WEEK OF THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2015
A Singular Voice in an Evolving City
WWW.MIAMITODAYNEWS.COM $4.00
DOWNTOWN & BRICKELL
Condo rents in Miami’s core might be at their peak, pg. 13 COUNTY-CITY DEVELOPMENT: MiamiDade County is looking to partner with the Miami Parking Authority to develop a multistory parking lot with other unspecified uses in the Civic Center, where the county has contemplated adding court space. The county owns the 400-space lot at 1320 NW 12th St. but the city’s parking authority now operates it, charging $4 per hour to park with a maximum of $16 per day on weekdays. A county committee this week was to vote to ask Mayor Carlos Gimenez to identify development opportunities related to the site and negotiate a lease agreement with the city parking authority for joint development. The agreement would spell out whether there would be any development cost to the county and identify a revenue-sharing formula.
11 hotels planned downtown to nearly double rooms, pg. 14
THE ACHIEVER
BY LIDIA DINKOVA
NO GOLDMAN DEAL: Optimism toward a public-private deal for a parking garage in the Wynwood Arts District has evaporated. After several months of talk about a deal being close between the Miami Parking Authority and Goldman Properties, the proposed partnership is “on hold,” according to Authority CEO Art Noriega. He told the OffStreet Parking Board it wouldn’t be seeing a proposed contract with Goldman after all. Mr. Noriega said the fact that the authority is a public agency limits its role in any potential public-private partnership. It is better to be conservative when it comes to finances, he noted, and the limitations on the authority “limited them [Goldman] in some ways, too” and the company decided to “rethink” a partnership on a parking facility, said Mr. Noriega. TRI-RAIL EXPANSION: In the latest development with the push to expand Tri-Rail to downtown Miami, Tri-Rail’s operating agency plans to ask the Miami Downtown Development Authority (DDA) to contribute funds for the expansion. The South Florida Regional Transportation Authority said it plans to ask the DDA to fund $1.1 million of the overall $69 million needed to build the infrastructure for Tri-Rail trains to stop in downtown Miami. CONTINUED SERVICE: A few familiar faces were reappointed to City of Miami boards by city commissioners. The city commission reappointed Dr. Ernie Martin to the Planning, Zoning and Appeals Board. Neil Hall was reappointed to the Urban Development Review Board. Timothy A. Barber was reappointed to the Historical and Environmental Preservation Board.
Jean Monestime
Photo by Marlene Quaroni
New chair of the Miami-Dade County Commission The profile is on Page 4
City, county to meet on out-of-sync US 1 signals BY JOHN CHARLES ROBBINS
Imagine paying a $6 toll for the privilege of driving into Downtown Miami. City officials, frustrated by growing gridlock, are discussing using tolls to encourage more Metrorail use, hoping to get more cars off the road. Talk of congestion was initiated by Commissioner Marc Sarnoff, who asked city chief transportation manager Carlos CruzCasas to report April 9 on traffic’s chokehold on the city. The bottom line from city officials is that Miami-Dade County’s traffic signals along US 1 are out of whack and turning the vital thoroughfare into a stop-and-go parking lot. Mr. Sarnoff acknowledged that the county is responsible for the entire county roadway system, but said it is not devoting enough time and attention to the City of Miami. The US 1 corridor is the only connection to major urban centers, from the Kendall/ Dadeland area to Brickell and Downtown Miami, said Mr. Cruz-Casas. While traffic has grown on the artery, volumes along major roadways crossing
AGENDA
Theme park spies Coast Guard land
US 1 have increased too, causing big backups at Southwest 27th Avenue, Southwest 32nd Avenue, Bird Road, Douglas Road and other intersections. Mr. Cruz-Casas told commissioners that the county’s traffic signalization is out of sync along US 1. And the 12 traffic signals along four miles of US 1 from LeJeune Road to the Rickenbacker Causeway add up to heavy congestion. His report also noted: More mixed-use developments and the addition of residential units in Downtown Miami are changing travel patterns. Traffic growth on US 1 has balanced out, creating similar levels of congestion throughout the day in both directions. More than 4,500 vehicles per hour were counted each hour from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. The dynamic growth of Miami is outpacing the signalization system and officials need to find a way to meet the travel demands. Mr. Cruz-Casas told commissioners that he and Deputy Mayor Alice Bravo will meet next week with members of the county’s public works department and those who deal with traffic signalization. “The meeting is scheduled for next Mon-
County officials are studying sites where US Coast Guard operations could move to make way for a theme park in South MiamiDade. “We have a lot of work to do to come up with the best strategies for addressing the Coast Guard’s needs,” Senior Advisor to the Mayor Michael Spring said. At this time the Coast Guard is not “contemplating moving” but it has given the county information about its site operations and what it would need if it were to relocate, said Capt. Ben Davis, commanding officer of US Coast Guard Base Miami Beach. The Coast Guard occupies 240 acres where it has buildings and communication antennas, he said. “We would need a formal proposal from the county, which we do not have at this time, before we can even contemplate relocating,” Capt. Davis said. Miami Wilds LLC wants to build a theme park anchored by water rides in South Miami-Dade. To do that, the Coast Guard would need to move its operations so that the park could rise. County officials are taking a comprehensive look at the options for relocating the Coast Guard. “One of the things we would have to address is replicating the accommodations for the [Coast Guard] functions. That could be a building that gets built for the Coast Guard or one that we have in the inventory,” Mr. Spring said. Once the county estimates the cost to relocate the Coast Guard, it would negotiate with the Miami Wilds developer on who would pay the relocation cost, the county or the developer, Mr. Spring said. Further complicating things: The site where Miami Wilds wants to build is home to environmentally endangered land, some of it on the Coast Guard site. The county is working with the federal government on how the theme park could rise without impacting this land.
day and it is my goal to discuss different issues regarding traffic signalization within the City of Miami. The main focus will be on the US 1 corridor, Brickell area-wide, near the recently opened Whole Foods in downtown, and downtown-wide signalization improvements,” Mr. Cruz-Casas told Miami Today. “Improvements to be discussed will vary in nature and will be targeted to the need of the areas. Some will be to increase vehicular capacity, while at other locations might be to enhance walkability and pedestrian safety,” he said. Ms. Bravo told commissioners the reality is that the area’s roadways are “bursting at the seams” and “all solutions are transit-based.” It was City Manager Daniel Alfonso who specifically mentioned a $6 toll to drive downtown. “Transit-based ideas are the solution for US 1. I was thinking, like in New York, you pay $6 to go into Manhattan. Maybe we put a $6 toll before you come into Downtown Miami on US 1, and people would park at Dadeland South a lot more Theme park hurdles to get Coast and get on the train,” he suggested to Guard‘s land intertwined, pg. 10 commissioners.
STRONGER DOLLAR LURING MORE DOMESTIC VISITORS ...
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QUEBEC FLORIDA CHAMBER HOSTS 6 CANADIAN FIRMS ...
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STATE TARGETS QUIRKS OF ASSESSED VALUE APPEALS ...
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FILM INDUSTRY KEEPS PRESSURE ON FOR INCENTIVES ...
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VIEWPOINT: MIAMI’S STRONGER ECONOMY BROADENS ...
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RIDERS ON THREE-YEAR-OLD MIAMI TROLLEY CLIMB 4% ...
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28 AREAS RANKED IN PRIORITY TO GET SEWER SERVICE ...
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APARTMENT CONSTRUCTION OFFERING OPPORTUNITIES ...
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