January 14, 2016, at the City of Miami City Hall, 3500 Pan American Drive, Miami, Florida 33133. A private attorney-client session will be conducted under the parameters of §286.011(8), F.S. The person chairing the City of Miami Commission meeting will announce the commencement of an attorney-client session, closed to the public, for purposes of discussing the pending litigation case of City of Miami v. Miami-Dade County Commission on Human Rights, et. al., Case No. 11-14989 CA 04, currently pending in the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court in and for Miami-Dade County, Florida, to which the City is presently a party. This private meeting will begin at approximately 2:00 p.m. (or as soon thereafter as the Commissioners’ schedules permit) and conclude approximately one hour later. The session will be attended by the members of the City Commission: Chairman Keon Hardemon, Vice-Chairman Ken Russell, and Commissioners Wifredo “Willy” Gort, Frank Carollo, and Francis Suarez; the City Manager, Daniel J. Alfonso; the City Attorney, Victoria Méndez; Deputy City Attorneys John Greco and Barnaby L. Min; Division Chief Kevin R. Jones; and Assistant City Attorneys Kerri L. 0F1XOW\ DQG 6WHSKDQLH . 3DQRII $ FHUWL¿HG FRXUW UHSRUWHU ZLOO EH SUHVHQW WR ensure that the session is fully transcribed and the transcript will be made public upon the conclusion of the above-cited, ongoing litigation. At the conclusion of the attorney-client session, the regular Commission meeting will be reopened and the person chairing the Commission meeting will announce the termination of the attorney-client session.

FIND may be forced to invoke the refund provisions in the Agreement. FIND considers this a last resort and we are hopeful that your intervention will make this drastic step unnecessary,” Mr. Blow wrote.

Regarding the navigation district calling back its money, Mr. Crowley said, “We hope that doesn’t happen but we’ve had no response, and I’m not optimistic it will be resolved quickly or amicably.”

Mr. Crowley said a resolution from the river commission urging the state to meet its obligations might help.

Some disagreed on the approach the river commission should take in urging the state to care for the site.

Commission member Patricia

Harris, saying the Miami Circle is popular with the public, suggested a “shame on you” campaign directed at the state.

Frank Carollo, a Miami city commissioner and river commission member, said he preferred to take the cooperative route, to try and work with the department of state on the problem.

“Let’s try collaboration, teamwork,” Mr. Carollo said.

“It seems as though we’ve already done that,” said Ms. Harris.

Mr. Crowley detailed efforts

by River Commission Managing Director Brett Bibeau and a band of volunteers who twice a week clean up debris and attend to the site. The commission has spent some of its funds for the trash removal.

“It’s an expensive undertaking to keep an urban park in good condition,” Mr. Crowley said.

The river commission was also informed of observations by a Native American who visits the site weekly and reported dead and worn grass, homeless camps, an increase in trash and feces, illegal parking, and signs that the land itself may be sinking, as evidenced by berms that are now depressions, elevated sidewalks and exposed underground pipes.

In the end, the commission agreed to draft a resolution detailing its costs to maintain the site and urging the state to assess the Miami Circle’s condition and, consistent with its agreement with navigation district, to maintain the property.

Never Stop

Giving At Baptist Health South Florida, we’re relentlessly committed to transforming the future of healthcare for thousands of patients and families in our community — all so that you never have to stop living life to the fullest. Get involved and find out how your donation makes a difference by visiting Give.Miami.

Together, we’re unstoppable.

Todd B. Hannon City Clerk

A not-for-profit organization supported by philanthropy and committed to our faith-based charitable mission of medical excellence #22744

WEEK OF THURSDAY, JANUARY 7, 2016

TODAY’S NEWS

MIAMI TODAY

11

Office market new magnet to institutional, foreign investors

BY MARILYN BOWDEN

Miami’s high-performing office market has become a magnet to institutional and foreign investors, brokers say, and the competition is causing top-tier buildings to trade for record prices. “Office-market sales are very strong,� said William Holly, president of Patton Real Estate, “with lots of new properties coming on the market. The biggest thing is the premium being paid for core properties in core locations that are fully amenitized.�

For example, Alex Zylberglait, senior vice president in Marcus & Millichap’s Miami office, reports the sale of the Northern Trust Bank Building in Aventura for just over $610 a square foot, one of the highest levels ever recorded in that area.

Prominent among factors driving investor interest is a rapid rise of lease rates countywide. “Leasing has been very strong,� said John Bell, Transwestern’s managing director of capital markets.

Transwestern’s Real Estate Outlook for third quarter 2015 reports that the average price for suburban class A offices exceeds $35 a square foot, an historic high – and average rates in class A buildings in the urban core are hovering in the mid$40s.

Brokers say lease hikes, in turn, are being nudged northward by falling vacancy rates.

Transwestern’s Outlook reported an eight-year low in direct vacancy at the end of the third quarter, registering just over 13% in competitive class A and class B office stock. “Vacant supply is almost evenly divided between the two classes of space,� Transwestern’s researchers found. “Office buildings are driven primarily by employment,� Mr. Zylberglait said. “A decreasing unemployment rate and strengthening employment market means hiring is up, and that has driven an increase in demand for office space and absorption.�

Though with the recovery of the economy many employers haven’t hired to previous levels, Mr. Holly said, they still need more space – and the trend is abetted by the lack of significant new inventory. “There is virtually no new product in the market,� Mr. Zylberglait said, “and some of the existing inventory has been depleted by office condo conversions and the repositioning of existing office space to other products in areas such as Edgewater and the Biscayne corridor,� where office sites

25 SIGNIFICANT OFFICE BUILDING SALES Miami-Dade County, 2015

PROPERTY Northern Trust Building 355 Alhambra 150 Alhambra 2 Alhambra Plaza (2 properties) Brickell Arch Aventura View 800 Brickell SunTrust Building Grove Professional Building Continental Plaza/Bayview Executive Plaza Riviera Plaza Merrick Plaza Doral Commons 48 E Flagler 155 S Miami Ave. (2 properties) Doral Commons Galloway Professional Plaza .H\ %LVFD\QH 2IĆ“ FH &HQWHU Airport Financial Center Miami International Corporate 8180 NW 36th St. Milam Airport Center HSBC Building Meridian Center 1440-1470 JFK Causeway

CLASS A A A A, B A B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B

MARKET Aventura Coral Gables Coral Gables Coral Gables Brickell Aventura Brickell Brickell Coconut Grove Coconut Grove Coral Gables Coral Gables Doral Downtown Miami Downtown Miami Doral Kendall Key Biscayne Miami Airport Miami Airport Miami Airport Miami Airport Miami Beach Miami Beach North Bay Village

SIZE (SF) 23,746 224,241 105,733 325,005 260, 000 106,500 209,122 288,485 40,557 137,535 44,514 48,866 59,727 100,093 255,621 59,727 44,000 45,390 108,441 93,971 62,000 38,804 36,947 55,000 75,295

SALE PRICE $14.5M $83.08M $34.00M $118.55M $142M $40.00M $111.60M $140M $9.60M $42.00M $16.5M $14.00M $13.10M $18.18M $32.00M $13.10M $13.08M $20.75M $16.25M $23.50M $9.60M $3.53M $21.00M $23.00M $13.80M

PRICE PER SF $610.00 $370.49 $321.56 $364.78 $546.15 $375.59 $533.66 $485.34 $236.70 $305.38 $370.67 $286.50 $219.33 $181.65 $125.19 $219.33 $297.18 $457.15 $149.85 $250.08 $154.84 $91.14 $568.38 $418.18 $183.28

Sources: Transwestern; Marcus & Millichap

were bought to be torn down and redeveloped for other uses.

After rising lease rates, Mr. Bell said, the announcement of an imminent rise in the interest rate is also pushing sales activity. “We don’t expect the interest rate to rise significantly,� he said, “to where it will affect cap rates,� which he quoted at 3.5% to 4% in the central business district, another historic low. “With interest rates as low as they have been, investors can justify high prices for these assets,� Mr. Zylberglait said, “because that fuels their ability to finance it. And people will want to lock in these rates before they go up further.�

One interesting feature of the current run on Miami-Dade office properties, Mr. Bell said, is that it’s not limited to trophy towers in the Brickell-downtown core. “Coral Gables is a very strong second in terms of interest,� he said, “and Doral is turning into quite a market of its own. It’s not just industrial anymore.

There are extremely high levels of institutional and foreign capital waiting to invest in office and retail. Anywhere there’s a deal with a Miami-Dade address, people are interested. “Though quite a few transactions have occurred, given we’re still at top of the cycle we will probably easily see at least one tower in Brickell and another in downtown trade in the near future. Institutional money and private money are taking a strong look at getting while the getting’s good.�

In Brickell and Coral Gables particularly, Mr. Holly said, “in the first quarter I would expect to see more good properties come on the block to capitalize on this good market.�

Buyers for class A and larger

class B properties are mostly institutional, he said, and “we have a healthy international market here for sales up to about $20 million.� “A strong influx of Latin American capital going after

Lots of new properties are coming to the market, said William Holly.

smaller properties has magnified the velocity of transactions,� Mr. Zylberglait said. “Foreign buyers now have more financing available to them, and they see US commercial properties as great diversifiers for cash flow.�

The foreign market, Mr. Bell predicts, is about to get even stronger. “President Obama recently signed legislation that took away the 1980 Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act, known as FIRPTA,� he said. “In the past foreign investors were taxed on investments in the US and couldn’t be majority holders. So they were hesitant to get involved in assets they couldn’t have much control over. “This is going to be really huge for Miami.�

Public Notice NOTICE IS GIVEN that meetings will be held before the following Committees on the dates stipulated below in the Commission Chambers, located on the Second Floor, of the Stephen P. Clark Center, 111 NW First Street, Miami, Florida, wherein, among other matters to be considered, a public hearing will be held relating to the following proposed ordinances: Trade & Tourism Cmte. (TTC) Meeting – Monday, January 11, 2016, at 10:00 AM Strategic Planning & Government Operations Cmte. (SPGOC) Meeting – Tuesday, January 12, 2016, at 9:30 AM t 0 SEJOBODF creating Section 12-14.2 of the Code, to provide for reporting requirements for County and municipal elected ofďŹ cers and candidates regarding solicitation of contributions for political committees and electioneering communications organizations t 0SEJOBODF creating Article X of Chapter 11a of the Code establishing paid parental leave for Miami-Dade County and Public Health Trust employees Unincorporated Municipal Service Area Cmte. (UMSAC) Meeting – Tuesday, January 12, 2016, at 2:00 PM t 0 SEJOBODF relating to Zoning; directing the County Mayor or Mayor’s designee to temporarily suspend application of provisions of Section 33-20 of the Code relating to recreational vehicle and boat storage t 0SEJOBODF relating to Zoning; revising regulations pertaining to setbacks and open or enclosed building requirements for automotive repair businesses; amending Sections 33-51, 33-251.2, 33-253.6, 33-256.5, and 33-260 of the Code t 0SEJOBODF SFMBUJOH UP ;POJOH BOE TJHOT QSPWJEJOH EFmOJUJPOT BOE TUBOEBSET GPS JMMVNJOBUJPO SFMBUJOH UP TJHOT QSPWJEJOH for digital signs; amending Sections 33-84, 33-96, 33-96.1 of the Code Transit & Mobility Services Cmte. (TMSC) Meeting – Wednesday, January 13, 2016, at 9:30 AM t 0 SEJOBODF relating to vehicles for hire; amending Chapter 31 of the Code, to provide that taxicabs scheduled for retirement on December 31, 2015 shall be allowed to be operated until December 31, 2017 Metropolitan Services Cmte. (MSC) Meeting – Wednesday, January 13, 2016, at 2:00 PM t 0 SEJOBODF creating amnesty period; creating a limited exception from civil penalties and liens for code violations relating to auto repair shop businesses upon an owner’s compliance with the Code t 0SEJOBODF related to enforcement of civil penalties for certain misdemeanor violations and the Miami-Dade County Diversion Program; amending Sections 8cc-3, 8cc-5.1, 8cc-10 and 8cc-11 of the Code; expanding the deďŹ nition of Code Inspector to include agents and employees of Universities, Florida College System Institutions and District School Boards t 0SEJOBODF pertaining to human trafďŹ cking; requiring the posting of human trafďŹ cking public awareness signs at adult entertainment establishments and certain massage or bodywork services establishments; creating Section 21-31.5 of the Code Economic Prosperity Cmte. (EPC) Meeting – Thursday, January 14, 2016, at 2:00 PM t 0 SEJOBODF pertaining to County Mayor’s delegated authority; amending Sections 2-8.2.7, 2-8.2.7.01, and 2-285 of the Code to require contracts with small business measures meet at least eighty-ďŹ ve percent of the small business goals applicable to the portion(s) of the contract work performed to date before a change order or contract amendment be considered for mayoral approval "MM JOUFSFTUFE QBSUJFT NBZ BQQFBS BOE CF IFBSE BU UIF UJNF BOE QMBDF TQFDJmFE A person who decides to appeal any decision made by any board, agency, or commission with respect to any matter DPOTJEFSFE BU JUT NFFUJOH PS IFBSJOH XJMM OFFE B SFDPSE PG QSPDFFEJOHT 4VDI QFSTPOT NBZ OFFE UP FOTVSF UIBU B WFSCBUJN SFDPSE PG UIF QSPDFFEJOHT JT NBEF JODMVEJOH UIF UFTUJNPOZ BOE FWJEFODF VQPO XIJDI UIF BQQFBM JT UP CF CBTFE .JBNJ %BEF $PVOUZ QSPWJEFT FRVBM BDDFTT BOE FRVBM PQQPSUVOJUZ BOE EPFT OPU EJTDSJNJOBUF PO UIF CBTJT PG EJTBCJMJUZ JO JUT QSPHSBNT PS TFSWJDFT 'PS NBUFSJBM JO BMUFSOBUF GPSNBU B TJHO MBOHVBHF JOUFSQSFUFS PS PUIFS BDDPNNPEBUJPO QMFBTF DBMM 305-375-2035 or send email to: agendco@miamidade.gov.

HARVEY RUVIN, CLERK CHRISTOPHER AGRIPPA, DEPUTY CLERK

No new product: Alex Zylberglait.

Foreign sales impetus: John Bell.

For legal ads online, go to http://legalads.miamidade.gov

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Banking & Finance After five years on Dodd-Frank rollercoaster, ride isn’t over

BY CARLA VIANNA

Rest assured, experts say, the banking industry has yet to see all that Dodd-Frank has to offer.

The 2010 law has strung banks along a regulatory rollercoaster for five years, paving the way for new agencies and requirements that changed the way the nation’s banks operated. This year, more regulations are expected from the five-year-old law.

As much as 40% of the regulations are still unwritten, said Alex Sanchez, president and CEO of the Florida Bankers Association.

“Dodd-Frank was passed into law in 2010,” Mr. Sanchez said.

“Isn’t that incredible? Here we are in 2016.”

Most notably, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which most recently crafted the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure – a new mortgage rule that stirred South

President Obama signs Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act on July 21, 2010.

Florida’s real estate community.

The 2010 reform aimed to overhaul a heavily bruised industry after the financial crisis of 2008, yet the law has spurred debate from both sides of the political spectrum.

“There’s a recognition that Dodd-Frank went too far,” Mr. Sanchez said.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the agency created to protect consumers in the wake of the financial meltdown, is now operating in full swing. Its enforcement activity has reportedly provided relief to 17 million consumers – a total of $10.1 billion.

In fall 2015, the bureau fur‘We need Dodd-Frank ther upgraded consumer proreform, and this Congress tection with TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure, which failed to pass [that] shook up the mortgage-lending reform.’ arena. The new law aims to Alex Sanchez better educate consumers on the terms of their mortgages

before they close to prevent what happened during the last housing boom, when borrowers signed loan agreements they didn’t fully understand.

Although a number of deals were delayed in Miami’s residential market due to the new regulation, brokers and lenders alike said the industry was somewhat prepared and things were running smoother than expected.

Dennis Campbell, managing partner at Campbell Law Firm, pointed to an issue South Florida may want to keep an eye on next year: the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. The law protects service members from predatory lending and from losing their homes while on active duty. Because of the number of service members residing in Homestead, any changes to the law might be significant, Mr. Campbell said.

While the consumer protection aspect of Dodd-Frank is applauded, critics say new regulations, such as the new mortgage disclosure law, pose yet another burden on banks.

Dodd-Frank is “imposing a high cost of compliance, which then impacts loans and the resources that our hometown banks need to have to make sure the community they serve are economically strong,” Mr. Sanchez said.

The Main Street bank is suffering the most, local community bankers say. With compliance costs at an all-time-high, the smaller banks report they’re struggling to keep up.

“Every bank has been impacted by capital requirements,” Mr. Campbell said. “Banks that don’t have adequate capital are either liquidated or forced to merge with somebody else.”

A move for relief came this

summer, when Republican Sen. Richard C. Shelby introduced the Financial Regulatory Improvement Act of 2015, which would ease regulations on smaller banks, increase congressional scrutiny of the Federal Reserve and also give bigger banks a chance to cut compliance costs.

Another move came in September, when the Federal Financial Institutions Examinations Council announced it was seeking public comment on how to simplify reporting requirements for community banks.

But when Congress adopted its $1.1 trillion spending bill in December, Democrats rejected all riders attached to the bill that would scale back Dodd-Frank regulations.

“We need Dodd-Frank reform, and this Congress failed to pass [that] reform,” Mr. Sanchez said. He said he will continue to push for relief on smaller banks this year, but until that relief arrives, banks should brace for “more rules and more regulations.”

‘Banks that don’t have adequate capital are either liquidated or forced to merge.’

Dennis Campbell

Early legislative filings would affect financial transactions B Y C ATHERINE L ACKNER

Two measures that are to be considered this year by the Florida Legislature will affect financial transactions for residents, both living and dead.

Senate Bill 626 and companion House Bill 717 would allow the state’s Office of Financial Regulation to deny a license or take disciplinary action against a person who violates the Military Lending Act in connection with consumer finance loans or other money services.

Consumer Credit, filed by Sen. Don Gaetz, was passed favorably by the Military and Veterans Affairs, Space, and Domestic Security Committee and is now in the Fiscal Policy Committee.

The companion bill, filed by Rep. Danny Burgess and also called Con-

sumer Credit, was referred to the Insurance and Banking Subcommittee, the Government Operations Appropriations Subcommittee, and the Regulatory Affairs Committee in early December. If passed, both laws will take effect Oct. 3.

Congress passed the Military Lending Act in 2006 to provide specific protections for active duty service members and their dependents in consumer-credit transactions. It caps the interest rate on covered loans at 36%; requires certain disclosures to borrowers and prohibits creditors from requiring a service member to submit to arbitration in the case of a dispute.

In July, the Department of Defense issued its final rule, declaring that the act applies to all forms of payday loans, vehicle title loans, refund an-

ticipation loans, deposit advance loans, installment loans, unsecured open-end lines of credit and credit cards.

Senate Bill 494 is intended to establish a different kind of protection: a means for people to secure their digital assets – including bank accounts – after they die. Introduced by Sen. Dorothy Hukill in October, the Florida Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act was passed by the Judiciary Committee and is now by evaluated the Fiscal Policy Committee.

It would define the terms by which someone can use an online tool to allow a custodian to disclose or refuse to disclose information that is digitally stored. The custodian would have explicit power over the digital assets, including online banking and investment accounts. He or she could also

preserve posts and pictures from social media pages and ensure they aren’t altered by a third party.

Ms. Hukill, a lawyer who handles wills and estates, told the Tampa Bay Times last year that it’s vital for people to assign someone control of their online legacy. In their wills, people routinely designate a personal representative, or executor, to make sure their wishes are carried out. But for those who die without a will, a judge will appoint a representative who might not know how the deceased person wanted his or her digital assets managed.

“This bill sets out clearly that you are in charge” and that your representative “stands in your shoes” after your death, Ms. Hukill said. If passed, the law will take effect July 1.

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MIAMI TODAY

BANKING & FINANCE

Photo by Marlene Quaroni

WEEK OF THURSDAY, JANUARY 7, 2016

Photo by Maxine Usdan

Bankers “would like to see more variable loans that move with the Fed,” said economist Tony Villamil. Lines of credit are re-priced fastest, said Carlos Fernandez-Guzman.

Bankers will wait, hope for more Fed Reserve rate hikes

BY CARLA VIANNA

After the Federal Reserve raised its key interest rate for the first time in nearly a decade – a move the local banking industry had been expecting for months – bankers will now closely watch, wait and hope for the second, third and fourth rate hikes predicted to come within a year.

In general, the rate hike helps expand banking profits.

Banks will immediately reap benefits from the new asset generation, or the new loans now tied to the higher interest rate. Since banks are slower to re-price on the deposit side, profits should rise as the spread grows between the interest rates banks pay for deposits and the rate at which they’re able to lend.

“The key is how fast they’re going to increase rates,” said Carlos Fernandez-

Guzman, president and CEO of Pacific National Bank. “Over the next three to four years, you’re going to see those increases take effect. The immediate benefit will be modest, but over time your revenue stream at the banks is going to improve with [consequent] rate increases.”

Future banking profits will depend on how an individual bank has structured its assets and liabilities, said Ken Thomas, a Miami-based independent bank consultant and economist.

“For some banks it’s good. For some banks it’s not,” Mr. Thomas said. “The banks that’ll benefit are those that have stayed short-term on the asset side. As rates go up, their loan rate goes up automatically.”

But banks whose portfolios are composed of long-term, fixed-rate loans won’t reap the same benefits.

Lines of credit, on the other hand, are typically re-priced the fastest, Mr. Fernandez-Guzman said, so revenue will start to inch up in that area first.

Still, Mr. Fernandez-Guzman noted, many banks’ balance sheets contain a good portion of recently lent, fixed-rate loans. Those loans will remain unchanged as subsequent rate increases arrive – good news for the borrower, but not for the lender.

The Fed raised rates 25 basis points Dec. 17 bringing it to a range of 0.25% to 0.5%. Although the market predicts four more rate hikes will arrive in 2016, Mr. Thomas said he expects two.

While federal officials debated whether the economy was ready for a rate adjustment this past year, local financial institutions began functioning on the assumption that an increase would soon arrive.

“We are all acting in our pricing and

forward-pricing as if the 25-basis-point increase will happen...,” Mr. FernandezGuzman said in August. In preparation for the rate increase, banks began adjusting their loan pricings according to when those loans would mature. They also leaned toward floating-rate loans, known as variable loans, in which rates are flexible.

“On the asset side, the loan side, they’re trying to shorten the loan duration so they can re-price at a higher rate. Because if you have a short-term loan, and the Fed moves [rates] up, by the time those loans come due, [banks] can price it on the higher rate,” said Tony Villamil, founder and principal of The Washington Economics Group. “They would like to see more variable loans that move with the Fed.” The real question, Mr. Thomas said, is where rates will end up on Dec. 31, 2016.

Ratings affirmed for Gables-based banks tied to Venezuela Two Coral Gables-based banks with geographic concentrations in South Florida but strong formal links to Venezuela and high volumes of both international deposits and loans have had their debt issuer default ratings affirmed by independent Fitch Ratings, which in all cases issued stable outlooks.

Throughout the two separate ratings reports flowed repeated concerns about the future stability of Venezuela in particular, given political unrest and plummeting oil prices, and Latin America in general.

Fitch affirmed the long-term issuer default rating of Banesco USA at B+ and its short-term rating at B. Fitch affirmed the both the long- and short-term issuer default ratings of Mercantil Commercebank Florida Bancorp at BB and those of its main subsidiary Mercantil Commercebank N.A. at B. It issued the same ratings to the bank’s ultimate domestic holding corporation, Mercantil Commercebank Holding Corp.

In long-term ratings, Fitch says BB ratings are speculative and B ratings are highly speculative.

Fitch’s separate rating reports note that international deposits make up 54% of Banesco’s total deposits and that Mercantil Commercebank “benefits from a high volume of international deposits.” Fitch says foreign loans are 14% of Banesco’s loan portfolio and

34% of Mercantil Commercebank’s.

Banesco USA was established in 2006 by the principal shareholders of the Banesco Group but has no direct ownership linkage to Banesco Banco Universal in Venezuela, though Fitch says “it benefits from the ‘Banesco’ brand” and “its strong recognition in Latin America.” It has three branches in Miami-Dade, two in Broward and one in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The headquarters is at 150 Alhambra Circle, Suite 100.

Fitch says that its ratings of Banesco “reflect the company’s geographic and product concentration, mainly in South Florida commercial real estate, and a loan portfolio profile that includes exposure to economic conditions in Latin America, primarily Venezuela.”

The firm says further that the “ratings reflect a very limited franchise in South Florida and historically weak earnings metrics” that have been harmed by costs associated with remediation of an ongoing consent order with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

In December 2013 Banesco revealed that it had entered into the consent order involving anti-money laundering and bank secrecy controls. Fitch said it expects “successful remediation of the consent order without material fines and/or negative findings by regulators.”

Although Fitch cited potential risks to Banesco’s depositors seeking other US banks as depositories in the event of any

concern about the Banesco Group, it said that so far Banesco “has actually benefitted from its association with the Banesco brand, despite volatility in Venezuela, as demonstrated by its relatively stable deposit base.”

For Banesco, “The majority of international funding is sourced from Venezuelan depositors who have turned to US banks as a safe haven. These deposits typically have a very low attrition rate, limited rate sensitivity and provide a stable source of low-cost funding.”

Banesco’s management has been trying to reduce reliance on Venezuelan funds by working to grow domestic deposits, Fitch said approvingly.

“We expect earnings to be constrained as the company focuses on diversifying its deposit mix by adding more domestically-sourced deposits, which are higher cost...,” Fitch said of Banesco.

“Further, earnings may be hindered given the ongoing focus on remediating the consent order, coupled with still-low interest rates.”

Mercantil Commercebank Florida Bancorp’s risk profile “includes exposure to economic conditions in Latin America, a limited franchise and modest earning metrics,” Fitch wrote. “Offsetting this, the company’s ratings are supported by its solid capital levels and good liquidity profile.”

The bank’s main subsidiary is Coral Gables-based Mercantil Commercebank

N.A., a privately held, FDIC insured, nationally chartered bank with 12 branches throughout Miami-Dade plus four in Broward County, one in Palm Beach County, one in New York and five in the Houston area.

“To cushion potential volatility and improve diversification, the company is implementing a strategy to increase US deposits through a branch-led expansion, primarily in the Houston area,” Fitch noted approvingly.

For now, Fitch wrote of Mercantil Commercebank, “the majority of international funding is sourced from Venezuelan depositors who have turned to US banks as a safe haven” – the identical description it uses for Banesco.

The ultimate US holding company for Mercantil Commercebank, Fitch says, “has improved diversification in its loan mix by reducing real estate lending...”

“Given [Mercantil Commercebank Florida Bancorp’s] targeted, niche client base, which gives the company an opportunity to leverage its expertise in Latin America as well as in oil-related industries, there is some concern that asset quality could deviate from recent trends given the prolonged decline in energy and commodities prices,” Fitch wrote.

The bank, Fitch noted, is ultimately beneficially owned by Mercantil Servicios Financieros, one of the largest financial groups based in Venezuela.

WEEK OF THURSDAY, JANUARY 7, 2016

TODAY’S NEWS

MIAMI TODAY

23

38-story, 497-unit tower beside Arsht Center opens in May

BY JOHN CHARLES ROBBINS

Hungry patrons of the theater won’t have far to go to make it a full evening of food and fanfare this spring in Miami.

The Melo Group plans a May opening for its mixed-use residential project, Melody Tower, at 245 NE 14th St., right next door to the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts.

Melody is a residential tower anchored by ground floor retail and dining that will be compatible with the arts center.

Along with providing 497 high-end rental apartments, Melody will have about 8,500 square feet of ground floor commercial area, including some outdoor dining in a landscaped plaza.

The developer announced this week that the project has topped off construction at 38 stories and will open in about five months.

The planned dining and retail at Melody are vital to helping bring new life to a long-dormant section of the city, the company said.

Today, patrons of the arts center typically head for their cars and then home. There’s nothing in the neighborhood to keep them there.

Melody will help meet that need.

“That’s what we see, create a plaza and restaurant so after shows people can enjoy a dinner or refreshments – they do not have to leave, and can stay a bit longer,” said Martin Melo,

Melody Tower soars high above the two Arsht Center buildings. The rental building will offer dining, retail.

a principal with Melo Group, Melo Group has signed two restaurant leases with Brazil’s Parmegiana Factory and New York Miami Pizza, which will occupy Melody’s ground-floor retail space across the street from the performing arts center.

With plans to open in the second quarter of 2016, Melody’s restaurants will offer outdoor plaza seating designed to enhance the area’s walkability and provide new dining options for performing arts center patrons before and after a show.

County saves $11million refinancing 3 bond issues for its solid waste system Miami-Dade County government saved $11.03 million by selling new solid waste system revenue bonds in December and using the proceeds to pay off three earlier bond issues that were costing significantly more in interest.

J.P. Morgan served as the senior manager for the negotiated transaction, allowing the county to pay off bonds issued in 1998, 2001 and 2005.

The county ended up issuing $83.755 million in new bonds that mature Oct. 1, 2030, saving 11.83%. The true interest cost of the new bonds is 2.46%, according to a memo to county commissioners from Mayor Carlos Gimenez.

Besides J.P. Morgan, other firms in the underwriting team were Barclays Capital Inc., Drexel Hamilton LLC, Rice Financial Products Co., BofA Merrill Lynch, Blaylock Bean Van LLC, Cabrera Capital Markets, Estrada Hinojosa & Co. Inc., and Morgan Stanley.

As the county prepared for the bond sale, Fitch Ratings assigned an A+ rating to the new bonds and revised upward the outlook for the county’s rating from negative to stable. Standard & Poor’s assigned a rating of AA- with a stable outlook.

Fitch cited the solid waste system’s improved financial position as expenses have been pushed down while more waste has flowed through the system.

Fitch also noted that the solid waste system plans additional bond borrowing over the next five years, including $24 million in bonds in fiscal 2017 to support closure of the Virginia Key landfill.

Another $140 million is expected to be borrowed to modernize the truck fleet, Fitch wrote.

Other capital needs to expand landfills and remediate pollution are to be funded in part from county general revenue bonds and from solid waste system cash, Fitch said.

Fitch says the county estimates that present landfills are adequate through 2030.

The system is operated as a self-supported enterprise fund, with 55% of its income from $439 annual collection fees charged on property tax bills of 328,549 homeowners – county commissioners have not raised the rates since 2006.

The county has long-term agreements with 15 municipalities for solid waste disposal and with 12 municipalities for curbside recycling.

Melo Group says the opening of Melody Tower will infuse life into an area of the urban core that has been residentially underserved for years.

The opening comes as demand for affordable rental apartments in Miami is at an all-time high, being fueled by young professionals and millennials in search of an urban lifestyle where they can live, work and play.

“With downtown Miami’s Arts & Entertainment District building momentum as a worldclass cultural epicenter in the

Southeast, one thing is still lacking – a luxury residential community that caters to young professionals who work in the area,” said Carlos Melo, principal of the Melo Group.

“Melody will help fill a much-needed void by providing high-quality rental units in a pedestrian-friendly neighborhood within walking distance to arts and culture, entertainment, retail, restaurants and public transportation options,” he added.

Rental rates at Melody Tower are to start at about $1,600 for

a one-bedroom apartment, $1,850 for a two-bedroom unit and $2,300 for a three-bedroom unit.

Floor plans will measure from about 750 to 1,300 square feet.

Pre-leasing is to begin in the first quarter of 2016.

Melody will be ready for occupancy in May, the company said.

The Melo Group is also touting Melody as a transit-oriented development. Public transit options within walking distance include the Miami-Dade Omni Metromover Station less than two blocks away. The Miami Trolley and Metrorail system are also close by.

Approximately 2,900 square feet of retail/restaurant space remains available for lease at Melody.

Melody Tower is one of the several projects Melo Group has planned for the growing arts and entertainment district. Aria on the Bay, the company’s newest 648-unit condominium project, is rising about five blocks east of Melody along Biscayne Bay. Melo also owns several parcels of land in the area surrounding the Miami-Dade Schoolboard Metromover Station, with plans to develop a mix of transit-oriented marketrate rental projects as well as luxury condominiums.

In total, Melo plans about 3,000 residential condo and rental units throughout the downtown area over the next few years.

24

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WEEK OF THURSDAY, JANUARY 7, 2016

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