Miami Today: Week of Thursday, June 9, 2016

A Singular Voice in an Evolving City

WEEK OF THURSDAY, JUNE 9, 2016

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Big office deals tumble 63% with problems abroad, pg. 13 SPEEDING AIR TRAVEL: After a team of Miami International Airport officials visited in Washington with Transportation Security Administrator Peter Neffenger in May, the federal agency committed to adding more than 60 screening officers at the airport this summer.

Starting May 31, the added staffing allowed the airport to open its Concourse D Checkpoint 4 during peak hours, providing added access to concourses D and E, primarily for passengers flying American Airlines. “We look forward to keeping wait times down as additional TSA officers continue being deployed to MIA this summer,” said Aviation Director Emilio González.

Sizzling industrial markets may face slowdown, pg. 14

THE ACHIEVER

Bus ridership stuck in long-time tailspin

STOP SIGN FOR RED LIGHT CAMERAS: County commissioners adopted legislation Tuesday repealing 11-1 previous policy that would have allowed a red light camera program in the unincorporated areas of Miami-Dade. Sally Heyman cast the opposing vote. She said she objected because the cameras are a safety measure. Before the vote, Miami-Dade Police Director Juan Perez said there’s plenty of court litigation that puts the future of red light camera programs at risk and, therefore, the agency’s recommendation is to not proceed. The initiative to carry out a red light camera program in unincorporated areas came via legislation passed in July 2010 and January 2011. The legislative action taken Tuesday does not affect red light cameras operated by municipalities.

NEW FIU CENTER IN DC: Florida International University is to hold opening ceremonies today (6/9) for FIU in Washington, DC, a new 3,500square-foot facility at 440 First St. NW near Capitol Hill. The site includes a welcome center, multipurpose space, a board room, a classroom and four co-working spaces. It’s funded by grants, including one by Miamian Maria Elena Toraño, who was to lead a discussion there this week on “Lessons in Leadership: What Washington Taught Me.” An announcement said the space will soon host short courses and “be available for FIU partners from Miami to engage in Washington...” President Mark Rosenberg said that “it is critical that FIU deepen its presence in DC to advance FIU’s federal initiatives, create new win-win partnerships, connect students to great jobs, and expand research funding.”

BOOMING DOWNTOWN: Miami’s downtown area has grown in population by 99.6% since 2000, increasing from 40,466 residents to 80,750, according to Miami’s Downtown Development Authority. Brickell has seen the largest increase in the downtown area, growing from 12,904 residents in 2000 to 32,489.

Bernard Zyscovich

Photo by Marlene Quaroni

Architect puts urban realism to work in Miami projects The profile is on Page 4

Swire to fund a Brickell City Centre fire station

BY JOHN CHARLES ROBBINS

The developer will build a fire station at billion-dollar Brickell City Centre as part of a public benefits program of the City of Miami.

The deal, worked out between city officials and Brickell City Centre Project LLC, is on today’s (6/9) commission agenda.

Commissioners are being asked to authorize City Manager Daniel Alfonso to execute the public benefits agreement with developers of the sweeping mixed-use project, which is transforming the heart of Brickell.

Under the agreement, the developer, a subsidiary of Swire Properties, will build a 6,500-square-foot fire station within Brickell City Centre bounds and lease it to the city at $2 per square foot per year, rising 1.5% yearly in a 50-year lease. That would total $13,000 the first year.

The developer will pay to build the fire station and the city will pay for interior finishes and interior build-out.

A memo estimates furniture, fixtures, and equipment costs at $500,000. The city commission will vote on that spending later on.

AGENDA

Transit use still falling

The resolution notes that construction of Brickell City Centre as well as surrounding development “has increased the need for additional Fire-Rescue services including a fire station.”

A representative of the developer said the company hopes to set an example for others by providing a public benefit as part of a private project.

“We are very excited about a new fire station at our future north development at Brickell City Centre, as it is the first of its kind in [the] Downtown and Brickell area,” said Chris Gandolfo, vice president of developments at Swire Properties.

“We hope this will encourage our fellow developers to follow suit by supporting public benefit within private developments,” he said.

Brickell City Centre is a $1.05 billion mixed-use development from Hong Kongbased Swire Properties Inc., bringing office, residential, hotel, retail and entertainment uses to several blocks south of the Miami River along South Miami Avenue between Fifth and Eighth streets.

As part of the city’s zoning code, Miami

21, the public benefits program is intended to allow bonus building capacity in exchange for the developer’s contribution to specific programs that benefit the public, including affordable housing, parks and recreation, civil and civic support and more.

A developer may provide the public benefit on-site, off-site, or pay directly into the public benefits fund.

At a May 2015 meeting, Commissioner Frank Carollo brought up the need for another fire station in the booming neighborhood. A deputy city manager said then that talks with Swire might lead to a new fire station within the project’s north block.

The northern block is east of South Miami Avenue, bordered by Southeast Fifth and Sixth streets. Initial site plans identified the site as North Squared at 529 S Miami Ave., and showed it set aside for development of a low-rise structure shown in renderings as retail and dining.

In October, Mr. Carollo pursued the topic again, asking for a status report from staff. The commission was told a deal was being negotiated but details still needed to be worked out.

As officials have agreed on six new transit corridors to be created for Miami-Dade County in coming years and complaints about crowded roads rise, use of the present county transit system continues to decline.

Total use of all county transit modes fell 1.5% in February – the most recent statistics made public – following a dive of 10.3% year over year in January, 7% in December, 4.2% in November and 7.5% in October. The last year-over-year gain of at least a full percentage point was 2.2% in December 2014.

But those negative figures for overall transit use mask significant differences among the four modes of transit. Bus use has been in a long-time tailspin while Metrorail has registered mostly gains and the free Metromover has been growing rapidly.

The fourth transit mode, Special Transit Service, can be used only by disabled riders and has been gaining.

Metrobus use fell 4.8% in February from February 2015 statistics – and even so was the slowest decline in bus use in many months, perhaps because February had one extra day this year as a leap year, adding to ridership totals.

Average weekday boardings for buses in February fell 8.6% from February 2015, Saturday use fell 7.4% and Sunday use fell 10.7%.

Meanwhile, Metrorail use fell less than a percentage point on both weekdays and Sundays and fell 3.9% on Saturdays.

Metromover use continued a pattern of gains in February, rising 6.3% weekdays, 2.2% Saturdays and 14% Sundays.

While county reports don’t tie the figures together, bus ridership has been diving as reports also show that for the first half of last year – again, the latest period surveyed – half of all bus riders were on routes that were running late 30% of the time or more. No percentages were given for the other half of riders’ on-time service.

CHAMBER NEGOTIATES WITH RECRUITERS TO FIND CEO ...

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CITY BARS CARS FROM NEIGHBORHOOD IN 90-DAY TRIAL ...

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BEACH CONVENTION HOTEL SITE, TIMING GET MURKIER ...

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GABLES FIRM BUILDS EGYPTIAN, ALGERIAN GRANARIES ...

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VIEWPOINT: HIGH FIVES ALL AROUND FOR TRI-RAIL DEAL ...

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RULES PROBE COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCIES ...

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BEACH LOOKS TO PARKLETS TO REPLACE SOME PARKING ...

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THREE AUTO DEALERS UNITE IN LAND REDEVELOPMENT ... 22

WEEK OF THURSDAY, JUNE 9, 2016

TODAY’S NEWS

MIAMI TODAY

3

Site of Beach convention hotel and timing become murkier

BY MARCUS LIM

The only certainty in a Miami Beach team’s second meeting seeking a hotel adjacent to the now-expanding Miami Beach Convention Center was that there was a lot more uncertainty.

The seven-member panel split Monday over its next step, and the more the Blue Ribbon Steering Committee spoke, the more the notion of changing the hotel’s site was entertained and the likelihood of not having a recommendation to go on November’s ballot increased.

City Commissioner Kristen Rosen Gonzalez, vice chair of the committee, doesn’t see the city reaching the super-majority vote of 60% required to begin construction of a hotel adjacent to the $600 million convention center unless the location is changed.

“It can’t be on the corner of 17th Street, and I think that’s what this lease is bound to, and that’s unfortunate because we should have the freedom to move the hotel,” Ms. Rosen Gonzalez said. “The only way to build this hotel is to change the location.”

Initially only gaining 54% of votes in March’s ballot, traffic congestion was among concerns that saw some voters reject the hotel, especially with other events that may run concurrently with convention center events.

“If New World Symphony and the Jackie Gleason Theatre have an event, you can’t get out of the parking garage when the concert is over, and now add an 800-room hotel with an event going on, you don’t need a Ph.D. in traffic engineering to know that there will be a problem,” said panel member Saul Gross.

“Which is why I thought putting it on 18th Street would relieve some of the stress on 17th Street” Commissioner Ricky Arriola,

Photo by Marcus Lim

Chairman Ricky Arriola, seen addressing the panel, conceded they might have to produce another plan.

chair of the committee, conceded that the panel may have to come up with another plan but said he would rather re-work the current plan.

“We got 54% of vote in favor of the hotel; a lot of feedback we got was with respect to height, traffic, design, number of rooms, so my thinking was if 54% was willing to go with an 800-room hotel at a certain height, if you lower the height, trim the number of rooms, tweak the design, I think we can get the 60% threshold,” Mr. Arriola said.

Jack Portman of Portman Holdings, the Atlanta-based company trying to secure the lease for land to construct the hotel, met with the panel and found it difficult to balance what the public wants with the success the hotel could bring.

“We came here to listen to what you want,” Mr. Portman said. “There’s two different visions here, the need for the convention center and the public’s opinion on what is appropriate.

How the two can be balanced is beyond my capacity.”

Mr. Portman initially funded three polls in different neighborhoods to get feedback from residents on the plan. While he received favorable responses, the feedback was that people were against the mass, height and de-

sign of the hotel as well as the traffic congestion it might bring.

He said he was willing to work with those issues but was left with more questions than answers.

“We’ve analyzed it and are amenable to remove the room count, the height, that is all doable,” Mr. Portman said. “The question is, do you want it to be done now or do you want a more elaborate exercise of the area on what is the best solution?”

Reducing the room count, though, could pose a problem, according to convention center experts. For the hotel’s mission to be successful, it needs 1,000 to 1,200 rooms to draw convention planners to the city, the experts say. Having 800 rooms was already a compromise, and further lowering the number, according to Mr. Arriola, would hinder the hotel in housing those from out of state attending center events.

The convention center hopes to attract 20 to 35 conventions and trade shows a year, a huge boon for the local economy. Success in attracting them, especially those from out of state, largely relies on a hotel to accommodate the visitors.

“You can’t ask a convention planner to book 50 different hotels with different room rates,”

Mr. Arriola said. “They will have other options; they can go to Nashville, Austin and San Francisco, where they can make it real easy to do business. They can just say, ‘Here’s 1,200 rooms, $200 a room and you’re done.’ Or you can go to Miami Beach and negotiate with 50 different hotels and then plan on how to get all those people to the convention center. No one is going to do it. We need a big hotel.”

The panel is working with Florida International University’s Maria Ilcheva, a senior researcher at the Metropolitan Center, to craft a survey to get public feedback.

“The purpose of the survey, the way I see it, is to continue this discussion and to test various options,” Dr. Ilcheva said.

“Your goal is to give us a range of option on what you want us to test when we ask the residents whether they like one option or the other and what are the critical points that will give you the 60% approval.”

She told the panel that she can create a survey by the panel’s next meeting June 20, where further discussions will be held on conducting the phone survey.

“We need to be precise on how we phrase the questions

and that we are not misleading them and we won’t give them options that are not feasible,” she said. “We are calling 600 people in a phone survey and we will call as many as we need to.”

Though opinions split, the panel’s one agreement was that the target of giving the city commission a recommendation for November’s ballot – which would be the third time this plan would be voted on after failing in March and three years ago – is going to be very difficult.

Mr. Arriola said “November will be a big-time long shot. Let’s be realistic and not get our hopes up.” Ms. Rosen Gonzalez said she didn’t think it was possible to meet the November target.

The panel decided the best way forward was to not rush the process.

“My opinion is we shouldn’t prejudge what the timing is going to be. We know what the issues are: height, traffic and design, for me those are the big three,” Mr. Gross said. “If we are seen rushing to try and meet an arbitrary deadline, we would do a disservice to the residents who are looking to the committee for a compromise. They would feel we are rushing and we would lose credibility.”

Whatever the decision, Mr. Arriola hopes something substantial will come out of the next meeting.

“I don’t want to have spin wheels, I don’t want to have two or three meetings and be in the exact same spot. So either we are going in a different direction and re-do the whole thing, I just don’t want to talk about the same thing,” he said.

Details: The next meeting is at 6:30 p.m. June 20 at Miami Beach City Hall, 1700 Convention Center Drive. E-mail hotel@miamibeachfl.gov

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MIAMI TODAY

VIEWPOINT

WEEK OF THURSDAY, JUNE 9, 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

High fives for the high sign in rare nine-way Tri-Rail deal In an achievement that took a rare degree of agreement among eight government bodies and a private corporation, threecounty commuter rail service seems destined to roll into down- Michael Lewis town Miami within 18 months.

It’s not final yet. Contracts may be tweaked, and in those details anything could derail a highly complex deal.

But everyone has agreed via formal government votes to pull their share of the load, including $70 million needed to build connections into All Aboard Florida’s MiamiCentral station now rising downtown.

Restoring a rail complex to the center of Miami is a huge mobility gain, with All Aboard’s Brightline trains offering rapid runs to Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach – and Orlando service, the ultimate aim, soon thereafter – and Tri-Rail’s com-

muter service to downtown Miami linking to the system’s existing 18 stops running up into Palm Beach County.

It doesn’t end our mobility crisis – no single advance could – but it should be an important transportation gain in the northern half of the county and the two counties to our north, even though TriRail use now is regrettably small. Still, every automobile taken off the highways is a gain.

Tri-Rail is not a transportation giant.

In its last fiscal year it carried just under 4.3 million passengers. To put that in perspective, that’s just over half as many riders as Miami-Dade County Transit carried in February alone. Tri-Rail’s yearly load is far fewer people than boarded just our buses in February.

Still, a link to downtown Miami is certain to build Tri-Rail use. We won’t know by how much until it’s being heavily promoted and operating to five other stations in Miami-Dade County and 13 more in Broward and Palm Beach.

True urban transportation of the kind we must have creates a web that links many starting points and destinations, with easy transfers to other links that run to other areas, all flowing frequently

and predictably.

The harder and less predictable urban transportation becomes, the more attractive private cars remain – and the more congested roads are.

So give credit where it’s due. Credit the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority, which controls Tri-Rail, for pulling together the deal and funding part of it.

Credit the other governments that also chipped in their cooperation and money: the City of Miami, Miami-Dade County, the Citizens’ Independent Transportation Trust, the Southeast Overtown/Park West Community Redevelopment Agency, the Omni Community Redevelopment Agency, Miami’s Downtown Development Authority and the Bayfront Park Management Trust.

Credit too All Aboard Florida and its parent Florida East Coast Industries for finding a way to bring public rail into private rail’s new MiamiCentral home and linking transportation services.

It is not only good community service

by All Aboard Florida but a smart step that could feed passengers into its own rail system while certainly enhancing the value of its massive downtown real

An itty bit to know about college graduations Education is essential for wellbeing.

College graduates earn more money, live longer and are healthier than school dropouts.

This is why graduation ceremonies are such a big deal.

It is really impor- Isaac Prilleltensky tant to celebrate this great educational achievement. During May, thousands of students and parents celebrated an important milestone in their lives.

In a rapidly changing world, graduation ceremonies around the country remain a well-established tradition. Some things never change in college graduations: 99% of the graduating girls will have to see a podiatrist after wearing high heels designed for masochists.

100% of 7-Eleven stores will run out of beer.

99% of commencement speakers will say one or more of the following: I had to go to school uphill both ways.

When I went to school “cut and paste” hadn’t been invented.

Turn off your cell phone and smell the roses.

Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Warren Buffett.

Change, change, change.

Change the world.

Inspiration.

Entrepreneurship, technology, start up.

Within you.

Never ever evereverevereverevereverevereverevereverever give up.

Integrity, serenity, sorority, fraternity, liberty, plasticity, creativity, identity, solemnity, curiosity and many other words ending in “ity.”

99% of the graduating students will not hear a word said by the commencement speaker because they will be changing their Facebook status from Single to Graduate.

The Writer Isaac Prilleltensky is Dean of the School of Education and Human Development and Vice Provost for Institutional Culture at the University of Miami. He is also a humor writer. His latest book is “The Laughing Guide to Well-Being: Using Humor and Science to Become Happier and Healthier.”

This column is adapted from his book.

Visit www.thelaughingguide.com

The announcer will butcher the names

of 99% of the graduating students from engineering.

A typical graduation speech goes something like this: “Steve Jobs went to school uphill, both ways, until he met Bill Gates and then quit school because he had a huge inferiority complex and decided to use his brain plasticity to invent timewasting technologies so that all the students graduating from engineering schools around the country would have a job and show Bill Gates that he also could do something good for humanity that did not involve malaria, Africa or Warren Buffett.”

Nowadays, of course, no graduation speech would be complete without reference to Nelson Mandela or Rosa Parks, who all of a sudden has become an iconic figure among Republicans who liken her to Ted Cruz. A typical sentence in a graduation speech today goes like this: “Rosa Parks did not have a Twitter account but Nelson Mandela could have used one – entrepreneurship technology entrepreneurship technology entrepreneurship technology Bill Gates start up change technology change neuroscience start up change Warren Buffett start up entrepreneurial spirit don’t forget to thank your parents.”

When it comes to the student speaker, a typical speech goes like this: “Remember during orientation when all we cared

about was sex… education and they told us to refrain from alcohol and we went to the football game and what’s his name and the cheerleader – fidelity, integrity, validity, reliability – and all of us went straight to the bar – values, ethics, don’t drink and drive – and during sophomore year when the school newspaper published photos of the girls in Gamma Lama Mamma in – integrity, modesty, values, ethics, loyalty, start up, fidelity – and remember Mrs. Fields from the cafeteria who used to let us in late after midnight? Too bad she was fired for smoking pot with us.”

Another common graduating speech is: “When I came here I was a complete degenerate. I spent the entire first year of college playing poker and smoking pot. I used to spend a lot of money until Professor Smith joined us for poker and started bringing free pot from the biology lab. He showed us how to get into the biology lab through the rear entrance of the Chemistry building. Professor Smith was a real friend. It was too bad the administration got rid of him.

“Luckily, no sooner did they fire him than Professor Pothead became the head of the oxycodone research program and we were able to find new ways to pursue meaning in life. Too bad he was fired for sexual harassment. But I’m here to tell you that after 17 years and three expulsions, I’m finally getting my bachelor degree in pottery. I have a bright future ahead of me, and I could not have done it without Professors Smith and Pothead.

“I owe a lot to this institution of higher education. In fact, I owe it in excess of $85,000 in tuition and $5,398 in library fees for overdue books. When you add my student loans to the federal government, I’m looking at something like $357,999, which I plan to pay playing poker using some tricks that Professor Smith taught me and never forget integrity, loyalty, fidelity, voluntarism, alma mater, football, football, football, Katie Gotfrendsen, and God Bless America.”

estate investment with the connectivity and who knows how many added shoppers, diners and potential tenants with a Tri-Rail link.

As has historically been the case, rail transportation is a real estate business even more than a transportation enterprise. More passenger traffic is great for Florida East Coast Industries’ rent rolls.

The only black marks on the scorecard of this near-miraculous deal for a downtown link go to the Florida Legislature, which failed in its last session to clarify the legal liability for the track that the two rail services, one public and one private, will share. It took an April decision by the Florida Supreme Court to give the rail deal the high sign to proceed.

Barring contract snafus, commuter trains should roll into downtown by the end of 2017. Their success then will ride on quality and frequency of service, fare structure and, most important, heavy-duty marketing by Tri-Rail and its associates. It will be a sales job to get more of us out of cars and onto trains.

A new downtown Miami rail link should be a mighty powerful selling tool. Our congratulations.

L ETTERS

TO THE

E DITOR

Homestead rail line wins The ex Seaboard rail line from the Miami Intermodal Center down to Homestead would be a no brainer for a commuter run. The areas are mostly built up now and would provide an easier way to get to the airport and downtown than the present slow morning slog on the Turnpike extension and the Don Shula.

Bob Wallace

Train from Aventura vital A train station at Aventura is most needed as a remedy for one of the worst traffic bottlenecks in Miami-Dade County.

To make it truly a solution to gridlock, the station needs a pedestrian bridge built over Biscayne Boulevard to the mall. A covered walkway over the parking lot to the mall would be even better (or at least a mall shuttle waiting in the parking lot to take the exiting train passengers to and from the mall). A publicprivate partnership ought to make this feasible.

DC Copeland

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WEEK OF THURSDAY, JUNE 9, 2016

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7

Miami Beach merchants to create parks replacing parking

BY MARCUS LIM

Miami Beach hopes to enhance the landscape of Washington Avenue with a one-year pilot parklet program that invites merchants along the corridor to apply for a parking space to use creatively for the public.

The city commission established the pilot program May 11. Businesses with sidewalk cafes from Washington Avenue Sixth Street to Lincoln Road can submit a sketch of what their proposed parklet would be.

City Manager Jimmy Morales was excited about a program to add another layer of beauty and safety to the city.

“The parklet pilot program provides a path for our Washington Avenue businesses to take individual actions in the development and beautification of our city’s public realm,” Mr. Morales said. “It also reflects our commitment to encourage bicycle and pedestrian-friendly streets.”

The parklet would occupy a street parking space in front of the business establishment. City Transportation Director José González said a typical parking space is 18 to 20 feet long and 7 to 8 feet wide. He also mentioned that the merchant could potentially use two parking spaces for a parklet.

Currently in the pilot program, parklets will only be allowed in front of sidewalk cafes. The parklet could be used to extend the sidewalk café, as a green open space, as a creative public space or whatever the restaurant has in mind.

“This helps restaurants expand their services into the sidewalk and parklet area,” Mr. González said. “It was seen as something beneficial for the restaurants that have sidewalk cafes to be able to expand and repurpose public space in a manner more meaningful and engaging to the community.”

The city is to provide a manual of specific guidelines and criteria when sketching the parklet called the Washington Avenue Pilot Parklet Permit Program.

The manual isn’t yet available

‘This helps restaurants expand their services into the sidewalk and parklet area.’

José González Parking spaces have been used creatively in Portland, OR, in a similar program entitled street seats.

online, but Mr. González said he hopes it will be soon.

The parklet space would cost the city nothing. The payments, construction and design would come from the individual merchants.

A framework used by the city was Portland and San Francisco’s parklet programs, which Mr. González said achieved “positive results.”

Dylan Rivera of the Portland Bureau of Transportation said their idea of parklets, or “street seats” as Portland calls them, has received approval from the public where many of their spaces have been used creatively.

Apart from extensions of cafes, which have been common, other uses in Portland include “whimsical, creative” use of space such as ping-pong tables, artistically designed chairs and landscaping models.

“It was very successful when we first started. It grew over the years. When people see the creative use of public space, they get inspired to do something on their own,” Mr. Rivera said. “There is definitely a rising interest in this in Portland, where people are concern about the quality of life and wanting to really enjoy public space and not have a street where you pass through or handle dangerous fast-moving motor vehicles, but actually a space that people can relax and enjoy.”

A popular effort by Portland using the space was installing bike corals, a series of four or five bike racks that have been popular among businesses and encourage residents to use bicycles.

“They are like bike parking spaces, and businesses have been requesting to convert parking spaces to more bike corals,” Mr. Rivera said. “We recently installed our 1,000th bike coral.

It’s just another way of using our public space for non-motor‘The parklet pilot uses and community uses.” program provides a path ized San Francisco’s parklet profor our Washington gram, called Pavement to Parks, Avenue businesses to take has been in the city since 2010 has led to more parklets individual actions in the and appearing around the city each development and year. They use underused land beautification of our city’s by quickly and inexpensively converting sites into new pepublic realm.’ destrian spaces to work with Jimmy Morales local communities.

Like Portland, the goals of

the San Francisco program were to encourage non-motorized transportation, enhance pedestrian safety and support local businesses. Robin Abad Ocubillo, who managed the parklet program for two years, said parklets have brought the community together.

“Parklets has helped us learn a lot about how a city can respond to grassroots ideas for creating neighborhood gathering places,” said Mr. Ocubillo.

“Every parklet has an incredible

proving public space by widening sidewalks and providing amenities while improving pedestrian safety.

“This is a forward innovative idea and concept to help revitalize the Washington Avenue corridor,” Mr. González said. “We are hoping that restaurants are excited about this opportunity to create a livable space within the public right of way that will allow for an expansion of their services.”

community story behind it.

Small business owners, nonprofits, schools, art galleries – they’re all banding together in collaborations with the city that honor the cultures and values of each of our unique neighborhoods.”

The City of Miami Beach hopes to follow in their footsteps. With 25% of Miami Beach’s land area serving as Details: http:// public right-of-ways, parklets www.miamibeachfl.gov/ promote a low-cost, easily implementable approach to im- publicworks/

WEEK OF THURSDAY, JUNE 9, 2016

TODAY’S NEWS

MIAMI TODAY

11

Gables firm to build 500-plus granaries in Egypt, Algeria

BY MARCUS LIM

Coral Gables-based Blumberg Grain has struck agreements to contract with Egypt and Algeria for monumental projects in developing one of the world’s largest food security systems to help the governments improve citizens’ food access.

The company’s sophisticated digital platform would create control centers to oversee every facet of grain storage that now takes place in open-air sites that are often built of sand and dirt.

In the past few months, the father-son duo of Philip Blumberg, founder and chairman of Blumberg Partners, the holding company of Blumberg Grain, and David Blumberg, the CEO of Middle East and Africa for Blumberg Grain, met with Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi and Algerian Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal and agreed to replace their food preservation systems with modernized technology.

These projects would help not only provide food but also reduce waste and post-harvest losses of grain, especially wheat, where globally nearly 60% is lost due to outdated storage that exposes food to rot.

“We brought food security and a concept of how to secure safely your food that is grown by farmers,” Philip Blumberg said. “I think we can build a better life. For most government officials, food security is on the top of their minds. We can feed them with our technology. We can make farmers more valuable.”

As contract negotiations are ongoing with Egypt and Algeria, the total costs were not disclosed.

The Blumberg Grain technology that would be brought to Egypt consists of the highest levels of grain conditioning, inventory management, grating, access management, security management and a slew of other enhanced features to create ideal conditions for grain handling and storage, said David Blumberg.

This is especially important to Egypt, which is the world’s largest importer of wheat; Algeria is a close second within Africa.

At this point, Egypt stores wheat in open-air storage facilities called shounas, which David Blumberg said consist of sand and dirt. This is Blumberg Grain’s main focus.

“Egypt buys wheat from farmers all across the country at a subsidized rate that encourages them to farm and harvest.

That makes its way to their shouna system, and that is the level Blumberg is playing a role to increase the level of technology and enhance the storage capabilities,” David Blumberg said. “This is a huge program in the space of food subsidies in the world and is one Blumberg Grain is very proud to be a part of, modernizing and making more efficient to the implementation of our technology.”

Agriculture and processing centers are in implementation

Blumberg Grain’s logo appears above the door of a storage site that’s to be among 300 Egyptian centers.

‘For most government officials, food security is on the top of their minds.

We can feed them with our technology. We can make farmers more valuable.’

Philip Blumberg stages where over 300 centers would be installed under the contract to provide full coverage across 22 of the 27 governorates of Egypt for wheat harvest procurement.

KPMG, which provides audit, tax and advisory services, estimates the project would save the Egyptian government $550 million annually in waste.

“It’s the access to the basic necessities in those countries that are important to the government in power,” David Blumberg said. “And the fastest way for a government in many of these regions to increase the amount of food available, agriculture output, agriculture availability to market is to ensure the product that is produced or harvested in countries is not lost before it gets to the consumer.”

While a definitive timeline has not been confirmed, Philip Blumberg said he hopes construction will be completed in time for Egypt’s next spring harvest.

The project in Algeria is on the same size and scale as Egypt.

Algeria also has inefficiencies in wheat storage, according to David Blumberg.

“We were asked to revamp the storage infrastructure and create a modern network of food security for the country’s local wheat harvest,” he said.

In development is a network of 200 facilities all across Algeria to store wheat in bulk. The configuration is different than

in Egypt, because Blumberg Grain designed the program to be specific to the environment and context of Algeria.

“The Algeria technology is different in the sense that we primarily focus in Egypt on a bagging technology. For Algeria we are focusing on bulk technology. That is how they handle their wheat,” David Blumberg said.

Blumberg Grain uses an overhead chain and pedal conveyors for the movement of grain as well as wired temperature and humidity sensors that drop through the ceiling and into the piles of grain to read specific information such as temperature and other environmental factors so that the intelligence system can utilize that data to make adjustments at the storage facility to ensure that the grain is maintained in an ideal state.

“For example,” David Blumberg explained, “if our temperature sensors strike a high reading, then underneath the grain aeration fans and tubes will allow cool air from the outside to enter into the warehouse, permeate throughout the grain, moving the heat that is trapped within the grain to the top of the grain piles and then be evaporated through a ventilation system that allows the hot air to exit the building, creating a cooler environment, which is preferable for long-term storage of wheat.”

Adjustments would be made through the digital platform that Blumberg Grain provides, which would monitor all sites from their command and control center.

David Blumberg said the center is what people envision when they think of a “military-style”

‘This is a huge program in the space of food subsidies in the world and is one Blumberg Grain is very proud to be a part of, modernizing and making more efficient...’

David Blumberg command and control center.

Data tracked in the center include detection of unauthorized break-ins and abnormal weather.

From there operators can enact any protocols to ensure the longterm safety and security of the grain and food products held in their infrastructure.

Algeria has more than 400 sites for locally harvested crops, but these open-air pits and sheds provide poor quality storage.

The government today has about 2 million tons of local wheat storage capacity.

David Blumberg expressed hopes that a deal could become final in the next few weeks, telling Reuters at the Global Conference in Dubai that he initially aimed for an agreement before the start of Ramadan, a religious observance practiced by Mus-

lims, fasting for an entire month every day from sunrise to sunset. Ramadan this year began June 5 and ends July 5.

The President of Egypt praised projects carried out by Blumberg Grain in Egypt and welcomed its increased investment in the nation, according to presidential spokesman Ambassador Alaa Youssef.

The president also said he looks forward to completion of Blumberg Grain’s projects in Egypt as soon as possible, especially construction of the advanced shounas, because they serve the agricultural sector, help the government provide food, provide jobs, stabilize prices, help provide various food types throughout the year and avoid crop waste due to poor storage and handling.

Colombia, Ukraine and India are also possible sites for Blumberg Grain’s technologies, with India having one of the world’s largest markets for food security.

Within Africa, Blumberg Grain is looking to expand its presence in Senegal, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Nigeria, places where contacts have already been made.

Apart from creating better food access, the projects would help combat famine and stabilize the food supply chain, which can incidentally lead to fewer protests or riots, according to David Blumberg.

“In some other cases, as military officials would tell you, the creation of better food security is equivalent to, in essence, combating the rise of extremism, which is propagated by the lack of access to food,” he said.

“There are people who are starving, and every day another hungry belly creates a situation where one might be more inclined to join a radical group promising food on the table.”

Blumberg Grain hopes to be able to help the countries it serves.

“Not to be cliché, but we want to try and change the world in the aspect of creating better food security globally,” David Blumberg said. “We are motivated altruistically by the vision and type of work we do and the impact that we will have.”

Details: http:// www.blumberggrain.com/ storage/ https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=Kq9Tp7FzbKc

12

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Commercial Real Estate 2I¿FH 6SDFH Big office deals tumble 63% as South America woes shake our market

BY CAMILA CEPERO

nect between buyers and sellers,” Mr. Zylberglait said.

For example, he said, investors expect values to be stabilizing while sellers continue to have unreasonable expectations that the market will continue to have the same level of growth. The result is cautious buyers who are hesitant to invest.

“Buyers are coming back saying, ‘we can’t pay you the crazy high numbers you want.’”

“While total average direct asking rates rose 1.5% quarter-onquarter in Q1, rate adjustment volume slowed,” said a JLL firstquarter 2016 Miami Office Insight report summary. “A large contingent of landlords appear to be assessing the broader market.”

In the Miami office market, there have been 112 deals in the $2.5 million to $20 million range since January, Mr. Zylberglait said, down 63% from the same period last year.

The impact on the office market as a result of the slowdown of foreign transactions is not as alarming as it sounds, Dr. Lasaga said.

“Our domestic side of the business is helping offset the negatives we’re experiencing internationally,” he said. “We’ve been positively impacted by our own national economy. The US was a great beneficiary of the slump in oil prices. It boosted spending in the US economy.”

However, the growth in the US alone is not robust enough to keep improving the market, Dr. Lasaga said. Domestic business is helping to keep the market “moving,” but the pullback from the international sector has certainly had a negative impact.

“Because of that, we may be less dynamic as an office market,” he said.

As Latin American economies went into recession, many of their currencies fell substantially,

The Miami office market takes a hit as a result of foreign economies struggling to gain a foothold amid recessions and political strife, but experts say it’s nothing to be alarmed about and might even be a healthy change of pace.

Over the past few years, Miami’s greatest trade partners – countries such as Brazil, Argentina and Venezuela, along with other key South American countries – have been battling inner political and economic turmoil.

Large-scale issues such as recessions, impeachments, fluctuations in the price of oil and a host of other problems paired with the strong US dollar have strained our trade relationships.

This, in turn, has led South American businesses towards Photos by Maxine Usdan investing less in Miami office Alex Zylberglait sees a disconnect between office buyers and sellers. space for their operations. making it less affordable for them 58.8%, in suburban markets and “The volume of trade from 114,148 square feet in the central to do business.

South America with us has been That holds true whether the business districts, according to a declining in the past couple of topic at hand is international trade different CBRE report. years,” said Manuel Lasaga, “We’ve seen a bunch of activor office transactions, Dr. president and co-founder of ity up and down the Biscayne Lasaga said.

StratInfo, a Miami-based eco“Their purchasing power was corridor, the MiMo District [from nomics and finance consulting reduced with the decline in the 50th to 77th streets along firm, and clinical professor in Biscayne Boulevard], some marvalue of their currencies.” the finance department at Florida “The markets are still very kets have been hot up and down International University. healthy and very strong. People Biscayne. Certainly the Aventura “In the ‘boom years’ before are trying to anticipate what’s to market remains a top market and 2008, before the recession, procome,” Mr. Zylberglait said. Coral Gables has a strong marduction of commodities was “Barring any major change or ket,” Mr. Zylberglait said. skyrocketing. Now, [South “Overall, the rest of this year shock to the system, things look American countries] are dealing to be positive for at least a year.” is going to continue to see some with very weak prices for their At the end of the first quarter, weaker numbers,” Dr. Lasaga exports,” he said. more than 1.3 million square feet predicted. “We’re going to see a “If we look at international of office space was under con- significant decline in international dimensions of the office marstruction statewide, primarily in trade business and less demand ket,” he said, “one of the trends Miami, which accounted for for office space for import-exthat impacted Miami has been 67%, said a CBRE market report. port businesses. From that perdeclining international trade in Without an excessive amount spective, it’s impacting us.” the past few years because of “I think it’s possible that the of supply in the market, Mr. recessions in South America.”

Zylberglait said, Miami’s office South America region could beSome foreign investors are gin to recover by the end of this market will stay healthy. beginning to consider keeping Additionally, year-to-date net year,” he said. “In the beginning their money at home and are absorption was 276,853 square of 2017, we may see some imlooking at domestic opportunifeet, with 162,705 square feet, or proving.” ties as a chance to invest, said Alex Zylberglait, senior vice president of investments in the Miami office of Marcus & Millichap.

The market, which grew so strong and so fast during the last few years, he said, is unable to sustain that growth. The “slowdown in fundamentals” is natural and healthy, he said.

“Rental rates are strong and vacancy rates are low. Investors are trying to be more realistic, somewhat more conservative, in trying to anticipate potential headwinds.”

“The strong dollar is causing some foreign investors to pause, but I would say the slowdown in transactions is due to discon- Manuel Lasaga: “Our domestic side... is helping offset the negatives we’re experiencing internationally.”

Gables team seeking new mix in retail

BY CATHERINE LACKNER

In tandem with a new streetscape program and improvements to Miracle Mile and Giralda Avenue, the City of Coral Gables, the Business Improvement District of Coral Gables and the Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce have joined to create a retail strategy to bring in a more targeted mix of tenants and to define the city’s niche within Miami’s retail picture.

The Miracle Mile streetscape, “as wonderful as that is,” isn’t enough to transform the city’s retail personality, said Javier Betancourt, the city’s director of economic development.

“Unlike a mall, downtown Coral Gables is represented by fragmented ownership,” he said.

“There has not been one overarching merchandising plan that will allow us to target the types of retailers we want to go after. It’s all happened in a hodgepodge way, and we think there’s a real opportunity to work with the property owners and other stakeholders to develop a cohesive vision,” Mr. Betancourt said.

The group has hired Midge McCauley, a principal of national retail consultant Downtown Works, to launch the project. She is already on the job, interviewing stakeholders including merchants and restaurant owners.

“It’s early in the process,” which will probably take about nine months, Mr. Betancourt said.

Once a retail strategy is in place, the city plans to hire a permanent recruiter to make overtures to targeted businesses.

The group plans to conduct research on several levels, he said, to determine what the mix of stores should be, to find out the optimum mix of merchandise within the stores, and to assess what kind of a retail destination downtown Coral Gables wants to be, even compared with the Village of Merrick Park, also within the city’s borders.

When Ms. McCauley interviewed stakeholders a few weeks ago, “I can tell you that 95% wanted a more upscale environment, one that is unique,” Mr. Betancourt said. “The city is primed for that kind of retail. We don’t want just national retailers that you can find anywhere. We want to build on our authenticity and the strong heritage we have.

We want to find the right balance of dining and shopping” he said.

“Now, people are often drawn to the Mile by a particular restaurant or shop. We want them to stay and experience the Mile just as you would any retail destination.”

14

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MIAMI TODAY

WEEK OF THURSDAY, JUNE 9, 2016

Industrial market, soaring on high, may face bit of slowdown

BY CAMILA CEPERO

The South Florida industrial market is seeing occupancy rates at their highest level in nine years, while asking rents increased for the 20th consecutive quarter, according to the newest data, but the market should be facing a natural and minor slowdown in coming years, experts agree.

In the first quarter of 2016, more than 500,000 square feet of new industrial inventory was delivered, vacancy was at 4.9% and occupancy was at 95.1%, a nine-year high, according to Newmark Grubb Knight Frank’s South Florida Industrial Market Report.

“Warehouse and distribution space saw the largest year-overyear rise, to $7.73 per square foot from $6.84 per square foot,” the report said. “General industrial space followed closely to $6.95 per square foot from $6.38 per square foot during the same time period.”

“It’s a very interesting time in the Miami industrial market,” said George Pino, president of State Street Realty.

The Medley area is at 3% vacancy, while airport areas are at 4.5%, their lowest numbers in “nearly 10 years,” Mr. Pino said.

E-commerce has been one of the leading industries that has absorbed quite a bit of space and will continue driving absorption, he said.

Amazon leased 175,000 square feet in Miami’s Airport East in first quarter 2016, according to the market report.

The e-commerce industry will fuel a strong demand for industrial product, especially in dense urban locations close to consumers, said Alex Zylberglait, senior vice president of investments in the Miami office of Marcus & Millichap.

The telecommunication industry took the lead for the bulk of mid- to large-size lease deals in South Florida during first quarter 2016, accounting for 601,000 square feet, according to the same report.

The current condition of the industrial market, Mr. Pino said, has led developers to feel the pressure to produce and build new state-of-the-art modern warehouses in the airport area, Medley and also Hialeah Gardens.

“In 25 years, Hialeah Gardens was never on the radar for development of new warehouses. Due to lack of land and demand for new modern, effi-

Photo by Maxine Usdan

Panama Canal’s expansion will aid Miami’s industrial market, but how much is unclear: George Pino.

cient buildings, numerous developers are now developing in the Hialeah Gardens area,” he said.

South Florida is anticipating a dramatic boost in international trade with the $5.25 billion expansion of the Panama Canal, expected to be operational by the end of the month.

There seems to be consensus among industry experts that it will bolster the industrial market, but no one can be sure to what extent.

“I think it’s [going to be] positive. I don’t think we’re going to see a huge impact in Miami-Dade County – a lot of that cargo is going to other ports,” Mr. Zylberglait said.

“It’s probably not [going to be] a game-changer, [but] it’s all good and positive.”

While he doesn’t expect the Panama Canal expansion to be a game-changer for the market either, Mr. Pino is quick to note that he believes it will definitely help.

“I do feel it will have a positive impact on demand, but to what extent remains to be seen.”

In January, Miami Today reported that about 7% of the product that will be coming through the Panama Canal will go to warehouses, with the rest distributed via rail.

“For a lot of companies now, efficiency is the name of the game – they’re looking for the efficiency that new Class A buildings provide,” Mr. Pino said. “However, if supply of Class A diminishes... but demand is still there, that’s a great thing for Class B buildings... because companies will have to make do with what is in inventory if there is not enough sup-

ply to meet demand.”

Even now, he said, a very strong demand remains for Class B product. “Even with new product on the market, Class B continues to perform well.”

“I think investing in smaller Class B and C industrial buildings in Miami-Dade County is still a safe bet given our market position, given our continued growth and the fact that we have limited supply,” Mr. Zylberglait said.

“I think we’ll see some redevelopment of some of the older product in some areas,” he said, adding that he sees this happening already in “attractive” areas like Wynwood and the Design District, where investors are buying old houses.

But the industrial real estate market in Miami faces a challenging problem – dwindling available land upon which to build.

“The reality is that South Florida is surrounded by water and the Everglades. It’s not Atlanta, where land sprawls forever,” Mr. Pino said. “It’s a realistic possibility that one day we will run out of land.”

A solution could come in the purchase and demolition of Class C and D warehouses to build newer product. This is unlikely en masse soon, Mr. Pino said, because real estate is so expensive and valuations will be high.

“As time goes on and real estate down-cycles, developers will start to look at those possibilities,” he said. “There’s going to be a time where there is no land to build on.”

“The older warehouses – at some point in time – it will become feasible for you to be able to buy that property, de-

molish it and put a new warehouse there that will go up and provide all the necessary amenities for the company,” said Elias Porras, senior vice president of Colliers International South Florida.

As weak international economies struggle to stabilize, the industrial market has felt a minor pullback from foreign investors, experts agree, but there haven’t been major consequences.

In the wake of their weakening domestic currencies, foreign investors have become more conservative and cautious, Mr. Zylberglait said.

“The ones that have the dollars will still find a way to purchase real estate. They would much prefer to park their money here than in a volatile government internationally,” Mr. Porras said.

However, Mr. Zylberglait said, foreign investors are going to continue to invest. “It’s not the end of the road for foreign investors.”

“The market fundamentals remain strong,” he said. “It’s still a very healthy market and values are still showing strong numbers.”

The first quarter of 2016 saw the average asking rent increase for the 20th consecutive quarter, according to the same market report, with an increase of $0.76 per square foot from this time last year to $7.90 per square foot, the highest average since 2006.

The constant rise of rents can be attributed in large part to the scarcity of land, Mr. Porras said. Even with land prices as high as they are, buildings are selling and interest rates are up

because there are enough investors still willing to pay these high rates.

For example, he said, a company from Houston or Chicago might lease 100,000 square feet in its home city and only lease 80,000 square feet in Miami, but at least its presence is still here, even if it’s on a smaller scale.

But the industrial market in Miami-Dade County is showing signs of slowing down, Mr. Zylberglait said.

“We have a little bit of turbulence towards the end of this year and next year but in a fouror five-year forecast, I don’t see us being any worse than we are today,” Mr. Porras said. “I think prices will hold. There may be a dip, but we will recover quicker.”

Year-to-date volume for product in the $2.5 million to $20 million range is roughly $199 million, Mr. Zylberglait said, down 30% from the same period last year.

During the first half of the second quarter, the volume of deals has totaled $64.5 million, involving nine properties, he said, compared to the $135 million total from 24 properties for the entire first quarter.

“This is comparing the first half of the second quarter to the whole first quarter,” Mr. Zylberglait said. “So if you assume that same volume continues – another nine properties in the second half of the second quarter – it would still be below the 24 properties in the first quarter.”

Another factor to keep an eye on in is the multi-billion dollars in loans reaching maturity in the next two years, Mr. Porras said.

These loans, which are made to major developers, will hold the market down when they mature, which is set to happen within the next year or two, he said.

“If prices stay high and stay there – when loans mature then we should be okay and get refinancing done. Then people will be okay,” Mr. Porras said.

However, this also means that if asset values don’t keep appreciating, developers will be having a bad time trying to refinance when that time comes “Industrial will do well. It always has, it’s withstood time,” Mr. Porras said. “For so many investors, that’s their first choice.”

“This is a market that everybody wants,” he said. “Every major player, every major institution wants to have a presence in Miami.”

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Ivy Realty ups Miami portfolio with big Waterford package

BY MARCUS LIM

Connecticut-based Ivy Realty has made big waves to expand its presence in South Florida by acquiring five buildings in a Miami airport business park, sealing a $68.25 million purchase in the Waterford at Blue Lagoon Business Park.

The May sale for $190.92 per square foot was made by a fund managed by DRA Advisors LLC negotiated by a brokerage team from Cushman & Wakefield.

The portfolio totals 357,466 square feet, with Ivy Realty managing to get the four-story buildings at 5757, 5775, 5805, 6101 and 6161 Blue Lagoon Drive ranging from 60,338 to 88,835 square feet each, roughly totaling 357,466 square feet.

Rusty Warren, Co-CEO of Ivy Realty, chose the portfolio due to the prime location near the airport and distance from booming municipals.

“We like buying relevant real estate, and this being adjacent to the airport a few miles from Coral Gables and a few miles inland from downtown Miami, it’s a tremendous market and one of the nicest offices,” Mr. Warren said.

The company, founded 20 years ago, already has amassed a sizable portfolio in South Florida in the past five years, accumulating a half billion dollars worth of assets, assets that can continue to grow, according to Mr. Warren.

“We have become a very active participant in the market in South Florida and we believe in the growth,” he said. “We have had tremendous results down there.”

DRA Advisors bought the portfolio from the Metropolitan Life

Mike Davis said he generally looks for price, terms and credible group.

Connecticut-based Ivy Realty paid $68.25 million for five buildings in the Waterford area at the airport.

6161 Blue Lagoon Drive is one of the buildings that Ivy Realty bought.

Insurance Co. in 2011 for $43.86 million, according to county records. Before Ivy Realty negotiated for its acquisition, it was 79% occupied with nearly 60% of the tenancy consisting of national and regional companies.

Executive Director Mike Davis of Cushman & Wakefield helped

Ivy Realty seal the deal and spoke about the venue being an attractive investment.

“This portfolio offered an exceptional value-add opportunity in Miami’s premier mixeduse office park,” Mr. Davis said.

“With modest common area upgrades, new ownership will

Wynwood waste processing center on sale for $25 million for housing

BY CATHERINE LACKNER

The massive Southern Waste Systems (SWS) processing site at 2000 N Miami Ave. is on the market for $25.2 million.

“Things are going well – there is interest,” said Jonathan De la Rosa, who listed the property at the southern entrance of Wynwood along with Scott Sandelin for Marcus & Millichap. The team expects a sale of the corner site by year’s end, Mr. De la Rosa said.

SWS sold a portion of its assets to Waste Management Co. this year but kept the Wynwood site.

“The highest and best use for that property is not a waste-processing facility,” Mr. De la Rosa said. “By right, someone could build eight stories there, 12 with bonuses.” The 1.44-acre site is zoned for 150 dwelling units per acre and about 40,000 square feet of retail. It enjoys 460 feet of linear frontage on Northwest 20th Street and North Miami Avenue, both high-traffic thoroughfares traversed by about 30,000 vehicles each weekday.

“This will be a great asset to have,” Mr. De la Rosa said.

A sale and redevelopment would

Wynwood gateways deserve the utmost protection: Tom Curitore.

be good news for neighbors, who have been concerned about the facility since February 2014, when SWS applied for a city permit to close two interior alleys and bring in a recycling component.

Members of the Overtown Neighbors for Environmental Health and Safety who live near the plant, as well as the Wynwood Business Improvement District, objected.

“The Wynwood gateways deserve the utmost protection,” said Tom Curitore, business improvement district executive director, at that time.

SWS said in a statement then that it had run a blemish-free facil-

ity for 20 years and that it recycles 97% of materials that come into the plant. The company ultimately abandoned both city requests and its attorney, Miguel Diaz de la Portilla, said it might be willing to sell, given the changes that have occurred in Wynwood and Overtown since SWS built the facility.

“Property in this area doesn’t lose value,” Mr. De la Rosa said.

“Good real estate is good real estate.”

He said he and Mr. Sandelin will close this week on “the only site in the area that is comparable,” a 48,500-square-foot corner at North Miami Avenue and Northwest 29th Street, on Wynwood’s northern boundary. “It’s one of the largest sales in the area,” Mr. De la Rosa said. He couldn’t disclose the price, but said it is in the $18 million to $20 million range.

He sees both sites as ripe for redevelopment, with demand for them propelled by a tide of affluent young people who shun the suburbs. “Millennials don’t want to drive; they want to live in the urban core, where they can Uber everywhere.” he said. “The future is there.”

which Ivy Realty emerged the winner. The two firms have done business with each other since the mid ’90s, dealing close to a billion dollars with each other.

“We generally look for two things. One is price and terms, who is going to pay and how fast can you get it done; and who do we view as the most credible group,” Mr. Davis said.

“When you are selling an asset of this magnitude, you are dealing with credible folks. Not everyone can bite off a $68 million deal.”

The prior business with Ivy Realty and its known credibility convinced Mr. Davis that Cushman & Wakefield would help broker the deal.

“We found Ivy to win on all fronts and they put forth the best package,” Mr. Davis said.

Ivy Realty would ultimately hope that its new purchase would be appealing to tenants with many upsides.

“This is exactly the type of opportunity we are looking for,” Mr. Warren said. “Value, buying relevant real estate, and we have a lot of confidence of the people down in South Florida.”

be able to favorably position these assets to capitalize on the rapidly growing demand for high-quality space in the Waterford at Blue Lagoon micro-market.”

The location being near the airport and having an office environment that is in a central location without having the same costs as Brickell or Coral Gables office prices was an ideal option for Mr. Warren.

“I think it’s a tremendous office environment that is a little more affordable than Brickell and Coral Gables, so I think it’s a tremendous offering for those tenants, companies that want to be proximate to the airport market,” he said. “It’s a job engine market, and these assets being close to the locations, they are very well located.”

The portfolio was highly sought after, according to Mr. Details: http://www.ivyDavis, in hotly contested bidding among three finalists from realty.com/

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