WEEK OF THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2015
A Singular Voice in an Evolving City
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RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE
Multi-family rental buildings now trendy investment, pg. 15 HERITAGE OF HOUSING: County commissioners unanimously voted to have the county buy property at 413 NW Third St. at market value and convey it, along with the adjoining county-owned site at 401 NW Third St., to nonprofit Dade Heritage Trust at no cost for construction of affordable housing and restoration of an historic wood-frame cottage built in 1925. The legislation asks the mayor’s office to include the properties on the county’s list of affordable housing, ensure proper signage on the sites, provide a status report on the acquisition within 120 days and use grant funds from Building Better Communities General Obligation Bond Program for the “preservation of affordable housing units and expansion of home ownership.” Dade Heritage Trust, with a mission to preserve architectural and cultural heritage through advocacy, education and restoration, is to partner with affordable housing developer Green Mills Group LLC to develop affordable rental housing for low-income elderly households and preserve the cottage at a cost of $250,000.
Brickell brand booms out west too as more towers rise, pg. 16
THE ACHIEVER
MONEY FOR POLICING OMNI: Miami commissioners, acting as the Omni Community Redevelopment Agency board, on Oct. 22 approved a $710,000 grant to the City of Miami for an expanded police program within the Omni redevelopment area. The police department sought the funding to continue the Omni CRA’s Police Services program, introduced in April 2008. The enhanced services include increased patrols, special operations, traffic details, criminal sweeps, prostitution details and undercover narcotics details. TRADING SPACES: A land swap between the City of Miami and an affiliate of All Aboard Florida could one day lead to a new fire station downtown. That’s what city commissioners were told Oct. 22 when they approved an agreement with FDG Rail Holdings 25 LLC and AAF Miami TOD Holdings LLC. It involves a land exchange of two city-owned properties, about 0.18-acre and about 0.32-acre, for FDG-owned property, about 0.50-acre at 435 NW First Court. All Aboard Florida will also pay the city $500,000 and “shall be granted certain crossing rights to allow AAF to use that certain portion of NW 8th street including subsurface and air rights,” says the agreement. This will aid the company in construction of a new MiamiCentral train station and related development. The city manager said staff is working with AT&T to get more land nearby for a fire station to replace Station 1, at 144 NE Fifth St., the city’s oldest firehouse.
Photo by Marlene Quaroni
Ramón Abadin
New president of Florida Bar faces challenging issues The profile is on Page 4
County votes to seek development offers on port BY SUSAN DANSEYAR
County commissioners voted last week to seek development offers for the southwest corner of the Port of Miami, agreeing that they must first be clear what can be done legally. Their vote requires that they get a solicitation document from the mayor’s office within 90 days. Before their final unanimous vote, they disagreed over how long it should take county attorneys to meet with state and City of Miami lawyers to clarify deed restrictions on the land dating back many decades to when the state conveyed the land to the city and the city later handed it to the county. On Aug. 27, the Trade and Tourism Committee voted to have the administration expedite a competitive solicitation. The measure before the full commission last week was amended to ask that the solicitation be prepared and sent to the commission within 60 days. That’s probably not enough time, said Commissioner Rebeca Sosa. The committee had voted to have county attorneys speak with the city and state attorneys to
AGENDA
probe reversionary clauses governing the site, she said. “I sponsored items that asked we do nothing until we know every legal aspect,” Ms. Sosa said. “Saying we will do that in 60 days is going against what we did.” Commissioner Daniella Levine Cava said 60 days is relatively short to put a proposal together. Port Director Juan Kuryla agreed, saying port officials understood the county attorneys would find out what is allowed before a solicitation of interest could be put out. The motion on the table took into account the reversionary clauses, said Commissioner Bruno Barreiro. “We can talk to people, but [everything is] contingent upon what we hear from the city and state. Why should we wait to put out the solicitation process?” Halfway through the discussion, Ms. Sosa asked if the commission might defer voting until it hears all the legalities. However, Esteban Bovo Jr. and Jose “Pepe” Diaz firmly said waiting sends a negative message to potential developers. “We should be engaging,” Mr. Bovo said. “Transparency is essential, but if we drag our feet for four years, doesn’t that
Employers join a push for rail line For the first time in years, Miami-Dade’s top employers are working directly with elected officials, lending their muscle to speed new mass transit as mobility has become Miami’s most pressing visible concern. In a private lunch Friday at the JW Marriott on Brickell Avenue, Mayor Carlos Gimenez and Commissioner Esteban Bovo Jr. called on business leaders to seek state help with their first big transit push, an east-west rail line, and then stay involved – perhaps leading to cooperation on other pressing issues as well. Lunch host and developer Armando Codina on Monday called the meeting of business and education CEOs “a good first step in saying, guys, we’ve got to reconnect.... I was very pleased with this first meeting. We had a great turnout.... I’m looking forward to sitting down with Commissioner Bovo. I want to understand details of the corridor he wants to acquire.” That could lead to Mr. Codina joining select members of the lunch group, the mayor and Mr. Bovo in meetings with the county’s legislative delegation and Gov. Rick Scott, Mr. Codina said, to seek state help to acquire an underused CSX freight rail line and create mass transit. Cooperation of top business leaders could be a windfall for government, Mr. Bovo said Monday. “Sometimes we don’t use some of the experts” who could help think through complex problems like mass transit, he said. “We wanted folks who have years of experience in the art of putting high-level deals together” and who understand all the moving parts,” Mr. Bovo said. “The business community needs to be involved in the policy discussions.” The train is moving fast to get east-west transit rolling: by 2017, Mr. Bovo said, he expects that “we will have started east-west service to build on.”
say something?” Mr. Diaz said the county doesn’t want to leave development of the land hanging forever. “We want to have competition and we want to wait until we know our position,” he said. “We have to know what we can do on the land but, at the same time, we need our port to make money and be reliable, so we don’t want this to be a never-ending story.” Commissioners say the mostly bare land, where Marine Spill Response Corp. leases space, is underused. Interest in developing it came most notably from David Beckham for a professional soccer stadium and more recently Miami Yacht Harbor, which proposed a trade center, hotels, office space and a marina there, saying their proposal closely follows recommendations by experts the port hired in the past. After a second amendment, commissioners voted to ask the administration to bring them a solicitation document to review within 90 days, stipulating that no process can continue too far until attorneys have clear answers on what can be Underused freight rail lines may add to mass transit choices, pg. 10 done legally.
TRANSPORTATION PLANNERS OVERRIDE DIRECTOR PICK ...
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DIGITAL MEDIA FIRM GETS COUNTY FUNDS FOR 60 JOBS ...
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MIAMI LETS DEVELOPER ELIMINATE BAYFRONT ACCESS ...
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21% OF ROAD-BLOCKING BRIDGE OPENINGS BROKE RULE ... 11
VIEWPOINT: CAN SOCCER STADIUM MAKE THE GRADE? ...
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A RECORD 15 MILLION VISITORS ENTER COUNTY IN YEAR ... 18
STATE LOOKING TO HAND OVER ITS ‘CENTRAL STATION’ ...
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FEAR OF BIG-BOX RETAIL ON US 1 CLOUDS PASEO FIGHT ... 19
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MIAMI TODAY
VIEWPOINT
WEEK OF THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2015
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
Can school system’s soccer stadium play make the grade? Miami-Dade’s school system, which teaches decisions based on fact and not emotion, has made itself lead player to create a professional soccer stadium in Little Havana. T h a t ’ s great, because Michael Lewis if we strip out emotions that put sports on a pinnacle and get down to a factual study of a stadium based on history, economics, public policy and good business practices, the schools have a lot of self-education to do before they commit to anything. A course outline for this class on acting for the public’s benefit should pose vital questions to see if involvement passes benefits and economics tests in a highly complex deal with moving parts that must function like a fine antique watch, with all gears perfectly synchronized. Each player is unique: The City of Miami, Miami-Dade County and private landowners all own parts of the stadium site and would need reimbursement. What would each receive from whom? Would private land be taken by eminent domain, what would that cost and who would reimburse government for that expense? The soccer team doesn’t yet exist and nobody has vetted its financing. When will bodies that must vote on the deal and the public see detailed sources of its money with normal guarantees? Nobody saw that in the baseball stadium deal next door and government was hoodwinked. Will we this time know all team owners on a percentage basis, the hard assets they hold to carry out their bargain – they don’t yet even own a franchise – and what negotiable instru-
ments public agencies will hold to insure that a start-up can handle its bargain? The school system doesn’t play in the development arena. What created a sudden need for a school of sports management and how did it become a priority that could not be met from $1.2 billion that the schools got from bonds? If the schools need a sports academy, why haven’t they worked with Major League Baseball, which as part of the Marlins stadium deal since 2009 has been offering to build at its expense a high school training academy? The baseball folks did talk about a deal with the schools. Why is soccer’s offer better? Wouldn’t the baseball stadium next door work just as well for graduations? Why can’t high school bowl games be played there? Remember, the baseball stadium already hosts soccer, football and events. How much of the operations and maintenance cost of the complex would the schools pay? What is the cost of operating its planned school there and the cost per pupil compared with costs at any other magnet school? Compared with costs per pupil of the system as a whole? State authorities oversee tax exemptions. Isn’t making a stadium tax exempt an obvious sham to benefit private owners? How would that play in Tallahassee? Miami voters by law must approve a land transfer. How much will be explained to them before the vote, and how impartially, by the city administration? Marlins owners by their stadium contract control everything from architecture to operating days and hours of a nearby soccer stadium, even the right to resell every parking space in garages and parking lots that teachers might use. Who would pay them how much to yield control? Elected leaders seemed unaware of those controls in the 2009 baseball stadium contract until recently. Will they vet all details of a far more complex soccer
L ETTERS Don’t wait for port studies to sign up this developer The publisher’s Viewpoint of Oct. 1 about the southwest corner of PortMiami is squarely on point about one thing: “Had private owners held undeveloped all of Brickell Avenue 60 years ago they would….. have left Miami much the poorer for 60 years.” For this and many other reasons the county mayor and his administration should not wait to facilitate development of property that has been underused for years at the southwest corner of the port. The property has been generating measly revenues of $300,000 per year for 23 years, when it could be generating millions that have been lost forever. At the same time, the port’s bond rating was downgraded because port revenues have fallen below acceptable levels. The downgrade has caused the port’s cost of interest to increase. New recurring revenues would help the port improve its rating and lower the interest. PortMiami’s amenities appear rudimentary compared to a majority of major ports around the world. Miami-Dade County has spent millions of taxpayer dollars in the last four years studying what to do with the southwest
deal, and then debate them, long before a vote rather than afterward? The University of Miami might be a player, using the stadium for football. Under what terms might the university become involved, and when? What would be its financial role and who would receive the university’s payments, government or the soccer team? Soccer stadium use could be dicey. Who would get non-soccer events revenues, the team or the schools? Who would choose events? Who would control when the schools could use the stadium, and would use be free? Moreover, would public schools want to be party to some things that happen in and around professional soccer stadiums globally? Fans aren’t called soccer rowdies for nothing. Who would pay to insure the schools against soccer riots? Whether or not the schools, county and city would pay any direct costs of a stadium, there are indirect costs. A tax exemption would eliminate tax revenues that might pay such indirect costs to taxpayers as increased policing and fire service. Other indirect costs might include vital infrastructure, include moving or changing streets and roadways, water and sewer service, and road signs. A Community Redevelopment Agency that the city and county would collaborate to create might fund that infrastructure, but the agency functions on tax revenue from the area – revenue to which a tax-exempt stadium would not contribute. Beyond questions come four firm lessons. First, a deal this complex is seldom made with a startup with no track record. The last Miami team in this soccer league failed. Those involved need to insure that what they start will be used for three to five decades. A vacant soccer stadium beside an underused ballpark isn’t a pleasing prospect. Marlins attendance is now
TO THE
corner. A master plan for the port was done in 2011, and a master plan for the southwest corner in 2013. A development and marketing study by C.A. Johnson and Lambert Consulting was done in 2013, along with a marina development study, a traffic study and a transit study. All came to the same conclusion: that the southwest corner should be developed commercially as a trade center with supporting hotels, office space and a superyacht marina with access by the public. While many parties have inquired, only one (other than the people who proposed building a soccer stadium), has put forth a written and detailed proposal to develop the southwest corner. The proposal by Miami Yacht Harbor closely follows the recommendations by experts hired by the port. Of importance is utilizing a process that avoids long delays in getting worthy proposals implemented, operational and producing their intended use and attendant revenue. Too often valuable properties like the southwest corner are prevented from being utilized as intended due to the nature of the process used by the administration to determine their “best use.” Commissioner Bruno Barreiro’s call to immediately commence negotiations with the only proposer that has stepped forward
less than a decade ago, before the glorious new stadium. Second, a deal this big can’t be done piecemeal. All pieces must be firmly in place with details public before anything is voted on. Remember, county commissioners rushed to sign off on Marlins Park financing in the billions of dollars two days before they were given the price tag. The county manager passed it off as a mix-up. No more mix-ups. Third, everything needs to be on the table. No after-deal needs. The county last year gave a New York couturier belowmarket bargain land to create jobs if the company upgraded the site. Now the company wants the county to pay for site work too. Any deal should be final, not a work in progress. Fourth, what’s the rush? Miami’s mayor says if a deal isn’t hustled through the city will pay $2 million extra for an election. But if it is hustled through, you can bet it will cost us a lot more than $2 million extra. A rush in a public-private deal always benefits the private side, never the taxpayer. Take your time, vet it well and make every detail public far in advance of a vote. If we learned nothing else from the Marlins stadium, we know that the extra cost of hurrying was billions, not millions. Once they answer these questions, the school system and all involved will be satisfied either that this deal is great so move ahead, or that the public should say a polite “thanks but no thanks.” After all, if the soccer owners have money enough to make this deal work for everyone, they have enough to buy private land and do it all by themselves. Just think of the saving of not having to build a school. The best lesson our school system can teach its students is that the system was not afraid to answer all the questions fully before grading a soccer deal as either an A or an F.
E DITOR
should not be ignored. Port economic consultant Paul Lambert warned recently that the window of opportunity for viable development at the southwest corner may soon close with the forecast that the current upward real estate cycle may soon be coming to an end. The Miami Yacht Harbor development group is local, diverse, experienced and financially capable. They have proposed a development fully aligned with the recommendations made by port experts, and the proposed development will generate large numbers of permanent new living wage jobs, economic development and significant new revenues for the port, at no cost to the county. Phil Everingham Principal Miami Yacht Harbor
Surprised by the duplicity in soccer stadium fund tax As much as I would like to see a soccer stadium next to Marlins Stadium, I’m surprised by the shameless duplicity going on before our eyes by those up on the dais. Their cockamamie plan might get past the county and city (both of which have their own shameless collection of elected officials and
bureaucratic con men working for them) but I expect the state will see through it all and dismiss any “fantasy funding.” Hopefully. Unless, of course the state overseers are as duplicitous as our local ones. If that’s so, we truly have become the thing we fear and joke about the most: a third-world country where things get done by bribes and lies. DC Copeland
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TODAY’S NEWS
MIAMI TODAY
WEEK OF THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2015
State looking to hand over transportation ‘central station’ BY SUSAN DANSEYAR
A county committee put off discussing the Florida Department of Transportation’s consideration of giving up control of the Miami Intermodal Center until all entities the move would affect can meet together. At the Oct. 14 Transit and Mobility Services committee meeting, Chairman Esteban Bovo Jr. advised deferring conversation to Nov. 12, when he hopes representatives of Miami International Airport, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority will attend. Mr. Bovo also wants Commissioner Rebeca Sosa in the discussion because the center is in her district. Known as MIC, the ground transportation hub just east of the airport was built by FDOT and includes a rental car center, roadway improvements and the MIA Mover that connects the intermodal
Photo by Maxine Usdan
A walkway from the Greyhound bus terminal at the Miami Intermodal Center lists transportation modes.
center to the airport. The construction of the $2 billion Miami Intermodal Center was done under the guidance of the FDOT along with project manager Miami-Dade-based engineering and construction company AECOM. Now, Mr. Bovo told Miami Today, it’s clear FDOT is willing to take the center off its ledger. “They never wanted to be the operator of it,� he said. Moving forward, Mr. Bovo said,
the airport has to sign off on any development that might occur in the acres around the MIC. The Miami-Dade Expressway Authority could fill in, Mr. Bovo said, but he has a philosophical problem with the authority assuming control of the MIC. “MIC is becoming more and more the central station for our transportation issues,� he said. “I have a problem with the growth of government taking
Public Notice Notice is given that a meeting of the Miami-Dade County Board of County Commissioners will be held on Tuesday, November 3, 2015, at 9:30 AM, in the Commission Chambers, located on the Second Floor of the Stephen P. Clark Center, 111 N.W. First Street, Miami, Florida, wherein, among other matters to be considered, a public hearing will be held at such time that the item is called on the following:
over and would like to see the Transit Department keep it within its portfolio.� The intermodal center program consists of several components: major roadway improvements, including a reconfigured LeJeune Road, completed in May 2008; the rental car center that opened in July 2010, consolidating operations of all the car rental companies formerly in Miami International Airport; the MIA Mover
Digital media firm gets county funds for 60 jobs BY SUSAN DANSEYAR
Ordinances and Resolutions: t 0 SEJOBODF SFMBUJOH UP ;POJOH revising land use plan map for the North Central Urban Area District as requested by -JCFSUZ /8 UI 4USFFU --$ GPS SFBM QSPQFSUZ MPDBUFE BU /8 UI 4USFFU BNFOEJOH 4FDUJPO $PEF t 3 FTPMVUJPO BQQSPWJOH deletion of Building Better Communities General Obligation Bond Program Project No. 229 - ‘’Data Processing & Communications Center Fire Suppression� and addition of new Project No. 354 - ‘’Data Processing and Communications Center/Annex Buildings’’ t 0 SEJOBODF BNFOEJOH 0SEJOBODF /P relating to Coco Palm Estates Multipurpose Maintenance and Street Lighting Special Taxing District t 3 FTPMVUJPO BQQSPWJOH BEPQUJOH BOE DPOmSNJOH SFWJTFE QSFMJNJOBSZ BTTFTTNFOU SPMM QSPWJEJOH GPS BOOVBM BTTFTTNFOUT against real property located within boundaries of a Special Taxing District known as Coco Palm Estates Multipurpose Maintenance and Street Lighting Special Taxing District t 0 SEJOBODF HSBOUJOH QFUJUJPO PG Coco Palm 82, LLC, for establishment of a Community Development District DSFBUJOH and establishing Coco Palms Community Development District t 3 FTPMVUJPO BQQSPWJOH B TJHOJmDBOU NPEJmDBUJPO UP Building Better Communities General Obligation Bond Program Project No. 232 - ‘’Future Multi-Use Facilities’’ in Appendix A to Resolution No. R-917-04, after a public hearing t 0 SEJOBODF relating to Water and Sewer regulations; amending Article VIII of Chapter 32 of the Code relating to the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department’s Cross Connection Control Program t 0 SEJOBODF amending Sections 2-892 and 2-894 of the Code, pertaining to the appointment by the County Mayor and the State Attorney for Miami-Dade County, and tenure of Board Members and the provision of staff support to the Domestic Violence Oversight Board Resolutions Approving the Following Plats: t T hree Lakes Apartments CPVOEFE PO UIF OPSUI BQQSPYJNBUFMZ GFFU TPVUI PG 48 4USFFU PO UIF FBTU CZ 48 "WFOVF PO UIF TPVUI CZ 48 4USFFU BOE PO UIF XFTU CZ 48 1BUI
"MM JOUFSFTUFE QBSUJFT NBZ BQQFBS BOE CF IFBSE BU UIF UJNF BOE QMBDF TQFDJmFE JO BDDPSEBODF XJUI UIF #PBSE T 3VMFT PG Procedure. The proposed ordinances listed below will have a Second Reading to be considered for enactment by the Board at that time: t 0 SEJOBODF SFMBUJOH UP ;POJOH amending jurisdiction of Board of County Commissioners to hear certain applications related to private schools; amending Section 33-314 of the Code t 0 SEJOBODF SFMBUJOH UP Road Impact Fees; providing for use of impact fees to pay for mass transit projects that beneďŹ t multiple impact fee districts; amending Section 33e-12 of the Code t 0 SEJOBODF relating to Zoning NPEJGZJOH regulations regarding chain link fences; amending Sections 33-11 and 33-311 of the Code t 0 SEJOBODF relating to Zoning; updating regulations pertaining to restaurants and to live entertainment at restaurants, bars, night clubs, cabarets and similar establishments; updating the deďŹ nition of night clubs; providing for night clubs in the IU-1 Zoning District; amending Sections 33-1, 33-150, 33-238, and 33-259 of the Code t 0 SEJOBODF DSFBUJOH "SUJDMF 9** PG $IBQUFS PG UIF $PEF establishing homebuyer loan program using documentary surtax funds BNFOEJOH 4FDUJPO PG UIF $PEF UP NBLF UIF EPDVNFOUBSZ TVSUBY QSPHSBN DPOTJTUFOU XJUI UIF homebuyer loan program established herein A person who decides to appeal any decision made by any board, agency, or commission with respect to any matter considered at its meeting or hearing, will need a record of proceedings. Such persons may need to ensure that a verbatim record of the proceedings is made, including the testimony and evidence upon which the appeal is to be based. .JBNJ %BEF $PVOUZ QSPWJEFT FRVBM BDDFTT BOE FRVBM PQQPSUVOJUZ JO JUT QSPHSBNT TFSWJDFT BOE BDUJWJUJFT BOE EPFT OPU discriminate on the basis of disability. For material in alternate format, a sign language interpreter or other accommodation, QMFBTF DBMM PS TFOE FNBJM UP agendco@miamidade.gov BU MFBTU mWF EBZT JO BEWBODF PG UIF NFFUJOH
)"37&: 367*/ $-&3, $)3*4501)&3 "(3*11" %&165: $-&3,
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link, which became operational in September 2011 and connects the airport to the car rental center; and the Miami Central Station. In the late 1980s, with the county’s population growing and moving westward, local officials foresaw the need to create transportation connectivity. At the same time, the area’s vital aviation industry forecast the need to decongest roadways in and around the airport. Local officials asked FDOT to marshal forces to link the community’s disparate transportation services and find a way to relieve the airport of the burdensome traffic that was clogging its access roadways and terminal ramps. In 1995, the Federal Highway Administration approved FDOT’s Major Investment Study/Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the MIC. In 1998, the US Department of Transportation granted location and design concept approval.
County commissioners unanimously approved a digital media company seeking to relocate its national headquarters to MiamiDade as a qualified target industry, committing up to $72,000 in local support from general revenues spread over six years. The company, titled Confidential Project Rhino, is currently based in the Northeast and also is considering leasing offices for its headquarters in New York, California and Mexico. The Beacon Council, the county’s economic development partnership, applied on behalf of Project Rhino for state and county incentives to be recognized as a qualified target industry entitled to benefits under the qualified target industry tax refund program. According to information the Beacon Council provided to the county’s Regulatory and Economic Resources Department, the digital media company plans to expand its production and design operations to increase production of national and local broadcasting, moving its headquarters this fall. The location for Project Rhino to occupy is confidential. The company would create 60 new full-time equivalent jobs, paying an average annual salary of $78,000, over a three-year period, while creating countywide economic benefits from direct and indirect job creation, according to a memo by Deputy Mayor Jack Osterholt. According to documents supplied by the Beacon Council, he said, employee benefits associated with each newly created job will be $19,000. The application states it is unknown whether the company will try to hire residents in the local area. The resolution, sponsored by Jose “Pepe� Diaz, states the necessary commitment of local financial support would be contin-
gent upon Rhino maintaining the jobs during the life of the incentive, “ensuring that its hiring practices aspire to be consistent with and reflect the diversity of the Miami-Dade County community� and providing the county with access to tax information and documents necessary to monitor economic impacts of the designation as a qualified target industry business. Project Rhino applied for $360,000 in qualified target industry tax refunds over a six yearperiod, of which 80% ($288,000) would be provided by the state and 20% ($72,000) would be the county’s local match. Based on the projected investment of $2 million in tangible personal property, which is not a condition of the incentive funding, the project’s tangible taxes paid to Miami-Dade will be approximately $22,025 greater than the unimproved tax rate during fiscal years 2016-2022 that the company would be eligible for the award, Mr. Osterholt said. Therefore, he explained, the project will create a financial drain on county’s general revenues of about $49,975 over the six years, generating insufficient countywide general revenue to offset Miami-Dade’s local funding match. However, Mr. Osterholt said, generating equivalent general revenue funds isn’t a condition of the qualified target industry tax refund program. The county’s 20% local match is required when the state determines that 60 new jobs have been created and have met the average salary threshold required in the state’s tax refund agreement according to the schedule in the application, Mr. Osterholt said. The disbursement schedule and anticipated dates for job creation are subject to change at the discretion of the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity.
WEEK OF THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2015
TODAY’S NEWS
MIAMI TODAY
11
Survey: 21% of traffic-stopping bridge openings broke rules BY CATHERINE LACKNER
Progress has been made toward regulating bridge openings downtown during rush hours but work remains to be done, directors of Miami’s Downtown Development Authority learned Friday. “We have some results, but it’s not 100%,” said Alex TiradoLuciano, an associate in the Lydecker-Diaz law firm, which is working on the issue pro bono. Senior partner Richard Lydecker is an authority director. Authority members last year expressed frustration that, in defiance of an agreement hammered out years ago, bridges that serve downtown are being opened for boats during times when they should remain locked down to let cars and trucks pass. Mr. Tirado-Luciano and members of his team worked with the US Coast Guard, the Florida Department of Transportation and the office of US Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, who has expressed concern that keeping the drawbridges closed more often would damage the marine industry. Transportation department personnel were surprised that the rules weren’t being followed, Mr. Tirado-Luciano said. “The Coast Guard understands and is now on notice that they need to better police the folks who work on the bridges.” Restricted times for bridge openings are from 7:35 to 8:59 a.m., 12:05 to 12:59 p.m., and 4:35 to 5:59 p.m. weekdays. Boats in distress, ships being guided by tugboats (such as freighters and barges), and government vessels are exempted from the rule. In January and February, the team installed a device on the Brickell Avenue Bridge and then presented weekday details to the authority. Of the 3,218 openings, 682 were during restricted hours. While only 38 were clear violations, another 337 were within 15 minutes of the restricted times, and in 74 instances, the bridge was drawn up during unrestricted times but remained open into the times when it should have been locked down. Only 18% of the bridge openings allowed cargo vessels to pass. Another 21% were for tugs and 6% for barges, while pleasure craft accounted for 45%. The transportation department has agreed to put up new signs reminding boaters of the restricted times, Mr. TiradoLuciano said last week. “But even if all the regulations were being complied with, I believe we still have an issue, because the restricted times do not reflect traffic patterns and should be amended,” he said. According to the state transportation agency, morning rush hour times should be from 7-10 a.m., and afternoon times from around 46 p.m., he said. The matter can be brought to the Coast Guard’s Marine Safety and Security Council in Washington, DC, Mr. Tirado-Luciano said. “It will be a six-month to one-year process, depending in how many people come to the
‘But even if all the regulations were being complied with, I believe we still have an issue, because the restricted times do not reflect traffic patterns...’ Alex Tirado-Luciano
Photo by Maxine Usdan
Traffic backs up when the Brickell Avenue Bridge opens to river traffic. Opening hours are restricted.
table. We can let the Coast Guard know what we want.” Meanwhile, the group can ask for a deviation, he said, which means “they make the changes
and see the impact to the marine industry.” If granted, the deviation could be executed quickly but is in effect for only six months, he added. “The Coast
Guard would be hard-pressed to look away from this issue.” Marc Sarnoff, authority chair and Miami commissioner, asked Mr. Lydecker if the firm would
continue to work on the issue free. “ ‘Not to put you on the spot or anything,’ ” Mr. Lydecker sarcastically joked. While he acknowledged that his firm had spent many hours on the project, “I am committed to it,” he said. The downtown agency will tap a consultant from its approved list to conduct a traffic study immediately, said Alyce Robertson, authority executive director. Its staff will also assist the Lydecker-Diaz team in collecting facts and some other needed legwork.
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MIAMI TODAY
TODAY’S NEWS
WEEK OF THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2015
Transportation trust votes to pull out bus service funding BY CATHERINE LACKNER
Vowing to “reaffirm and support the original intent of the People’s Transportation Plan” to expand and improve transit, the Citizens’ Independent Transportation Trust last week voted 8 to 4 to withdraw its financial support of Miami-Dade’s public bus system over the three to five years. Trust members differed on a schedule for the pullout. When the trust was formed in 2002, proceeds of the recently enacted half-penny sales tax were to go solely to transportation projects, but in 2009 the county commission voted to expand that use to help fund the ailing Metrobus system. Chairman Paul Schwiep spoke in favor of a slow unwinding, saying the trust would be in better shape after five years. “If we just un-unified the budgeting system, so that all the surtax funds were segregated and were used only for PTP projects, capital and operations and maintenance of PTP projects, the amount that would be attributable to those expenses would exceed the amount that the county administration is proposing in its proforma over a five-year period” to take from the trust to operate the transportation department. Because so many of the county’s transportation projects are interwoven – fee-free Metromover service, the Golden Passport discount program for seniors, the Metrorail Orange
Photo by Maxine Usdan
Unwinding of funding should come slowly, said trust Chairman Paul Schwiep, perhaps over five years.
Line to Miami International Airport, and news cars for both Metrorail and Metromover were all PTP projects – separating the funding would result in a net loss for the trust, so it makes more sense to do it gradually, Mr. Schweip explained after the meeting. “It’s not just that we’re returning funds to the trust; we’ll end up with more funds in the trust,” he told trust members. “My view was, and remains, that we got into this unification situation over a long period of
time, because transit needed to access surtax funds, and we’re not going be able to unwind it overnight – that kind of a meatcleaver approach will end up doing more harm than good,” said Mr. Schwiep, who is an attorney with the Coffey Burlington firm. “They’re our partners and we don’t want to pull the rug out from under them,” said trust member Joe Curbelo, who is a director of information technology for the Miami Dolphins and Sun Life Stadium. “The only
thing we can control is the surtax funds, but there are other funding sources. I’d like to use this forum to encourage the county commission to look at other sources,” he said. Those could include the gas option tax, county reserves, auto registration fees, and a possible share of Miami-Dade Expressway Authority tolls, he added. “We took on a parental role to save transit. In retrospect, I think this should be a countywide effort to do what needs to be done,” said trust first vice chair
Anna E. Ward. “The $81 million needs to come back to us. But it doesn’t need to come back to us in nickels, pennies and dimes, and a promise that the economy will hold up. “We did this out of good faith, but I don’t think our one organization should be the one footing the bill for this,” said Dr. Ward, who is an adjunct professor and administrator at Miami Dade College. “What about the pulling the rug out from under us?” “I think we’re all saying the same thing; the county should be able to find sufficient funds to make up the difference,” said trust member Miles Moss, who is president of Miles Moss & Associates, an engineering consulting firm. “I would encourage the board of county commissioners to do that, but to restrict money going to transit might result in the riders getting service cuts.” “I want you all to remember that, when they came to us, we did it for the people of MiamiDade County,” said trust member Linda Zilber, who is a former mayor of Bay Harbor Islands. “They were going to reduce bus service and we absolutely refused to let that happen.” “It’s been a long time coming and it’s not perfect, but it sets us on a path to unwinding unification,” Mr. Schwiep said. “I think there’s a lot of good faith on the part of administration to try and accomplish this and have the surtax funds be dedicated to new projects.”
Single-source financing for transportation called outmoded BY CATHERINE LACKNER
Trains won’t begin rolling into Miami Central Station for more than a year, but the partnership that put together the extension of Tri-Rail into downtown Miami is being hailed as a model that could fund other transportation advances. The project moved forward with contributions from multiple parties, both public and private. Speakers at an Oct. 21 transportation-funding forum sponsored by the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce said that pursuing single-source financing for projects is an outmoded strategy. “The growing trend is diversification,” said Tom Rousakis, an authority on infrastructure finance and public-private partnerships (P3s). He said a combination of proceeds from transittax districts and community redevelopment agencies, user fees, real estate and sales taxes, and state and federal dollars has made projects possible in other cities. Increasingly, the answer is public-private partnerships in which the contractor takes some risk, he said. “It’s performancebased; the contractor doesn’t get paid unless the project is up and running.” In one such project, the costs for this model come in at $300 million less than what the municipality had projected in-house. “There is concern over
‘We need to get in line. The community isn’t going to stop growing, and we need to get our fair share.’ Alice Bravo The Miami Central Station, shown in a rendering, is hailed as a model for transportation project funding.
the public sector’s ability to deliver,” Mr. Rousakis said. “Is government ready to relinquish control to P3s?” asked Mitch Bierman, an attorney with Weiss Serota Helfman Cole & Bierman, who was moderator for the event. He chairs the chamber’s Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. “The dialogue has matured,” said County Commissioner Esteban “Steve” Bovo Jr. “P3s should play a role, but not in every corridor. It will not work in every situation, and there will be a push by unions and by my colleagues [on the commission]. But the residents are jaded. There
is a total lack of trust, so it warrants us to explore P3s.” The public-private partnership that created the PortMiami Tunnel, he noted, has been successful, but it was not easily achieved. “This is the way progress is going to happen,” said Charles Scurr, executive director of the Citizens’ Independent Transportation Trust. PTP 2.0, a plan he recently unveiled, recommends defining the best funding source for each corridor and applying a “lasagna” approach to layer funding where no one source can finance the job. While she agreed it’s important to come up with a combina-
tion of funding sources, “We also need to rank the corridors” to evaluate where the greatest need exists, said Alice Bravo, county director of the Department of Transportation and Public Works. Ms. Bravo said her department is in the process of prioritizing corridors based on ridership and the cost per ride. “We’ll bring a plan together in the next few months to get the most bang for our buck.” While there is a general reluctance to involve the federal government because of the inherent bureaucracy, money is available, Mr. Bravo reminded the group.
The Federal Transit Administration’s New Starts program finances local transit guideway capital investments. “From heavy to light rail, from commuter rail to bus rapid transit systems, the New Starts program has helped to make possible hundreds of new or extended transit fixed guideway systems across the country,” according to its website. “The FTA has billions in this program,” Ms. Bravo said, “and there are not any applications from Florida on the list. We need to get in line. The community isn’t going to stop growing, and we need to get our fair share.”
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Traffic, lifestyles spurring demand for housing near transit BY CATHERINE LACKNER
Given ever-increasing traffic clogs and a generation of young people who aren’t particularly attached to cars, pressure is on for developers to create housing for that has access to transit. Matthew Rieger, president/CEO of Housing Trust Group, is involved in two projects that benefited from transit-oriented zoning, and he sees a relationship between affordable and transitoriented housing. Wagner Creek Apartments at 1501 NW 13th Court will Matthew Rieger have 10 one-bedroom, one-bath units, 55 two-bedroom, two bath units, and eight three-bedroom, two-bath units. Sixty of the units will be set aside for tenants earning at or below 60% area median income, eight for tenants who earn 33% of area median income and five for moderate/workforce income levels, who can earn up to 120%
of area median income. “Wagner Creek Apartments will benefit from transit-oriented development zoning because Metrorail’s Civic Center Station is located just 250 yards away,” said a release when financing was secured this month. Courtside Family Apartments is a multi-phase development in Overtown, into which the Southeast Overtown/ Park West Community Redevelopment Agency has invested $7.5 million, Miami-Dade County $1.75 million. Phase I – the only phase for which financing has been completed – comprises 84 units, including four live/work lofts, set-aside at various income levels at or below 60% of the area median income. Phase II, with 120 units, will serve a senior population. The demographics of phase III’s tenants haven’t been determined yet, but 80 units are planned. The project abuts Metrorail’s Culmer Station. “Every application for affordable housing you put out in Miami-Dade and Broward counties now has to have proximity to schools, grocery stores and
drug stores,” Mr. Rieger said. “Every component must have a partial masstransit use.” Scoring is difficult and doesn’t necessarily demand a rail line. “A bus bench counts as a transit stop, but you get more points depending on how good your transit is,” he said. “As available land dwindles, we’re going to have to be more creative. “It’s true that Metrorail doesn’t do what it was promised to do in 1988, but there are tremendous needs in this county for transit-oriented development as well as affordable housing,” Mr. Rieger said. “We have to have the political will to solve these issues.” That will exists, he said. He credits Wifredo “Willy” Gort and Keon Hardemon, both Miami commissioners; and Audrey Edmondson, Miami-Dade County commissioner, with promoting both of his company’s projects within their districts. “If the county and city want to devote resources to more affordable housing, they can do the same thing for transit-oriented development. It comes down to desire.”
“Unfortunately, there are plenty of Metrorail stops with nothing around them,” said Dan Kodsi, a member of the development team of Paramount Miami Worldcenter, part of the massive Miami Worldcenter project. That includes the Park West stop, where Miami Worldcenter will rise, he adds. “We’re adding significant density, and it all connects with public transit. You don’t have to go anywhere, or drive north or south to go to the mall.” He estimates that 1,500 apartments are being built, along with 2,500 hotel rooms, all connected to mass transit. The project itself with have a large retail component, as well as restaurants, clubs and other uses that will eliminate the need for a car, or will allow families to only have one car. “If you need a car at all – to go to South Beach, for instance – you call Uber or a taxi and you don’t have to worry about parking,” Mr. Kodsi said. “In Miami, we’ve filled our suburbs but never really built an urban core. Finally that urban core is going to be built.”
Review board warms to redesigned Edgewater condos plan BY JOHN CHARLES ROBBINS
A condo project in Edgewater that received a chilly response from a city review board on its first go-around gained the board’s backing this month after a bit of redesign. The revised plans for 26 Edgewater were presented to the Urban Development Review Board on Oct. 21 by representatives of developer Stripey Real Estate Development. The company plans to build a 10-story condominium offering 86 units at 321-401 NE 26th St. The review board had deferred a vote in September, when members criticized the massing of the building, the long straight corridors, small balconies and other items. Rather than recommend denial of the project, a representative of the developer asked the board to defer a vote, affording time to rework the building. The plan includes three levels of parking screened with art treatments, a rooftop amenity deck with a swimming pool, and a private lounge including a full catering kitchen. The planning and zoning staff confirmed that the developer has been working on changes with the staff since the deferral. Hugo Arza, an attorney rep-
Photo by Maxine Usdan
Stripey Real Estate Development plans to build a 10-story condo with 86 units at 321-401 NE 26th St.
resenting the developer, told the board last week that the developer’s team has worked directly with city staff on concerns that were raised in September. “We’ve sought to address those,” he said. Architect Ivo Fernandez Jr. of Modis Architects presented the board with new renderings of the exterior design for 26 Edgewater. An earlier comment was that too much was going on with the proposed façades for that size building.
Mr. Fernandez acknowledged the original design had a hodgepodge of materials. He said architects looked at the façade planned to shield the parking levels and redesigned the exterior to be “more in tune” with the residential floors. “The intent is to extend the elements from above all the way down to ground level,” he said. The result should be that the building doesn’t look like it’s sitting on a podium, he said. Mr. Fernandez also showed the board a panel of perforated
metal that will be used as a façade on parts of the parking levels. Board member Fidel Perez said he thought the developer and architect did address the board’s earlier concerns and he saw “some improvement.” Board member Jesus A. Permuy said he still questioned the layout of the interior corridor but said “it’s OK … it’s a judgment call.” Board member Neil Hall said he appreciated that comments from the board were being heard
and considered by developers. Mr. Hall also said he is partial to projects that work to incorporate art into their structures, because it helps “to define our space.” The building will feature a rooftop pool and sun deck, a fitness center and ground-floor commercial space. Mr. Hall referred to the small lot and the “tight little street” where 26 Edgewater will rise, and asked how the developer envisions the retail portion of the project. The architect said Edgewater, like many neighborhoods in Miami, is changing. Mr. Fernandez said he sees Edgewater as “the little urban district of Miami.” Based on the area’s density, he said the commercial space will be “more neighborhood retail” in uses. He doesn’t see a national restaurant chain in that space, he added. Mr. Fernandez said the commercial space is better suited for smaller uses like a salon, coffee shop or boutiques. The review board recommended approval of the project, with conditions asking the developer to consider extending the perforated metal panels to the north elevation, and making a more direct connection to a bicycle storage area.
Miami defers impact fees on workforce housing projects BY JOHN CHARLES ROBBINS
With hopes of bringing much-needed workforce housing to Miami, city commissioners gave final approval Oct. 22 to defer developer impact fees on those projects. Policies that encourage workforce housing strive to provide affordable homes near their jobs for middle-income service workers – such as police officers, firefighters, teachers and nurses. In a city with skyrocketing housing costs, affordable housing options to these workers is considered imperative as they contribute to the community’s vitality and sustainability.
For the past two years, commissioners have worked to tweak the city rules to make the construction of affordable housing more attractive to developers. The workforce housing proposal was brought by Commissioner Francis Suarez, who has advanced other incentives to encourage affordable housing and mixed-income housing. “We’re being asked by the community to get involved – to do more,” he said Oct. 8 when the commission approved the measure on a first reading. The ordinance amends the city code to allow workforce housing to qualify for the affordable housing impact fee deferral program.
Truly Burton, executive vice president and government affairs director at the Florida Atlantic Building Association, spoke in favor of the amendment. “We’re hoping this is just the first of a series of incentives to build affordable housing,” she told commissioners. The measure can lead to new housing options affordable to young professionals and their families, said Ms. Burton, and encourage them to continue to call Miami home. “This is an excellent step in the right direction,” she said. The legislation acknowledges that the city allows for the deferral of developer impact fees due for new affordable hous-
ing units, while those units remain affordable. “This expands what already exists… and monitoring is a key component,” said Mr. Suarez. In addition to affordable housing, the city commission wishes to “incentivize the creation of workforce housing” for those individuals whose income is 80% to 140% of the area’s median, the amendment says. By allowing workforce housing units to qualify for the affordable housing impact fee deferral program, the city will incentivize the construction of workforce housing by “lowering the barrier of entry.”
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Brickell brand booms on west side, too, as more towers rise BY JOHN CHARLES ROBBINS
As billion-dollar Brickell City Centre prepares to celebrate completion of phase one before year’s end, other new residential projects are under way in the rapidly evolving neighborhood that has now grown beyond its financial district roots. Brickell has become a booming brand and the boundary is fluid. What some consider to be West Brickell – generally the area east of I-95 and west of Brickell Avenue – is poised for its own greatness and metamorphosis. Miami city commissioners this month approved a sweeping special area plan for another major mixed-use development called Miami River, designed to bring about 1,678 residential units to the area. The project will rise on vacant land between Southwest Second Avenue and I-95, on the river, and also bring hotel rooms, commercial uses and office space. It may be the most dramatic example of how Brickell’s success is spreading, after Brickell City Centre. Last fall, Patrick O’Connell, senior vice president of EWM Realty International, characterized the area west of Brickell Avenue as a “sleeping giant.” He saw the parcels between Brickell Avenue and I-95 being targeted for new investment dollars, promising to change the area from low density singlefamily homes and midrise apartment buildings to high density mixed-use ventures. That path advances, accord-
‘We need to see the increased density of completed residential units before the retail, and restaurant components follow.’ LeParc at Brickell, 1600 SW First Ave., is a 12-story, 128-unit condo tower billed as a luxury boutique.
Patrick O’Connell
13th Floor Investments. A concrete pour for the foundation took about 12 hours in April. The project will total 968,000 square feet and be home to about 387 luxury condo units. Le Parc at Brickell, at 1600 SW First Ave., a 12-story, 128unit luxury boutique condo tower offering studios, one-, two-, three-bedroom and townhome units. The development is to include a pool with a summer kitchen, a rooftop whirlpool and sky lounge, big glass-lined balconies and courtyards. Le Parc is developed by ALTA Developers and Strategic Properties Group LLC. ALTA Developers is a joint venture between Aconcagua and Archiplan USA. Broadstone at Brickell, at 267 SW 11th St., along Southwest Third Avenue and extending
north to Southwest 10th Street. The project is to include a 24story, 253-foot residential building and a seven-story, 520-space garage. Development firm Alliance Residential plans 372 units in the building, offering studio units, one- and two-bedroom apartments and townhouses. Amenities are to include a pool, fitness area, theater and a pet grooming spa. SoMa at Brickell, 145 SW 13th St., also from Alliance, is a new collection of luxury studios, and one- and two-bedroom apartments. The project is to have about 418 apartments and include a rooftop resort and lounge, fitness and yoga studios, movie theater, cyber café, and a clubroom with kitchen.
ing to Mr. O’Connell, even in the face of a slower pace. “The outlook for the West Brickell neighborhood has not changed since last year. It is just experiencing the same cooling off period as the rest of the Brickell market,” he said this week. “With several developments under construction including condos, apartment buildings and a hotel, the neighborhood will further its transformation once these buildings are delivered and occupied,” Mr. O’Connell said. The wave of new residential towers will feed the commercial components to follow, some built into the base of the mixed-use towers. “I think we need to see the increased density of completed residential units before the retail
and restaurant components follow,” Mr. O’Connell said. Some of the growth in the West Brickell area includes these developments now under construction: Brickell View Terrace, at 940 SW First Ave., a mixed-income residential tower from Pinnacle Housing Group. The site is beside the Brickell Metrorail Station, just west of Mary Brickell Village, on Southwest First Avenue between Southwest Ninth and 10th streets. This is a mixedincome and mixed-use development, offering 176 rental apartments and about 7,300 square feet of ground floor retail in the 23-story tower. The companion garage is 13 stories. 1010 Brickell, at 1025 SE First Ave., a 47-story tower developed by Key International and
Single-family homes selling faster as condo resales slow BY JOHN CHARLES ROBBINS
The shelf lives of residential properties for sale in MiamiDade County show different results. Single-family homes were on the market for a shorter period, while condominiums stayed on the market longer, when compared with a year ago. The average number of days a single-family home was on the market at the end of September was 65 days, compared with 78 days in September of last year, based on Multiple Listing Service data. Condominiums were on the market an average of 90 days at the end of September, compared with 87 last September. Another corresponding number real estate experts keep an eye on is the sale price of properties, when taking the pulse of the market. The price of single-family homes in the county has risen nearly 10% compared with last year, said Ron Shuffield, president of EWM Realty International. Condos prices have risen about 6%. “I generally like to average these out – taking one month kind of distorts the picture,” said Mr. Shuffield. “The median price over the last three months – July, August, Sep-
Ron Shuffield: it’s a home-seller’s market in almost all price ranges.
tember – for a single-family house in Miami-Dade was $275,000. For the same three months one year ago, the number was $251,000.” For condos, the median price in the past three months was about $200,000, compared with $189,000 for the comparable period in 2014, he said. Inventory of residential properties is also a factor. Mr. Shuffield said the decline in inventory for single-family homes for sale means it’s still a seller’s market in most all price ranges. For single-family homes, the optimum amount is a 6 to 9 month supply, said Mr. Shuffield. At the end of September, Miami-Dade had a 4.6 month supply.
For condos, the optimum amount is also a 6 to 9 month supply, and at the end of September, the area had an 8.7 month supply. The number of single-family homes for sale in Miami-Dade at the end of September was 5,527, about 3% less than one year ago. The number of condos for sale at the end of September was 11,504, an 8% increase from one year ago. “We are building a lot of new condos … and many are being resold,” said Mr. Shuffield. “We know that we’re competing with this new construction … [also] many investors who had rented their condo for the last few years probably see this as a good opportunity to sell their investment and reinvest their money into other types of real estate.” And while it seems like a new condo tower is announced every week, South Florida remains a magnet for people on the move and these new residents need a place to live. “We also need to remember, we still have 800 net new residents every day [in Florida],” he said. Miami-Dade and Broward counties comprise about 22.5% of all the new residents flowing into the state. “That means 180 net new residents per day … and they all
Ginger Jochem: Gables prices on the increase over the 12 months.
need a place to live,” he said. Mr. Shuffield said in the short term we will have growing inventory of unsold condos, but the long term analysis is “we will need more homes for people to live in.” For the higher end residential real estate market, at the end of September Miami-Dade had 1,306 single-family homes for resale priced in excess of $1 million, an increase of 28% over September 2014. The number of condos for resale priced in excess of $1 million in Miami-Dade this September stood at 1,773, representing a 37% increase in inventory over the prior year. Asked for an overall appraisal of Miami-Dade’s residential real estate market, Mr. Shuffield said
in general it is still very active. ”While we have fewer international buyers this year than last year – with many countries having issues with currency values – there continues to be tremendous interest with owning real estate in South Florida. “And while there seem to be fewer international buyers, we’ve seen an increase in US buyers – particularly from the Northeast – buying second homes and condominiums,” Mr. Shuffield said. Days on the market for real estate in the Coral Gables area shows homes for sale on the market longer compared with last September and condominiums staying about the same, according to Ginger Jochem, broker associate with Slesnick and Jochem LLP. “The Gables condo market has increased less than 1% over the past year for [days on market]. It went from 83 days in [September 2014] to 90 days in [September 2015],” she said. “Throughout the past 12 months it has vacillated between a buyer’s market and a more neutral market.” Prices have definitely been on the increase over the past 12 months, said Ms. Jochem, “but we expect that prices will remain the same or may slightly decline, if inventory begins to climb.”
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Potential condos downtown grow to 26,000 – if all are built BY CARLA VIANNA
Miami’s potential condo pipeline grew by 738 units this past quarter compared to last, now promising to inflate the greater downtown market by 26,000 new units. Add to that another 10,000 or so units planned for the conventional rental market, of which about 4,900 are currently under construction, according to Integra Realty Resources. “Now we’ll see which ones actually move forward,” said George Helmstetter, principal at the DevStar Group. While thousands of units are scheduled to become available over the next 12 to 24 months, fewer new developments are likely to be announced as developers take a step back to reassess the current market, which is seeing increasingly high construction costs coupled with a slight slowdown in condo sales. “I would token the phrase survival of the fittest,” Mr. Helmstetter said. Only the projects that stand out – those that are unique, competitively priced and backed by strong developers – will leap from the proposed stage to groundbreaking, he said. Of the 26,000 condo units in the pipeline for the Greater Miami Downtown area, which includes the Brickell, downtown, Edgewater,
Broadstone at Brickell is one of several residential towers that recently broke ground in the Brickell area.
Midtown and Wynwood markets, about 6,300 units have made that leap and are now under construction, according to IRR’s most recent report. “However, that number next quarter is going to come way down once Brickell City Centre delivers Reach and Rise,” said Anthony M. Graziano, senior managing director at IRR. Both towers are expected to bring about 770 units online by year’s end. Meanwhile, 32 projects are actively selling about 10,000 units, a
good chunk of which are in the Brickell and Edgewater areas. Year-to-date, 1,878 units have been completed, according to IRR. The construction pipeline will shrink next year, Mr. Graziano said, as more projects are completed and fewer developments break ground. “Most of the brokers have said the absorption [pace] was slower these last three quarters than [it was] last year,” he said. “That’s going to lengthen the amount of time it takes for projects to get
off the ground.” Existing condo sales fell 8.3% last month compared to September 2014, the Miami Association of Realtors reported, while the median sale price rose by almost 3%. Mr. Graziano said sales have slowed due to the influx of rental supply that’ll hit the market over the next year, which will most likely constrain rental rate growth and normalize prices. “Investors buying condos downtown are looking at rental rates in return,” he said. “They’ve
been advised that rental rates have been growing very quickly, but there is a lot of product coming online. [It is] recognized that rental rates aren’t going to continue to grow 8% to 12% forever.” Several projects recently broke ground and are under construction. Most are conventional rental towers: District 36, 2500 Biscayne, Broadstone at Brickell and Solitair at Brickell. All Aboard Florida’s MiamiCentral station, which will include about 800 rental units, also began construction. Three traditional condo projects broke ground in Edgewater: Aria (647 units), Paraiso Bayviews (388 units) and 26 Edgewater (86 units). Others began taking reservations: Auberge in the Arts & Entertainment District), One River Point downtown, River Tower in the CBD, and Gran Paraiso in Edgewater, according to IRR. Moving forward, Edgewater and Wynwood may be the next hotspots for development. Edgewater could surpass Brickell in total units under construction by mid-2016, the report stated. And Wynwood might see more shovels in the ground as a muchanticipated rezoning that would allow residential development of up to 150 units per acre progresses through the city commission.
Condo, home prices up, but homes selling faster BY CARLA VIANNA
Median sale prices for both single-family homes and condos increased in September compared to a year ago, the Miami Association of Realtors reported, although the single-family home market is on an average selling quicker – and at higher price-points – then today’s condo market due, in part, to its lower supply levels. The median sale price for a single-family home rose 14% over last year – from $250,000 to $285,000 last month. Despite four years of consistent increases, prices remained at 2004 levels. Condo prices increased, but at a more moderate pace, the association reported. Condo units sold for a median $200,500 in September compared to $195,000 a year ago – a 2.8% increase. “Although we had a slight stabilization of condo prices for August, we’re seeing a definite increase in prices in September,” said Christopher Zoller, a broker with EWM Realtors and the 2015 residential president of the Miami Association of Realtors. Prices within the existing condo market have appreciated in 51 of the past 52 months. While resale condo prices were stable during the first half of the year, they resumed their upward trend during the third quarter, Integra Realty Resources reported. That price-point now sits at an average of $459 per square foot. New projects in competitive markets like Coconut Grove and Coral Gables are hitting recordhigh price-points: $1,200 to
$1,500 per square foot, IRR reported. Although downtown prices have stayed within the $600 to $750 range, new projects are breaking the $1,000 per square foot sales barrier. That includes PMG Group’s Echo Brickell, which will be the first underconstruction downtown development to sell within that price range – with potential to break $2,000 per square foot on the penthouse units. Additionally, 1000 Museum is reportedly selling well at a mid-$1,000 per square foot, IRR reported. “They’re bringing higher-level to ultra-luxury to downtown, which is good for the general market,” said Anthony M. Graziano, senior managing director of IRR’s Miami and Palm Beach office. Miami’s residential market still remains a bargain compared to other global destinations, the realtors’ association reported. Brokers and IRR alike forecast stabilization in pricing as new supply is delivered in the next six to 12 months. Unfaltering consumer demand is shown in the narrow gap between asking price and the price actually paid for a home or condo in Miami, as well as how quickly properties are taken off the market. Homes were sold in an average of 37 days last month, compared to 46 days last year. There was no significant change in the number of days a condo sat on the market (a minimal decrease was reported from 59 to 58 days). Mr. Zoller reported record-
Photos by Maxine Usdan
The past three weeks have brought a significant pick-up in condo unit sales, said Christopher Zoller.
breaking sale times on properties that sold in as little as one day. Cash deals still represented a good chunk of Miami’s closed sales, signaling a steady presence of international buyers who tend to pay all cash. Most cash transactions come within the condo realm. Nationally, sales were 8.8% stronger than the previous September. Statewide, both condo and single-family home sales had notable increases, about 8% and 13% respectively. In Miami, condo sales slowed in September while the singlefamily home market had 2.9% more transactions than the same period last year. Transactions rose from 1,166 to 1,200, according to the Miami Association of Realtors. “There was small drop from September 2014 to September 2015 in the number of condo sales,” Mr. Zoller said, “but there’s been an instant pick-up just in the past three weeks.” High-level projects downtown benefit the market: Anthony Graziano.
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