Miami Today: Week of Thursday, November 12, 2015

WEEK OF THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2015

A Singular Voice in an Evolving City

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GOOD LIFE / LUXURY GIFTS

First super-yacht marina in US to join next boat show, pg. 14 GREEN FOR ORANGE BOWL: The Orange Bowl Committee is getting more cash. The county commission raised its funding for 20152016 through 2017-2018 to as much as $1,095,000, with $720,000 from general funds and $375,000 in police and fire rescue services.

The funds will be paid out as $350,000 in cash and $125,000 in police and fire rescue services for the College Football Championship semifinal game in fiscal 2015-2016 and $185,000 in cash and up to $125,000 in services in fiscal 2016-2017 and 2017-2018. The resolution says the funding is consistent with a longstanding policy to financially support the Orange Bowl and its selection into the previous Bowl Championship Series that awarded the community four college football championship games over the past 13 years, and the Orange Bowl’s selection in the new College Football Championship System as one of only six bowls to host four semifinal games over the next 12 years.

Outside billionaires scoop up our waterfront luxury, pg. 15

THE ACHIEVER

BY CARLA V IANNA

STADIUM SCORE STILL UNSETTLED: An arbitration date has not yet been set for a dispute between Major League Baseball’s Miami Marlins and Miami-Dade County over what should be counted as the team’s share of the Marlins Park construction cost. According to the county attorney’s office, the Marlins and county have had multiple discussions with the goal to agree on the numbers. This time last year, the Marlins’ claim was $109.9 million should be counted toward the owners’ share for building the team’s Little Havana home. County auditors, however, said part of the $109.9 million did not qualify as stadium spending and were disputing 3.8%, or $4.2 million, of that total. A list of what is currently being disputed, and the precise amount, is not available at this time, according to the county attorney’s office. The stadium opened in spring 2012.

TERMINATING LEASES: The Strategic Planning & Government Operations Committee deferred discussing a resolution Tuesday that would allow Miami-Dade to regain possession of its leased property in emergencies. The legislation was sponsored by Rebeca Sosa, who was not present. Chairman Juan Zapata said the administration isn’t requesting the policy and he’d like to understand the catalyst for it. In December, the committee is to discuss the resolution, which asks to establish county policy requiring it to take measures when entering into leases of a property to permit taking it back. Additionally, the resolution would direct the mayor’s office to include provisions in all leases for termination or suspension when the county needs the site in an emergency for a public purpose.

Photo by Marlene Quaroni

Daniela Fonseca Puggina

Handling commercial litigation crossing national lines The profile is on Page 4

To aid ballpark area, study may label it a slum

BY SUSAN D ANSEYAR

County commissioners last week took the first step to create a redevelopment agency enveloping Marlins Park, a step that would label the area slum and blighted.

Commissioners authorized the mayor’s office to hire a consultant to study whether a redevelopment agency can be used for infrastructure, affordable housing, workforce housing and creation of a Metromover leg from Government Center to the Little Havana stadium site.

The consultant is to prepare a finding of necessity study for the Orange Sports Complex Community Redevelopment Agency in an area stretching from the Miami River south to Southwest Eighth Street and from Northwest Seventeenth Avenue east to the river.

State law requires a study to assure the area can be declared “slum and blighted,” as is required to initiate a community development agency (CRA).

The county action says the study will provide for the redevelopment agency to close once the Metromover leg is built.

Additionally, commissioners amended the

AGENDA

Air arrivals soaring, tilt toward US

resolution to request that the City of Miami pay half the study’s cost. Undisclosed private sources or the county are to pay the other half.

The resolution by Bruno Barreiro originally asked that redevelopment agency tax proceeds buy land for the construction of a dual-purpose stadium for a Major League Soccer franchise and University of Miami football games. However, the legislation was amended to delete the stadium. Mr. Barreiro said at the Nov. 3 commission meeting that the redevelopment agency plan has nothing to do with a soccer stadium and is solely to bring economic development and a Metromover to the area.

He said he worked with the Miami Commissioner Frank Carollo, whose district includes the city-owned land where British soccer star David Beckham and some investors are negotiating with the City of Miami and private property owners to get enough land to build a stadium. Those negotiations reportedly have been rocky.

“The city would be a partner in [the redevelopment agency] and are supportive of it,” Mr. Barreiro said. “The county is not involved in any construction of a stadium.

This is bringing mass transit to the stadium and neighboring community.”

George Fernandez of the county’s Office and Budget Management told commissioners their vote authorized the necessity study and that the commission will determine who will run the CRA. Commissioner Juan Zapata expressed concern that the commission didn’t know the impact of a CRA on county revenue.

Mr. Fernandez said revenue projections will follow the study.

Community redevelopment agencies create trust funds that retain a set percentage of the increase in tax revenues from their area above taxes that were collected before the agency was created.

The agency uses that money to finance redevelopment it undertakes, which in this case would be the Metromover, infrastructure, affordable housing and economic development.

Asked what will happen to other economic development once the redevelopment agency sunsets after construction of the Metromover, Mr. Barreiro said he would assume funding for other projects would already be in place.

COUNTY LOOKS FOR CONTROL OF INTERMODAL CENTER ...

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Domestic travelers have tipped the balance at Miami International Airport, which historically welcomed nearly equal numbers of US and foreign arrivals, and they’re paving the way for a record year.

Travel to Miami from Latin American nations is slowing as many wrestle with down economies and a stronger dollar. Aviation Director Emilio T. González said numbers from all countries in the Western Hemisphere are down slightly. During a panel at the Air & Sea Cargo Americas meeting last week, he said the drop was apparent but not drastic.

Latest numbers show the domestic-international gap widening. By September 2014, the difference for the year was minimal – about 600,000. This September, however, MIA had seen 17.28 million domestic passengers versus 15.9 million international.

“The good news of MIA is [it’s] always been known as the gateway to Latin America,” Mr. González said. But that’s also bad news, he continued. “Everything that happens there affects us.”

International passenger traffic is still up 5% from 2014, which was flat for international travel, said Greg Chin, airport spokesman.

“International passengers this year [have] bounced back strong with 5% growth though, which is the highest rate of growth we’ve had since 2012,” he told Miami Today. But domestic traffic grew 10%, fueling an overall 8% gain over the year.

As of early November, 36,607,797 persons have arrived or departed at MIA. Mr. González said the total may hit a record 44 million this year.

Last year, nearly 3.2 million persons flew between Miami and New York City, our top market. Another 2.12 million flew to and from Brazil, our top international market. Atlanta, Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles and Washington, DC, complete the domestic top five.

11 CANADIAN BUSINESSES VISIT TO SEEK DEALS HERE ...

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TWIN 93-STORY TOWER PLAN SHRINKS TO 31-FLOOR VICE ... 3

ART MUSEUM CLEARS ALL HURDLES, TO BREAK GROUND ... 10

VIEWPOINT: THE FOLLY OF LOCAL BIDDING PREFERENCES ...

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BROWARD’S STILES MAKING JUMP TO ENTER MIAMI-DADE ... 11

DISNEY CRUISES, COUNTY CUT DEAL FOR 2 MORE YEARS ...

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WEST KENDALL, AIRPORT AREA TRAFFIC WOES TARGETED ... 18

WEEK OF THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2015

TODAY’S NEWS

MIAMI TODAY

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About face: twin 93-story towers shrink in Vice to 31 stories

BY JOHN CHARLES ROBBINS

A downtown site in Miami chosen for a pair of 93-story towers will now become home to a far shorter development.

Phase one is to be a condo tower called Vice, at 243 NE Third St., from developer Property Markets Group, or PMG. The city’s Urban Development Review Board recently recommended approval of the Vice project, with comments.

New site plans and renderings show the proposed development for what had become known as the Empire World Towers site is vastly different.

Another development group had gained approval of a Major Use Special Permit, or MUSP, for Empire World Towers several years ago that allowed for two connected towers each at 93 stories, to become home to more than 1,557 residential units.

The new plan from PMG breaks up development into two phases, according to attorney Javier F. Aviñó, representing the developer.

The new plan comprises a minor modification to the MUSP, he told the review board.

Phase one involves Vice, a 31-story tower with about 464 residences, 7,000 square feet of ground floor retail and a 15story garage with room for about 670 cars.

Phase one incorporates creation of a pedestrian passageway from Northeast Third to Fourth streets. The plan is designed to activate the street area, said architect Sandy Peaceman.

Vice is to be built adjacent to a Metromover station and is near Miami Dade College’s downtown campus.

Vice will have an amenity deck with a pool and a bike storage area, said Mr.

A face is the towering art element on 15-story Vice garage downtown.

Peaceman. The project also calls for a dog park.

The parking facility is designed with a metal mesh façade – a skin like a giant cheese grater and similar to a new garage completed this year in the Design District. The difference is the towering art element on one end of the garage – the image of a human face from artist Javier Martin.

A band or ribbon of colorful material covers the eyes on the big face and wraps around the building, in renderings shown the review board.

Mr. Peaceman called it a prominent element.

“We took the art route. We took the bold route,” he told the board.

Board member Fidel Perez said it’s a “beautiful project.”

Mr. Perez did suggest more retail uses, noting the potential activity with the pedestrian passageway and the Metromover.

“I’d love to see a lot more retail,” said Mr. Perez, suggesting the developer put retail space in the second floor as well as the ground level.

Board member Neil Hall called

the planned garage massive.

“I’m overwhelmed by the parking garage,” he said.

Mr. Hall voiced concerns about the image of the face, wondering if it would be perceived as an art piece or an advertising billboard. “The garage is a very powerful form,” he said.

In regard to the reference of a billboard, Mr. Aviñó said, “That’s not our intent at all.”

Mr. Hall asked if the residences would include affordable one-bedroom units.

Mr. Peaceman said the units will be smaller and priced toward the “high end.” The building is to include 110 one-bedroom units, some with a den.

Mr. Hall asked who the developers are trying to attract. Mr. Peaceman said they’re those young professionals more apt to use public transportation.

“I’m not sure they can afford this,” Mr. Hall responded.

Board member Willy Bermello was critical of mechanical elements being placed in or near the pedestrian passageway, including the electric vault, generators, a diesel tank and other items.

Mr. Bermello agreed with Mr. Perez about needing more retail and said there ought to be more revenue-producing space near the passageway.

Board chairman Robert Behar said he had many concerns about the project, including that the area of the proposed dog park will never get sunlight. He also complained that plans and renderings didn’t show existing neighboring structures and that the face image would be partially blocked from view.

Mr. Behar also questioned the size of the garage, and said he considered the changes to the original MUSP to be substantial and not minor.

Vice is the project’s first phase.

Mr. Peaceman said designers went through 10 iterations of the garage, and “cost-wise” the plan presented is the best.

In relation to the garage, Mr. Bermello said, “You’re creating your own albatross.”

“On the positive [side], we’re not getting a 93-story building anymore,” said Mr. Behar.

The motion to recommend approval of phase one incorporated several board comments, including that the developer consider additional smaller art pieces, relocate the mechanical components including the electrical vault, and study increasing the height of the first-floor retail.

Phase two will be developed under a separate warrant, Mr. Aviñó said. It involves the eastern portion of the site with frontage of Biscayne Boulevard, across from Bayfront Park and Bayside Marketplace.

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MIAMI TODAY

VIEWPOINT

WEEK OF THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 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

Why does county ignore the folly of its preference rules? missioners altered unanimously last week with no discussion, all vendors must now list all in-county operations, the number of employees who live in county, the number of residents in counties with which we have reciprocal arrangements, and the ratio of local employees to the firm’s overall workforce.

Anyone ruling on a contract – including commissioners – gets all that data.

That’s more red tape, which in itself deters bids. Worse, it’s an implied threat: if commissioners see too little local involvement they’ll torpedo a contract. They’ve done it before.

Vendors all know the implications of those questions. The more involved they are outside of Miami-Dade, the less likely they are to bid here. That further limits bidder number and quality.

It’s Economics 101 – lack of competition raises prices, lowers quality, or both.

So, did our commissioners skip Economics 101, or are they fully aware of the impact but assume that voters aren’t?

Certainly, professional purchasers know preferences are just plain wrong.

The Institute for Public Procurement, the National Association of State Purchasing Officials and the American Bar Association all oppose such roadblocks.

Among reasons the Virginia Association of Governmental Purchasing

cites for opposes local preferences are: they cost taxpayers more, distort markets by buying from inefficient sources, decrease government efficiency, reduce competitive bidders, impede creativity, raise prices, and “create a subsidy for a few business taxpayers at the expense of all residential and business taxpayers.”

Internally in government, the Virginia group found, preferences add staff time and complicate picking a winner, increase bid protests, foment barriers elsewhere and breed legal challenges.

So why wasn’t any of that mentioned when the county enacted the latest of our long list of preference rules last week? No discussion, no dissent. And why didn’t the committee that recommended the new barriers discuss anything either?

Without preference rules, government buyers are supposed to take the best offers for the benefit of all taxpayers. Each added preference rule hobbles professionals in doing that, costing us both efficiency and money.

In a global hub that asks the rest of the world to come do business in Miami, when will even one commissioner challenge rules that repel the very businesses that we are wooing?

We are simultaneously costing taxpayers more and posting a “no outsiders wanted” sign on county hall, thus shooting ourselves not just in one foot but in both.

Financial firms are banking on the community

L ETTERS TO THE E DITOR Mix large and small buses, try using private carriers

Do you willingly buy shoddy items or pay extra just because goods are made here?

Not likely.

Do you pay a worker down the street more than one who commutes?

Also unlikely.

But that’s what we ask Michael Lewis government’s buyers to do when we order a local buying preference. Buy-local rules inevitably yield less for our dollar.

That’s not the way preferences are advertised, of course. A rule that Miami-Dade tacked onto vendor dealings last week says that buying locally grows our tax base. But that ignores the far greater added cost of local preferences.

These noxious rules have spread through not just the county but schools and cities, In one way or another, they require that in hiring contractors and in bids, local firms get an edge.

It seems logical: spend at home and it stays at home, so we all gain. But all the experts agree that by trying to help local businesses with bid and purchasing preferences we actually get less for our money and support our most inefficient businesses.

In government bids with local pref-

The global financial crisis of 2007-2008, triggered by the bursting of the housing bubble in the US, wreaked havoc on individuals rich and poor and companies and institutions large and small. The Senate’s Levin-Coburn Report concluded that the Jerry Haar crisis was the result of “high risk, complex financial products; undisclosed conflicts of interest; the failure of regulators, the credit rating agencies, and the market itself to rein in the excesses of Wall Street.”

To be sure, no party had perfectly clean hands in the financial debacle: the Fed kept interest rates too low for too long, fueling the housing bubble; investment banks created derivatives (particularly mortgagebacked) without understanding the full risks involved; a small number of banks engaged in subprime lending; and irresponsible and dishonest borrowers took on mortgages they could not afford.

In the search for scapegoats, the spotlight focused on bankers. At the height of the crisis bankers were about as popular as IRS auditors, used car salesmen and towing company operators. Justice was meted out, courtesy of Congress, with the DoddFrank Act – a huge regulatory straitjacket coming on the heels of previous resourcesapping laws such as Sarbanes-Oxley, the Patriot Act and the Bank Secrecy Act. Fast forward to today. Financial services businesses, especially commercial banks, are increasingly recognizing that the health of their businesses is closely linked not just to their financial performance and

erences, everyone knows the game is rigged to give a set advantage, let’s say 10%, to local bidders. Knowing of that huge handicap, top out-of-town firms won’t bid if someone local can. Since “out of town” covers the entire globe but Miami, most innovative, high-quality businesses don’t bid – even those that also have big operations here.

Local firms know that not only do they get a 10% edge so they can raise bids, but that they don’t need to innovate or be particularly good. The only people they have to beat are here in town, firms that also know they can raise prices and neither innovate nor offer high quality.

Even good local bidders are deterred, knowing that inefficient competitors who normally couldn’t beat them for quality or price join in a 10% edge that will tilt results.

That leaves a much smaller pool of bidders, who then can all raise prices far above going rates; the firm that doesn’t get this bid gets the next one, and in every case bid prices are far too high. A small group of insiders usually wins. It’s called an oligopoly.

So government not only winds up paying more, it gets less quality. And local companies that specialize in government bids have no reason to push for either low prices or high quality – or get better.

There are subtleties to preference laws. In rules that Miami-Dade com-

The Writer Jerry Haar is a professor of business at Florida International University and a Global Fellow of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, DC. He also holds research appointments at Georgetown and Harvard universities. ethical behavior but to the health and sustainable wellbeing of the communities that they serve.

“Shared value,” the term that best describes this, is not the same as isolated corporate philanthropy or corporate social responsibility but a win-win formula. It means furthering client prosperity by improving the financial health of individual and business clients and also fueling the growth of regional economies. In essence, it requires the re-conceiving of products and markets at the client, regional and local level.

In practice, shared value means supporting the financial health of existing clients, via their core business activities, and extending banking services to under-banked individuals and small and medium-size firms. Recognizably, strengthening the financial health of existing clients can guard against defaults, foreclosures and other calamities and equip them to actively grow their businesses.

The link between banks and their communities is a core component of shared value, since the success of banks is contingent upon the economic strengths of the communities where they operate and the active roles they may choose to play in stimulating growth.

Fortunately, South Florida’s banking

community has been involved in shared value activities long before the Great Recession. Banks like TD, JP Morgan Chase, City National, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Citibank and Sabadell – to name but a few – recognize and embrace the client-community nexus.

Take JP Morgan Chase, which invested $250,000 in the Beacon Council’s One Community One Goal initiative to support workforce development, part of the bank’s larger $5 million commitment over the next five years to rebuild and retool the workforce in Miami-Dade County. In a community where unemployment among young people is over 20% – four times the overall rate – this contribution will have lasting impacts .

In the case of TD Bank, they have displayed a commitment to meeting the financial needs of low- to moderate-income individuals, neighborhoods and small businesses and an active presence in municipal and not-for-profit lending. Their housing affordability program, called Right Step, offers mortgages to qualified borrowers with just 3% down. And among their large financial outlays for education, the environment and other community concerns is WOW Zone! – a free, interactive financial literacy program for grades K-12.

Moving beyond individual transactions to providing financial services and supporting an entire ecosystem of participants in an industry or community, banks can stimulate regional economic growth in addition to their own business.

If Miami-Dade County is to create one community with one overarching goal, the dedicated commitment of banking institutions and their embrace of this shared value will surely boost the likelihood of success.

The Miami-Dade County bus service needs to think out of the box: 1. Use big and small buses on the same lines during rush hours and in slow hours through a dispatch system and more frequency buses.

2. Try on one or two lines for six months private carriers. At the beginning, lease some Miami-Dade Transit equipment to private entities with good business records, excellent drivers and good insurance, and offer lower fares.

3. The Super Big buses in I-95 sometime go empty (sometime bigger is not best). Too expensive equipment.

Jose Pepe Cancio

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TODAY’S NEWS

MIAMI TODAY

WEEK OF THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2015

As groundbreaking nears, art museum clears latest hurdles

BY JOHN CHARLES ROBBINS

The Institute of Contemporary Art plans to break ground on its new museum in the Design District next week.

The road to new digs hasn’t been without a few bumps, as some residents and property owners near the site of the planned permanent museum have objected to and fought city zoning decisions.

The latest tussle was before the city commission: an appeal by two property owners of a Sept. 2 decision of the Planning, Zoning and Appeals Board granting an exception to allow the museum to be built at 53 and 61 NE 41st St. and 50, 58 and 68 NE 42nd St. An attorney for the two appealing property owners focused on the front lot line of the structure, arguing that zoning would not allow a zero lot line and the new building would have to be at least 10 to 20 feet back from the lot line.

After a hearing, commissioners denied the appeal.

The new museum is backed by auto dealer Norman Braman and his wife Irma, both noted art collectors. It will move from a temporary home at 4040 NE Second Ave., where it set up shortly after the board of the City of North Miami’s Museum of Contemporary Art splintered when director Bonnie Clearwater left in 2012 and the choice of a new director caused a row. Part of the collection stayed in MOCA and part left with directors who formed the Institute of Contemporary Art. The new museum is planned to be three stories, 37,500 square feet in all, with a 15,000-squarefoot sculpture garden to the rear.

The venture has been characterized as a “philanthropic effort” and involves Craig Robins and Dacra, the main developer behind the transformation of the Design District.

Some property owners in the adjacent Buena Vista East neighborhood have been critical of the planned museum, saying it would

The Institute of Contemporary Art has scheduled a groundbreaking at its Design District site Nov. 16.

be out of character with their historic residential area.

The plan has also brought out neighboring property owners who support the project and look forward to the free museum and what it will bring to the area.

On Sept. 2, the planning board on a 7-2 vote approved waivers to allow a 10% increase in the fence height totaling 6 feet, 7 inches along the north property line, adjustments to building disposition requirements for a lot of 28,081 square feet where maximum allowable lot area is 20,000 square feet, and matching the dominant setback along the principle frontage on Northeast 41st Street.

Attorney Paul Savage appealed that decision on behalf of two residents. His main argument was to the approved front setback of 2 feet, 6 inches, arguing that neighboring zoning would compel a front yard setback of at least 10 feet in one zone and 20 feet in another nearby zone.

“My client urges 20 feet,” Mr. Savage told commissioners, calling the short front yard setback “mission creep.”

To allow the museum to be built at 2 feet, 6 inches from the lot line “flies in the face of the

‘It would be counter intuitive to require a 20foot setback in a zero lot line area.’

Francisco Garcia code,” he said.

Mr. Savage began his arguments by saying “What are we doing here?”

Attorney Stephen Helfman, representing developers of the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami Inc., used those same words and a little more.

“What are we doing here tonight? It’s so [Mr. Savage] can lay a foundation to file a second lawsuit,” Mr. Helfman told the commission.

Commissioner Keon Hardemon, who was chairing the hearing, said the hour was growing late and asked Mr. Helfman to get to the “heart of the issue.”

Mr. Helfman said the project is the same first proposed in November 2014.

“It is exactly the same project… same setbacks, same frontage – nothing has creeped anywhere,” the attorney said.

Mr. Helfman also questioned the standing of the appellants, saying they live blocks from the site.

Mr. Helfman said the Miami Design District was approved as a Special Area Plan, or SAP, and under the SAP buildings aren’t required to be set back from the lot line.

Mr. Helfman said the planned museum structure with a proposed front setback of 2 feet, 6 inches is more consistent with a zero setback than 10 or 20 feet.

To require the museum to be built 10 or 20 feet from the lot line would be inconsistent with surrounding uses, he argued.

Mr. Savage said there are no existing buildings on the sides of the site to compare and he believes that is what city code requires.

Planning Director Francisco

Garcia respectfully disagreed with Mr. Savage and said another part of the code applies that calls for consistent setbacks on neighboring parcels.

As for the museum site plan, Mr. Garcia told the commission: “The proposed building matches the abutting block and its context.”

Mr. Garcia said the abutting property east of the museum site has been approved for a building with zero setback, and a pending request from the developer of the parcel to the west seeks to build with no setback.

When the block is built out, the buildings to the east and west of the museum will have no setback, said Mr. Garcia, so allowing the museum to have a setback to 2 feet, 6 inches “makes perfect sense.”

Mr. Garcia added, “It would be counter intuitive to require a 20-foot setback in a zero lot line area.”

Commissioner Francis Suarez said the block needs coherent development and it would be awkward to have the museum set back 20 feet and “hidden.”

Mr. Hardemon said the planning board made no error in approving the waivers and moved to deny the appeal.

Earlier this year, the project brought out residents in opposition to decisions of the city’s Historical, Environmental and Preservation Board and land use and zoning changes made by the planning board.

The city’s planning staff recommended the entire site be rezoned to the Civic Institution category, defined as “a zone with uses primarily dedicated to functioning for community purposes such as, cultural, educational, environmental, governmental, public transit, public parking and religious facilities.”

Opponents cried spot zoning, but commissioners backed up the planning board and planning staff and approved the rezoning and land use changes.

The Institute for Contemporary Art has scheduled a groundbreaking for Nov. 16.

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TODAY’S NEWS

WEEK OF THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2015

A no-bid airport lease in headlines, all listed

BY SUSAN DANSEYAR

Brightline service is to start in 2017 with five four-car trains rolling between Miami and West Palm Beach.

Downtown nears ‘All Aboard’ call

BY JOHN CHARLES ROBBINS

With the sound of a Metrorail train click-clacking nearby, All Aboard Florida’s president promised his company is destined to change the face of passenger rail service.

“We are reinventing what it means to travel by train,” Mike Reininger, president and chief development officer of All Aboard Florida, told a tent-full of people gathered Monday on a corner of the site that will become MiamiCentral.

It was a chance for the company to brand its new express train.

It’s called Brightline and will connect the major cities of south and central Florida along a 235-mile route beginning in 2017.

With the backdrop of a huge video screen showing images of roads choked by slow-moving cars and flashing statistics about a booming population, Mr. Reininger spoke of “a better way to move” and a smarter way to travel.

“It is a big idea, an innovative idea, a bright idea,” he said.

“With the introduction of Brightline, we set out to reinvent what traveling by train can mean in America, making it a forward-leaning solution that is a smarter alternative to more cars on crowded roads,” said Mr. Reininger.

The company showed images of the Brightline trains – being built now in California by Siemens – each to be adorned in a spectrum of distinct colors: BrightRed, BrightOrange, BrightGreen, BrightBlue and BrightPink, led by BrightYellow locomotives.

Mr. Reininger called South Florida a dynamic place with a promising future that continues to see growth in its population and the number of visitors it attracts. Brightline is a new option for moving all of those folks around.

Brightline will offer door-todoor travel experiences at a series of dedicated stations, he said.

“Brightline lives at the intersection of transportation and hospitality,” said Mr. Reininger, as images of colorful and airy train stations flashed on the screen.

Photo by Harry Wolfe

Brightline’s predecessor, the Florida East Coast Railway, heading for New York in 1929 from the same station site in downtown Miami.

“With the extraordinary design expertise of Rockwell Group, we’ve blended train travel and hospitality, creating a new and innovative travel experience focused on providing customer service that extends well beyond the trains and stations,” said Mr. Reininger.

In developing the brand and product offering, the company tapped award-winning architect David Rockwell and his firm Rockwell Group. The firm utilized a cross-studio approach that began with the LAB, Rockwell Group’s innovation studio, and grew to involve their architects and interior designers.

The resulting brand name, logo, train exteriors and interiors, and station interiors will create a holistic hospitality experience for the Florida travel market, the company said.

“We’re thrilled to be working with All Aboard Florida on the creation of Brightline,” said David Rockwell, founder and president of Rockwell Group. “We believe that our holistic and collaborative approach will result in an entirely new travel experience that is welcoming, comfortable, fun, and seamless from departure to arrival.”

Mr. Rockwell said in designing the exterior and interior of the distinctive new trains the company tapped into “the DNA of Florida” and the sample proved to be “sunny, optimistic and bright.”

The brand offers a platform that is welcoming, he said.

Service will begin with five four-car trains that will each

carry 240 passengers. By June 2018 a total of 10 seven-car trains are to run, each carrying 356 passengers.

The trains are to travel at 79 to 125 miles per hour.

Monday’s event was staged for the media but also attracted several elected leaders from Miami-Dade County and the City of Miami.

County Mayor Carlos Gimenez was presented with the first boarding pass for the rail service, targeted for a start date of mid-2017 with travel offered from Miami to West Palm Beach. The link to Orlando is expected to be complete in late 2017.

The location of the press conference at Northwest First Avenue and Third Street was fitting for many reasons, not the least of which is that during the course of the event Metrorail cars rumbled by and Metromover cars kept their schedule to and from nearby Government Station.

When completed, MiamiCentral is to be home to Brightline, Metrorail, Metromover, county buses, city trolleys, bike rentals stations and more. The facility will also have restaurants and other retail offerings.

The new train station is rising on the footprint of the original Miami train depot for Henry Flagler’s Florida East Coast Railway that was used into the 1960s.

As part of the launch, the company also introduced its consumer website: www.go brightline.com, along with specific social media sites including Facebook and Twitter.

Despite authorizing in early October no-bid retail leases at Miami International Airport to local “iconic” brands, county commissioners will explore what they might do now about one for Perry Ellis in the wake of media allegations that its top executive made inappropriate comments.

At the last commission meeting Nov. 3, Chairman Jean Monestime said he read an Oct. 21 newspaper article reporting Perry Ellis President Oscar Feldenkreis was sued by a company executive in federal court over alleged comments on race and sexual orientation.

“These are just allegations but I am taking this very seriously,” Mr. Monestime told the other commissioners. He said the allegations are not by a low-level or generally disgruntled employee but an executive in the company.

The county attorney’s office said the contract with Perry Ellis Menswear LLC is in effect. However, at the Nov. 17 meeting, commissioners are to vote on legislation that would direct the mayor’s office to review the allegations, the anti-discrimination policies of Perry Ellis Menswear LLC and Perry Ellis International Inc. with respect to their workforce and customers, the company’s commitment to abide by the anti-discrimination covenants in its lease and concession agreement and the county’s antidiscrimination policies, and any response to the allegations from Perry Ellis Menswear LLC and Perry Ellis International Inc. The resolution states the mayor would be directed to report to the commission recommending actions regarding the airport lease, including whether the county should exercise its right to terminate it.

Commissioners also received a report Nov. 3, requested by Dennis Moss during the July 9 Trade and Tourism Committee meeting, listing all contracts at the airport that were secured through bid waivers.

According to Aviation Department Director Emilio T. González, direct leases at MIA include USA LLC, doing business as Books and Books, awarded March 4, 2008; Newslink of South Florida, LLC

‘These are just allegations but I am taking this very seriously.’

Jean Monestime

Newslink Explorer, awarded on Feb. 2, 2010; Airball Sports II, LLC, doing business as Miami Heat Store, awarded Dec. 19, 2011; Marlins Airport Retail Operator LLC, doing business as Miami Marlins, awarded June 17, 2014; 305 Pizza Miami LLC, doing business as 305 Pizza, awarded Oct. 7, 2014; Perry Ellis International Perry Ellis Menswear, awarded Oct. 6, 2015; and Bongos Cuban Café Estefan Express Kitchen, also awarded Oct. 6, 2015.

All of the agreements except for Newslink of South Florida were secured through bid waiver to achieve the “local” culture of Miami in the concessions program that adopted the “Retail Concessions Master Plan” for MIA, Mr. González stated in the report. The master plan, he said, sets a goal to present a local and regional identity to those traveling through MIA. He further explained that Newslink of South Florida and 305 Pizza Miami were different from the other companies as both submitted proposals as part of an original competitive selection process that offered six retail packages.

As for land leases on aviation property, Mr. González reported that for more than 35 years Miami-Dade Aviation Department has competitively bid land for farming purposes at its general aviation airports.

“The practice of leasing land not needed for aviation-related purposes reduces ground keeping maintenance, provides additional revenues to the department, and contributes to the agribusiness in the South Florida area,” he wrote. “Aside from land leased for farming purposes, no land leases are competitively bid unless there is interest from more than one party.”

If a site has been vacant for months, Mr. González explained, it is established that there is no demand for it. In these cases, he said, when a potential tenant approaches staff the aviation depart‘Aside from land leased ment enters into negotiations for property, as the Federal Aviafor farming purposes, no the tion Administration allows airports land leases are to enter into direct negotiations competitively bid unless for aviation land leases.

Ticket counter space, airline there is interest from back-office space, non-terminal more than one party.’ cargo warehouse space and mainEmilio Gonzalez tenance facility leases are not put out for bid.

14

MIAMI TODAY

GOOD LIFE / LUXURY GIFTS

WEEK OF THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2015

Nation’s first super-yacht marina to join next boat show

BY JOHN CHARLES ROBBINS

Luxury boats were a main attraction at the 56th Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show which just wrapped up Monday.

Show exhibits ranged from yacht builders and designers to brokerage yachts and much more.

Thousands flocked to the waterfront to see the latest in power boats, sailboats and super-yachts.

Produced by Show Management, the boat show covered six locations and employed more than 3 million square feet of space.

A life on the water remains as popular as ever, with the National Marine Manufacturers Association reporting that through August, wholesale shipments of traditional powerboats were up 2.5% for the association’s control group of manufacturers – representing 68% of the market – with growth led by the fiberglass outboard boat and inboard boat segments. Corresponding dollars were up 9.8%, when compared with August 2014, according to the association.

Where big boats can travel was a hot topic among boat show attendees, and the show brought together a panel of marina owners and developers to tackle the topic: What’s Ahead for Marinas?

One member of the five-person panel was Mehmet Bayraktar, CEO and chairman of Flagstone Property Group, currently developing a deep water marina for super-yachts as part of its sweeping mixeduse project on Watson Island known as Island Gardens.

Mr. Bayraktar’s company has had a lease with the City of Miami for the key location for more than a dozen years. After many years of inactivity, work

Luxury boats were in the spotlight at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show that ended this week.

commenced on Island Gardens in 2014.

After marine mitigation work in Biscayne Bay, Flagstone began months of dredging and built a new seawall for its marina.

The marina itself, to be called Deep Harbour, began to take shape just recently as docks were installed.

Flagstone says the marina will be the only marina in North America designed exclusively for super-yachts. When the marina is finished it will be able to accommodate up to 50 megaor super-yachts, up to lengths of about 550 feet.

The Island Gardens marina will host mega- and superyachts Feb. 11-15 as part of the 28th annual Yacht and Brokerage Show.

Show Management promises the new marina “will feature an impressive lineup of superyachts amidst the Miami skyline with entertainment, parking

and transportation to and from the Collins Avenue show location.”

The Miami Beach end of the event includes an in-water-only display presentation that covers more than 1.2 million square feet over a mile-long strip of Indian Creek Waterway, featuring hundreds of new and preowned vessels valued at more than a billion dollars.

Among topics discussed by the panel in Fort Lauderdale was the growing trend of designing or upgrading marinas to be more than points of departure or places where people dock their boats.

“People don’t go to a destination to sit and sleep on their boat,” said Mr. Bayraktar.

“They expect to dock at a destination with great amenities within a city or town which has desirable restaurants and shopping,” he said.

Panelists said the growing number of super-yachts and

related expansion of facilities to accommodate them around the world creates many practical considerations for marinas.

“What’s critical to the success of a facility is utilities, with all the different varieties of voltages, including all European models,” said Steve Ryder of Bellingham Marine. “The world is a much smaller place now and in order to stand out as a marina you must be able to accommodate everybody’s requirements.”

In this environment of rising expectations, marina owners spoke of specific steps they take to assure that owners and crew receive the highest level of service.

“It’s a simple concept; they want to be on vacation and we are fulfilling their dream,” said Raymond Graziotto, president and COO of Seven Kings Holdings/Loggerhead Marinas.

“A marina is not a parking lot.

It’s somewhere that should

make everything easy for boaters, where they have everything at their fingertips. That’s what owners, captains and crew have come to expect when they visit a first-class facility,” Mr. Graziotto said.

In the aftermath of storms like Sandy, Charley and Wilma, the panelists addressed how their businesses have adapted and changed in terms of infrastructure improvements and technology when preparing for major hurricanes.

“Ongoing challenges are sitespecific,” said Steve Ryder, manager of project development for Bellingham Marine Industries.

“We must take into account wind and waves, of course, but the newer materials for pilings and anchorage have better equipped us to handle secure docking,” he said. “We work closely with both marina developers and yacht owners to implement best practices for storm preparation. And we utilize the latest technology to get marinas back up and running after a storm.”

The panel also discussed standards and customer service.

“People are committed to the highest customer service, but as an industry we don’t have a formalized set of standards,” said Bert Fowles, vice president of marketing and sales for Island Global Yachting Marinas.

Mr. Bayraktar said the issues that keep him up at night include “utilities, permits, dredging and safely relocating coral reefs and sea grass… all that and educating the next generation of boaters.”

“There are many things that can go wrong which we cannot control, like wind and expenses,” said Robert Christoph Jr. of RCI Group, “but we focus on what we can control as best we can to make boat owners’ experiences great.”

Caviar, champagne, foie gras – it’s holiday (food) gift season

BY CATHERINE LACKNER

Gifts of food are popular yearround, but demand ramps up during the holiday entertaining season, say purveyors of gourmet products.

“Caviar is always a hostess gift option, and we carry the pearl plates and spoons as well.

Paired with French or Russian blini and créme fraiche, it is sure to impress,” said Diane Dean, general manager of The Epicure, which has been a feature at 1656 Alton Road, and on Miami’s gourmet scene, since 1945. Many varieties of caviar are available, in sizes ranging from 1 ounce to, by special order, 2 kilos.

And to accompany the caviar, “The champagne selection, packaged in gift boxes, is really beautiful,” Ms. Dean added. The cheese, meat and deli departments are stocked with pâté, foie gras, Pata Negra ham from Spain, Wagu beef salami and fresh winter white truffles, which are available only in a limited short season, she said.

“Our pâté and foie gras selection numbers about a dozen different types. Some are sliced on premises, and some are prepackaged,” Ms. Dean said. With so many options, it is almost impossible to specify a price range, she added.

There is also a comprehensive seafood, beef and game selection. “It’s stone crab season! We also offer king crab legs, whole cooked lobster, Wagu beef filet and rib eye, prime Colorado mountain lamb racks and mammoth head-on prawns – they look like mini lobsters!” Ms. Dean said.

For the person with a sweet tooth, “Neuhaus Belgian chocolates are the finest, and their packaging makes it extra special. You can create your own selection from our café, or choose a beautifully wrapped, boxed selection.”

“Our panettone for the holiday season has arrived; we find the Loison company to be our favorite for flavor and presentation.” The shortbread studded with dried fruits and nuts,

A caviar selection from Epicure.

rarely seen except for holiday season, is a Christmas-morning tradition for many families.

“We have lots of last-minute gifts, including wine, stuffed olives, cheese trays, caviar, blinis, high-end chocolates and even a caviar pie,” said Michael Lederman, owner of Joanna’s Marketplace at 8247 S Dixie Hwy., near South Miami.

He, too, is a fan of Loison panettone. “It makes a nice gift, especially with a good coffee.”

Joanna’s recently added the locally roasted Eternity coffee line to its offerings; it pairs well with the baked-on-premises in-

dividual pastries and cookies.

The bakery also produces bagels, croissants, cookies, cakes, tarts, pies and muffins.

For a splurge, there is truffle fudge topped with Hawaiian sea salt, and 24 Blackbirds, an artisanal, single-origin line of handmade chocolates manufactured in California using raw ingredients from small farms and cooperatives in developing countries.

The store also does a brisk business in “gift baskets for foodies,” Mr. Lederman said, shipping them to all parts of the US. For local gifts, customers can customize their own baskets or choose from selections that include nuts, flatbreads and cheese, candies, meats, and even pastas and sauces.

Complete holiday meals are available, he added. Cooked turkeys are priced from $78 to $160, depending on their size, and side dishes including wild mushroom stuffing, green beans almandine and garlic mashed potatoes are available. Other offerings are a whole roasted

beef tenderloin ($165) and spiral honey-cut ham ($74 and $149), plus a variety of breads, starters and freshly baked desserts, for the host who wants to put on an opulent spread without spending the holiday in the kitchen.

Artisanal cheeses, various flavors of salami, charcuterie platters, honeys, foie gras and pâté have traditionally been strong sellers for the holidays at Perricone’s Marketplace and Café at 15 SE 10th St. in Brickell.

That continues to be the case, said Steven Perricone, owner and founder. Gift baskets for both personal and corporate gifts are also selling well, he added.

“Panettone is also becoming very popular,” he said. “Last year we sold out a week before Christmas, so this year we’ve ordered a lot more.” The store, housed in the same building as the popular restaurant, carries Loisin and Tre Marie brands of panettone, and also a full selection of gourmet candies, pastries, wines and other treats.

WEEK OF THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2015

GOOD LIFE / LUXURY GIFTS

MIAMI TODAY

15

For billionaire buyers, our luxury waterfront estates glitter

BY CARLA VIANNA

1451 Brickell Ave. is listed for $41.8 million.

“Condos have remained very stable despite the talk about all the new construction and everything coming on the market,” Ms. Corey said. “I’m not really seeing a dip in those prices.”

A buyer’s country of origin was recorded in about 60% of transactions during the past year. Of that 60%, about a quarter of all sales of single-family homes and condos in MiamiDade were purchased by foreign buyers over the 12-month period ending in October, according to MLS data.

Ron Shuffield, president of EWM, said the percentage of foreign buyers has been trending down for the past two years, which reflects the strengthening of the US dollar against most global currencies, as well as the financial uncertainties of countries whose residents have historically been active purchasers of South Florida real estate.

Brokers are marketing Miami’s ultra-luxury property – the multimillion-dollar waterfront homes sitting on acres with expansive ocean views – to the deep-pocketed hedge fund billionaires from New York.

The most expensive on the market right now, 1 Casuarina Concourse in exclusive Gables Estates, boasts nine bedrooms on 3.6 acres, a gym, a private beach and a boat dock. It carries a $67 million price tag.

“Out of all of them, the estate in Gables Estate is spectacular,” said Nancy Klock Corey, manager at Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate. “The land itself is incredible.”

Ben Moss, broker with ONE Sotheby’s International Realty, said the buyer of that property Photo by Maxine Usdan will either be a local who has EWM’s Nelson Gonzalez, in 2012 photo, at 12 Indian Creek Drive estate that recently sold for $28 million. struck gold in his or her industry or a billionaire from the ever- to domestic buyers, Mr. now for international buyers to at Acqualina, 17901 Collins growing tech or financial in- Gonzalez said.

Ave., a penthouse is listed for buy in the US,” he said. dustries. While brokers still see Within Sunny Isles’ Estates $40 million. Another at Echo at “It’s a lot more expensive cases of flight capital, the strength of the dollar is making these grandiose homes more attractive to domestic buyers.

“As Miami continues to grow into a world-class city, it can attract billionaires from anywhere around the world,” Mr. Moss said.

As of September, a house selling for $20 million or more sat on the market for an average of 419 days, according to Coldwell Banker. Thirty-six homes within that price range were for sale during September.

In a hotbed of luxury property, prices for homes on Miami Beach are at all-time-highs.

A mansion at 1 Star Island Drive offers a $40 million view of Biscayne Bay and downtown Miami on more than a full acre.

At 5446 North Bay Road; a 13,000 square foot home has an elevator, a rooftop deck, 186 feet of property on the bay and a skyline view of downtown Miami, and is on the market for $37 million.

“It’s the view that becomes Special Section priceless and the land that it’s on,” Ms. Corey said. “Miami November 19 Beach has gone off the charts because it has everything.”

Nelson Gonzalez, senior VP at EWM Realtors, sold three luxury homes in Miami Beach Miami’s Design District is changing rapidly – so brands, internationally operated businesses and within the past 12 months: 5800 rapidly that a November 19 special Miami Today ÌiÀ >Ì > à ««iÀÃÆ > ` > VÕ ÌÕÀ> iÝ«iÀ i Vi N Bay Road for $33 million, 17 section is needed to keep track of the innovations in itself, as pedestrian sectors sprout to link the Indian Creek Drive for $30 million and 12 Indian Creek Drive and alterations in this burgeoning sector of Miami. community together. for $28 million.

The houses were sold to three It’s art and design and architecture. It’s also dining, Miami Today will not only put the change you’ve foreign nationals from three different countries, Mr. Gonzalez with trendy new destinations; real estate and dealready witnessed into perspective but will set the said. Prices in the Indian Creek velopment, with properties changing hands and stage for what’s coming. This section will be closearea run up high due to the being repurposed or replaces; it’s international, ly read and retained as a guide. island’s exclusivity, he said. Ü Ì > y ÕÝ v L Ì ÌiÀ >Ì > “The first six months were on fire,” he said about the market during the first half of the year. As expected, the flame Your advertisement should be a key element in this Design District special edition. died down during the summer, but a resurgence of buyers is To reserve your space call our advertising department at 305-358-1008 re-entering the market now.

Condos from Miami Beach to Artwork deadline is Tuesday, November 17, at Noon Brickell are reaching highluxury prices as well. A $20 million corner penthouse at Apogee on South Beach’s South A Singular Voice in an Evolving City Pointe Drive is being marketed

Design

District

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WEEK OF THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2015

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