Miami Today: Week of Thursday, June 2, 2016 by Miami Today

WEEK OF THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 2016

A Singular Voice in an Evolving City

WWW.MIAMITODAYNEWS.COM $4.00

DOWNTOWN & BRICKELL

Downtown condos hold steady but transactions decline, pg. 13 HOTEL ROOM REVENUE TOPS: Revenue per available hotel room and average daily hotel room rate for Miami-Dade were highest in the nation for the first four months of this year, though both declined from their levels of 2015. Revenue per available room was $194.13, down 4.6% from $203.40 in 2015. The average daily room rate was $235.24, down 2.7% from $241.75, according to the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau. Miami’s average daily room occupancy was second in the nation at 82.5% of rooms occupied through April, down 1.9% from 84.1% in the first four months of 2015, the bureau said. The county’s hotels sold 5,192,819 room nights in the four months, up 1.9% from 2015 but not rising as quickly as the number of total hotel rooms in the county, which rose 3.9% to 52,437 from 50,492 total rooms in 2015 as more hotels opened.

Chamber rates Museum Park among biggest issues, pg. 15

THE ACHIEVER

BY SUSAN DANSEYAR

BID PROTESTS PUT OFF: Hung up on the process called for in the city code to deal with bid protests, Miami commissioners on May 26 deferred until June 9 a decision that impacts the marinas on Virginia Key. The debate came late in the meeting after Commissioner Francis Suarez had left, and it appeared the commission was headed for a tie vote on whether to allow a losing proposer to present information not filed by the protest deadline. Last summer, the city requested proposals to redevelop Virginia Key Marina and Marine Stadium Marina. Three companies submitted proposals and after evaluation by a selection committee, Virginia Key LLC, also known as RCI Group, was chosen. Commissioners are being asked to approve the decision of the Department of Real Estate and Asset Management director to deny the protests by New Rickenbacker Marina LLC (also known as Tifon) and Virginia Key SMI LLC (also known as Suntex). PARKING AGENCY AWARDED: The Miami Parking Authority won the International Parking Institute’s Award of Excellence for Innovation in a Parking Operation or Program for its “Park Your Art” program. Art and parking were intertwined when eight winners of the first edition of Wynwood’s Park-Your-Art contest got their creative juices flowing to turn parking meters into pieces of art last November when they painted their artwork live before the public. “We are honored that the IPI has recognized our agency for its vision in integrating parking into public art in the heart of Miami’s urban core,” said authority COO Alejandra Argudin. “MPA understands the value of artistic expressions and how these opportunities can shape communities in a positive way.”

Photo by Marlene Quaroni

Aliette DelPozo Rodz

Heading Cuba task force as partner at Shutts law firm The profile is on Page 4

Everyone agrees: Tri-Rail to roll into downtown BY CATHERINE LACKNER

The South Florida Regional Transportation Authority’s governing board has voted to accept an agreement among local agencies that will allow Tri-Rail trains to roll into the new MiamiCentral station by the end of next year. “It went very well,” said Bruno Barreiro, chair of the transportation authority’s board, Miami-Dade commissioner and a director of Miami’s Downtown Development Authority. “There were plenty of questions, but the feeling was ‘It’s about time.’ The board was very positive.” “This puts us over the line,” said Jack Stephens, authority executive director. “Commissioner Barreiro ushered this through brilliantly, and the board stepped up and united behind him.” Though there may be minor adjustment of contracts, all parties to the deal, which include Miami, Miami-Dade County, the Citizens’ Independent Transportation Trust, the Southeast Overtown/Park West and Omni community redevelopment agencies, the Downtown Development Authority and the

AGENDA

East-west rail route switched

Bayfront Park Management Trust, have agreed to honor their financial commitments so that the project can move forward. The Florida Department of Transportation was to contribute $20 million but pulled out when the Legislature declined to pass an amendment that would have clarified the legal liability for the track that Tri-Rail and All Aboard Florida bullet-train service from Miami to Orlando will share. But a unanimous Florida Supreme Court decision April 7 suggested that governmental agencies like the regional transportation authority can indemnify private parties, like All Aboard Florida, unless state law expressly forbids it. The high court reversed an earlier ruling (Fla. DOT v. Schwefringhaus 2016) about an accident on a CSX Transportation crossing. An accident victim successfully sued the railroad over a crossing alleged to have not been maintained properly; the railroad then sued the transportation department based on a 1936 grade crossing agreement between them. The state transportation department claimed it had no responsibility, but the high court disagreed.

The county has hit a wall in talks with rail company CSX Corp. about buying its freight tracks for an 11-mile east-west commuter line, says Commissioner Esteban Bovo Jr., so it’s not a viable way to relieve traffic congestion. At one time there seemed every reason to look into CSX’s underused freight lines as an alternative to Metrorail-driven mass transit given the prohibitive costs, Mr. Bovo said during a Sunshine meeting Tuesday. However, it’s a little more complicated when working with a partner that wants the county to look at more assets than it needs, said Mr. Bovo, who heads the county’s Transportation & Mobility Committee. He spearheaded a plan to have the state pay for CSX freight lines and then transfer them to the county for transit use, filling two huge gaps in a rail transit system that lacks an eastwest line. The proposed commuter rail, with new stations, would run as far west as Northwest 137th Avenue, beginning at the Miami Intermodal Center next to Miami International Airport and running along the Dolphin Expressway. CSX owns almost 50 miles of freight rail in the county, said Mr. Bovo. “They seem favorable to selling the 11 miles but would want us to come back and buy the whole thing,” he said Tuesday. “It’s an ‘all or nothing’ situation, and we’re not interested in ‘all or nothing’.” More feasible, Mr. Bovo said, is a plan Transit and Public Works Director Alice Bravo is working on with the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority (MDX) whereby a route from the airport might run light rail all the way to the Palmetto Expressway. In 1998, the county submitted to the Federal Department of Transportation a plan that was approved but never implemented to extend Metrorail along a shoulder of 836 donated by MDX.

Both the transportation authority’s legal team and that of All Aboard Florida have accepted the decision as valid, Mr. Stephens said Friday. The regional authority board’s Friday decision also puts an end to the threat that All Aboard Florida might withdraw its offer to have commuter service operate out of MiamiCentral. All Aboard Florida, a wholly owned subsidiary of Florida East Coast Industries, “has advanced construction of the commuter rail platforms and is incurring significant costs since the station has gone vertical and columns have been erected,” said a May 2 letter from Alice Bravo, director of the county’s Department of Transportation and Public Works. “If we are not able to execute agreements, All Aboard Florida has advised us that they will be forced to cease construction on the commuter rail infrastructure. Without a definitive plan of action and interagency coordination to pursue new agreements, we could forfeit this unique opportunity to bring commuter rail to the Transit line studies funded, pg. 2 central business district.”

INCREASED PARKING FINES MAY BUILD TRANSIT LINES ...

A NEW ENTRY IN DESIGN DISTRICT LUXURY TERRITORY ...

UNDERLINE TEAM EXPLORES FINANCIAL PATH TO PARK ...

SUAREZ’S IDEA FOR RAIL: HAVE CITIES BUILD STATIONS ... 16

VIEWPOINT: WHAT WOULD YOU DO WITHOUT THE PAPER? ... 6

CONCRETE PLAYING FIELDS MIFF VIRGINIA KEY’S BOARD ...

NEW LOTUS VILLAGE SHELTER FOR WOMEN ADVANCES ...

IN WYNWOOD, ALCOHOL SALES PERMITS RUNNING DRY ...

TODAY’S NEWS

MIAMI TODAY

THE INSIDER BONANZA FROM ABROAD: Of the half-million new residents who moved to Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties in the past five years, about 65%, or 335,000 people, came from other nations, according to a Miami Association of Realtors analysis of US Census data. The association also noted that foreign real estate buyers accounted for 36%, or $6.1 billion, of total residential property sales in Miami. Florida, the association said, “remains the top state for international buyers with 21% of all foreign purchases” in the US. EXPLORE YOUR SURROUNDINGS: Dade Heritage Trust, in conjunction with Green Mobility Network, is presenting monthly guided bike tours exploring unique and little known historic sites and parks throughout urban Miami. Tours are held the second Sunday of each month and depart from Dade Heritage Trust at 190 SE 12th Terrace. Tour-goers can bring their own bikes or rent on site from partners, Brickell Bikes. The tours focus on history, architecture, environment and culture. The guided tours depart at 10 a.m. and for those who bring bikes, there is ample street parking in the area. Reservations aren’t necessary. The next tour June 12 features a ride to Overtown with a focus on the neighborhood’s historic venues and recent development. The cost is $10, $5 for trust members. The group is also hosting weekly Saturday morning Brickell Avenue Walking Tours, focusing on history, architecture, environment and culture. Details: dadeheritagetrust.org HILL CLIMBS HILL: Attorney Marlon A. Hill, partner in Hamilton, Miller & Birthisel LLP, is to receive the Bill Colson Leadership Award, one of the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce’s highest honors, at the chamber’s annual goals conference during the June 16 “Salute to Miami’s Leaders” luncheon. Mr. Hill is a director of the Miami Foundation, the Miami Parking Authority, the Good Government Initiative and the Miami Book Fair International. He holds both bachelor’s and law degrees from Florida State University. Marlon A. Hill

TRAINING CUBA’S ENTREPRENEURS: Fifteen entrepreneurs under age 40 this week were to begin an intensive six-week course of business training at Florida International University in a program designed to boost independent business and innovation on the island. They will be taught finance, accounting, business plan writing, marketing and sales in Spanish and will also attend courses in intensive English. They are also to visit businesses in the area. SURPLUS COUNTY LANDS: Miami-Dade County owns 204 pieces of land that have been declared surplus and 582 more sites that are being evaluated for a surplus designation, according to a report sent to county commissioners from Mayor Carlos Gimenez. In all, the county owns 4,956 parcels of land, of which 4,170 are either in active use or have been set aside for such future uses as parks, libraries, fire stations, airports or the seaports, or environmentally endangered land. Many of the sites the county owns that are surplus or are being evaluated came to the county for failure to pay Carlos Gimenez real estate taxes, the report says, and the majority of those “have limited sales potential” because they might have developmental constraints such as being lakes, swamp land or encumbered by power lines. Commissioner Xavier Suarez asked for the report on county lands last December. BANK FREED FROM CONSTRAINTS: Intercredit Bank N.A. reported on Tuesday that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency had on May 18 terminated the consent order under which the bank has been operating since Aug. 8, 2011. In a written statement, President and CEO Simon Cruz said the community bank complied with all facets of the order. Intercredit Bank N.A., a Miami-Dade-based bank founded in 1992, reported assets of $342 million as of March 31 and net income of $4.5 million for the fiscal year ended Dec. 31, 2015. LIBERTY SQUARE EVENT: Miami City Commissioner Keon Hardemon is hosting a Liberty Square Family Reunion to celebrate the history and future of the oldest public housing community in Miami. The event from 2-7 p.m. Saturday, June 11, at 6304 NW 14th Ave., offers food and drinks and rides for the children. “I wanted to celebrate the families both past and present of Liberty Square as we look forward to the redevelopment of this community,” said Mr. Hardemon. The event is sponsored by Mr. Hardemon, Miami Mayor Tomás Regalado, Miami-Dade County Commissioner Audrey Keon Hardemon Edmonson and the Liberty Square Resident Council. NOW IT’S OFFICIAL: For decades, a neighborhood in Miami’s northeast section has been known as Little Haiti, overlapping or near areas also known as Lemon City and Little River. On May 26, city commissioners made it official, designating the area Little Haiti. The unanimous vote came after hours of comment by busloads of supporters from the area. There were also several opponents, who said the move was unnecessary and served to further erase the history of Lemon City and other areas that pre-dated Miami. The resolution says the area is the cultural heart of the Haitian community and its leaders have been vital to the city’s growth. The Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau recognizes the Little Haiti community as “a culturally vibrant community that has enriched Miami’s multi-ethnic character,” and it globally markets Little Haiti as a historic neighborhood to visit when in Miami, the resolution says. FIRE CHIEF HONORED: Miami’s Fire Chief Maurice L. Kemp was named “Fire Chief of the Year” by the Metropolitan Fire Chiefs Association, a section of the International Association of Fire Chiefs National Fire Protection Association. The organization’s 2016 conference in Long Beach, CA, brought together about 120 metro chiefs from Australia, Canada, China, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the US. CORRECTION: In a news brief last week regarding the plat of Courtside Apartments, Matthew Rieger’s name was misspelled. He is the president and CEO for Housing Trust Group.

WEEK OF THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 2016

Parking fines may build transit lines ‘Something I only throw out there very, very cautiously’ B Y CATHERINE L ACKNER

Parking scofflaws, beware – you may be in the next target of county officials who have stepped up efforts in the ongoing search for funding for transit projects. At the Fiscal Priorities Committee of Miami-Dade County’s Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) on May 18, Alice Bravo, director of the county’s Department of Transit and Public Works, explained the progress so far on the Strategic Miami Area Rapid Transit plan, which has identified six corridors for transit improvements. Aileen Boucle, MPO executive director, was in Tallahassee explaining the plan to the Florida Department of Transportation, said Daniella Levine Cava, county commissioner and committee chair. As she explained the aspects of developing each corridor, Ms. Bravo reminded the committee that federal programs require a local match. “Fifty percent of the process is having a real financial plan,” she said. “When they say funding, they mean funds programmed or reflected in a budget.” The federal government wants to see money not only to construct the project, but also to operate it and maintain it for

30 years, including replacement and renewal of the infrastructure, she said. “We, as the MPO, have directed staff to try to move on the six corridors simultaneously, and all of this takes money,” said Esteban “Steve” Bovo Jr., who is a county commissioner, chair of the county’s Transportation and Mobility Committee and MPO member. The Transportation and Mobility Committee “has been doing a lot of work on this,” he said. “I wanted to advise this committee of two areas that we’re looking at. One we’re just beginning to explore. “Another we’ve done a lot of work on and will be aggressively pursuing in Tallahassee, and that is the TIFF legislation that we’ve talked so much about,” he said, referring to tax-increment funding districts, which divert a part of property taxes to special purposes, including community improvement or transit. A preliminary Citizens’ Independent Transportation Trust report lays out some possibilities, he said. “It speaks to mechanisms within that TIFF legislation that could really create a lot of energy – i.e., money. “The other thing that is, perhaps, worth exploring is something I only throw out there very, very cautiously,” Mr.

Bovo said. After a discussion with County Clerk Harvey Ruvin, he became convinced that “what we charge in parking fines, compared to the rest of state, is a drop in bucket. When people overstay their parking meters, we’re charging $18, while other parts of the state are charging $40 and $50. There may be a mechanism to allow us to look at the fine structure.” It’s complicated, he warned, because the income from fines is divided between the county and the municipality, if any, that issues the parking ticket. He also said any extra funds derived from a parking-ticket increase should be earmarked for transit. “But it’s something we could explore.” Extra money might be necessary if the public perception of transit doesn’t improve, he said. “Someone who is not in the know might try rescinding the half-penny sales tax,” which voters passed in 2002 to pay for transit improvements, Mr. Bovo said “They might accuse us of being derelict for not moving something forward, and not being genuine with the halfpenny. I think there’s going to be a trip-wire, and it’s going to be the moment we pick a corridor” to move forward first, he said, assuming not all six can be on the same timetable.

6 transit corridor studies funded BY CATHERINE LACKNER

Thanks to a $16 million allocation from the Citizens’ Independent Transportation Trust, project development and environmental (PD & E) studies can now move forward for all six corridors laid out as part of the Strategic Miami Area Rapid Transit plan developed in April. Charles Scurr, trust executive director, appeared before the Metropolitan Planning Organization’s Fiscal Priorities Committee May 18. “He has very important good news to share,” said Daniella Levine Cava, committee chair, MPO member and Miami-Dade commissioner. The transportation trust voted unanimously to endorse the transit plan, which Mr. Scurr called “a very critical step forward.” He praised Aileen Boucle, MPO executive director; and Alice Bravo, director of the county’s Department of Transit and Public Works, for putting the plan together and whipping up support for it. The transit routes are the: Beach Corridor, between Miami Beach and Miami. East-West Corridor, along State Road 836. Kendall Corridor, from Dadeland to Southwest 162nd Avenue. North Corridor, along Northwest 27th Avenue from west of downtown to Northwest 215th Street. Northeast Corridor, from downtown to Aventura, largely along the Florida East Coast Railway tracks.

South Corridor, from Dadeland to Southwest 344th Street, along US 1. “The trust also reaffirmed its support for being a major funding partner,” Mr. Scurr said. Directors pledged up to $9 million for the study on the EastWest Corridor and $7 million for the study on the South Corridor. The South and East-West corridors were the only two for which no money had been identified to do the project development and environmental studies, he said. “I want to make sure everybody understands for the significance of what’s just been said,” Ms. Levine-Cava told the committee. “It means all of the corridors can move forward now with the studies. There were some nay-sayers who said we could not proceed on all six corridors at the same time. But now the CITT has come forward to fund the last two.” But, Mr. Scurr told the group, the gift was subject to the condition that things move quickly. “We funded it because it is urgent, so our assumption is that it will now move forward in an expedited manner. The consultant selection process needs to begin immediately. You can’t start the PD & E until you have a consultant. We think it’s essential that the entire process be fast-tracked.” Running concurrently with the environment assessment are meetings of implementation committees, he said. “These need to commence immediately. Unless

all of the stakeholders are at the table as part of the process, the project will not be successful. All of the cities in the corridors and all of the critically involved parties should be part of the implementation committees and should have funding commitments. “We remain very concerned with the lack of progress on some of the corridors,” Mr. Scurr said. “The Beach Corridor is a good example; while there many things and many discussions are going on, the PD & E for that project has not started. The trust really calls upon the MPO to expedite that.”

We want to hear from YOU! Phone: (305) 358-2663 Staff Writers: Camila Cepero ccepero@miamitodaynews.com Susan Danseyar sdanseyar@miamitodaynews.com John Charles Robbins jrobbins@miamitodaynews.com Letters to Editor editor@miamitodaynews.com People Column people@miamitodaynews.com Michael Lewis mlewis@miamitodaynews.com

Like us: Miami Today Follow us: @MiamiTodayNews

WEEK OF THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 2016

TODAY’S NEWS

MIAMI TODAY

Underline team explores financial paths to a linear park BY CAMILA CEPERO

The Underline, Miami’s soonto-be 10-mile linear park and urban trail running along the land below the Metrorail, continues on its seemingly obstaclefree path to break ground early next year, with just under $8 million in funds secured. But with a total cost estimated at $100 million, how to fill in the entire financial path remains far from clear. Organizers say they are exploring many options. A special taxing district might be among them. The Underline master plan was designed by James Corner Field Operations, an urban design and landscape architecture practice based in New York City that led the design and construction of Manhattan’s 23-city-block-long elevated public spaces called the High Line. “There’s no project moving at this speed, not only in this country but the whole world. We have such a big need and that’s why people are putting it together,” said Meg Daly, president and CEO of Friends of The Underline, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. HR&A Advisors, an urban development consulting firm based in New York, assembled the economic impact study, completed last December. The study revolves around appreciation of real estate values, incremental taxes derived from an increase in real estate values, job creation and economic contribution, Ms. Daly said. Real estate value was evaluated, she said, by looking at properties directly adjacent to the corridor and other analytics of properties as far as one-third of a mile from the corridor in each direction. “Similar signature linear parks across the country indicate that the value of nearby residential and commercial properties increases by about 3%-5% with the creation of nearby open space, with the greatest impact occurring on properties directly adjacent to the park,” said Maria Nardi, chief of planning and design excellence for MiamiDade County Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces. “The closer you get to green space, the higher the appreciation of your property value,” she said, with a 25% bump for properties directly adjacent to the corridor and 5% for the farthest ones. However, the Underline isn’t asking or expecting property owners to help fund the project, Ms. Daly said. “We’re not going to people and businesses along this corridor and asking them to write a check,” she said. “What we’re hoping they will do are support and become advocates for it and say ‘we’re really excited about building out a beautiful vision.’” HR&A Advisors’ Economic Benefits of The Underline forecasts $300 million-$485 million in incremental assessed value for existing properties and $6

Photo by Maxine Usdan

“We’re not going to people and businesses along this corridor and asking them to write a check,” said Meg Daly, who is president and CEO of the Friends of The Underline. “What we’re hoping they will do are support and become advocates for it and say ‘we’re really excited about building out a beautiful vision.’”

million-$10 million new annual tax revenue for Miami-Dade County and the cities of Miami, Coral Gables and South Miami. The project is a Metropolitan Planning Organization priority in its five-year work plan. With the economic impact study and maintenance plan complete, construction documents are under way and expected to be completed this fall, with construction planned to begin on the first of six phases, Brickell Backyard, early next year. The project is forecast to have $170 million in total economic output during construction, creating 1,000 jobs then and $50 million in economic activity every year following completion, with more than 400 permanent jobs during operations. Parks like the $14 million-amile Atlanta BeltLine or $35 million-a-mile Chicago 606 are great examples of trails that were funded through multiple partnerships, Ms. Nardi said. The Underline will cost about $10 million a mile, according to Ms. Daly. “Funds for the underline are coming from the public and private sector,” Ms. Nardi said. Those include: $3.25 million from MiamiDade County. $1 million from the City of Miami. $1 million from the Florida Department of Transportation’s Transportation Alternatives Program grant for the Brickell Promenade. $2 million from the State of Florida’s 2015 Transportation and Economic Development budget. $300,000 from private donors. $250,000 from the Knight Cities Challenge. Sponsored by Florida Sen. Miguel Diaz de la Portilla, the project has a $2 million placeholder in the Transportation and Economic Development budget

of a requested $5 million, Ms. Daly said. The Knight Foundation awarded the project $250,000 for an outdoor gym in Brickell through the Knight Cit-

ies Challenge. Ms. Daly said it’s too early to tell whether to look into creating special taxing districts, a mechanism wherein property

owners elect to pay special assessments levied on their properties in order to receive public services or improvements that couldn’t otherwise conveniently be provided. The trail would provide health, social, economic, improved mobility, and environmental benefits, Ms. Nardi said. “The Underline would encourage healthy lifestyles with greater access to a linear park and trail for biking, walking, running, encouraging people to bike to work, shop and play instead of drive to work and increase transit ridership,” Ms. Nardi said. The Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, an organization that converts abandoned railroad tracks into biking, hiking and walking trails, stated that visitors spend $1.59 million a year along the Virginia Creeper Trail in Southwest Virginia, providing an estimated 27 new full time jobs. “We’re exploring all options. For a big vision to be implemented you have to be very creative,” she said. “These sorts of projects have been very successfully implemented in other communities... We’re trying to transform the way we move here, packaged up with a beautiful green ribbon of a park space.”

INNOVATION FOR TOMORROW

Miami Cardiac & Vascular Institute at Baptist Health South Florida has advanced care in the region for nearly 30 years – keeping innovation and the highest quality at the heart of everything we do. The Institute is composed of a multidisciplinary team of physicians who have achieved international acclaim for their breakthrough research and impact on cardiovascular care. Experience the advantage of our commitment to helping patients lead healthy lives.

Call 786-596-2700 today to see one of our experts or learn more by visiting BaptistHealth.net/Heart

$ QRW IRU SURðW RUJDQL]DWLRQ VXSSRUWHG E\ SKLODQWKURS\ DQG FRPPLWWHG WR RXU IDLWK EDVHG charitable mission of medical excellence. For giving opportunities, visit BaptistHealth.net/Foundation

VIEWPOINT

MIAMI TODAY

WEEK OF THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 2016

MIAMITODAY Miami Today is an independent voice of the community, published weekly at 2000 S. Dixie Highway, Suite 100, Miami, Florida 33133. Telephone (305) 358-2663

33 years of Miami Today: What would you do without it? Thirty-three years ago this week the first copies of Miami Today rolled off a press downtown. That was the easy part of starting a newspaper to serve a g r o w i n g cosmopolis. The harder parts came both Michael Lewis earlier and later in our third of a century and counting. Months earlier we had walked every delivery route with a stopwatch to make sure you’d get your paper on time. Next we persuaded businesses who had never seen a copy of Miami Today that advertising in it would make them money. And in news we set out to provide a new newspaper for a new Miami, supplying context for events, an international outlook, and a focus on Miami’s successes and opportunities, not its failures. Then, that first press night, both typesetting machines failed. Technicians were in Georgia. So we got on the phone with them, dug out spare parts and worked through the night to get the hulking blue monsters running ourselves. We did, though we were hours late. Beginner’s luck.

L ETTERS

TO THE

E DITOR

Film tax incentive needed We need film tax incentives in Florida. The film and TV industry creates thousands of Florida jobs and stimulates our local economy. Productions want to film in Florida, but like every American business… they are looking for deals, like the tax incentives Georgia and another 38 states offer. Maritza Aguirre

Does transit will exist? “…county will work with the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority, which manages Tri-Rail, to develop service from Aventura to downtown, with four stations in between.” If this can be done on an aggressive timeline it would demonstrate a willingness to act on other needed transit projects. At this point no one believes the political will exists. Irwin Seltzer

Halt those downtown runs As long as the City of Miami allows continued construction of monstrous high-occupancy buildings in the Brickell area, even locking the bridges in the down position permanently (fatal to the Miami River maritime industry), the traffic nightmare will continue. Like the Principality of Monaco, you eventually reach a point where density overwhelms the area. You can only get so many cars into such a limited area. Bridge openings have very little to do with the traffic nightmare. Also, what about all these sponsored “runs” in the area? Why do people have to run across a bridge, snarling traffic yet even more? Have these runs out in the suburbs of Kendall, not across a busy bridge in downtown Miami. Willie Benbrook

Such behind-the-scenes toils to start and then run any business are common. After all, if it was easy, everyone would be doing it. But in the news business, it has become so hard that almost nobody is doing it anymore – at least, not with credible reporting of impactful information curated by responsible gatekeepers who function as a community conscience. Last month Tampa became the largest Florida city to lose its daily newspaper. The papers in Fort Lauderdale and Orlando may soon belong to the national Gannett chain, which plans to fill more than 100 newspapers with identical national and global content. News staffs at other dailies like the Miami Herald have been decimated. We are rapidly headed to the day when only a handful of national newspapers and targeted local papers like Miami Today will remain to meet a vastly increased need for reporting of significant information as urban issues become even more pressing. Ironically, as digital media become ubiquitous, fewer trained journalists remain to provide serious news feeds. While national and global news flows in profusion, web sites fall all over themselves to pass along the latest local press releases as fast as possible but with little validation, background, editing or con-

text. Speed is all there is, because every site has the same release. Almost all local stories that require real reporting come from a handful of remaining mainstream media that transfer it in bite-size pieces to the web. As newspapers disappear, so will the reporting that takes time and expertise – serious reports of community, arts and culture, government, business and civic affairs. Think of Miami Today’s reports: about 85% never appear elsewhere. If we didn’t report it, nobody would. Also endangered is the institutional knowledge of editors who have monitored over time not only a news story but the institutions that the story affects. These are the same professionals who instantly recognize “known names” – persons and companies whose involvement is news in itself. If it’s not a rock or sports star, the name may slip past web workers whose jobs consist of posting press releases. Those same print-based editors also monitor promises from government and business, making certain they are in fact kept and what the outcomes were. Miami has long been the best US community for local news. But there is already a shortage of persons who recognize that news and present it dispassionately and fairly for you to use. As we forge into our 34th year, Miami

Today faces the same forces that are grinding down the news industry as a whole. The fact that our print circulation in Miami remains strong at 28,000 copies a week even while our MiamiTodayNews.com is read in an average of 138 nations every month seems remarkable after that first 7,000copy press run a third of a century ago. We remain a newspaper company – unlike others, we don’t refer to ourselves as a media company that happens to have a dying legacy newspaper. We are a newspaper that also produces a global website, a digital replica edition, a digital headline service and more. But like the disappearing daily newspapers, we also rely on advertising. Digital and print advertisers alike are achieving success with us – success in their terms meaning more profits for them, and in our terms meaning support of an institution that functions like a public utility, spitting out not electricity that a community runs on but the vital information that becomes an economic engine of its own. To publicize their message, we offer those advertisers print and digital media built on public respect, reputation and credibility, media that continue to work with community leaders toward a better future for Miami After all, after 33 years of Miami Today, what would you do without it?

Grads lack skills to succeed in service industry A new Congressional Budget Office report finds that nearly one in six males between the ages of 18 and 34 is jobless or incarcerated, a significant jump from previous generations. The figure jumps to one Carlos Gazitua in five for those with only a high-school education. The report suggests longer-run changes in the economy are partially to blame for this increased joblessness. But it also cites the lack of hard and soft skills among men entering adulthood as another reason. Students graduating from high school or college without the skills necessary to succeed in the job market has been well covered. Mike Rowe, best known as the host of the former television show “Dirty Jobs,” has long highlighted the country’s “skills gap”: There are 5.6 million job openings that US employers cannot fill, yet there are also 3.3 million long-term unemployed workers across the country. If these unemployed people had the right skills, such as welding, air conditioning maintenance or plumbing, this gap could shrink significantly. But the lack of hard skills among recent grads is just the half of it. My experiences hiring new entrants to the workforce as the president of Sergio’s, a restaurant chain in South Florida, have indicated that recent grads not only don’t have technical skills but also don’t have the necessary soft skills to succeed in today’s service industry. Soft skills are the baseline of what it takes to succeed at any job. They include time management, leadership, customer service, critical thinking and a

The Writer Carlos Gazitua is CEO of Sergio’s Restaurants and a member of the Job Creators Network. sense of urgency. They allow entrylevel employees to gain a toehold on the career ladder and subsequently learn the technical skills that allow them to grow as a professional and quickly get promoted. Employers don’t expect entry-level employees to come in with the hard skills to flourish in the industry. They are happy to train them, but they do expect them to know how to smile at the customer, communicate with their colleagues and execute on basic decisions. Too often, these expectations are not met. People skills and professional etiquette among recent graduates seem to have been replaced by unbridled individualism and a sense of entitlement. Professional feedback is treated as personal effrontery. The problem is not just anecdotal or generational complaining. According to the CLA+ test taken by nearly 32,000 students at 169 colleges and universities in the US, only one-third of college freshmen have at least proficient critical thinking skills. And only six in 10 college graduates have the complex reasoning skills necessary to succeed at work. According to one survey, nine out of 10 employers say that recent college graduates are poorly prepared for the workforce in areas like critical thinking, communication and problem solving. Given how quickly technical skills fall out of fashion in today’s economy, it’s these soft skills that should form a big part of today’s high school and

college educations. We need to teach students how to deal with a difficult customer, take pride in their appearance, and to offer to help when you see a coworker in need – skills that will never go out of fashion. While many may consider the importance of soft skills common knowledge, employers will confirm that it certainly is not. When hired you become the company’s brand representative. If you don’t have the basic soft skills, it’s impossible to communicate the company’s standards, culture and philosophy, and the brand integrity will suffer. A renewed focus on these timeless soft skills can reverse the increased trend of young male joblessness, fill job vacancies, and make for a better citizenry. The new Congressional Budget Office report is a wake-up call that this focus should begin now.

To contact us: News Advertising Classifieds Subscriptions Reprints

(305) 358-2663 (305) 358-1008 (305) 358-1008 (305) 358-2663 (305) 358-2663

Editor and Publisher / Michael Lewis Vice President / Carmen Betancourt-Lewis

MIAMI TODAY (ISSN: 0889-2296) is published weekly for $145 per year; airmail: to Europe $190 per year, the Americas $145 per year. Published by Today Enterprises Inc., 2000 S. Dixie Highway, Suite 100, Miami, Florida 33133, USA. Periodicals postage paid at Miami, FL. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to MIAMI TODAY, 2000 S. DIXIE HIGHWAY, SUITE 100, MIAMI, FLORIDA 33133.

MIAMI TODAY

WEEK OF THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 2016

TAKE US WITH YOU Subscribe to our E-paper Only $60 a year

• Full color • Easy to read and navigate • Unlimited access to 10 years of searchable archives • New issues available before print edition

Go to www.miamitodayepaper.com for a free demo

Wherever you are, Miami Today can be

MIAMITODAY

WEEK OF THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 2016

MIAMI TODAY

Downtown & Brickell Downtown condos hold steady, though transactions decline BY CAMILA CEPERO

The Miami condominium market is relatively stable and holding its own compared to countywide statistics, experts say, despite a decrease in transactions from this time last year and a small drop in the year-todate price per square foot. Integra Realty Resources (IRR) and One Sotheby’s 2016 TRENDS Real Estate Market Report showed a quarterly comparison between Miami-Dade County waterfront and nonwaterfront condominium market statistics. Data of waterfront condos showed that compared to the first quarter of 2015, the first quarter of 2016 saw a sizeable 36% drop in transactions and a 1% increase in average living area. The average price of a waterfront condo dropped 14%, with the average price per square foot dropping 15% from $834 to $711. Non-waterfront condos saw a less dramatic drop in the number of transactions between the first quarter of 2015 and the first quarter of 2016, shedding only 6%. While the 4% drop in average price and the 5% increase in price per square foot – from $427 to $447 – in non-waterfront condos are less extreme than the parallel percentages for waterfront condos, the average living area dropped 8%.

According to Integra Realty Resources, the 2016 year-todate average price per square foot for downtown Miami condominiums is $441 – down 3% from 2015. This is compared to a recent history of increases in downtown Miami condo pricing – a 6% increase from 2014 to 2015, a 16% increase from 2013 to 2014 and a 22% increase from 2012 to 2013. Downtown, often considered the “face and brand of Miami,” is a very important indicator for stability, said Anthony Graziano, senior managing director of Integra Realty Resources. “It’s the canary in the coal mine.” One Sotheby’s 2016 TRENDS Report showed that countywide 6,078 waterfront condos were sold in 2015, an 11% drop from 6,806 sales in 2011. The average price per square foot in 2015 was $479, a 55% increase from $310 in 2011. For non-waterfront condos, the countywide market saw a 1% decrease in 2015 from 2011, with 10,578 sales in 2015 compared to 10,727 in 2011. Additionally, the price per square foot was a whopping 72% increase in 2015 from 2011 with $181 per square foot in 2015 compared to $105 in 2011. Roughly 70% of all transactions are cash, Mr. Graziano said. “Prices are down 3% to 4% this year. A lot is in anticipa-

Photo by Maxine Usdan

“Quite frankly, the city is holding up compared to county statistics”: Anthony Graziano, Integra Realty Resources senior managing director.

tion,” he said. “Pricing is starting to adjust.” “If nobody is under duress, there won’t be a major correc-

tion in pricing,” Mr. Graziano said. “Quite frankly, a lot of predictions about a crash are way overblown. Really, the

world economy is the biggest variable.” According to the report, fluctuations in many currencies as compared to the US dollar have weakened the buying power of foreign investors and constrained overall pricing. However, Mr. Graziano said, brokers agree that a good proportion of sales are still foreigndriven. “I don’t expect that to rocket back in 12 months,” he said. The market needs to wait “for the world economy to catch hold.” The next 12 months, the report said, will probably reflect a return to a more balanced market where buyers have more choice and buying power. “Condo markets are, in general, relatively healthy,” Mr. Graziano said. “But there are different submarkets and they are not all going to move in the same direction.” Price drops for resale condos in the urban core correlated with new construction in the Central Business District, Coconut Grove, inland Brickell and waterfront Edgewater, reflecting substantial new supply, the report said. There have been less current sales on pre-construction condos in the past six months, Mr. Graziano said. “Velocity traffic and pre-sales are down about 30%.” “Quite frankly,” he said, “the city is holding up compared to county statistics.”

Bidding due soon for downtown’s wayfinding sign project BY CATHERINE LACKNER

With a ground-penetrating radar project coming to an end, Miami’s Downtown Development Authority will soon be ready to move into the next phase of its wayfinding project, which is bidding out the contract for sign fabrication and installation, said Eric Riel, leader of the authority’s planning, design and transportation team. Miami’s Capital Improvements Program office will handle the bid process, which will probably take several months, he said. Manufacturing and installing the signs will take about three more months, so unless roadblocks appear, he said, the signs will be in the ground by year’s end. In February, the authority hired the Gannett Fleming engineering firm and its consultant, JRA Inc., to identify underground utilities, a major step toward launching the project, which has been on the drawing boards since 2009. The Florida Department of

Photo by Maxine Usdan

Downtown drivers meet a tangle of varying signs. The wayfinding project would create more uniformity.

Transportation has promised $1 million, an offer that is good through June, and the downtown authority had earmarked $500,000. But the state transportation agency won’t hand

over its money until the underground utility connections are identified. There was some confusion over whether the City of Miami or the authority was respon-

sible for obtaining underground clearances. “We need utility clearance before we put 243 holes in the ground,” Mr. Riel said when the controversy began, referring to

the number of signs that will comprise the network. The Omni and Southeast Overtown/Park West community redevelopment agencies have both given soft commitments to help with the funding, and in return will have signs customized for their districts. The wayfinding system aims to unify a maze of more than 2,000 signs downtown and make it easier for visitors to find their way around. It is to extend from the Brickell area to the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in the Omni area. It will include gateway signs for city entrances and various districts; directional signs to landmarks, attractions and parking; informational kiosks with “you are here” maps; and pedestrian and bicycle trail signs, all with a consistent visual theme. After the physical signs are installed, the downtown agency plans to move into electronic media, using smartphone applications to direct drivers to public or private parking, and to help them get around the city.

MIAMI TODAY

DOWNTOWN & BRICKELL

WEEK OF THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 2016

St. Thomas joins universities adding downtown campus BY CAMILA CEPERO

St. Thomas University is set to join the growing number of academic institutions establishing a presence downtown with the opening of a campus at 100 S Biscayne Blvd. this fall. The location will house the Gus Machado School of Business’ cybersecurity management and trade and logistics management graduate programs. St. Thomas University has expanded into downtown as a response to a perceived high demand for programs in that area, said Somnath Bhattacharya, the business school dean. “We are really targeting working professionals who are either already involved in the industry or have aspirations to go into the industry,” he said. “One issue is that working professionals are working long times. They’re expected to leave the office at 5 p.m. or 7 p.m., so being [located] downtown becomes very convenient,” said Gurvirender Tejay, associate professor and Gary Goldbloom Endowed Distinguished Chair in Cyber Security Management. While the bulk of the business programs will stay at the university’s main campus in Miami Gardens, the downtown campus will offer programs that cater to professionals working in the area. “I really think that, particularly at the graduate level, we need to do what the industry has done, which is to expand your market base,” Dr. Bhattacharya said. “You have to make it convenient for students to enroll in your programs.” Professors who will teach the programs’ core courses as well as specialized courses will travel between campuses. Four or five professors “at some point will cycle,” he said. “If you live in South Miami... or are in Coral Gables, in the evening, traffic can be a hindrance to making it all the way to

St. Thomas saw high demand downtown, said Somnath Bhattacharya.

Miami Gardens. We are trying to address that by offering programs that we think have a niche in Brickell,” Dr. Bhattacharya said. “I think what we are seeing here is the beginning of a movement really started by Florida International University,” he said. Florida International University’s downtown campus at 1101 Brickell Ave. offers programs through its College of Business and College of Arts and Sciences. All the programs at FIU’s downtown campus are executive style or professional programs suited to working professionals who need to attend classes at different times, said Angel Burgos, executive director of the university’s Master of Business Administration and Master of International Business programs. “Clearly there’s a market [in downtown]. The real estate boom is adding to that. Businesses and shops are opening... 74% of residents are white collar residents,” Mr. Burgos said. “It is the ideal market for a business school. Half the population in Brickell has a bachelor’s degree, so the next step is to get a master’s.” FIU’s downtown campus is also home to the university’s Pino Global Entrepreneurship Center. According to its website, the center fosters new technology firms, strengthens existing family-owned and managed firms,

researches important issues, encourages new community enterprises and develops entrepreneurial leaders in all areas. The center also provides entrepreneurs with the knowledge and contacts that enable them to reach their objectives through educational programs and networking events. FIU’s 32,000 square-foot downtown campus contains classroom space, faculty and administrative offices, as well as a dining area, Mr. Burgos said. The campus occupies five floors in the building on Brickell and only offers a couple of programs that the university has decided will serve the booming industries already in the area, he said, adding that it can accommodate up to 1,000 students, with enrollment right now at 700 to 750. Students at the downtown campus work in the area, Mr. Burgos said, and the university “often markets the program as being in the heart of Brickell and literally down the street from where you work.” “We look at the numbers of where people are living and working to offer programs specifically designed for working professionals,” Mr. Burgos said. “Downtown isn’t the place where you go to be a full-time student.” “We are the first and only university to offer cybersecurity

management in the downtown area,” Dr. Tejay said of the St. Thomas program. “That location will serve as a cybersecurity management hub.” “We are trying to double up future security leaders,” he said. “We’re not trying to get into technical security. Our unique area is that we are fully focused on being a cybersecurity education hub.” A few organizations have expressed interest in holding corporate and security training for their employees at the campus, Dr. Tejay said. “There are different security associations interested in hosting meetings.” In October, The Economist released their first-ever college rankings, listing universities according to the economic value added by each institution’s college degree. The list was marketed to “students who want to know which colleges are likely to boost their future salaries by the greatest amount.” St. Thomas University was ranked one of the top five universities in Florida in economic value of their degrees. The high ranking is an example of its goal of “providing value to students” in action, Dr. Tejay said. “It is consistent with our belief that degree programs should provide economic value.” “The cybersecurity program – our tuition is lower than those of state universities. It’s actually cheaper,” Dr. Tejay said. “We want to make it easier for students to get trained in this area.” Additionally, the school provides free textbooks, equaling roughly an extra $3,400 in savings, he said. While the degree meets the educational needs of South Florida, Dr. Tejay said, upon graduation, students will be employable anywhere in the country. “This is the first step – the first time we are going outside of our

Make it convenient at the graduate level, explains Gurvirender Tejay.

main campus,” he said. “We will improve upon it when we go forward.” “We will grow slowly... We’re planning to hire more faculty sometime next year. Full-time faculty will be spending time teaching classes [at the downtown campus].” The campus shares a floor with Alonzo Mourning’s Mourning Family Foundation. Dr. Bhattacharya said he hopes he can encourage his fellow St. Thomas deans to consider expanding into the downtown campus. “The good thing is that the building allows for some expansion down the road, if necessary,” he said. For the moment, the school is leasing 600 square feet. “We are certainly open to expanding our range into downtown, but we are not in a rush.” When the time comes, he said, the school will do market analyses and determine if there are opportunities to serve more working professionals by expanding the range of programs offered. If so, the school “certainly would want to do that.” It’s a lot easier for one or two professors to commute to the campus than it is for 30 or 40 students to commute to the main campus, Dr. Bhattacharya said. “We are serving a niche market by going to where the students are.”

Venezuela consulate runs out lease on Brickell door locked, lights out BY MARCUS LIM

Venezuela’s consulate in Miami has a large office space in Brickell, an office that has been untouched and empty for four years. The government of Venezuela withdrew consular personnel from Miami after what they perceived as “extreme concern” for the increase of threats against consular employees. This came after a diplomatic argument in which the late President Hugo Chavez discontinued consular services in retaliation for Washington’s decision to expel Miami Consul General Livia Acosta Noguera after an FBI investigation showed allegations that she was involved in a cyber-attack against the US. A statement posted on the front door of the vacant consulate explains the withdrawal, blaming the US government for threats.

“Since the release of those unspeakable speculations, Venezuelan diplomatic and consular personnel have been threatened and intimidated,” the statement reads. “In light of the criminal and terrorist nature of individuals and organizations that the US government harbors in the state of Florida, this places them in real, serious and imminent danger.” The 7,940-square-foot Venezuelan office, however, is contracted for a ten-year lease. The Venezuelan government is still paying the rent to Florida East Coast Realty, owners of the building, and the space on the fourth floor of 1101 Brickell Ave. has not been used since the staff’s departure. The statement on the office door also blasted Univision, whose investigative report subsequently led to the FBI’s recommendation of considering the

consul general persona non grata, as an organization with no credibility. “Groundless accusations irresponsibly spread by a television network that is better known for its soap operas than for its journalistic seriousness,” the statement read. “It is an unfair and immoral measure that demonstrates the submission of Washington’s agenda to extremist and violent political sectors in the state of Florida.” At first, the Venezuelan government refused to pay rent after it left the space but after Tibor Hollo, president of Florida East Coast Realty, threatened to sue, the government resumed paying rent. Mr. Hollo was not available for comment but told the Miami Today last year that Venezuela was still paying the rent. BuildPhoto by Marcus Lim ing leasing agents also would not comment. A sign notes that the nation’s consulate will be closed Jan. 16, 2012.

WEEK OF THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 2016

MIAMI TODAY

Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not your every day newspaper

LITERALLY Miami Today is a thought-provoking newspaper and once a week we provide you with quality news that matters. We pride ourselves on often doing this before the daily papers.

Surround your advertising with content nobody takes for granted. Call our Advertising Department at 305-358-1008 for more information.

MIAMITODAY A Singular Voice in an Evolving City

TODAY’S NEWS

WEEK OF THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 2016

MIAMI TODAY

Nearly 75% of small business owners confident BY SUSAN D ANSEYAR

Nearly three-quarters of Miami small business owners are confident in the future with plans to hire remaining steady, according to the spring 2016 Bank of America Small Business Owner report released last week. The report, a semi-annual study exploring the concerns, aspirations and perspectives of small business owners in Miami ‘Taking existing and around the country, found 71% are planning to grow their business over the restaurants off the next five years and hiring projections are warrant system would stronger than any other market surveyed, help to push Wynwood in with 47% of Miami entrepreneurs planning to hire new employees in 2016. the direction of being a The survey found that Miami small busifood and beverage ness owners remain positive about the prospects for their economy improving over the destination.’ David Polinsky next year: 65% are optimistic their local economy will improve; 56% are optimistic the national economy will improve; and 46% are optimistic the global economy will show improvement. Miami entrepreneurs continue to seek capital for their business, with 29% reporting they applied for a loan in the last two

BY CATHERINE LACKNER

To propel their neighborhood even further on the path of being an entertainment venue, members of the Wynwood Business Improvement District (BID) last month discussed changing the way alcohol permits are issued. “We’re out of warrants,” said board member Joe Furst, referring to city-issued permits that allow a restaurant to serve alcohol. The 30 warrants the district was allotted are all in use, explained Mr. Furst, who is managing director of Wynwood for Goldman Properties. “The code is not very friendly.” Through negotiations with Miami city attorneys, the BID might be able amend its own rules to allow food-primary restaurants, which derive most of their revenues from meals, to serve beer and wine without a warrant and thereby preserve available warrants for supper clubs and bars, he said. That would also allow the BID to regulate establishments in which sales of alcohol are the leading revenue generators “so they don’t congregate in one area,” Mr. Furst said. “Taking existing restaurants off the warrant system would help to push Wynwood in the direction of being a food and beverage destination,” said board member David Polinsky, who is a principal of 250 Wynwood. “It would allow artisanal restaurants to come in and operate. We’d be ready to compete with Coconut Grove any day of the week.” “We’re continuing to work on it, and it’s moving in the right direction,” Mr. Furst said. He was not so sanguine about the prospect of alcohol being served past 3 a.m. “This was a suggestion of our food and restaurant friends,” he said. “I’m very opposed to extending operations beyond 3 a.m. all year, but it might be called for on occasion.” Holding to a 3 a.m. closing time for most of the year, he added, “keeps businesses out that just want to be a storefront during the day.”

(74%), which is in line with previous election years. The other top concerns for Miami entrepreneurs are health care costs (73%) and the strength of the US dollar (63%). However, Miami small business owners’ concern over corporate tax rates has dropped by 10 percentage points year over year. Miami small business owners reported favoring hiring millennials (44%) 18 percentage points higher than their national counterparts and the highest of any market surveyed. Forty-two percent reported preferring to hire Generation X, and 1% said they’d prefer to hire baby boomers the lowest of any of the nine markets surveyed. Health care is a concern for small business owners in Miami, with 71% experiencing rising costs year over year. In addition, more than two in five (44%) Miami small business owners report an increase in health care costs of up to 20% since last year, and approximately one in four (26%) said costs rose by more than 20 %. Forty-seven percent offer health insurance to their employees 7 percentage points higher than the national average.

DON’T GET LOST IN THE CLUTTER

MIAMI TODAY insert delivery EFFICIENCY A better value than direct mail, placing your inserts in Miami Today allows your ad message to directly reach an attentive and eager audience.

DESIGNED TO FIT YOUR BUDGET

[

Direct mail: 27,750 pieces (automated, 5-digit bulk at rate of $0.260 each)

Including postage, list rental: $7,215* Miami Today: 27,750 pieces Insert delivery: $2,636.25*

[

Wynwood’s alcohol sale slots run dry

years and 24% reporting they intend to seek funding in 2016. Of those who intend to apply for a loan, Miami small business owners are most likely to use the funding to hire more employees (49%), invest in new equipment (42%) and invest in new technology (24%). The survey was conducted between March 17 and April 19 using 1,000 small business owners in the US with annual revenue between $100,000 and $4,999,999, with 2-99 employees. An additional 300 small business owners were surveyed in other target markets: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Washington, DC. Despite the optimism about prospects for growth, the survey indicates that election year is creating some uncertainty for Miami small business owners. Seventy-nine percent say they believe the presidential election will impact their business “a lot” or “somewhat,” 12 percentage points higher than the national average. When asked specifically about top economic concerns for the next year, Miami-area small business owners were most concerned about the “effectiveness of US government leaders”

* These rates based on inserting a postcard. Other size options available including catalogs with equal or higher savings.

You save with MIAMI TODAY $4,578.75! TARGETED REACH You can choose exactly where within our circulation area you would like your advertising to reach. • • • • • • •

Downtown • Kendall-South Miami Brickell • Aventura Miami Beach • Doral Coral Gables Coconut Grove Key Biscayne West Dade-Doral-Miami Lakes

EFFECTIVE AND AFFORDABLE ADVERTISING Call our ad department at 305-358-1008 for advertising information.

MIAMITODAY

A Singular Voice in an Evolving City

MIAMI TODAY

WEEK OF THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 2016

June 16

Miami Today sets high standards for our community join us in making a

big splash

Showcase your business as we spotlight those who are laying the foundation and spearheading development essential for Miami’s future in our most highly anticipated annual supplement.

The Best of Miami Supplement is an ideal platform to meet your advertising needs For reservation, call us 305-358-1008 Miami Today is used effectively for: • Branding • Donors • Response Our readers are a group you want to reach: • Annual household income of over $259,000 • Over 68,000 readers • 98% college educated • Serving Anglos and Hispanics alike • 8% international readers

MIAMITODAY A Singular Voice in an Evolving City