Miami Today: Week of Thursday, April 16, 2015

WEEK OF THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2015

A Singular Voice in an Evolving City

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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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TODAY’S NEWS

MIAMI TODAY

WEEK OF THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2015

THE INSIDER TO MARKET: After a two-year pilot program, Miami city commissioners have instituted a farmers’ market program. “We’re making it permanent,” said Commissioner Marc Sarnoff, sponsor of the legislation. The resolution says local food projects such as farmers’ markets have been shown to “combat handicaps to health while improving community economic vitality and environmental sustainability.” The city has an interest in promoting the availability of healthy and locally-grown foods in its communities through a farmers’ market program, it said. The legislation allows markets in the city with a permit. Commissioners said several areas have held successful markets, including downtown, Wynwood and Coconut Grove.

TRANSIT FUNDS: Miami-Dade Commissioner Xavier Suarez sent Florida legislators a proposal to reroute fees MiamiDade drivers pay annually to the state to renew their license tags back to the county. His proposal is for Miami-Dade to use this revenue to build more public mass transit. But state Sen. Anitere Flores told Miami Today the proposal “hasn’t really gained too much traction” this legislative session. Mr. Suarez’s proposal isn’t in bill format but rather would be incorpoPhoto by Maxine Usdan rated into the state budget if approved. Added Sen. Guests enter the Miami International Airport Hotel. Some 96% of Miami overnight visitors come by plane.

Anitere Flores Flores: “This will be one of those things that we can come back on and work on next year.”

Stronger dollar lures more domestic visitors, foreign influx holds steady

UNDERGROUND MASS TRANSIT?: Among the many ideas floated at county hall recently to improve mass transit in Miami-Dade is this: Create an underground mass transit connection between the Miami Intermodal Center at Miami International Airport and Douglas Station on US 1. Northwest 37th Avenue connects

BY SUSAN DANSEYAR the two locations. Miami-Dade Commissioner Xavier Suarez said construction of the PortMiami Tunnel Strengthening of the dollar is has showed that building underground in South bringing more domestic travelFlorida is possible.

Xavier Suarez

BACK TO THE FUTURE: A county committee this week was to vote on a study that could put police back on horseback in Miami-Dade. A resolution by Commissioner Javier Souto would ask Mayor Carlos Gimenez to study horse patrols and report to commissioners within 90 days. The county disbanded its mounted patrol in 2009. The resolution would ask the mayor to study use of mounted patrols to control crowds and the efficacy of mounted patrols as crime deterrents, and to review the county’s former Mounted Patrol Unit. He would also have to find funds for patrols and calculate their cost including “expenses for obtaining, training, feeding, stabling and outfitting horses.”

The mayor would be required by the resolution to consult with the Florida Association of Mounted Patrols and the North American Mounted Unit Commander’s Association.

TOURIST CRIME THREAT: “Recent crimes against tourists visiting Miami-Dade County… threaten the county’s growing tourism industry and could result in a decline in visitors to South Florida,” according to a proposed resolution seeking to create a county tourist police unit. The proposal by commission Chair Jean Monestime and Commissioner Javier Souto, which was to get preliminary consideration this week, did not cite specifics of individual crimes, the volume of tourist-related crime or quantify its growth. The resolution would give Mayor Carlos Gimenez 90 days to Javier Souto develop a plan for a tourist police unit, including costs. The resolution says the unit could serve tourists at airports, the Port of Miami, marinas, beaches, shopping malls, tourist attractions, performing arts centers, stadiums, arenas, regional parks and tourist-related events.

TRADE MISSION TO POLAND: A group of Miami businesspeople are attending the Polish Innovations Congress in Warsaw this week to help build trade partners in Poland. “Florida: Gateway to the Americas, Poland: Gateway to Central and Eastern Europe” is a new initiative developed by Leszek Ladowski, president of the Polish American Chamber of Commerce of Florida and the Americas and Miami’s Polish Trade Center Corp. He said while 80% of Poland’s business today is within the European community, the Americas are the best partner for diversifying the Polish Wilfredo Gort economy. During the two-day congress, scientists and representatives of local governments around the country will discuss Poland’s innovations in high technology and research. The Miami mission is led by Manny Mencia, Enterprise Florida’s senior vice president of international trade development, and Wifredo “Willy” Gort, chairman of the Miami City Commission and the Hemispheric Congress of Camacol.

FUNDING 122 JOBS: The City of Miami has received $491,970 from Cities for Financial Empowerment Inc. to fund its Summer Youth Employment & Financial Empowerment Program, which supports 122 summer jobs. The 16- to 19-year-olds will be hired from low- to moderate-income areas of the city. The fund promotes economic progress in communities around the world and focuses on initiatives that expand financial inclusion. It has partnered with five of the largest US cities, including Miami.

The grant’s goal is to replicate the city’s existing pilot program to coordinate a national effort to build self-sufficiency of low- and moderate-income youth and increase their access to the financial tools and education that produce economic prosperity. The city’s 2014 program hired 108 students.

THAT’S A WRAP: The Miami Parking Authority is seeking proposals to put meter wrap ads on Pay and Display machines the parking agency owns and operates. The Off-Street Parking Board approved the request as part of a one-year pilot program. Copies of the request for proposals were made available Tuesday at 40 NW Third St. The contractor would solicit ads to go on a set number of Pay and Display machines as highquality, graffiti-resistant decals based on city restrictions. The authority would approve sample decals.

ers to Miami, the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau confirms, though it notes that the number of international visitors remains high.

About half of Miami’s visitor business is international and half domestic, said Rolando Aedo, bureau senior vice president of marketing and tourism.

“We tend to be hedged,’ he said of that split. “Based on the research we’ve done and what our consultants tell us, 2015 will be a strong year overall.”

Mr. Aedo attributes the increasing numbers of domestic visitors to the strengthening US economy. Greater Miami has seen an increase in domestic visitors but, so far, no drop in international visitors. If anything, he said, slightly more international visitors are coming.

“We monitor all these metrics and our key one is hotel room rates, which continue to be the highest in the country,” Mr. Aedo said. “Either way – no matter where you’re from – you’re charged the same room rate.”

Record February demand for travel to Miami-Dade marked the second straight month at the peak of the top US markets, as rated

by Smith Travel Research, for revenue per available room, average daily room rate and hotel room occupancy. In 2014, the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau reported a record 14.5 million overnight visitors; a record $23.5 billion spent by visitors on lodging, food, shopping, transportation and entertainment; and a record $200.5 million in tourist-related tax collections.

In the past six months, about 1,700 additional hotel rooms have come online in Greater Miami, generated by both new and rebranded hotels, said Wendy Kallegis, president and CEO of the Greater Miami & the Beaches Hotel Association. In the next five years, she said, an additional 7,500 rooms will accommodate guests.

Moreover, on Friday, Portman Holdings and RLB Swerdling/

Oxford Capital submitted bids to build the Miami Beach Convention Center Headquarter Hotel, which Ms. Kallegis said is positive news.

“Miami Beach is an international destination for business and leisure travel,” said Jack Portman, vice chairman, in a written release. “Portman has submitted a bid for the convention headquarter hotel that is fitting for the city’s global stature, will complement the new convention center, and respects the local community.”

Mr. Aedo said the number of international visitors isn’t noticeably growing and there’s been a slight decline coming from South America. He said Brazil is experiencing challenging times so Miami isn’t seeing growing numbers of Brazilian visitors.

“This is nothing new,” he said.

“We’ve had political and economic changes [notably when Mexico and Argentina faced problems] and there was still a healthy number of international visitors.”

Ms. Kallegis said Miami has seen such “phenomenal” numbers of international visitors that the hotel association, convention bureau and hotel owners closely monitor data month by month to see if economic problems in other countries are affecting the visitor industry in Miami.

Ms. Kallegis said the value of the Russian ruble has recovered somewhat in recent weeks. She said Brazil’s political unrest and price of commodities is a concern but believes, in the longrun, the country’s economy will be fine.

Yet, for now, domestic and international visitors differ in key ways, Mr. Aedo said. Domestic visitors stay an average of 4½ days, while international visitors average 7½ days.

Moreover, he said, international visitors spend significantly more than those coming from domestic locations, and the main difference is in shopping.

Mr. Aedo said the top priority for 60% of international visitors is shopping, compared with 13% of domestic visitors.

Mr. Aedo said the retail com-

munity might be more susceptible to any changing visitor habits. However, he said, the tourist industry hasn’t seen falloff overall but, rather, just greater growth from domestic travelers.

Ms. Kallegis says she isn’t concerned about the retail industry. “Growth in domestic travelers is good news because it means our economy is coming back,” she said. “If our economy is better we’ll spend more, and all the new retail coming to Miami is a good sign.”

With a number of new flights from South America and Europe to Miami being added, Ms. Kallegis said it’s clear international visitors remain interested in visiting Miami.

This week, Air Europa – one of Spain’s largest airlines and a member of Skyteam – launches its newest route from Madrid Barajas Airport to Miami International Airport. The airline will fly daily between the two cities.

The euro is strengthening, Ms. Kallegis, and “Miami should see more European visitors this summer.”

We are fortunate to have such a vibrant international market, Ms. Kallegis said. “It will always come back, always be our market.”

WEEK OF THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2015

TODAY’S NEWS

MIAMI TODAY

9

Partnership of parking chief, high school pays big dividends

BY L IDIA DINKOVA

To help struggling public schools, a state non-profit organization matches the schools with executives from the private sector. The organization’s work is essentially based on the idea of learning how to run a school somewhat like a business.

“The actual goal is to engage business executives to improve performance in public schools,” said Elaine Liftin, executive director for the non-profit Council for Educational Change.

The Council for Educational Change is focused on improving student academic performance and on addressing critical issues with education.

Locally, the Council for Educational Change facilitated the partnership between Miami Parking Authority Chief Executive Officer Art Noriega and Miami Northwestern Senior High School in Liberty City.

The Miami Parking Authority is a Florida legislature-created agency that functions as a selfsustaining agency managed by parking industry professionals and funded by parking revenues.

Mr. Noriega said he was matched to Miami Northwestern about seven years ago. At the time the school was struggling – it had been graded as a ‘D’ or an ‘F’ school year after year for about 14 years, said Northwestern High School Principal Wallace Aristide.

Mr. Aristide said he credits a lot of the school’s successes in the past couple of years to the partnership with Mr. Noriega.

During the past three years, the school had been graded as an ‘A’ school and in the most recent academic year it was graded ‘B,’ a significant turnaround for Miami Northwestern.

“He has been so helpful with me and my administrative staff,” Mr. Aristide said. “Him being a

Photos by Maxine Usdan

“The... goal is to engage business executives to improve performance in public schools”: Elaine Liftin.

CEO, he has brought in some perspective that really helped our staff, that allowed us to be more focused. He has brought us over to his company so that we can see some best practices.”

Among the changes instituted through the partnership is that Miami Northwestern Senior High School became a home to a high number of Teach for America teachers. Teach for America is a nationwide nonprofit organization that selects applicants, usually recent college graduates, to become teachers at schools throughout the nation that are struggling academically.

“If you’re trying to establish a new teaching culture, like with any institution, they tend to be a little institutionalized and they [Miami Northwestern] were really trying to change the approach in terms of how they taught kids,” Mr. Noriega told Miami Today.

Indeed, about 25 Teach for America teachers came to Miami Northwestern. Many of them offered Miami Northwestern students tutoring and help over the weekends – without getting overtime pay, Mr. Aristide said.

“I would tell them, ‘Because of funding, I might not be able to pay you for a tutorial.’ And they

Northwestern could visit a Chicago area school that has a similar demographic and that’s achieving academically.

“We spent two days there.

We picked their brain as much as we could, so Wallace [Aristide] brought back what we learned, and it was a good learning experience. They got a chance to see a different approach,” Mr. Noriega said.

As part of his work with Miami Northwestern, he has helped develop a culture at the high school where post-secondary education, whether in college or a trade school, is emphasized.

Miami Northwestern already hosts a slew of classes for technical schools, and it’s also opened a credit union at the school as part of an initiative to teach students financial literacy.

It’s difficult to gauge exactly how much the partnership facilitated by the Council for Educational Change aided in Miami Northwestern’s success. But if you ask Mr. Aristide, it played a big role.

“Mr. Noriega has been extremely helpful. He takes the time to come and work with the principal and work with the staff,” Mr. Aristide said. “I am very fortunate.”

would tell me they would volunteer and they believed so much in their students and what happens is the students start to believe in themselves,” Mr. Aristide said. “My students feel they could achieve academically.”

In addition, as part of his partnership with the high school Details: http:// Mr. Noriega helped raise funds so that a delegation from Miami www.changeeducation.org/

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Art Noriega is being credited with raising Northwestern’s rankings.

WEEK OF THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2015

MIAMI TODAY

13

Downtown, Brickell condo rents may have hit peak, observers say

BY SUSAN D ANSEYAR

One of the two Brickell City Centre office buildings is to open this year.

First Swire office tower is to open by year’s end

BY CATHERINE LACKNER

The massive Brickell City Centre project will add two office buildings that “are the only new office buildings under construction in the central business district that I’m aware of,” said Gonzalo Cortabarría, senior vice president of Swire Properties Inc., which is developing the complex.

“There is very little new office space,” he explained.

“These are the only buildings of significance that are coming into the market and available for lease in Brickell or downtown.”

Both class A buildings are 12 stories high and contain about 130,000 square feet of rentable area. The first is to open at the end of 2015 with the Miami office of the Akerman law firm as the anchor tenant; the firm has leased 106,000 square feet.

The second, which is to open in the first quarter of 2016 – as well as the remaining space in the first building – is being marketed at $50 per square foot, full service. Neither has been named yet, as naming rights will be offered to tenants as part of the marketing program, Mr. Cortabarría said.

“They will enjoy all of the amenities you will have in Brickell City Centre,” he said, which include a Metromover station in the complex, above-ground and underground parking, a retail

Transit link: Gonzalo Cortabarría.

Brokers say condo rental rates in Brickell and downtown are largely the same as six months ago and expect they will remain so or even trend down a bit as new units come on line.

The market is strong with a high concentration of young professionals ages 30 to 40 renting in this part of the city, said Jonathan Garcia, broker for ONE Sotheby’s International Realty.

However, he said, there’s a correlation between rental rates and affordability. What the average person earns in Miami is not moving up, especially compared with other major US cities, Mr. Garcia said. He says that certainly contributes to the condo rental prices being capped where they are now.

Sergio Mannarino, vice president of sales and operations for OneWorldProperties, agrees that rents in this part of the city can’t go much higher. “People can’t afford to pay any more than they are now,” he said.

“We are not where we should be here in Miami with salaries.”

In the past five years, condo sales doubled or tripled and condo rental rates appreciated 35% to 45%, according to Duff Rubin, senior vice president of the Southeast region for Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage. Demand for the rental units has also grown tremendously, he said, in large part because of the development the Brickell and downtown areas have seen in the last few years with more restaurants, shopping and entertainment available to young professionals.

“In 2010, the Epic had 30% to 40% occupancy,” Mr. Rubin said. “Today it’s at 90% or higher.”

Both Mr. Mannarino and Mr. Garcia say the downtown and

Salary issue: Sergio Mannarino.

Far more choices due: Duff Rubin.

Brickell market is strong and units rent fairly quickly. If priced correctly, Mr. Mannarino said, a one-bedroom unit in Brickell does not remain on the market more than two weeks.

Overall, Mr. Garcia said, the average condo rent has been approximately $2 per square for the past six months in Brickell and downtown.

Mr. Mannarino concentrates mainly on Brickell properties such as Icon Brickell, Infinity at Brickell, The Plaza at Brickell, 500 Brickell and 1060 Brickell.

For those buildings, he said – on average – a studio (about 550 square feet) rents for $1,700 monthly; a one bedroom (between 750 and 800 square feet) between $2,000 and $2,400; and a two-bedroom (between 1,100 and 1,200 square feet) $2,700 to $3,200.

There are very few threebedroom units, Mr. Mannarino said, but those on the market are renting for $3,500 to $4,500 (between 1,700 and 2,000 square feet).

Looking forward, Mr. Garcia said new inventory coming online will keep condo rental prices the same or the market might even witness a slight correction.

“Our equation has factors outside the US that other markets

don’t have,” Mr. Garcia said. He said the condo market in Miami is strongly linked to foreign demand, with some 80% of the units purchased by foreign investors. He said changes in the currency exchange rate of countries like Brazil, where the currency has dropped 30% since October, will affect Miami.

In the next 2½ years, Mr. Garcia said, 40,000 new units will be coming online in South Florida, 20,000 of which will all be in the downtown market at the same time.

With so much new inventory coming online, renters will have more options, Mr. Mannarino said. “Asking prices have been increasing in Brickell, but that will likely change,” he said.

“When you look at the new product [such as BrickellHouse and 1100 Millecento], other than amenities, they are not necessarily better than existing inventory but people want to explore new buildings.”

With so many new units hitting the market at once, Mr. Rubin said, renters will have that many more choices so prices will have to be more reasonable.

“Owners saw unrealistic appreciation, which is no longer sustainable,” he said. “Supply has caught up with demand.”

component, a variety of restaurants and a hotel.

The buildings are LEED precertified and will enjoy direct underground connectivity to the Network Access Point of the Americas. Window glass is wind-resistant to a hurricane that is double a category 5, he added.

“One of the interesting things is that this is a public-transit oriented project,” Mr. Cortabarría said. “Because the Eighth Street Metromover is part of it, you have ingress and egress without being exposed to the elements. You can go out for lunch or take the Metromover to the courthouse.

You would probably move around without the need to use your car. We’re offering the ability to walk everywhere, or Photo by Maxine Usdan take the Metromover to go anyLack of upward wage mobility contributes to condo rental prices being capped, said Jonathan Garcia. where. It’s a new concept.”

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DOWNTOWN & BRICKELL

MIAMI TODAY

WEEK OF THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2015

11 hotels planned in city’s core will nearly double rooms B Y CATHERINE L ACKNER

If all are built as planned, 11 new hotels going up in Miami’s central business district over the next three years will nearly double the number of hotel rooms – from the current 3,632 to 6,640.

Of these, the largest, and also furthest out from delivery, is the Marriott Marquis adjacent to the Miami Worldcenter complex in the Park West district.

The 1,800-room Marriott Marquis is one of the biggest projects his firm has ever tackled, said Igor Reyes, partner in architectural firm Nichols Brosch Wurst Wolfe & Associates.

“It is actually between Worldcenter and All Aboard Florida, and will have a big role in connecting those two projects. It’s the hotel biggest project in South Florida. Many hotels downtown and in Brickell cater to business travelers, but the Marriott Marquis will be more tourist-oriented, he added. “We’re getting to the point that we have enough going on downtown that we can start attracting tourists. We have reached critical mass.”

Potential guests include cruise passengers, who Mr. Reyes called “an untapped source. It seems like we could get them to stay a couple of days and enjoy the museums and other activities if they had a substantial hotel to stay at.”

A Metrorail station adjacent to the hotel site offrers transportation options.

Nevertheless, conventions and conferences haven’t been ignored. The hotel includes 400,000 square feet of meeting

space and a 100,000-squarefoot exhibit hall on the ground floor. “You could easily fit a jumbo jet inside there,” Mr. Reyes said. “It’s pretty immense.”

He said the hotel will generates jobs for an area that has been disadvantaged. “Just to run an 1,800-room hotel requires a huge staff; we’re talking a lot of jobs being pulled into the area, not including construction jobs.”

He predicts the hotel will

come online sometime in 2018 if construction starts before the end of this year. “This will be quite transformative.”

The 39-story EAST Hotel at Brickell City Centre incorporates features that are unique in Miami, said Gonzalo Cortabarría, senior vice president of Swire Properties Inc., developer of the complex.

The hotel, which is set to open at the end of this year, is to offer not only 263 rooms but also 89 fully serviced one- to

three-bedroom apartments with kitchens. It will be steps from a 500,000-square-foot retail center anchored by Saks, which also features a Cinemax premium dine-in movie theater, and will be in the thick of Brickell’s vibrant restaurant scene.

Because a Metromover station is inside the complex, guests will be able to come directly from the airport to the hotel simply by making a transfer at Government Center.

Amenities inside the hotel include a sumptuous fifth-floor pool deck with cabanas, a 200seat outpost of famed South American restaurant La Huella, and a club, Sugar, on the 38th floor. On the top floor is a 3,000-square-foot ballroom and some meeting space.

“It’s a different concept, and will offer extraordinary views,” Mr. Cortabarría said. “Lavish meeting rooms overlooking the city – this is not easy to find in Miami.”

Those who serve urban core can’t live there, research says

BY L IDIA DINKOVA

Bartenders and servers can’t afford to live in the urban core in Miami, according to a rentals research company.

San Francisco-based HotPads, an online and mobile organization that helps people find houses or apartments for rent and that also does market research, compiled data that show how much of their salaries recent college graduates can expect to spend in various neighborhoods in 11 metropolitan cities in the US, including the City of Miami. The data further show how much of their income recent college graduates can expect to spend on rent based on their occupation.

In Miami, bartenders and servers can’t afford to live in city neighborhoods that have become the site of major development. A bartender would pay 90% of his gross salary on rent, according to HotPads, if he lived in Wynwood or Edgewater, two rising neighborhoods in Miami. Edgewater, located on the east side of Biscayne Boulevard from roughly the Omni north to the Julia Tuttle Causeway, has become home to residential condominium towers, while Wynwood, located across from Edgewater on the west side of Biscayne Boulevard, has become an internationally recognized arts district with low- to mid-rise residences.

Further according to the HotPads data, a bartender would pay 84% of his income in rent if he lived in downtown, 72% if he lived in the Upper East Side, and between 66% and 77% of his income if he lived in Coconut Grove.

Waiters and waitresses are another occupation that is priced out of these neighborhoods. A waiter would pay 60% of his income toward rent if he lived in downtown and 64% if he lived in Wynwood, according to the data. That’s much more than the 25% to 30% of income that experts say should be spent on rent.

Essentially, the data show that hospitality workers such as bartenders and servers are priced out of the neighborhoods in which they’re most likely to work.

“What’s happening here is that the urban core is becoming a place for only the wealthy and affluent to live,” said Mitchell Friedman, partner at Pinnacle Housing Group, which develops affordable, workforce and market-rate housing. “Let’s face it, the urban core is dependent upon the hospitality and service workers.”

That means these workers now have to move west and southwest and drive to work, he added.

Mr. Friedman said the employees in the service industry, and not just those the hospitality industry, are priced out of the urban core.

“People who are not doing professional occupations, they just can’t live here,” he said.

The problem stems in part in the increase of land and construction costs in the urban core, the subsequent increase in rents and the lack of commensurate increase in wages for service sector employees, Mr. Friedman said.

“The irony is that we as a community have tried to promote an urban, vibrant scene. We’ve tried to create places for entertainment, and culture,” he said.

“What we haven’t done is provide affordable places for people to live. So who are the only folks who are left to live there? The wealthy and affluent....

That’s not promoting a true community. It’s economic segregation.”

Indeed, the median rent per person in Wynwood and Edgewater is $1,495; $1,400 in downtown; and $1,200 in the Upper East Side, according to the data compiled by HotPads. That makes these areas unaffordable for a bartender whose median entry-level income is $20,000 as well as for a server whose median entry-level income is $28,000.

To come up with the median rent per person, HotPads took into account the median rent in the selected neighborhoods for studios, one-bedroom, twobedroom and three-bedroom apartments, according to the organization’s website. HotPads also used Census data

to find the gross salary of full-time workers between 22 and 30 years old with college degrees. (The HotPads data don’t specify whether the median salary listed for bartenders and servers in Miami is just the hourly wage or whether it includes income made from gratuities.)

And it’s not just service sector staffers who are priced out of the urban core.

According to the HotPads data, employees in other sectors are priced out from renting in the urban core: Childcare workers would have to pay 70% of their income to rent in Wynwood or Edgewater, 56% of their income to rent in the Upper East Side, and as much as 60% of their income to rent in Coconut Grove.

Education administrators would have to pay 47% of their income to rent in Wynwood or Edgwater and as much as 40% of their income to rent in Coconut Grove.

Financial analysts would have to pay 50% of their income to rent in Wynwood or Edgewater and as much as 42% of their income to rent in Coconut Grove.

Social workers would have to pay 51% of their income to rent in Wynwood or Edgwater and as much as 44% of their income to rent in Coconut Grove.

“We’re kind of further segregating the community by economic status,” Mr. Friedman said. “That’s not healthy.”

16

MIAMI TODAY

WEEK OF THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2015

! L A unique supplement

June 4

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Join us as we navigate the ins and outs of our city to bring much deserved attention to those who spearhead the development and growth of this community. Our reporters ask experts to handpick some of the best in order to encourage others to follow in their footsteps.

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DOWNTOWN & BRICKELL

MIAMI TODAY

17

Tour bus kiosks on Biscayne double as information hubs

BY JOHN CHARLES ROBBINS

Serving as small islands of info, a few colorful kiosks added to public parking lots along Biscayne Boulevard in Downtown Miami are attracting more than just stares.

The bright, multi-colored kiosks – roughly the size of an ice fishing shanty – were established in key spots in September, in the large parking lots owned and managed by the Miami Parking Authority.

Visitors to downtown and the waterfront are often attracted to the kiosks first, before venturing on their own to Bayfront Park, Bayside Marketplace or nearby AmericanAirlines Arena and its neighbors, Museum Park and the Perez Art Museum Miami.

Where the kiosks were ultimately located is by design – high-traffic areas, both vehicle and pedestrian.

The main reason for the kiosks is to sell bus sightseeing tour tickets, but not surprisingly the staffers manning the kiosks are approached by curious tourists with a variety of inquiries, from who founded the City of Miami to asking for suggestions on a good restaurant.

“People arrive at the booths asking all sorts of questions.

They’ll say, ‘We’re in Miami for the week, what activities do you recommend?’ It’s amazing,” said

Photo by Maxine Usdan

Crowd clusters at bus kiosk at Biscayne Boulevard and Northeast Second Street in Lot 19 Section 3.

Leyla Rojas, CEO of City Sightseeing Miami.

People ask questions about the best place to stay, where to eat, and what shows or plays are being performed in Miami, she said.

Her company representatives, who are briefed on the places and events the Magic City offers, hand out free company-produced maps and are quick to point out the most popular sites in the area, she said.

Three tour and ticket centers are scattered inside the long, lin-

ear Lot 19 run by the parking agency.

According to Rolando G. Tapanes, authority director of planning and development, Lot 19 is one large municipal parking lot comprised of six sections.

Last year, the Off-Street Parking Board approved a request for proposals from bus tour companies interested in leasing space at Lot 19 for a sales kiosk.

Authority CEO Art Noriega told the board then that staff found City Sightseeing Miami’s pro-

posal responsive to the request, and recommended negotiating a contract.

In its proposal, the bus tour company submitted several options for locating sales kiosks throughout Lot 19, and a potential range of lease fees.

Staff recommended space in sections 1 at 400 Biscayne Blvd., 2 at 300 Biscayne and 3 at 200 Biscayne for the kiosks. The company pays about $14,000 a month in lease fees.

Mr. Tapanes said the ticket

kiosks have proved successful, and Ms. Rojas heartily agrees.

“They are providing guests with knowledgeable information regarding Miami’s main sites, and promoting the city to foreigners,” she said.

“It is proven world-wide that having tourist information kiosks reflects in more spending in time and money from that guest [who] receives information about the city. It is a win-win for the city, the guest and the tourist operators as well,” said Ms. Rojas.

Along will selling tickets for sightseeing bus tours, the personnel in the kiosks sell tickets to many of the most popular attractions in the Miami area including Miami Seaquarium, Zoo Miami, Jungle Island, boat rides around Biscayne Bay, Art Deco Walking tour, Water Taxi and more.

The kiosks, which have popup panels providing some shade for waiting visitors, are open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

In its introduction to its proposal, the City Sightseeing company said it is a worldwide operator of open-top buses and specializes in hop-on, hop-off tours in 107 cities.

The company began in 1992 by operating bus tours during the World’s Fair in Seville, Spain.

The company provides information in multiple languages on the history, culture and points of interest along tour routes.

No major changes follow city’s year-long control of Brickell

BY JOHN CHARLES ROBBINS

It’s been nearly a year since the City of Miami took control of Brickell Avenue from the state.

Motorists and pedestrians might be hard pressed to find an example of the city’s new influence since taking control as no major construction has occurred, but sidewalk and crosswalk improvements are on tap for this summer, city officials said.

There’ve been no major changes along the busy urban street since the take-over, in large part due to the rapidly changing Brickell neighborhood that surrounds the namesake street.

Miami’s financial district has become the hot spot for new luxury condo towers, as many are already under construction while new blueprints are being filed with the city on a fairly steady basis.

City planners are basically taking a wait-and-see posture when it comes to managing Brickell Avenue and making improvements or major changes.

It makes sense to stand back a bit and see what develops, before sinking tax money into major road projects, according to Carlos Cruz-Casas, the city’s chief transportation manager.

Asked about any major changes on Brickell, Mr. CruzCasas said, “No major signage or traffic circulation changes yet.”

He works with the city’s Capi-

Photo by Maxine Usdan

Traffic heads south along City of Miami controlled Brickell Avenue.

tal Improvements/ Transportation Office, which is keeping a close eye on the ever-changing cityscape south of the Miami River.

“With the many changes Brickell area is experiencing, it our intent to develop a comprehensive plan for the area,” Mr. Cruz-Casas said. “The plan for the area will include vehicular improvements as well as pedestrian safety and mobility.”

One year to the day after they formally began the process, Miami commissioners on May 8, 2014, adopted a resolution for the city to take over Brickell Avenue from the Florida Department of Transportation, in

a swap for parts of two streets.

The commission unanimously voted to transfer responsibility for Northwest 14th Street from Northwest 42nd Court to east of Northwest 37th Avenue (State Road 836 westbound off ramp) and Northwest Third Avenue from West Flagler Street to Northwest Eighth Street to the state.

While no major changes have altered Brickell Avenue since the city take-over, a few safety and aesthetic improvements are impacting the corridor, Mr. Cruz-Casas said.

The city completed landscape and irrigation improvements along the median between Southeast 25th Road and South-

east 15th Road, he said. That work was part of an overall beatification project that included a wider pedestrian and bicycle path along the east side of Brickell Avenue.

“In addition, the city has allocated funds [for] pedestrian improvements between Southeast 15th Road and Southeast Eighth Street,” he said. “These improvements will consist of sidewalk repairs, widening sidewalks and adding crosswalks where possible.”

Mr. Cruz-Casas said this project will begin construction in a few months.

Getting complete control of Brickell Avenue took longer than city officials anticipated.

On May 8, 2013, the commission approved a resolution declaring the city’s desire to take over responsibility for Brickell from I-95 to Southwest Eighth Street, and its intent to request transfer of additional streets from the city street system to the state highway system by mutual agreement.

The commission adopted a resolution in June 2013 for the city to assume responsibility, maintenance and control of Brickell with the condition that the city transfer certain streets to the state.

Both sides had hoped to wrap up the deal by the close of September 2013, but it took more time.

The original proposal offered to swap a few city streets, including Southwest/ Southeast First Street from Southwest Second Avenue to Biscayne

Boulevard, Northwest/ Northeast First Street from Biscayne Boulevard to Northwest Third Avenue, Northwest Third Avenue from West Flagler Street to the northbound I-95 entrance ramp from Northwest Eighth Street and Northwest Third Court from Northwest Third Street to West Flagler Street.

But some of those streets lay in former commissioner Michelle Spence-Jones’ district, and she opposed yielding city control, criticizing the transportation department for its interaction with Overtown.

Other swaps were considered as the proposal advanced slowly. The city and state transportation department needed to mutually approve the transfers.

A final deal was worked out early last year, palatable to both sides.

The commission’s 2014 resolution noted that the city’s Capital Improvements/ Transportation Office and the Public Works Department had completed a citywide analysis of potential roadway transfers and targeted several corridors for transfer between governmental jurisdictions, with a final recommendation to transfer portions of Northwest 14th Street and Northwest Third Avenue.

With that transfer on the books, the city adopted the responsibility of owning, operating and maintaining the affected stretch of Brickell.

State roads face more restrictions, so winning jurisdiction of Brickell gives the city flexibility in making changes.

MIAMI TODAY

the TRADE-USA Inbound Trade Mission from the Dominican Republic seeking suppliers, authorized distributors in the USA or partners.

Mission leaders will include the American Chamber of Commerce DR/ AMCHAM and the Commercial Service U.S. Embassy DR. 12-1 p.m.

Miami Free Zone, 2335 NW 107th Ave., Doral. Details: (305) 471-0737 or info@ffta.com.

ART Saturday 4/18 ARTS

ENCOUNTERS

Arts Encounter hosts tour of Coral Gables. The group will meet just off Ponce de Leon Boulevard, where the pioneering dealer will walk attendees through sublime abstractions in “Leon Berkowitz: Cascades of Light,” paintings from 1965 to 1986. After lunch near the gallery, the group will take a short drive to the Lowe Art Museum | University of Miami to view Vik Muniz’s “Poetics of Perception.”

Guides will also illuminate highlights from the Jumex and Ruwitch collections of contemporary art and the Myrna and Sheldon Palley Pavilion for Contemporary Glass and Studio Arts. Admissions, guides and exhibition venues are included in ticket price and lunch is paid separately. 11 a.m. ArtSpace / Virginia Miller Galleries, 169 Madeira Ave., Coral Gables. RSVP required. Details: (305) 989-0027 or info@artsencounters .com.

Tuesday 4/21 ECONOMIC OUTLOOK FOR ARGENTINA

The University of Miami Center for Hemispheric Policy hosts panel “The Economic Outlook for Argentina: Perspectives on Argentina’s Economy” by chief economists from a leading economic think tank in Buenos Aires. Juan Luis Bour, executive director and chief economist for the Fundación de Investigaciones Económicas Latinoamericanas, will discuss “Unstable Scenarios Ahead;” Fernando Navajas, chief economist for Fundación de Investigaciones Económicas Latinoamericanas, will discuss “Frankenstein’s Undoing: Energy Subsidies;” and Daniel Artana, chief economist for Fundación de Investigaciones Económicas Latinoamericanas, will discuss “Challenges and Opportunities for the Next Administration.” 8-8:30 a.m. registration and continental breakfast. 8:3010:30 a.m. presentation and discussion. Westin Colonnade Coral Gables, Gables Salon, 180 Aragon Ave., Coral Gables. Free for academics and students. $40 others. RSVP. Details: (305) 284-9871 or chp-rsvp@ miami.edu or www.miami.edu/chp.

ART TALK

The Nova Southeastern University’s Museum of Art Fort Lauderdale hosts art talk with David A. Ross “Reimagining Art Education.”

This talk is the inaugural event for “The Art of Teaching Art Conference” on creativity and innovation in art education, which will take place Fall 2015. 2-3:30 p.m. Nova Southeastern University’s Museum of Art Fort Lauderdale, One E Las Olas Blvd., Downtown Fort Lauderdale.

Free for members, teachers with educator ID, NSU students, faculty, staff and 12 and under. $10 others. RSVP. Details: (954) 262–0204 or moa reservations@moafl.org or www. moafl.org.

BOOKS

Thursday 4/16 THE DISTANT MARVELS

Miami native and author Chantel Acevedo discusses her new book “The Distant Marvels.” The book follows Maria Sirena. She tells stories for money – she was a favorite in the cigar factory where she worked as a lettora – and for love, spinning gossamer tales out of her own past for the benefit of friends, neighbors and family. But now, like a modern-day Scheherazade, she will be asked to tell one last story so that eight women can keep both hope and themselves alive. 8 p.m. Books & Books, 265 Aragon Ave., Coral Gables. Details: (305) 442-4408 or www.booksand books.com.

Tuesday 4/21 LEA BLACK

Author, philanthropist and Miami socialite Lea Black discusses her book “Red Carpets & White Lies.” The book is set in a city known for its never-ending parties, where Leigh Anatole White hosts the most extravagant party of them all. Her annual charity ball, a star-studded benefit for troubled teens, is the most highly anticipated event of the season, and she pulls out all the stops to ensure it doesn’t disappoint. But this year – the tenth anniversary of the ball – she decides to give Miami one last blowout before relinquishing her title as hostess. 6:30 p.m. Books & Books, 265 Aragon Ave., Coral Gables. Details: (305) 442-4408 or www.booksandbooks.com.

BUSINES S Thursday 4/16 ESTATE PLANNING

The Estate Planning Council of Greater Miami hosts workshop “Case Law Update” by Tom Karr, shareholder at Gunster Law. A presentation on “Digital Assets,” by Eric Virgil, owner at Virgil Law Firm, will also take place. 5:30-8:30 p.m. Hyatt Regency Miami, Hibiscus Room, 400 SE Second Ave., Miami. Free for members. $65 others. RSVP. Details: RSVP@epcmiami.org or www.epcmiami.org.

19

BUSINESS

THE KINSEY SICKS: The South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center presents “The Kinsey Sicks” in “America’s Next Top Bachelor Housewife Celebrity Hoarder Makeover Star Gone Wild.” The Dragapella Beautyshop Quartet serves up a feast of music and comedy to audiences at performing arts centers, music venues and comedy festivals in over 40 states. Their award-winning a cappella singing, sharp satire and over-the-top drag have a diverse and devoted following. 8 p.m. April 18. South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center, 10950 SW 211th St., Cutler Bay. $35-$40. Details: (786) 573-5300 or www.smdcac.org.

calendar of events week of thursday, april 16, 2015 TOP ENTREPRENEURIAL AWARDS

The Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce hosts its annual “Top Entrepreneurial Awards,” featuring keynote speaker Alina Villasante, designer and creator behind Peace, Love World. Jackie Nespral, anchor at NBC6, will be master of ceremonies. 11:30 a.m. registration and networking. 12-1:30 p.m. program.

Rusty Pelican, 3201 Rickenbacker Causeway, Virginia Key. $85 advance. $100 on site. RSVP. Details: (305) 577-5438 or alinblade@ miamichamber.com or www.miami chamber.com.

Saturday 4/18 CHAMBER VOLUNTEER DAY

The Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with Lead-

ership Miami and the Opa-Locka Community Development Corporation, hosts its first Chamber Volunteer Day. The day will feature hundreds of volunteers as they rally for a community revitalization project that will transform an Ali Baba Avenue block area of Opa-locka in just a few hours. 7 a.m. 675 Ali Baba Ave., Opa-locka. $15. RSVP. Details: dbourgi@miamichamber.com.

Sunday 4/19 BREAKING THE GLASS CEILING

The Jewish Museum of FloridaFIU hosts its 19th annual “Breaking the Glass Ceiling Awards and Reception,” honoring four inspiring women.

The 2015 honorees are Suzanne Lasky-Gerard (Miami), Amy Singer, Ph.D. (Fort Lauderdale), Elayne

Weisburd (Miami Beach) and Dr. Charlene Wygodski (St. Petersburg).

The award ceremony features presentations by the honorees describing the obstacles and inspirations they encountered on their individual journeys to success. The program will be followed by a dessert reception. 2 p.m. Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU, 301 Washington Ave., Miami Beach.

Free for students. $15 members. $20 others. RSVP. Details: (786) 9723164 or http://bit.ly/glassceiling2015 or membership@jewishmuseum .com.

Monday 4/20 INBOUND MISSION DR

The Florida Foreign Trade Association hosts its “XIX Inbound Mission from the Dominican Republic.”

Attendees will meet the delegates of

LUNCHEON

The Business Referral Group hosts a luncheon networker. Attendees will network with industry professionals, share ideas and listen to featured speaker Sherri A. Romano, a state and federal criminal defense attorney, discussing how she helps her clients fight criminal charges. Noon.

Love is Blind, 225 Altara Ave., Coral Gables. RSVP required. Details: (305) 984-6344 or DLLamberti@aol.com or www.businessreferralgroup.org.

SEMINAR PROGRAM

The Center for Urban and Environmental Solutions and the FAU School of Urban and Regional Planning present “CRAs in Miami-Dade County: Past, Present and Future,” co-sponsored by the Urban Environment League of Greater Miami, the “Miami After Dark” radio show, WZAB 880AM and GrandCentral.

The keynote speaker is County Commissioner Xavier Suarez, who was Miami’s mayor during the formative years of the CRA. Options for the future will be presented by FAU Professor Frank Schnidman. County Commissioner Daniella Levine Cava will talk about changes that MiamiDade County could consider. The seminar will end with former Beacon Council President and CEO Frank Nero discussing redevelopment and economic development. 6-9 p.m.

Miami Center for Architecture & Design, 100 NE First Ave., Miami.

Free. Details: schnidma@fau.edu.

EDUCATIONAL

SEMINAR

The Latin Builders Association and Kelley Kronenberg host an educational seminar. Guests will receive advice on how to prepare for an OSHA inspection and learn about OSHA’s current programs. Coffee and breakfast will be provided. 8 a.m. networking. 8:30 a.m. keynote speaker. JW Marriott Marquis Hotel, 255 Biscayne Blvd. Way, Miami.

Free for members. $35 others. RSVP required. Details: (305) 446-5989 or rpalacios@lbaorg.com.

Wednesday 4/22 REAL ESTATE DISCUSSION

The Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce hosts a discussion, “Urban Core, Suburban Sprawl,” featuring expert panels on urban and suburban real estate. Attendees will get the perspective from some of the leaders who are shaping Miami’s real estate

20

MIAMI TODAY

WEEK OF THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2015

calendar of events BUSINES S cont.— BUSINESS present and future. 4:30 p.m. Paraiso Bay Sales Center in Edgewater, 600 NE 31st St., Miami. $35 advance members. $45 advance others. $50 on site. RSVP required. Details: (305) 577-5486 or crenta@miamichamber .com or www.MiamiChamber.com.

CHILDREN Thursday 4/16 THE MAGNIFICENTS

The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County and The House Theatre of Chicago present the regional premiere of “the Magnificents,” directed by Nathan Allen. The production tells of an extraordinary family that delights in bringing magical entertainment to the crowds. As their glory and popularity begin to fade, the aging star of the show takes a young boy under his wing and teaches him all his tricks – and much more. 7:30 p.m. Additional performances through May 3. Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of MiamiDade County, 1300 Biscayne Blvd., Carnival Studio Theater, Miami. Tickets start at $50. Details: (305) 9496722 or www.arshtcenter.org.

DINING OUT

Saturday 4/18 TEA PARTY

Les Dames d’Escoffier Miami hosts an innovative tea party featuring savory and sweet items prepared

by James Beard Award-winning chef Michelle Bernstein and executive chef Jason Schaan along with pastry chef Max Santiago. Menu items will include white gazpacho and mini ceviche shooters, Seagrape’s signature lobster roll on toasted house-made bun, seared scallops with cauliflower and brown butter, pulled short rib sliders with pickled red onions and a spread of bite-sized pastries and other sweets including buttery sweet and savory scones with tropical jams. Tea and prosecco will be served. 3:30-5:30 p.m. Seagrape at the Thompson Hotel, 4041 Collins Ave., Miami Beach. $45. Details: (877) 467-7725 or reservations@lesdamesmiami.org or www.lesdamesmiami.org.

LARGE FORMAT FEAST

Grand Cochon winner Chef Jose Mendin and St. Francis winemaker Katie Madigan host a “Large Format Feast” as part of the Cochon 555 weekend of culinary events. Guests will enjoy the launch of the winery’s Reserve Tier Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel and Merlot. Ms. Madigan will discuss the winery’s dedication to sustainability and her vision for the future of Sonoma Valley winemaking. 7-9:30 p.m. L’echon Brasserie, 6261 Collins Ave., Miami Beach. $115. Details: (786) 483-1611.

Monday 4/20 ANNUAL

DINNER

Chef/Owner Giorgio Rapicavoli and the Eating House host annual “[4:20 dinner].” The celebration will feature a themed menu, drink specials and stoner music and movies on constant rotation. The prix-fixe menu, served family-style, will feature “pb & j poutine,” “foie-t dog,” “cap’n crunch funnel cakes,” “special brownies” and more. 6:30-11 p.m. Eating House, 804 Ponce de Leon Blvd., Coral Gables. $42. RSVP required.

Details: (305) 448-6524 or eh420 waitlist@gmail.com or www.eating housemiami.com.

EXHIBITS Thursday 4/16 BLACK INK

The Miami Dade College Galleries of Art + Design inaugurates the Hialeah Gallery at Hialeah Campus with “Black Ink,” an exhibition of works on paper by Cuban masters curated

by Gustavo Orta from his own collection. Exhibits through April 30.

Hialeah Gallery at MDC Hialeah Campus, 1780 W 49th St., Hialeah.

Free. Details: (305) 237-7700 or http:/ /www.mdc.edu/galleries.

MATEO TANNATT: HORSE

The Gallery Diet presents “Horse,” an exhibition by LA-based artist Mateo Tannatt. The exhibit deals with formal inquisitions of space via sculpture, video and painting. His most recent project, Studio Agony (Revisited), will be on view alongside a newly commissioned sound piece.

In the video, he explores an undefined industrial, creative warehouse with the help of quasi-domestic animals such as donkeys and chickens. As the animals traverse the empty room, their interactions with the architecture trigger memories of modern and contemporary visual experience. Exhibits through May 2. Gallery Diet, 174 NW 23rd St., Wynwood Arts District, Miami. Details: www. gallerydiet.com.

HOUSEWIFE

DIARIES

The 6th Street Container presents Patricia Schnall Gutierrez’s exhibition “Housewife Diaries.” The artist takes her inspiration from the 1970 comedydrama “Diary of a Mad Housewife” and parallels memories and experiences from her own world as a young woman in the same era. Her obsession and reference to doing household chores while simultaneously playing the role of sex object filters through the work.

Exhibits through May 16. The 6th Street Container, 1155 (rear) SW Sixth St., Miami. Free. Details: https:// www.facebook.com/6thstreet container.

BARE HANDED

The Dina Mitrani Gallery presents “Bare Handed,” by Holly Lynton.

The artist’s first solo exhibition at the gallery brings together images from three series that the artist has been working on for seven years.

From New England to the low country of South Carolina, the images narrate stories of rural communities and those who have maintained ethical farming practices. Exhibits through May 2. Dina Mitrani Gallery, 2620 NW Second Ave., Wynwood Arts District, Miami.

Details: (786) 486-7248 or dina mitrani@gmail.com or www.dina mitranigallery.com.

THE BIRDS OF AMERICA

HistoryMiami presents “The Complete Audubon: The Birds of America” by John James. Created between 1820 and 1838, Audubon’s “The Birds of America” contains famous and spectacular prints. It also includes the rare first edition of this masterpiece, and will display all 435 of its life-size engravings in one exhibition. Exhibits through May 31.

HistoryMiami, 101 W Flagler St., Miami. Details: (305) 375-5792 or www.historymiami.org.

BETWEEN HEAVEN AND EARTH

The Patricia and Phillip Frost Art

To

6T

submit

This is a calendar of selected events in Greater Miami for the week beginning Thursday, April 16, 2015.

Information must be received in writing two weeks before the event.

Include costs, details, relevant phone numbers and photos if possible.

Send to: Miami Today Calendar Attention Jennifer Lima 2000 S. Dixie Highway, Suite 100, Miami, FL 33133 E-mail: calendar@miamitodaynews.com

Museum presents “Xu Bing: Writing Between Heaven and Earth.” The exhibition encompassing 5,000 square feet features the artist’s installations plus newer artworks that provoke viewers to challenge their perceptions of cultural identity and language, including a never-beforeseen artwork that Xu Bing is creating specifically for this exhibition at the Frost Art Museum. Exhibits through May 24. Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum at FIU, 10975 SW 17th St., Tamiami. Free. RSVP for lecture.

Details: (305) 348-2890 or art info@fiu.edu or www.thefrost.fiu .edu.

FILM The Miami Beach SoundScape Cinema Series and the French Embassy Cultural Services present “Films on the Beach” with a screening of “Beauty and the Beast,” a recently restored and re-mastered French classic. A beach chair or towel is all moviegoers will need to enjoy the film projected onto a 7,000-square-foot wall of the New World Center through a freestanding state-of-the art visual and audio system. In French with English subtitles. 8 p.m. New World Symphony SoundScape, southwest corner of Washington Ave. and 17th St., Miami Beach. Free. Details: (305) 673-7577 or www.mbculture.com.

WHITE GOD

The Miami Beach Cinematheque screens “White God” (Fehér isten), directed by Kornél Mundruscó. The film is a cautionary tale between a superior species and its disgraced inferior. Favoring pedigree dogs, a new regulation puts a severe tax on mixed breeds as owners dump their dogs and the shelters become overcrowded. Lili, 13, fights desperately to protect her pet Hagen, but her father eventually sets the dog free on the streets. Hagen and his pretty master search desperately for each other until Lili loses faith. Struggling to survive, homeless Hagen realizes that not everyone is a dog’s best friend. 7 p.m. Additional screenings through April 24. Miami Beach Cinematheque, 1130 Washington Ave., Miami Beach. $8 members. $9 seniors and students. $10 others.

Details: www.mbcinema.com.

FILM

The Environmental Coalition of Miami and the Beaches presents the fourth annual “Miami & the Beaches Environmental Film Festival.” The five-day event with an overarching theme around climate change awareness will bring environmental films

4

LIVING THE DREAM

hosts its 13th annual “FedEx/St. Jude Angels and Stars Gala.” 6:30 p.m. May 16. JW Marriott Marquis Miami, 255 Biscayne Blvd. Way, downtown Miami.

Details: (305) 264-1371 or Carolina.Masri @StJude.org.

DINNER AT JOE’S

Womenade hosts its sixth annual “Take a Walk in Her Shoes” fashion show and luncheon, benefitting Chapman Partnership. The event will feature a vintage fashion showcase produced by C. Madeleine’s and directed by Danny Santiago, a silent auction and a celebration of outstanding women philanthropists and community leaders.

11 a.m.-2 p.m. May 21. JW Marriott Marquis Miami, 255 Biscayne Blvd. Way, downtown Miami. Details: www.chapman partnership.org.

Informed Families/The Florida Family Partnership hosts the 30th annual “Informed Families Dinner At Joe’s.”

Funds raised will support Informed Families’ statewide prevention programs and initiatives designed to help kids grow up safe, healthy and drug free.

6:30-9:30 p.m. May 18. Joe’s Stone Crab Restaurant, 11 Washington Ave., Miami Beach. Details: (305) 856-4886 or Info@InformedFamilies.org.

DOCTORS HOSPITAL BALL

The Doctors Hospital Foundation hosts the fourth annual Doctors Hospital Ball.

7 p.m. May 16. FIU Arena at University Park Campus, 11200 SW Eighth St., Tamiami. $500. Details: (786) 467-5400 or Events@BaptistHealth.net.

ANGELS & STARS GALA St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

WALK IN HER SHOES

THE AUCTION

Camillus House hosts its fifth annual “The Auction The Finest in Wine, Travel & Lifestyle Items – An Evening in Support of Camillus House.” 6:30 p.m. May 9. The Coral Gables Country Club, 997 N Greenway Dr., Coral Gables. $1,000.

Details: (305) 3741065 ext. 331 or BelfiM@Camillus.org.

MEETINGS & CONVENTIONS HEALING SEMINAR The Barbara Brennan School of Healing holds training seminar. About 200 attendees expected. Ends April 21. Hyatt Regency Miami, 400 SE Second Ave., Miami. Details: www.barbarabrennan.com.

GBA CONFERENCE

The Geoprofessional Business Association holds 2015 annual conference.

About 180 attendees expected. Ends April

18. JW Marriott Marquis Miami, 255 Biscayne Blvd. Way, Miami. Details: www.geoprofessional.org.

CLINICAL PATHOLOGY MEETING The American Society for Clinical Pathology holds its spring leadership meeting. About 300 attendees expected.

Ends April 19. Hyatt Regency Miami, 400 SE Second Ave., Miami. Details: www.ascp.org.

SOURCE: GREATER MIAMI CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU

and documentaries to a wide audience at venues in Miami Beach and Miami.

In addition to screenings of featurelength documentary films, fiction, short films and animation, this year’s festival will include interactive workshops and complementary exhibits and other activities. April 14-19.

Times and locations vary. Details: www.mbenvironmentalfilmfestival.org.

Friday 4/17

Thursday 4/16 FILMS ON THE BEACH

ENVIRONMENTAL FESTIVAL

P LAN

Dream in Green hosts “Living the Dream,” celebrating nine years of building a greener community. 7-11 p.m. May 8. 1 Hotel South Beach, 2341 Collins Ave., Miami Beach. $100. Details: www. dreamingreen.org.

A COLLECTOR’S LEGACY

The Lowe Art Museum at the University of Miami hosts opening reception for “A Collector’s Legacy: Highlights from the Francien C. Ruwitch and the Ruwitch Family Collections.” The reception will include opening remarks by Mark Z. Margulies. 7-9 p.m. reception. Exhibits through Sept. 27. Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami, 1301 Stanford Dr., Coral Gables. Free for members, UM students, faculty and staff. $10 others. RSVP. Details: (305) 284-5587 or rsvp.lowemuseum.org.

O

BEHIND THE BEAUTIFUL FOREVERS

The Coral Gables Art Cinema screens David Hare’s “Behind The Beautiful Forevers.” The film is set in a Mumbai slum, where Zehrunisa and her son Abdul aim to recycle enough rubbish to fund a proper house. But their schemes are fragile; global recession threatens the garbage trade, and another slum-dweller is about to make an accusation that will shatter the neighborhood. 1:30 p.m. Additional screenings through April 19. Coral Gables Art Cinema, 260 Aragon Ave., Coral Gables. $11.50 and under. Details: (786) 385-9689 or info@gables cinema.com or www.gablescinema .com.

Saturday 4/18 CLUELESS

The Secret Celluloid Society presents a late-night screening of the classic, witty and astute satire “Clueless” in honor of the film’s 20th anniversary as part of its “After Hours Series.” The film, based on the 1816 Jane Austen novel “Emma,” follows 15-year-old Cher (Alicia Silverstone), the most popular and glamorous girl at Beverly Hills High.

Her external demeanor at first seems superficial, but rather it hides her wit, charm and intelligence, which help her to deal with relationships, friends, family, school and the all-important teenage social life. Admission ticket includes free popcorn. 11 p.m. Coral Gables Art Cinema, 260 Aragon Ave., Coral Gables. $5. Details: (786) 3859689 or http://www.secretcelluloid society.com/.

Sunday 4/19 UNCLE

GLORIA

A fundraising party for the South Florida Transgender Documentary Film “Uncle Gloria: One Helluva Ride!” takes place at the Vagabond.

The party is hosted by Harvey Burstein, John DeFaro, Dawn Hebert,

Paul Jacober and Mauricio Del Valle, Robert and Maritza Jacobson, Robert Rosenberg, Janive Santini, Joan Schaeffer, Linda Simon, Martha Sternberg and Vivian Lamadrid and Robyn Symon. Guests will enjoy complimentary bites, one complimentary drink, plus a cash bar, live jazz, a sneak peak of the film and a chance to meet the filmmaker and cast. 4-6 p.m. Vagabond, 7301 Biscayne Blvd., Miami. $65. RSVP. Details: (305) 748-9773 or info@UncleGloria Film.com or www.UncleGloria Film.com.

MASTER CLASS SERIES

The Coral Gables Art Cinema hosts Master Class Series event with documentary filmmaker and Florida native Billy Corben. Mr. Corben is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and director of “Cocaine Cowboys,” “The U,” “Broke and Raw Deal: A Question of Consent” and more. He will be leading a small group of up-and-coming documentary filmmakers in discussing a range of topics in documentary filmmaking. The event includes a closing audience Q&A with the students and Mr. Corben. 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Coral Gables Art Cinema, 260 Aragon Ave., Coral Gables.

Free. Details: (786) 385-9689 or www. filmprojectmiami.com.

Wednesday 4/22 OLIVER!

The Miami Beach SoundScape Cinema Series screens the 1968 film “Oliver!,” directed by Carol Reed. A beach chair or towel is all moviegoers will need to enjoy the film projected onto a 7,000-square-foot wall of the New World Center through a freestanding state-of-the art visual and audio system. 8 p.m. New World Symphony SoundScape, southwest corner of Washington Ave. and 17th St., Miami Beach. Free. Details: (305) 673-7577 or www.mbculture.com.

Thursday 4/23 FILMS ON THE BEACH

The Miami Beach SoundScape Cinema Series and the French Embassy Cultural Services present “Films on the Beach” with a screening of “Parapluie de Cherbourg,” a recently restored and re-mastered French classic. A beach chair or towel is all moviegoers will need to enjoy the film projected onto a 7,000-squarefoot wall of the New World Center

MIAMI TODAY

WEEK OF THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2015

calendar of events

Gospel Sundays

The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation present “Free Gospel Sundays,” featuring Grammy award-winning singer, songwriter, choir director and multiinstrumentalist Tye Tribbett. 4 p.m. April 19. Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, 1300 Biscayne Blvd., Knight City Centre; Ali Soule, public Concert Hall. Free.

ART affairs manager for All Aboard Details: (305) 949-6722 or Florida; and Dean Warhaft, vice www.arshtcenter.org. president and development coordinator for Florida East Coast DINING OUT Realty developing Panorama Tower. 11:30 a.m. registration and networking. 12-1:30 p.m.

Forever and Ever (second version). lunch program. April 16. Four Seasons Brickell, 1435 Brickell Art Talk Ave., Miami. $45 advance memThe Art and Culture Center of bers. $55 advance others. $65 Hollywood hosts art talk with on site. RSVP. artist Jose Alvarez in conversaDetails: www.crewmiami.org. tion with arts leader Irvin Lippman, discussing his current DANCE exhibition. The exhibit, “As Far as the I Can See,” is presented throughout four first-floor galleries. 2 p.m. reception. 2:30 p.m. talk. April 18. Art and Culture Center of Hollywood, Carolyn Dorman Dance Company.

1650 Harrison St., Hollywood.

Chef Robert Irvine.

Details: (954) 921-3274 or Carolyn Dorfman A Culinary Adventure www.artandculturecenter.org. Dance!

Hard Rock Live presents ceThe Miami Dance Festival preBUSINES S lebrity chef and restaurateur sents “Carolyn Dorfman Robert Irvine in an interactive Dance!” The 10-member, multiculinary adventure during “Robethnic company creates rich ert Irvine Live.” The show takes “worlds” through dance into his no-nonsense approach to his which draw audiences in with signature culinary sensibilities to bold athleticism and theatrics. 8 a whole new level, resulting in a p.m. April 18. Aventura Arts & high energy, interactive, multiCultural Center, 3385 NE 188th media and multi-sensory theatSt., Aventura. $25-$75. rical experience. Audience Details: (877) 311- 7469 members spin a digital wheel to or www.aventuracenter.org. customize the culinary challenge Chef Irvine will embark on. The MUSIC Ali Soule. wheel will determine everything from time limits to ingredients Mixed-Use Miami: and the challenge itself. Up to 30 New Projects on the audience members may be called Rise onstage to participate. 8 p.m.

CREW-Miami presents lunApril 17. Hard Rock Live at the cheon “Mixed-Use Miami: New Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Projects on the Rise.” Panelists Casino, 1 Seminole Way, Hollywill include Gonzalo Cortabarria, wood. $34-$154. senior vice president at Swire Details: (800) 745-3000 Properties developing Brickell Tye Tribbett. or www.myhrl.com.

FILM cont.— through a freestanding state-of-the art visual and audio system. In French with English subtitles. 8 p.m. New World Symphony SoundScape, southwest corner of Washington Ave. and 17th St., Miami Beach.

Free. Details: (305) 673-7577 or www.mbculture.com.

MUSIC Friday 4/17 VENTANA AL JAZZ

The Miami Jazz & Film Society presents “Ventana al Jazz,” the final installment in an open-air community jazz concert series that takes place every third Friday in Mary Brickell Village. The concert will feature the Ian Muñoz Quartet, the Hot Club of the Americas presented by Federico Britos and the Alfredo Chacón Quintet. 5:30 p.m. Mary Brickell Village, 900 S Miami Ave., Miami. Free. Details:

(305) 374-2444.

CHILDREN’S

ORCHESTRA

Miami Music Project invites the community to join its Children’s Orchestra for a concert as they perform side by side the FIU Symphony Orchestra and FIU Concerto competition winners. The Orchestral Masterworks Series includes Peer Gynt, Suite No. 1 written by Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg, featuring the Miami Music Project Children’s Orchestras conducted by director of programming Abiram Brizuela.7:30 p.m.

Florida International University’s Herbert and Nicole Wertheim Performing Arts Center Concert Hall, 10910 SW 17th St., Tamiami. $5-$10. Details: (305) 3480496.

Sunday 4/19 BACH + MAHLER

The South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center and Seraphic Fire present “Bach + Mahler.” Patrick Dupré Quigley, joined by Metropolitan Opera tenor Bryan Hymel, mezzo-

soprano Susanne Mentzer and baritone Dashon Burton, will explore the haunting emotions contained within Bach’s “Ich Habe Genug” and Rainer Riehn’s intimate re-orchestration of Mahler’s “Das Lied von der Erde.” 4 p.m. South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center, 10950 SW 211th St., Cutler Bay. $20-$55. Details: (786) 5735300 or www.smdcac.org.

OUTDOORS

Saturday 4/18

FAMILY FISHING EVENT

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and Tropical Park present the first “Vamos a Pescar Miami” (Let’s Go Fishing Miami), a family fishing event. Activities will include fishing/boating skills clinics, FWC law enforcement presentations, sport shooting education and DaisyR Inflatable BB Gun Range, wildlife presentations, food truck vendors and live music by “Havana Soul.” 9 a.m.2 p.m. Tropical Park, 7900 SW 40th St., Miami. Details: (305) 365-3018

EXHIBITS

21

SPECIAL EVENTS

Perfect Symmetry - Simetria Perfecta, oil on canvas.

Deep Inside The Miami Hispanic Cultural Arts Center, under the direction of Pedro Pablo Pena, presents “Deep Inside.” The art exhibit,

by Jaqueline Zerquera, focuses on the perception of the boundaries bodes, the mind and living spaces. Exhibits through April 30. Miami Hispanic Cultural Arts Center, 111 SW Fifth Ave., Miami.

Details: (786) 888-2145 or www.miamihispanicculturalarts center.org.

FILM

Bérénice Marlohe and Anton Yelchin.

Huong.

Good Mourning, Vietnam The Peace Mural Foundation - Community Newspapers presents “Good Mourning, Vietnam,” a war testimony 40 years after the chaos that was Vietnam. The art documentary American war history, by Huong, tells of the sorrows she endured during her first 25 years. The event will feature a meet and greet with the artist. 7-10 p.m.

April 24. Peace Mural Gallery, 1606 Washington Ave., Miami Beach.

Details: http://huongwarpiece .org.

CHILDREN

5 to 7 The Bill Cosford Cinema screens “5 to 7,” directed by Victor Levin. The film tells of a chance encounter on the streets of Manhattan that draws 20something aspiring writer Brian (Anton Yelchin) into a passionate love affair with a glamorous French woman (Bérénice Marlohe). The catch? She’s married, and can only meet him for hotel room trysts between the hours of 5 and 7. As Brian yearns for more than just two hours a day with the woman of his dreams, he learns hard-won lessons about life and love. 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. April 17.

Additional screenings through April 23. Cosford Cinema at UM, Memorial building 227, 5030 Brunson Dr., Coral Gables. Free for UM students. $7 seniors, UM alumni, faculty, staff and non-UM students. $9 others.

Details: (305) 284-4861 or www.cosfordcinema.com. or elynk@miamidade.gov.

Sunday 4/19 EARTH DAY

The Barnacle Historic State Park hosts “Earth Day Celebration” with super foods for super kids.

The event will include superheroes, bike valet, arts and crafts, music, planting and healthy eating demos and much more. No pets allowed. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. The Barnacle, 3485 Main Highway, Coconut Grove. Free for children 2 and under. $3 ages 3-5. $5 others. Details: (305) 442-6866 or www.the barnacle.org.

PUBLIC MEETINGS Thursday 4/16 TRADE & TOURISM

The Miami-Dade County Trade and Tourism Committee meets. 9:30 a.m. Stephen P. Clark Center, 111 NW First St., second floor commission chambers, Miami. Details: (305) 375-2035.

A family show.

Cinderella The South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center presents “Cinderella” as part of the center’s Family Series. The musical takes all the traditional elements of the original story and adds all the humor, action and romance of the classic film.

Attendees will join the Fairy Godmother as she takes on the evil Stepmother to assure that Cinderella and Prince Charming are reunited for the happiest of endings. 11 a.m. April 18. South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center, 10950 SW 211th St., Cutler Bay. $10.

Details: (786) 573-5300 or www.smdcac.org.

SMALL BUSINESS ADVISORY

The Small Business Advisory Board meets. 10:30 a.m. Stephen P. Clark Center, 111 NW First St., 19th floor, Miami. Details: (305) 3753121.

ECONOMIC

PROSPERITY

The Miami-Dade County Economic Prosperity Committee meets.

2 p.m. Stephen P. Clark Center, 111 NW First St., second floor commission chambers, Miami. Details: (305) 375-2035.

INVESTIGATIVE

PANEL

The Civilian Investigative Panel meets with the Ordinance Revision Committee. 4 p.m. Civilian Investigative Panel Office, 970 SW First St., #305, Miami. Details: (305) 960-4952.

OVERTOWN

COMMUNITY

The Overtown Advisory Board/ Overtown Community Oversight Board meets. 5 p.m. Culmer Center, 1600 NW Third Ave., Miami. Details: (305) 372-4550.

PARKS & RECREATION

Miami’s Parks and Recreation

22

WEEK OF THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2015

MIAMI TODAY

calendar of events PUBLIC MEETINGS

cont.—

Advisory Board meets. 6 p.m. Miami City Hall, commission chambers, 3500 Pan American Dr., Coconut Grove.

Details: (305) 416-1332.

TICKETING

APPELLATE

Miami’s Ticketing Appellate panel meets with the Code Enforcement Board Special Master. 9 a.m. Miami City Hall, commission chambers, 3500 Pan American Dr., Coconut Grove.

Details: (305) 416-2037.

BEACH

TRUST

The Virginia Key Beach Park Trust meets with the Planning, Construction, Nature and Environment Committee. 6 p.m. Virginia Key Beach Park Trust, 4020 Virginia Beach Dr., Virginia Key. Details: (305) 960-4603.

Friday 4/17 JACKSON OBLIGATION BOND

The Jackson Health System General Obligation Bond Citizens’ Advisory Committee meets. Noon. Jackson Memorial Hospital, West Wing Board Room, 1611 NW 12th Ave., first floor, Miami. Details: (305) 3751293.

zation Executive Director Selection Committee meets. 9 a.m. Stephen P. Clark Center, 111 NW First St., 21st floor conference room, Miami. Details: (305) 375-4507.

SMALL BUSINESS ADVISORY

The 2014-2015 Community Small Business Enterprise Advisory Board meets. 1 p.m. Stephen P. Clark Center, 111 NW First St., 19th floor, Miami. Details: (305) 375-3111.

Tuesday 4/21 COUNTY

COMMISSIONERS

The Miami-Dade County Board of County Commissioners meets. 9:30 a.m. Stephen P. Clark Center, 111 NW First St., second floor commission chambers, Miami. Details: (305) 375-2035.

ECONOMIC ADVOCACY TRUST

The Miami-Dade Economic Advocacy Trust meets. 3:30 p.m. Stephen P. Clark Center, 111 NW First St., second floor commission chambers, Miami. Details: (305) 375-5661.

CRA MEETING

Miami’s Downtown Development Authority meets. 8:30 a.m. Downtown Development Authority, 200 S Biscayne Blvd., suite 2929, Miami.

Details: (305) 579-6675.

Daniella Levine Cava, Miami-Dade County commissioner, District 8; and Xavier L. Suarez, Miami-Dade County commissioner, District 7, attend the Community Redevelopment Area Meeting regarding CRAs in Miami-Dade County: Past, Present and Future.6 p.m. Miami Center for Architecture & Design, 100 NE First Ave., Miami. Details: (305) 3751293.

RED LIGHT CAMERA

INVESTIGATIVE

The Red Light Camera Hearing Committee holds a morning session.

8:30 a.m. Miami City Hall, commission chambers, 3500 Pan American Dr., Coconut Grove. Details: (305) 250-5360.

The Civilian Investigative Panel meets. 5:30 p.m. Miami City Hall, commission chambers, 3500 Pan American Dr., Coconut Grove. Details: (305) 960-4952.

DOWNTOWN

DEVELOPMENT

RED LIGHT CAMERA

The Red Light Camera Hearing Committee holds its afternoon session. 1:30 p.m. Miami City Hall, commission chambers, 3500 Pan American Dr., Coconut Grove. Details: (305) 250-5360.

Monday 4/20 METRO PLANNING

The Metropolitan Planning Organi-

PANEL

CODE ENFORCEMENT

The Code Enforcement Board meets. 9 a.m. Miami City Hall, commission chambers, 3500 Pan American Dr., Coconut Grove. Details: (305) 416-2037.

Wednesday 4/22 PUBLIC

SAFETY

The Public Safety Coordinating Council meets. 9:30 a.m. Richard E. Gerstein Building, 1351 NW 12th

St., room 423, Miami. Details: (305) 375-1293.

CODE ENFORCEMENT

The Code Enforcement Board meets. 5 p.m. Miami City Hall, commission chambers, 3500 Pan American Dr., Coconut Grove. Details: (305) 416-2037.

INDUSTRY

DAY

Industry Day for City of Miami Towing Services takes place. 10 a.m.

Miami City Hall, commission chambers, 3500 Pan American Dr., Coconut Grove. Details: (305) 416-1902.

NUISANCE

ABATEMENT

The Nuisance Abatement Board meets with Code Enforcement. 5 p.m.

Miami City Hall, commission chambers, 3500 Pan American Dr., Coconut Grove. Details: (305) 416-2037.

Thursday 4/23 ZONING MEETING

The Miami-Dade County Zoning Committee meets. 9:30 a.m. Stephen P. Clark Center, 111 NW First St., second floor commission chambers, Miami. Details: (305) 375-1244.

WAGE COMMISSION

The Living Wage Commission meets. 3 p.m. Stephen P. Clark Center, 111 NW First St., 19th floor, Miami. Details: (305) 375-3153.

MIAMI COMMISSION

The City of Miami Commission meets with Planning and Zoning. 9 a.m. Miami City Hall, commission chambers, 3500 Pan American Dr., Coconut Grove.

SPECIAL EVENTS

Thursday 4/16 O, MIAMI

O, Miami returns with more than 30 events and 23 projects in the course of 30 days. Festival highlights include “Poetry in the Park,” “Manual Cinema,” “Cease & Exist,” “Secret Sonnets” and “Powers to the People.”

Through April 30. Times and locations vary. Details: www.omiami.org.

VERITAGEMIAMI

United Way of Miami-Dade hosts “VeritageMiami.” The four-day gathering will feature wine, spirits, beer and food with top sommeliers, chefs, wineries, winemakers and breweries.

April 15-18. Times and locations will vary. $50-$500. Details: (305) 6467029 or www.VeritageMiami.com.

Friday 4/17 WORLD HEMOPHILIA DAY

The Florida Hemophilia Association hosts reception to mark “World Hemophilia Day.” The event will also feature a lighting of the Miami Tower red to raise awareness of the occasion. 6:30-9:30 p.m. Hyatt Regency Miami, 400 SE Second Ave., Miami.

Details: http://www.wfh.org/en/whd.

Saturday 4/18 REACH FOR THE STARS

The Actors’ Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre hosts its 24th annual Reach for the Stars Gala Auction.

Attendees will bid on over $300,000 worth of live and silent auction items, while enjoying culinary offerings from more than 35 Coral Gables restaurants, wine and champagne courtesy of Premier Beverage Co., and an open bar sponsored by Bacardi U.S.A. 6 p.m. Actors’ Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre, 280 Miracle Mile, Coral Gables. Details: (305) 444-9293 or www.ActorsPlayhouse.org.

GALAXY GALA

The Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science hosts its 13th annual “Galaxy Gala and Young Patrons Big Bang.” Proceeds from both events benefit the Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science. 6:30 p.m. gala. 9 p.m. Big Bang. Hilton Miami Downtown, 1601 Biscayne Blvd., Miami. $600. Details: RRobinson@ ScienceGala.com.

MUSICAL GALA

The Children’s Resources Fund Inc. hosts the 37th annual musical gala “A Music & Dance Sensation.”

Guests will hear Becherer and The Soul Survivors with a performance from the volunteer singers and dancers from Montclair State University.

7 p.m. Four Seasons Hotel, 1435 Brickell Ave., Miami. $600-$1,000.

Details: (305) 596-6966 or AGonzalez@CRFCenter.org.

OUTSIDE THE BOX

The YoungArts Foundation presents “The Langston Hughes Project” featuring the Ron McCurdy Quartet, YoungArts alumnus Kenyon Adams and surprise guests, as part of its “Outside the Box” series. The project is a multimedia concert performance of Hughes’ “Ask Your Mama: Twelve Moods for Jazz,” an epic jazz poem suite in music and verse about the struggle for artistic and social freedom in the ’60s. 7-9 p.m. National YoungArts Foundation, 2100 Biscayne Blvd., Miami. Free. RSVP. Details: OutsideTheBox@youngarts.org.

THE IDAN RAICHEL PROJECT

The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County presents “The Idan Raichel Project.” The concert will feature hits such as “Mi’Ma’amakim” and “Boee,” as well as songs from his latest album. With a multi-cultural Israeli upbringing, he uses his songs to promote acceptance, unity, peace and respect for different cultures.

His contemporary eclectic MiddleEastern sound fuses traditional Hebrew with electronics. 8 p.m.

Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County, 1300 Biscayne Blvd., John S. and James L. Knight Concert Hall, Miami. $35-$145. Details: (305) 9496722 or www.arshtcenter.org.

SPORTS

Friday 4/17

GOLF & TENNIS TOURNAMENT

The Jackson Memorial Foundation hosts its inaugural Golf and Tennis Tournament. April 17-18. Trump National Doral, 4400 NW 87th Ave., Doral. Details: (305) 585-4483.

THEA TER THEATER

Thursday 4/16 SISTER ACT

Broadway Across America and the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County present musical comedy “Sister Act.” The season’s closing musical tells of Deloris Van Cartier, a wannabe diva whose life takes a surprising turn when she witnesses a crime. To keep their star witness safe, the cops hide her in the last place anyone would think to look – a convent. Under the suspicious watch of Mother Superior, Deloris helps her fellow sisters find their voices as she unexpectedly rediscovers her own. This tribute to the universal power of friendship features original music by Alan Menken. 8 p.m. Additional performances through April 19. Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County, 1300 Biscayne Blvd., Ziff Ballet Opera House, Miami. Tickets start at $26.

Details: (305) 949-6722 or www.arshtcenter.org.

NEW

JERUSALEM

Gables Stage presents “New Jerusalem,” by David Ives. The play follows the interrogation of Baruch de Spinoza at Talmud Torah Congregation in Amsterdam on July 27, 1656.

8 p.m. Additional performances through April 26. GableStage, 1200 Anastasia Ave., Coral Gables. $55.

Details: (305) 446-1116 or www. gablestage.org.

Saturday 4/18 WOMEN PLAYING HAMLET

New Theatre presents “Woman Playing Hamlet” by William Missouri Downs. The production, with an all-female cast, follows a flawed actress who wrangles with being cast as the archetype role of Hamlet. 8:30 p.m. Additional performances through April 26. South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center, 10950 SW 211th St., Cutler Bay. $26 advance. $31 on site. Details: (305) 443-5909 or www.new-theatre.org.

Highlighted new talent talks of his ‘Fourth of July Creek’ B Y M ARILYN B OWDEN

The Brickell Avenue Literary Society welcomes one of the publishing world’s most talkedabout new talents today (4/16) when Smith Henderson speaks about his debut novel, “Fourth of July Creek.” The society meets at noon in the Wolfson Auditorium at Temple Israel of Greater Miami, 137 NE 19th St. “Fourth of July Creek” is set in the early 1980s in rural Wyoming, where poverty, alcoholism and anti-government sentiment run rife.

In the words of Rachel Snow, a 13-year-old runaway, “Wyoming… means to drive forever through ugly scrubscape the color of dirty pennies… to wyom was to go from nowhere to nowhere. Through nowhere.”

This is a novel in which ev-

ery character is broken in one way or another. Rachel’s father, Pete, the book’s protagonist, is as down-and-out as his neighbors, living in a cabin with no heat or electricity, at odds with his family, often drunk before noon. Pete, however, is also endowed with a deep reserve of compassion, a trait that has led him to social work.

“There were families you helped because this was your job,” he says, “and you helped them get into work programs or you set up an action plan and checked in on them or you gave them a ride to the goddamn doctor’s office to have that infection looked at.

And then there were the people who were the reason for you to do your job.”

One of those for whom Pete’s concern goes beyond the obligations of his job is

Benjamin Pearl, the 11-yearold son of survivalists who live a hardscrabble existence in the woods. Benjamin has never attended school. His

worldview is shaped by his paranoid father, who pulls up stakes in response to a plane flying directly overhead; who believes that volcanic ash from the eruption of Mt. Helena is fallout from a nuclear war and that dinosaur bones are ruses of the Devil.

“Pete realized that to Pearl, Satan had staged the world in this and every ancient particular,” Mr. Henderson writes. “Pete imagined what it would feel like to believe such a thing, to see the very Devil ranging about the Earth like an art director, crafting fictions in the schists and coal seams and limestone. All to cast doubt on the Bible’s timeline. All for the harvest of lost souls.

Maybe it would be worth it for the Devil. You could almost picture it. Almost.”

Mr. Henderson deftly transfers to readers his empathy for his beleaguered characters,

and it is this quality that makes “Fourth of July Creek” a compelling read.

Smith Henderson, whose short stories have been published in a number of prestigious literary journals, won a 2011 PEN Emerging Writers Award in fiction and a 2011 Pushcart Prize. He was a Philip Roth Resident in Creative Writing at Bucknell University and a fellow at the Michener Center for Writers in Austin, TX. The Brickell Avenue Literary Society is sponsored by Sabadell United Bank and Miami Today.

For more information, call (786) 691-4521 or email contact@ BrickellLiterary.org.

“Fourth of July Creek,” by Smith Henderson, 468 pages hardbound, is $26.99 from Ecco Press, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

Details: www.eccobooks.com.