Miami Today: Week of Thursday, May 21, 2015 by Miami Today

WEEK OF THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2015

A Singular Voice in an Evolving City

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BANKING & FINANCE

Realty investors hedge, borrow using foreign currencies, pg. 15 RED LIGHT, GREEN LIGHT: Miami-Dade is starting from scratch in the search for firms that will establish a red light camera program for the county’s police department, now that the Metropolitan Services Committee voted to recommend the full board reject proposals received to date. Given the time elapsed since the January 2014 proposals submission date, all will be rejected without prejudice to the proposers. If approved by commissioners, the mayor or his designee will issue a new solicitation within 60 days. The program, anticipated at no cost to the county, would be funded through revenue generated by the citations issued. The program would be deployed in phases, with the initial phase of 50 cameras. Additional cameras would be added in increments of up to 50 cameras for up to a total of 150 at the county’s discretion.

Credit card companies chip in to avoid financial fraud, pg. 17

THE ACHIEVER

BY SUSAN D ANSEYAR

FREE SUNPASS: The Miami-Dade County Office of Community Advocacy will partner with the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority (MDX) to give away free SunPass-minis every month at the Stephen P. Clark Center in downtown Miami. The giveaways will take place the third Thursday of each month from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. beginning today (5/ 21) in conjunction with the Office of Community Advocacy’s monthly DMV to Go events in the Clark Center lobby, 111 NW First St. Residents can receive free SunPass-minis for all vehicles in their household and activate them on-site by using a credit or debit card and filling out an activation form including vehicle information. Residents also can activate the devices at home. MDX representatives will provide information about the SunPass Tag Swap Program in anticipation of battery-operated SunPasses becoming obsolete after Dec. 31. Details: Office of Community Advocacy, (305) 375-5730. HIDING THE UGLY: The Miami-Dade Metropolitan Services Committee unanimously asked the county commission to set a policy to minimize negative aesthetic impact before granting a license or easement for utility lines and equipment on county property. Many times, utilities have placed above-ground lines and equipment in areas that are easily seen and unappealing, the resolution says. But in many cases, county staff said, it’s possible to minimize ugly looks by shifting the lines and equipment, adjusting the way they’re installed or camouflaging them with foliage and landscaping. If the full commission approves, the mayor’s office would negotiate with utility companies on ways to cover up or minimize unsightliness of utility lines and equipment before granting an easement or license.

Michael Wohl

Photo by Marlene Quaroni

Developing affordable housing to fill vast shortfall The profile is on Page 4

Little Havana trolley route rolls by verbal detour Miami trolley routes took a circuitous, bumpy trip as city commissioners last week agreed to start service in Little Havana, Wynwood and Coconut Grove within six months. Facing a June 1 deadline to seek up to $1.5 million from the Florida Department of Transportation to add more trolley-like buses, commissioners sparred over the length of the Little Havana route before deciding to go west only to 37th Avenue. Then Commissioners Frank Carollo and Francis Suarez literally shook hands as Mr. Carollo declared “It was a consensus.” Ironically, Mr. Carollo – whose district covers the eastern part of the route – had sought to run the route further west to 57th Avenue deep in Flagami, represented by Mr. Suarez. But Mr. Suarez, who hadn’t been told of the push west in advance, said that “with a heavy heart” he was shocked that Mr. Carollo had gone to a senior center in his district to drum up support for the plan. Like a boxing referee, Chairman Willy Gort stepped between their verbal punches dealing with failure to talk in advance and the countervailing sunshine law, which bans

AGENDA

Arena land stays under market rate

Pledges of two free trolleys, funding swayed tion estimates it will have $1.5 million this year for new routes, with the money commission to add Coconut Grove route, pg. 3 intended for three years of operation. private talks between commissioners without formal notice. All the commissioners and outside speakers agreed on the need for Little Havana trolleys. William D. Talbert III, Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau president and CEO, said half of Miami-Dade’s visitors are international and that in a survey they ranked Little Havana the area’s tenth most important attraction. Earlier, he noted privately that 28% of international visitors saw Little Havana as a destination, as did 11% of domestic visitors, who ranked it the 11th most important attraction. The final route will go directly past the InterAmerican Campus of Miami Dade College at Southwest Eighth Street and 27th Avenue. Its student leaders spoke up for the route, with two calling for fares of 25 cents to $1 on the now-free system if needed to get a route to the campus. City administrators told commissioners that the Florida Department of Transporta-

Much of the rest, said Deputy Manager Alice Bravo, would come from the city’s slice of a half percent surtax on retail sales that is dedicated to transportation, with the general fund covering the balance. But sales tax funding, she said, can’t keep the current seven trolley routes running for much longer, much less fund the shortfall on new routes, because the transportation department funds wouldn’t cover the full cost of the three new routes. Commissioners have refused since the trolley system was instituted in 2012 to charge fares. They have been using up reserves to keep it going from a decade of surtax funds that they had squirreled away starting in 2002 – and that money, Ms. Bravo said, is fast running out. Faced with no plan to keep trolleys running into the future, Mr. Suarez again said, as he had at an April 23 meeting, that the city must establish a transportation trust to help pay for the trolleys and other transportation.

Miami-Dade won’t collect what an appraisal says is 187% more than it now does on four waterfront acres behind American Airlines Arena. Commissioners were to raise fees Tuesday to do business on the countyowned site called Parcel B, but a number of commissioners voted no, saying that didn’t set a lower non-profit rate. Currently, the county issues permits to stage arena events to concert operators and Basketball Properties Inc., a Miami Heat entity that manages American Airlines Arena. On July 17, 2014, the commission asked the mayor to have an appraiser find the fair market value of the property and use it to propose a fee schedule for third parties using it. Realty brokerage CBRE’s appraisal showed the county could collect about $230,000 a year, 187% more than it gets now. On March 10, the Strategic Planning and Government Operations Committee approved new fees 6-0: A $2,000 deposit for valet parking and $4,000 a day. A $2,000 deposit for concert staging and $1,100 a day. A $5,000 deposit for circus staging and $1,300 a day. A $5,000 deposit for carnivals and $18,000 a day. A $5,000 deposit for concerts held there and $36,000 a day. A $2,000 deposit for parties and $2,500 a day. The committee recommended that the full commission approve. On April 21, however, the commission voted 10-1 to defer discussion. Commissioner Audrey Edmonson, who represents the area, was the first Tuesday to say she couldn’t support the increase because Parcel B was the only property being singled out. “This parcel is no more unique than any other except it’s on the water,” she said. “I’m not going to support [the fee schedule] unless we do this everywhere.”

BRIDGE OPENINGS IN LOCKDOWN TIME MORE FREQUENT ...

REIN IN HOMELESS TRUST, DOWNTOWN AUTHORITY ASKS ... 9

VIEWPOINT: ARCHITECTURE PRIZE COULD ELEVATE CITY ...

COUNTY HOUSING SUPPLY AND DEMAND FIND BALANCE ... 11

MIAMI OPEN BLAMES COUNTY FOR POSSIBLE DEPARTURE ... 7

COUNTY TO HIRE COURTHOUSE PARTNERSHIPS TEAMS ...

BUS FACTORY IS MOVING FORWARD IN SEARCH FOR SITE ...

SKYRISE OBSERVATION TOWER RESHAPING BAYFRONT ...

MIAMI TODAY

TODAY’S NEWS

WEEK OF THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2015

THE INSIDER MORE AIR TIES ABROAD: Miami International Airport last week added a second carrier linking Miami and Frankfurt, Germany, as American Airlines began daily direct flights using Boeing 767-300 aircraft. Additional international links are on the runway for July: American is to begin service linking Miami and Monterrey, Mexico, and Miami and Barranquilla, Colombia, in July. Also in July, Aruba Airlines is to begin service linking Aruba and Miami and Aerolineas Argentinas is to start service between Miami and Córdoba. BALANCING MIA CHECKBOOK: The Miami-Dade Trade and Tourism Committee unanimously sent to the full commission without recommendation a resolution directing the mayor to immediately act to recover all money owed by those doing business at Miami International Airport (MIA) and general aviation airports. MIA has concessions, leases space to numerous tenants and permits third-party economic activity. Recent investigations and testimony to the commission make it apparent MIA is not collecting all revenue it is entitled to, which can translate into higher fees for airlines and be “corrosive to the public trust in good government,” the resolution states. The mayor can recover money in a number of ways, including revoking permits to do business at airports. Should Photo by Maxine Usdan recovery efforts owed harm travelers or airlines, the mayor could ask to suspend recovery efforts. The mayor would be required to report quar- Drivers heading downtown on the Brickell Avenue Bridge must merge lanes as they roll onto the bridge. terly on all money owed to the airports and the status of collection efforts.

Bridges opening in lockdown times as lanes cutback frustrating drivers

NONPROFIT EXCELLENCE: The annual nonprofit excellence awards of the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce, branded the NOVO Awards, named Bob Dickinson its outstanding board leader this month for, as board chairman, leading an $84 million fundraising effort for Camillus House to build a new 340-bed campus. The awards recognized the Take Stock in Children Miami FLIGHT (Facilitating Long-Term Improvements in Graduation and Higher Education for Tomorrow) among low-income BY CATHERINE LACKNER youth, achieving a 96% high school graduation rate and 87% of its students enrolled in college. Also recognized was the PACE Center for Directors of Miami’s DownGirls Miami, which improves scholastic standings and reduces criminal town Development Authority last justice system involvement. September expressed frustration INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS: Miami Mayor Tomás Regalado traveled with 30 mayors to Washington, DC, on May 14 to urge Congress to enact a long-term renewal of the federal transportation law that significantly increases investment in US roads, bridges and transit and directs more funding to meet the infrastructure needs of cities and metropolitan regions. It was a bipartisan effort led by New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, who chairs the US Conference of Mayors’ Cities of Opportunity Task Force, and more than 100 mayors around the US. Federal transportation funding is set to expire May 31. The mayors met with a number of members of Congress. Mr. Regalado participated at the press conference on Capitol Hill to call for a long-term renewal bill with increased resources and more locally-directed funding to address the growing needs in Miami, where population is steadily rising. The mayors pointed out that cities and localities are becoming more and more dependent on federal transportation funding to maintain vital highway and transit networks, with transit ridership reaching record highs.

MISSING: Hank Klein, a director of Miami’s Downtown Development Authority, said last Friday’s meeting would be his last as a board member. Mr. Klein, who is vice chairman of Blanca Commercial Real Estate, said he wants to devote his free time to promoting Baptist Health South Florida in gratitude for care he received there after suffering a stroke three years ago. Board members thanked him for his contributions and said they were sorry to see him go. One was Rolando Montoya, provost of Miami Dade College. When Mr. Klein was a trustee, he counseled the administration on poten- Hank Klein tial purchases. “His expertise saved us millions in our real estate transactions,” Dr. Montoya said. “That was his legacy to the college, and now we will miss him here, too.” BACK TO LOBBYING ROLE: The 35,000-member Miami Association of Realtors has hired Doral Councilwoman Ana Maria Rodriguez to lobby for the association’s interests with local governments and the state legislature. Her current term in Doral ends in 2018. Her title with the realtors group is vice president of government affairs, a notch below Senior Vice President of Government Affairs and Housing Danielle Blake. Ms. Rodriguez was director of government and community relations for Baptist Health South Florida from 2004 to 2010, the Ana Maria Rodriguez year she was elected to city office. HANDLING MIA’S BAGGAGE: The Miami-Dade Trade and Tourism Committee unanimously asked the county commission to award a $163,280,939 agreement to John Bean Technologies Corp.-JBT Airport Services (JBT) for baggage handling system operation and maintenance at Miami International Airport. The agreement would be for five years with five one-year renewal options. Funds would come from the Miami-Dade Aviation Department’s operating budget and the Transportation Security Administration. According to a memo Mayor Carlos Gimenez sent to commissioners, JBT has performed satisfactorily as current operator of the baggage handling system operation and was ranked highest of the three firms responding to a request for proposals last December. If awarded the agreement, JBT will operate, maintain and repair all automated and manual baggage sorting systems at MIA’s Concourse D inbound, and inbound and outbound luggage for Concourses E, F, G, H and J. CORRECTION: A May 7 item in this column failed to note that the Miami-Dade County Commission has veto powers over department head appointments by the mayor. CORRECTION: Some quotes in a May 14 article about an affordable housing summit hosted by the Miami Coalition for the Homeless were attributed to the wrong panelist. The statement that “Mixed income brings a neighborhood up” was made by Ario Lundy, Palmetto Homes president and CEO. A description of plans for the ground floor of the Island Living project should have been attributed to Kenneth Naylor, Atlantic Pacific Co. chief operating officer.

that, in defiance of an agreement hammered out years ago, bridges that serve downtown are being opened during times when they should remain locked down to let cars pass. Friday, the authority learned the problem is even worse than previously thought. “Last time I appeared here, we had only a small sample of bridge openings,” said Alex TiradoLuciano, an associate in the Lydecker-Diaz law firm, which offered to study the matter pro bono. He and Alan S. Feldman delivered in a preliminary report in September. “When we started this, I said one violation was too many, but violations are pretty extensive,” Mr. Tirado-Luciano said last week. On weekdays between Jan. 1, 2014, and Feb. 28, 2015, a device attached to the Brickell Avenue Bridge recorded 3,218 openings, 682 of which were during restricted hours, he said. While only 38 were clear violations, another 337 were within 15 minutes of the restricted times, and in 74 instances, the bridge was drawn up during unrestricted times but remained open into the times when it should have been locked down. For the purposes of the study, restricted times were from 7:20 to 9:14 a.m., 11:50 a.m. to 1:14 p.m., and 4:20 to 6:14 p.m., he explained. Marine interests along the Miami River have said that enforcing strict fixed-bridge hours will hurt commerce, yet only 18% of the bridge openings allowed cargo vessels to pass, Mr. TiradoLuciano said. Another 21% were for tugs and 6% for barges, while pleasure craft accounted for 45%, according to a chart he gave to directors. Cargo ships and tugs are exempted from the restrictions, in any case, and removing the exemption for them is not recommended, he said. “The time is now to advise the Coast Guard,” Mr. TiradoLuciano said. A new commander, Rear Admiral Scott Buschman,

‘...the problem with this “trial” reduction of a vehicular travel lane directly on the Brickell Bridge has been confirmed by me and multiple other witnesses.’ Jose Felix Diaz began April 30, he added. “He is brand new, and what better way to welcome him than to show him the violations on his watch?” Traffic snarled because of bridge openings costs the local economy $12 million each year in lost productivity, he said. The logjam can involve as many as 26,000 vehicles that can produce 246 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions while they idle, said Nicholas Martinez, researcher for the downtown authority. “The Coast Guard should evaluate this again. We should show the new commander the data and get him on our side,” Mr. TiradoLuciano said. While he would not rule out litigation – which was suggested last fall when the debate began – he said it is “at the end of the spectrum.” Complaints about Brickell Avenue traffic being congested by limitations of the Brickell Avenue Bridge and exacerbated by its openings are decades old, but have mounted as population and construction increases have put more vehicles on the roadways. Other interests have another suggestion for reducing traffic congestion that centers on the Brickell Avenue Bridge – a solution that deals not with bridge openings but rather would open more lanes of the bridge for vehicles to reduce traffic jams.

Miami River Commission Chairman Horacio Stuart Aguirre last week wrote to the Miami City Commission asking that it request the Florida Department of Transportation to reopen a northbound traffic lane that the state had closed in an effort to ease traffic problems near the bridge in downtown. “The new need for drivers to merge from three lanes down to only two northbound vehicular lanes while driving on top of the Brickell Bridge clearly makes the vehicular backup longer and takes more time to restore average traffic flow after a federally regulated bridge opening,” Mr. Aguirre wrote to the city commission. “Please note the problem with this ‘trial’ reduction of a vehicular travel lane directly on the Brickell Bridge has been confirmed by me and multiple other witnesses who live and work in this immediate area,” Florida Rep. Jose Felix Diaz wrote the same day to Gus Pego, secretary of the Florida Department of Transportation District 6, which has charge of traffic decisions on the bridge. The Miami River Commission has been seeking the lane restoration at least since August 2013, when it wrote directly to Mr. Pego seeking the change.

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WEEK OF THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2015

TODAY’S NEWS

MIAMI TODAY

Pledge of two free trolleys swayed choice of new routes Miami commissioners had been debating for almost an hour which two new trolley routes to select when Marc Sarnoff, who’d left last week’s meeting for an outside event and returned, changed the whole debate with a promise of two free trolleys on a third route. Suddenly the two routes became three as Coconut Grove was added to a mix with Wynwood and Little Havana to get new trolley routes within six months. As commissioners voted to add the Little Havana route and prepared to vote to add a Wynwood route as well, Mr. Sarnoff, who had missed a long debate on choosing routes that finally won agreement on the dais after sharp words, cast the lone no vote and accused other commissioners of lacking a good analysis of the choice. “Turns out we’re just like the MPO [Metropolitan Planning Organization, which sets countywide transportation policies], which means we’re headed in a direction we shouldn’t be headed,” Mr. Sarnoff said.

Photos by Maxine Usdan

The Brickell-Biscayne route was one of the first in the Miami trolley system when it started to roll in 2012.

Mr. Sarnoff said he had been told, without citing a source, that county bus routes would be impeded if the city started running the rubber-tire trolleys on new routes on city streets. Already, he said, in areas where the other commissioners had agreed to run trolleys there are county bus routes that run every seven to

eight minutes, carrying senior citizens free. If the city puts trolleys there, he said, the county will pull the buses off the streets. Plus, he said, the city will only be able to fund keeping its trolley system running for three more years. But in Mr. Sarnoff’s Coconut Grove district, he said, he had

an agreement from private businesses to fund one trolley and the Grove’s Business Improvement District had agreed to fund another trolley. Plus, he said, he had funding from those sources to operate one of the trolleys. Since a Grove trolley line would need only four vehicles, he said, the city could be halfway there

on the trolleys if it decided to make Coconut Grove one of its chosen new lines. Mr. Sarnoff said he had been working three years to get these deals set up, offers that could evaporate if the city left out a Grove route. “Very few people bring you paid-for trolleys, very few people bring you paid-for operated trolleys,” he told commissioners. Persuaded, commissioners first voted 4-0 to begin a Wynwood trolley line and then agreed that, whether the state helps fund a third new trolley route or not, the city will pay what is necessary to get all three new lines going within six months. Commissioners did not ask for a total cost of the three new lines to compare with the total that might come from the state. Deputy City Manager Alice Bravo told them, however, that while city staff thought the state might fund two new routes, the city might as well apply for three new routes and see if there are extra state funds: “We may just get a lucky strike.”

Trolley talk: audio guides, Grove link Miami commissioners choosing a Little Havana trolley route last week got advice from public supporters that might fuel changes as the route gets rolling. Consider including an audio guide or a map of historical landmarks for passengers on the route, suggested William Fuller, chairman of Viernes Culturales (cultural Fridays) in Little Havana, who is also co-founder of the Barlington Group of real estate and equity investors. Little Havana, Mr. Fuller said, has 3 million visitors a year. A new bus route with links to Brickell and the InterAmerican Campus of Miami Dade College and rolling right through Little Havana, he said, will do well. Looking at William D. Talbert III, CEO of the Try a map of landmarks on the Little Havana route, said William Fuller, Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau, shown at the renovation he headed last year at 1513 SW Eighth St. who also supported the route before the com-

mission, Commission Chairman Willy Gort said he was sure that the bureau could help with the Little Havana guide materials for visitors. More advice came from Jackie Sarracino, owner of the Little Havana Visitors Center at 1600 SW Eighth St., who said visitors to her establishment often ask how to get to Coconut Grove but are told they would need to take several county buses and then a rail line. Make it “as simple as possible” for visitors to get to the Grove, she said. Commissioners who had been debating the path of the future Little Havana had been arguing whether to name it the “Francis Suarez trolley or the Frank Carollo trolley” as the two debated their visions for the line. Ms. Sarracino had her own suggestion: “I think we need to name it the ‘I Love You, Miami,’ trolley.”

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TODAY’S NEWS

MIAMI TODAY

WEEK OF THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2015

Plans for bus factory move forward in search for location BY JOHN CHARLES ROBBINS

Plans are moving ahead for two Turkish brothers who plan to open a bus manufacturing facility in Miami-Dade County. In March, Claude and Jan Nahum of Karsan U.S.A. announced their ambition of establishing a plant to build cost-efficient, eco-friendly buses. Their introduction into the area’s industrial scene might come in the form of a contract with MiamiDade County government for supplying buses powered by natural gas and the fueling stations to keep them humming. Nopetro, which bills itself as Florida’s leading compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling infrastructure provider, has teamed with Karsan U.S.A. in a bid to gain the county contract. It could mean an initial investment of about $75 million for construction of the manufacturing facility and the special fueling stations. That figure doesn’t include the cost of the new buses.

The company assembles buses at a factory near Istanbul as it looks to begin operations in Miami-Dade.

It’s one of a handful of proposals still being considered by county officials. The decision on that lucrative contract with the county is to be made this summer. In the meantime, the brothers have local assistance in searching for the perfect place to open their plant. “We continue to work with the commercial division of EWM Realty International on potential sites for a Karsan assemblage

and manufacturing facility in Miami-Dade County,” said Claude Nahum. “We have narrowed the process to a number of sites in varied locations within the county. We look forward to furthering this process, and will be making an announcement as we finalize our vetting, narrowing the list to a short list of sites that best fit our needs,” he said. The Nahums told Miami Today

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MIAMITODAY A Singular Voice in an Evolving City

in March they planned to establish a manufacturing facility in MiamiDade whether or not they and Nopetro get the county deal. That’s still the plan. Working hard to secure a variety of suitable properties to choose from is Ron Shuffield, president of EWM Realty International. “We’ve been reaching out to various brokers we know who deal in that property type,” said Mr. Shuffield. “We’re collecting

properties right now for Claude and Jan to see when they come back.” He said he’s working on a schedule that will allow the Nahums to view as many properties as they can in one trip. “We’re pretty open to different varieties of properties, from existing buildings retrofitted to their need or to new construction where a developer builds to suit them,” Mr. Shuffield said. The brothers prefer to build new, he said, but recognize that setting up operations in an existing facility could speed the process, especially if they wish to move sooner rather than later. The bottom line is: They want to open an assembly facility and soon. “They are looking at other opportunities to build buses and export to other locations across the country,” Mr. Shuffield said. Hopefully they will secure the county contact, he said, “but regardless of that, they’re still looking at many other markets embracing the new type of buses.” The Miami-Dade location is attractive to the Nahums and many other industrial interests, due in large part to “our access to so many other global markets – all the potential we have,” Mr. Shuffield said. They are considering sites that closely mirror the operation in Turkey. They need about 8 acres, with an established building of about 110,000 square feet or room to build that large. The building would take up only a few acres. The remaining property would be needed for storage of materials and the finished buses. Jan Nahum had estimated costs of $5 million to $6 million to build the assembly line. They envision the plant employing 80 to 90 full-time blueand white-collar workers. If the county contract is awarded this summer and they can get a quick start, they could be delivering new natural gas powered buses to the county by mid2016, according to Claude Nahum. The company’s goal is to transform all government fleets in the Southeast US to natural gas. Claude Nahum said the overall vision is beyond using a different fuel source and touches on the size of the buses and how they are used, which can be wasteful. “Changing to CNG is only a starting point,” he said, adding that plenty more can be done to make public transit more economical. He said it might take some time to establish themselves as American manufacturers, but they’re optimistic about providing quality products here. The Nahums’ interest in this area is indicative of a healthy industrial sector in South Florida, said Mr. Shuffield. “As we’re talking to fellow brokers there is a lot of enthusiasm, not only for Karsan’s project but what we’re seeing with other projects… hundreds of thousands of square feet,” he said. “There is a lot of good energy in this industrial space right now, and of course that means new jobs and new products introduced to our market.”

TODAY’S NEWS

MIAMI TODAY

WEEK OF THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2015

County set to hire advisers for courthouse partnership plans BY SUSAN DANSEYAR

courthouse now await guidance on public-private partnerships Miami-Dade County officials as well as a long-range master who have been analyzing the plan update of the historic best options for a new civil building’s needs.

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The county solicited legal and financial advisory services pertaining to public-private partnerships, also referred to as P3s, and expects to receive and evaluate proposals next month, said Miriam Singer, chief purchasing officer and senior assistant director of the Internal Services Department. She said once these contracts are awarded, the county will work on a request to qualify firms submitting P3 proposals to design, build, finance, operate and maintain county civil and criminal court and jail facilities. According to a memo Mayor Carlos Gimenez sent to county commissioners Feb. 18, he anticipates staff will present a recommendation for awarding financial advisory and legal services contracts in July. On Feb. 3, commissioners adopted a resolution expressing the willingness to explore establishing a public-private partnership for court and jail facilities. Included in the resolution are statements that the courthouse at 73 W Flagler St. needs substantial repairs and might no longer be able to serve the county’s needs and, due to its age and the growth of the criminal justice system, the Richard E. Gerstein Criminal Justice Building at 1351 NW 12th St. is overcrowded and faces a wide range of problems due to its design, spacing and the functions it seeks to accommodate. Moreover, the resolution states, the Miami-Dade County Corrections and Rehabilitation Department operates six correctional facilities in a complex of buildings across the county, certain conditions of which have been found by the US Department of Justice to violate the rights of inmates. The department recommended remedial measures and a settlement agreement with the county addressing the identified violations. Given their location and function, the resolution states, court and jail facilities may operate more efficiently if their operations are consolidated. The description of the project in the solicitations identifies potential county sites (without any assurance as to their availability or suitability for development) including the area generally bounded by Northwest 11th and 13th streets and 13th and 14th avenues. The county expects proposers for both specialized financial consulting and legal services to have experience in two or more public-private engagements exceeding $250 million. The commissioners also approved establishment of two advisory panels, currently in formation, on P3 and court/jail facilities. At the same time, commissioners are educating themselves on P3s. On March 13, the Strategic Planning & Government Operations committee invited representatives from Nossaman LLP to share experiences and best practices gained from their work on public-private partnership projects. On May 12, the committee heard a

Photo by Maxine Usdan

“We face a unique situation” in dealing with the old courthouse, said Eleventh Judicial Circuit Judge Jennifer Bailey. “The court is a tenant, the county is the landlord and the city is regulator and inspector.”

presentation regarding taxpayer protection for P3s by Donald Cohen, executive director of In The Public Interest. “It is important to note we are working closely with the courts on these projects, and we plan to engage a wide array of stakeholders in the master planning process to include the Chief Judge, Clerk of the Court, State Attorney, Public Defender, police chiefs, among others,” Ms. Singer said. Judge Jennifer Bailey, one of the stakeholders, said the county jumps right on work for the current civil courthouse as it becomes necessary. The critical issue of 14 structural columns has been addressed and work is ongoing for about 50% of the others compromised by corrosion. In addition, façade work – the source of leaks contributing to structural corrosion – continues and is a little over half complete, said Judge Bailey, who oversees operations of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court. However, she said, the court remains in a building with organic system collapse: a 40year inspection found significant electrical problems throughout; and air-quality issues stemming from interior leaks in the HVAC system have resulted in the closing of the 18th, 19th and 20th floors. Several upper-level floors have been closed for years. “As situations arise, we lose space,” Judge Bailey said. “We lost a courtroom because of leaks; we are still down onethird of the floor where probation was moved.” That approximately 5,000 square feet requires air-conditioning system work, which Judge Bailey said is estimated to

require two years. The ever-narrowing space and lack of an assembly room for jurors are constant worries for the system, Judge Bailey said, pointing out three large trials were scheduled to begin May 18. “We face a unique situation,” she said. “The court is a tenant, the county is the landlord and the city is regulator and inspector.” All parties want to be respectful of each other. However, Judge Bailey said, the court is a tenant without options. “We are not a tenant that can pick up and leave as other city and county offices have – anyone who could leave already has.” Right now, Judge Bailey said, the court feels there’s sufficient information to start the process of finding a new facility. In about six months, a consultant the county hired will complete the master plan update on the operational needs of the civil courthouse, providing the most current information to accompany the comprehensive master plan conducted in 2008. Judge Bailey said that plan found the civil courthouse would have to be replaced “The mayor and all the commissioners and county staff have acknowledged we need a new civil courthouse,” Judge Bailey said. “Now, the questions are how we’ll build it, where, how we’ll get the money and the timetable.” Judge Bailey said there’s always tension between the economy and basic necessities for court functions. “No judge or staff member is looking for a lavish facility,” she said. “We just want an adequate courthouse to serve the public.”

TODAY’S NEWS

MIAMI TODAY

WEEK OF THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2015

County votes to sell 49 properties at 75% of assessed value BY SUSAN DANSEYAR

Miami-Dade will generate more income from property it owns now that the commission on Tuesday authorized the public sale of 49 sites to the highest bidder for no less than 75% of assessed market value. Originally, the commission was to consider the sale of 164 surplus countyowned properties but Internal Services Department staff narrowed the list to

116. They deemed 43 sites suitable for infill housing, four townhouse lots are undergoing further review and one site was inadvertently included twice. The list was then reduced further to 49 after Commissioners Audrey Edmonson and Rebeca Sosa asked that those lands in their districts, 3 and 6 respectively, be taken off until they can review with staff what they were seeing for the first time on the revised list. That eliminates – for now – 58 prop-

erties in District 3 and five in District 6. The sale of these 43 properties will eliminate the county’s obligation to maintain them. For the original 116, the annual cost to the county is approximately $30,567. The resolution authorizes the mayor or his designee to sell the properties to the highest bidder at no less that 75% of the assessed market value (to encourage the sale), hire appraisers from the county’s list of approved appraisers to

establish the fair market value for properties with assessed market values of $50,000 or greater and perform the title work confirming that liens, encumbrances or other obstacles to the sale do not exist. Staff anticipates the more desirable properties will probably sell for more than the minimum bid. Staff is in the process of evaluating 300 other properties not currently in use to determine if they too can be declared surplus.

Hotel and expo center focuses on training its future workers BY JOHN CHARLES ROBBINS

The development firm bringing Miami its first hotel and expo center is not only providing hundreds of new jobs but is a partner in training the employees who will one day work at the facility. It was no coincidence that this week’s announcement of the expo center’s targeted opening date of fall 2018 was made at the Overtown Community Center on Third Avenue, formerly the Ebenezer Methodist Church and soon to be the Miami Dade College Hospitality and Culinary Institute. That facility, once renovated and opened in 2016, is expected to be the place where people will be trained for hospitality and culinary jobs available at the $750 million, 1,800-room Marriott Marquis Miami Worldcenter Hotel & Expo Center. “All the people trained there in that building as cooks are people we are going to hire,” MDM Group’s Director of Development Joseph Herndon told Miami Today. At a press briefing Tuesday in Overtown, MDM Group announced that its hotel and expo center will open in 2018. The large mixed-use project will rise on the site of the old Miami Arena. It is a key player in the sweeping Miami Worldcenter development, which is destined to turn more than 10 blocks in Park West into a hotel, condo, shopping and entertainment destination. Developers of Miami Worldcenter had their own announcement this week: The city’s planning and zoning department cleared the project for building permits, and construction is to begin in the third quarter of this year. MDM Group said the hotel and expo center alone is expected to generate more than $1 billion in total tax revenue over the next 30 years and will create more than 1,300 permanent, direct jobs. The complex will feature the most technologically advanced conference space in the nation, with amenities that include a 65,000-square-foot grand ballroom, which will be the largest in South Florida, according to MDM. The hotel and expo center will also offer a 45,000square-foot junior ballroom, 100,000 square feet of exhibition space and 390,000 square feet of additional meeting and event space, as well as a 1,500seat theater.

MDM Group plans to open its hotel and expo center in 2018, including 100,000 square feet of expo space.

MDM Group is collaborating with key community partners such as CareerSource South Florida, Miami Dade College, Miami Dade Public Schools, Goodwill Industries and others to eliminate barriers to entry for the 1,300-plus direct jobs that are expected to be available when the hotel is fully operational. “The Marriott Marquis Miami Worldcenter Hotel & Expo Center is a true game-changer for this region,” said Mr. Herndon. “The property allows us to compete for significant domestic and international conferences and events, and consequently will help generate the global recognition which this city deserves.” The new development will be transformative for the community in the Park West area of Downtown Miami and the region overall, including Overtown, he said. It will help bring the same energy and excitement MDM Group has generated through its projects in Dadeland, Brickell’s Financial District, and Downtown Miami’s urban core, with the recent development of Metropolitan Miami, the $1 billion mixed-use, master planned project where Whole Foods Market recently opened, Mr. Herndon said. He said the hotel and expo center will present the first combination of a five-star quality hotel and major conference center to Downtown Miami, achieving a goal sought by local leaders for decades. “This is a very complex project with a lot of moving

parts,” Mr. Herndon said. Initial construction, he said, will begin before the end of this year. One important distinction Mr. Herndon wanted to point to is this: “We operate what we build.” The hotel and expo center project is “not just built for a turnaround… and we bring along the community with us,” he said. Once the hotel and expo center opens, there will be many new jobs to fill, and that’s why it’s important to begin job training now, he said. “We know we’ve got to start that process now,” Mr. Herndon said. Other participants in the employment training stressed a current shortage of hospitality and culinary workers in the region. “It is time to hire for the growth, and it needs to start now,” said Mr. Herndon. Above and beyond the anticipated 1,300 jobs at the hotel and expo center in the fall of 2018, it is projected that the new center would support another 2,400 hotel rooms in Miami, which could mean an additional 4,000 jobs, said Mr. Herndon. Cheri Kavehersi of CareerSource South Florida said her organization is hard at work trying to meet current needs in the hospitality industry. “We’re bursting at the seams lately with various projects and developments and we’re trying to meet that need,” she said. Ms. Kavehersi is excited about the employment prospects generated by the hotel and expo

center. “I think it’s tremendous,” she said. CareerSource is there to help facilitate a pipeline of qualified and trained workers, she said. “We train and develop those people and get them employed.” Regarding the hotel and expo center she said, “It’s incredible. The city needs it and, of course, the citizens of the community really need it. It will impact us economically, and help with growth and sustainability. It will change these people’s lives.” Shelly Fano, executive director of the Hospitality Institute of Miami Dade College, said the hotel and expo center will mean wonderful new opportunities for students at MDC, providing jobs and internships. “We’re very proud to be a partner,” she said. Ms. Fano said the Hospitality Institute since 2008 has been working with the Overtown CRA, which has provided a good portion of funding for the Hospitality Institute, based now in the basement of another church in Overtown. The Culinary Institute is at the college’s Wolfson Campus. After the $2.5 million renovation of the church on Third Avenue is completed in late 2016, it will be the new home of a combined job training facility, Ms. Fano said. Money for the work is coming from a combination of a grant from the Department of Commerce and funds from the college and Overtown CRA. Ms. Fano said there is already

a shortage of workers for the hospitality sector. In addition, another 8,000 hotel rooms are expected to be built in the county in the next two years. “The people who go through this training more than likely will have a job and the end of training. People need jobs and we need the workforce – it goes hand in hand,” she said. Also at Tuesday’s press briefing, MDM Group introduced the designers of the hotel and expo center and released several new renderings of the facility. The project is designed by Miami architects Nichols Brosch Wurst Wolfe & Associates. RTKL is the development’s interior design firm. “We have grown to expect extraordinary hotels from MDM Group,” said Noah Silverman, chief development officer, North America full service hotels at Marriott International. “They are among Miami’s most respected developers, and their projects are brand-builders for Marriott International. We are extremely pleased to be working with MDM to make the Marriott Marquis Miami Worldcenter a reality. This project is destined to provide Downtown Miami its premier meeting and conference destination,” Mr. Silverman said. Marriott Marquis Miami Worldcenter Hotel & Expo Center will boast a contemporary, cutting-edge design that offers visitors and residents easy access to area amenities like the Miami Worldcenter lifestyle center next door, inclusive of Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s and a broad range of other retailers, said MDM Group. Visitors are likely to be able to easily access the site through a wide-range of transportation alternatives, including All Aboard Florida’s proposed passenger train station, Tri-Rail’s anticipated Downtown Miami link, and via the Metrorail and Metromover, all of which are within a quarter-mile walk of the site. The project’s proximity to both I-95 and I-395 provides easy vehicular access to such other parts of the community as Miami Beach. In 1998, MDM Group embarked on the JW Marriott Hotel Miami – the first luxurybranded hotel on Brickell Avenue – and Barclay’s Financial Center, a mixed-use facility in the heart of the Brickell financial district. That project was a catalyst, serving as the key factor in the overall development of the Brickell Avenue corridor, said MDM Group.

WEEK OF THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2015

TODAY’S NEWS

MIAMI TODAY

SkyRise project reshapes waterfront for observation tower BY JOHN CHARLES ROBBINS

For the first time in many years, the Miami waterfront is changing its form. You can thank developer Jeff Berkowitz, president of Berkowitz Development Group. Workers are busy reshaping the area that shoots off the northern end of Bayfront Park to accommodate Mr. Berkowitz’s dream project: the 1,000-foot SkyRise Miami observation tower and vertical adventure park. Begun in 2014, the unique development has meant methodically reforming the edge of the city into Biscayne Bay in preparation for the massive foundation that must be constructed to hold SkyRise. “Construction is proceeding well,” Mr. Berkowitz told Miami Today this week. The most recent changes resulted in another pier at the marina. “We have added a fourth pier to Miamarina at SkyRise’s expense,” said Mr. Berkowitz, noting that even more changes are in store for the marina. “We are in the process of installing new utilities to service the marina, as the existing utilities are located beneath the surface parking lot, which ultimately will be demolished and excavated to accommodate the SkyRise foundation,” he said. SkyRise Miami is to include

The new fourth pier in Miamarina was added at Skyrise’s expense.

observation decks, nightclubs, a flight simulator ride and a bungee jump-like platform. The planned glass and steel tower looks like a capital “R” as it slopes back toward the area of the Hard Rock Cafe. The tower is to rise on land that was the parking lot for Hard Rock. Mr. Berkowitz arranged a sublease of nearly 2 acres from Bayside Marketplace, which leases that section of waterfront land from the City of Miami. A major step was achieved with the vote of city commissioners last June approving the new leases and subleases. City voters last August voted to permit the use of city land. The move to build SkyRise turned out to be the catalyst for

a major upgrade to Bayside. The high-profile commercial development promised in new leases to sink $27 million to $35 million into renovations. In December, Miami-Dade County commissioners approved a variance allowing SkyRise to begin construction. The four-year construction variance allows developers of the project over the water in front of Bayside Marketplace to use staging barges for construction, a procedure that county code prohibits. County commissioners also approved $9 million in economic development grant money to help pay for infrastructure related to the tower. That move spawned litiga-

tion. Raquel Regalado, a candidate for county mayor, and Norman Braman, a wealthy car dealer, are suing the county and city, alleging the public was misled in the August referendum and saying that no public money should be spent in relation to SkyRise. Mr. Berkowitz has remained consistent in saying that no public money will be spent on the tower itself, estimated to cost $430 million. Mr. Berkowitz said he hopes to raise 60% of the tower’s total cost using the EB-5 visa program, which allows foreign investors of $500,000 to obtain green cards. His team has been marketing SkyRise abroad. Mr. Berkowitz has also said he’s put a bundle of his own money into the venture. Work at the site will pick up this summer and fall, said Mr. Berkowitz. “We anticipate completing the marina work and the utility relocation work by mid-June,” he said. “We expect to demolish the marina offices and the parking lot and to begin the excavation, soil conditioning and extensive piling work for the tower’s foundation this fall,” Mr. Berkowitz said. Berkowitz Development Group estimates 3 million visitors a year to SkyRise Miami, which would make it the largest

attraction in South Florida and fifth largest in the state. The targeted opening for SkyRise is late 2017. Details: Panoramic views at http://skyrisemiami.com/ourviews

F ILMING IN M IAMI These film permits were issued last week by the Miami-Dade County Mayor’s Office of Film & Entertainment, (305) 375-3288; the Miami Mayor’s Office of Film, Arts & Entertainment, (305) 8603823; and the Miami Beach Office of Arts, Culture and Entertainment-Film and Print Division, (305) 673-7070. NOISEWORKS MEDIA. Coral Gables. Pasteur Medical. Rock Ridge Park. MOBILE ARTS INC. Miami Beach. Nike. Larry and Penny Thompson Park. TELEMUNDO STUDIOS/NBC UNIVERSAL MEDIA LLC. Miami. Dueños del Paraiso. Swale Parking. TELEMUNDO STUDIOS/NBC UNIVERSAL MEDIA LLC. Miami. Bajo el Mismo Cielo. City of Hialeah, Port of Miami. 44 BLUE PRODUCTIONS INC. California. Tentatively Rock and a Hard Place. Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center. TVM PRODUCTIONS INC., Fort Lauderdale. Graceland. Metro Flagler Building. CINEMAT INC. Miami. Every Witch Way 4. Swale Parking. MULTICANAL IBERIA SLU. Spain. De Compras en Miami. Countywide, Miami Beach citywide. TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX. Atlanta. Alvin and the Chipmunks: Road Chip. Collins Ave./17th St. to 41st St., Collins Ave./41st St. to 87th St., Miami Beach Parking Lots/Garages, Ocean Dr./5th St. to 15th St., Parcel B. STV PRODUCTION AS. California. Finding my family. Countywide, Miami Beach citywide FLAMA MEDIA NETWORK LLC. NY. Left Unattended. Miami Beach citywide. HD HOUSELLC. Miami. McDonalds Soccer. Doral Meadow Park. OSP GROUP. NY. Stills for Jessica London XA/X. Countywide, Miami Beach citywide. PARAGON PRODUCTIONS SERVICES. Miami Beach. Stills for 3 People. Miami Beach citywide. FULLBEAUTY BRANDS. NY. Stills for Jessica London. Miami Beach citywide. N HOUSE PRODUCTIONS. Miami Stills for Next. Countywide, Miami Beach citywide.

MIAMI TODAY

WEEK OF THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2015

June 4

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