Miami Today: Week of Thursday, July 14, 2016

A Singular Voice in an Evolving City

WEEK OF THURSDAY, JULY 14, 2016

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TECHNOLOGY

New, expanding tech firms to add 300 jobs here, pg. 13 COSTLY BAGGAGE: Mayor Carlos Gimenez has reversed himself and is asking commissioners to approve a contract to construct a baggage handling system at Miami International Airport for almost $7.5 million for pre-construction phases and up to $177 million for construction for Parsons-Odebrecht Joint Venture after recommending last month that the county reject all four bidders and start over. He wrote to commissioners that he learned after his June 7 rejection memo that the US Transportation Security Administration was concerned that time could be lost in re-procurement and if so it would withdraw its $101 million grant to fund most of the project. The commission’s Trade & Tourism Committee is to hear the mayor’s request this week. The project is to replace the in-line security screening portion of the South Terminal’s baggage handling system and install automatic sortation for the Central Terminal.

Foundation’s launches fuel our tech ecosystem, pg. 16

THE ACHIEVER

TRANSPORTATION INITIATIVES UNDER WRAPS: Months after the end of the Florida Department of Transportation’s 826/836 Carpool Incentive Program, which paid motorists to carpool during construction on state roads 826 and 836, the state prepares to announce next year’s initiatives. Jim Udvardy, project director for South Florida Commuter Services, which ran the program on behalf of the department, told Miami Today in March that the carpool program had been evaluated as a model for future initiatives. Now, he said, they are in the process of setting those up with hopes of introducing them next year but won’t release more information until next month.

AIRPORT SOARS: Passenger arrivals rose 3.3% at Miami International Airport in the first five months of this year to total more than 9.5 million people, according to figures from the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau. Domestic arrivals alone rose 5.5% to surpass 5 million in the period, with international arrivals increasing 1% to just under 4.5 million.

GREEN FROM BLUE: Florida Blue has donated $115,000 to the Underline, a 10-mile-long pathway under the Metrorail. “The underline is an extraordinary example of businesses and communities coming together to support a healthy lifestyle,” said Penny Shaffer, Florida Blue’s South Florida market president. The total cost of the project is estimated at $100 million.

James Wolfe

Photo by Marlene Quaroni

Plays key role in new transit corridors, signature bridge The profile is on Page 4

Miami Circle site may host 3-D life-size replica

BY JOHN CHARLES ROBBINS

Imagine being able to see a 3-D life-size replica of the Miami Circle, a 2,000-yearold Tequesta Indian artifact at the mouth of the Miami River.

As part of a renewed effort to improve and care for the Miami Circle, state officials said they’re considering ways to create a full replica, 38 feet across, using images from a high-resolution 3-D scan of the actual circle, now buried to protect it.

Kerri L. Post, deputy secretary of state, met Monday with the Miami River Commission and presented the Department of State’s plan for the historic site, also called Miami Circle at Brickell Point.

Ms. Post updated the commission on recent improvements to the state-owned 2.5-acre site, and showed photos demonstrating beneficial results of just a few months’ worth of TLC. “There have been many, many positive changes at the circle and there are more to come,” she said.

One strong message emerged: The state recognizes the Miami Circle’s historic significance and is committed to improve it, maintain it and preserve it.

AGENDA

“Getting this site right is a high priority with the agency,” said Ms. Post, welcome words to river commission members and those who treasure the site.

The open, park-like area had fallen into disrepair and was marred by illegal parking of a fleet of scooters, lack of upkeep, homeless encampments and constant inundation of trash and dog feces.

In March, river commission Vice Chairman Jay Carmichael announced there was a new team at the state department, and that led to a new agreement for site improvements.

Phase One of the state’s plan involved lawn maintenance, landscaping, working with neighbors to oust the scooters and other illegally parked vehicles, and more.

The artifact was uncovered in 1998 during a pre-construction condo tower survey.

The state bought the land in 1999 for more than $26 million. The site was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2009.

Ms. Post said the circle’s historic importance can’t be ignored. Other National Historic Landmarks in Miami-Dade include the Freedom Tower, Vizcaya and the Biltmore Hotel.

Ms. Post said the state’s goals for the

Miami Circle are: Protect the National Historic Landmark site.

Provide public access and connectivity.

Provide a high-quality visitor experience.

Educate the public on what the Miami Circle is and why it is important.

Phase Two of enhancements, to begin soon and end by January, is to include adding pet waste stations and trash and recycling bins; native trees and plants; custom railing with integrated interpretive signage around the circle; limestone boulder benches; three large gateway signs, and a dozen interpretive signs.

After that, the state will consider installing public art and a replica.

Ms. Post said it’s only a concept now, but the idea is to produce an full-size replica from the high resolution 3-D scan of the circle taken during excavation.

“It would be of high detail, down to the millimeter so visitors could see its actual size and details, and of quality produced in high-end museum exhibits but suited for the South Florida climate,” she said after the meeting.

Mover hits riders high, one million Miami-Dade’s Metromover carried the most passengers in its history in March, surpassing 1 million in a single month for the first time, figures posted last week

by Miami-Dade Transit reveal.

At the same time, however, the transit system as a whole continued a tailspin of rider losses, dropping 8.9% in use from March 2015 even when including Metromover’s record high.

Metromover alone gained 3.1% riders from March to March as it reached 1,010,118 boardings.

Metromover’s gain, in fact, brought 14.2% more riders than in March 2012.

Metromover’s gains have not come every month but are relatively consistent, with the biggest jump over 12 months being 10.8% in February from February 2015.

The free Metromover loops through Brickell, downtown Miami and the Omni area, covering only Miami’s urban core.

On the other hand the bus system, intended to cover the entire county, has been losing riders at a growing rate. Bus use dropped 13.6% in March from March 2015 but still had more than five times as many passenger boardings as Metromover, more than 5.7 million.

Over the past 12 monthly reporting periods, the bus system has lost at least 4.7% of ridership from the same month the prior year.

Metrorail, the rail line that covers only a curving slice of the county, lost one-tenth of one percent of passengers in March 2016 from March 2015, with just under 2 million boardings.

Planners in the Metropolitan Planning Organization are counting on a mixture of current bus routes and new transit modes tied into the Metrorail system to extract more Miami-Dade drivers from congested roadways and drive them into public transit. But they have yet to stem the tide of past passengers getting off the bus system.

While Metromover is free, fullfare bus and Metrorail riders pay $2.25.

AMBITIOUS PLANS VIE TO REPLACE GABLES GARAGES ...

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COMMISSIONERS MEET ON PAYING CABBIES REWARDS ...

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VIEWPOINT: PAY COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PROPERLY ...

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SPORTS AUTHORITY MAY HAVE FEWER COMMISSIONERS ... 11

NEW RIVERWALK MYSTERY: HAS IT VANISHED OR NOT? ...

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MIAMI LOOKS AT TAKING PUBLIC PLACES ART IN-HOUSE ... 22

ALL BACK CONVENTION HOTEL BUT DIVIDED ON HOW ...

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CITY PLAN BACKS A MARINA EXPANSION, BUT WHERE? ...

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WEEK OF THURSDAY, JULY 14, 2016

TODAY’S NEWS

MIAMI TODAY

3

Ambitious plans vie to replace Gables municipal garages B Y CATHERINE L ACKNER

Two ambitious projects have been proposed to redevelop Coral Gables municipal garages that sit on land the city considers underutilized.

The redevelopment has been discussed for several years and a request for proposals was sent out earlier this year.

Municipal Garage 1 at 245 Andalusia Ave. is a three-level concrete building with 282 spaces (272 permitted, 10 for public use) one-half block south of Miracle Mile. Municipal Garage 4 at 345 Andalusia Ave. is a three-level structure with 349 spaces (285 permitted and 64 for public use). The goal is to enhance the parking supply and generate more parking revenues, while redeveloping the space in keeping with Coral Gables’ aesthetic values, city representatives have said.

Two proposers, Allen Morris Company and The Related Group, and TC Gables LLC, an affiliate of Terranova Corp., were chosen from among five who submitted first-stage conceptual designs.

Miami Today has obtained copies of both proposals, which are also available to the public.

In alphabetical order according to project name, here are the highlights: Coral Gables City Center, proposed by The Allen Morris Company and The Related Group, includes a variety of scenarios for both garages. All include a Mediterranean entrance foyer, storage for bicycles, charging stations for electronic vehicles, and “green” parking spaces.

The basic option for Garage 1 would include 770 parking spaces, of which 722 will be city-owned, and 11,871 square feet of ground-floor commercial space. A full-service restaurant or arts cinema could be tenants, the proposal said.

Version two features a 17story tower with a public 12th floor exterior café and a “park in the sky,” 140,000 square feet of office space, and the 11,871 square feet of ground floor commercial space. The city would own 770 parking spaces.

In both scenarios, “pedestrian connection of the parking garage to the two existing, privately-owned covered paseos

Rendering of one of the plans submitted by the Morris-Related team.

ity of the heart of Coral Gables,” the proposal said. “On the ground floor of the garages and the lower two floors of the new Miracle Tower, we will include new retail space with 20-foot floor heights to help attract new retailers and restaurants to the area. We are proposing multi-family rental residences because rental apartments tend to be more intensively utilized than condominiums in South Florida and will further contribute to the vibrancy of the businesses in the surrounding area.

“It is our belief that the public environment is enhanced by bringing more life to the intersection of Ponce and Miracle Mile. The new residents and the activity they bring to the street will greatly enhance the quality of life for the city and its residents.”

Designed in a Mediterranean style, the new Garage 1 would be a 102 feet tall, with about 17,000 square feet ground-floor retail and eight levels of parking comprising 500 public parking spaces, 343 spaces for residential users at Miracle Tower and 67 for other users. “The roof of the garage is proposed to contain amenities for the adjacent building connected by an elevated passageway,” the proposal said.

“The garage will contain multiple connection points to the new building, allowing visitors to the area to pass directly from the garage to Miracle Mile or Andalusia, and utilize a paseo that will provide uninterrupted passage between Andalusia and Miracle Mile.”

The new 184-foot-tall residential tower, within the footprint of the Miracle Building at 220 Miracle Mile, would contain slightly more than 220,000 square feet of floor area, including two levels of retail at the base and 14 stories of residential space with 187 units.

Garage 4 would be redeveloped as the base for a new 148unit residential building that would be a sister building to Miracle Tower. The 174-foot, 16-story building would include 33,700 square feet of retail, and a 923-space garage with 500 public parking spaces, 264 spaces for building residents, and 136 for retail users.

Neither city officials nor the developers can speak about the proposals, which are under a cone of silence. After they pass through a review committee, the proposals will be brought to the city commission, which is expected choose a developer going forward on the projects in the fall.

between the Miracle Mile and Stanley Real Estate Investing.

“We are proposing three new the public alley to the north of the property will be provided. buildings that will add to vitalConnection between the garage and paseos will be as direct as possible and the alley-ways for the entire length of the city block of the garage improved.”

The basic version for Garage 4 includes a 16-story residential tower with 244 marketrate apartment units, 16,878 square feet of ground floor commercial space and 799 parking spaces, 280 of which would be city-owned.

“The public parking garage on the Garage 4 site will have a mid-block paseo from the garage to the Miracle Mile,” the proposal said. “Connection between Garage 4 and paseo will be as direct as possible,” and the alleyways improved by the same means as proposed for Garage 1.

Version two for that Garage Miami Cardiac & Vascular Institute at Baptist Health South Florida 4 raises the apartment component to 270 units and adds a has advanced care in the region for nearly 30 years – keeping private 7th floor terrace and innovation and the highest quality at the heart of everything we do. rooftop amenity deck.

The Institute is composed of a multidisciplinary team of physicians A version 3 requires a height variance but “crowns Garage 4 who have achieved international acclaim for their breakthrough with a grand three-staged tower research and impact on cardiovascular care. Experience the inspired by the Biltmore’s faadvantage of our commitment to helping patients lead healthy lives. mous three-staged Giralda Tower. At the pinnacle of this tower stands a majestic statute of Florida’s vanguard, Ponce De Leon, pointing to the fuCall 786-596-2700 today to see one of our experts ture,” the proposal said. While or learn more by visiting BaptistHealth.net/Heart this version requires a height variance for the 265-foot tower, “the requested variance is only for non-occupiable ornamental towers and is well below the maximum heights of the Biltmore Giralda Tower (317 feet) and Alhambra Towers (297 feet),” it continued.

Shops and Residences at Miracle Mile, by TC Gables, treats Garages 1 and 4 as a $ QRW IRU SURðW RUJDQL]DWLRQ VXSSRUWHG E\ SKLODQWKURS\ DQG FRPPLWWHG WR RXU IDLWK EDVHG unified site that incorporates charitable mission of medical excellence. For giving opportunities, visit BaptistHealth.net/Foundation 220 Miracle Mile, which Terranova controls together A proposal from Morris-Related. with an affiliate of Morgan

INNOVATION FOR TOMORROW

6

VIEWPOINT

MIAMI TODAY

WEEK OF THURSDAY, JULY 14, 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

County hall’s big pay raise: commissioners need not apply As a 9.1% property value rise swells Miami-Dade tax revenue, most county hall employees are in line for 4% cost-ofliving pay hikes starting Oct. 1. But one group will be conspicuously absent: Michael Lewis county commissioners.

As virtually everyone else gets more, commissioners will get the same $6,000 a year that they’ve been paid since 1957, because voters have time and again refused them raises and the commissioners themselves have stopped seeking one.

Talk about cost of living: a $6,000 salary in 1957 would, with inflation, have the buying power of $51,296 in 2016, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. But we still pay the same $6,000,

LETTERS

TO THE

EDITOR

Bring back flexible modes of public transportation County Commissioner Xavier Suarez was totally correct in his guest column on the county’s transportation system. When I came here in 1969 the so-called jitneys were everywhere. They were cheap, they were ubiquitous and drivers could and would stray off the route by several blocks to drop you at or close to your door.

They were great for penniless college students and many other people of limited means.

But then Metro decided to shut them down along with the several small municipal bus systems to make the public transportation system more “efficient.”

All that did was sharply limit the options available to people who depend on public transportation.

We should bring back the small flexible human-scale vehicles that are driven in a way that provides a greater service to riders.

One of the main reasons our current bus system is a failure is it is operated with a “you have no choice” mindset, meaning we don’t have to make it comfortable or reliable or efficient because you have no choice.

Anyone with a choice would never think of riding those giant lumbering people transport vehicles.

Seth Gordon

Let express lane fund rail Let’s use some of the I-95 express lane revenues to fund the Coastal Link.

Drivers are now forced to pay hundreds of dollars every month if they don’t want to spend hours every day on the interstate. The gridlock is worse than ever and the lane divers have turned our commute into a daily game of Russian roulette. People need a viable alternative or the plastic poles should be removed.

However, the blatant favoring of the wealthy could actually be justified if it would fund a solution to ease the gridlock, improve the quality of our lives and the quality of the air that we breathe.

Henna Wright

though the job then was very part time and today it’s full time plus, handling budgets greater than those of many nations.

We pay these commissioners just 36% of Florida’s $8.05 hourly minimum wage as they spending billions of our dollars.

How in the world can we expect their full attention without them thinking of how to line their own wallets in the process? It’s just not logical.

The state, not residents, sets commission pay in every county but Miami-Dade – we’re so big that we set our own.

Statewide, it’s done by county size – the bigger the county, the higher the pay.

Raises come every year.

In Liberty County, Florida’s smallest with 8,365 residents, commissioners last year got $24,719, the state’s lowest rate but up 263% from three decades earlier.

Miami-Dade, population 2.7 million, still pays the same $6,000 it always has.

The five biggest counties in the state other than Miami-Dade last year paid commissioners $95,888 each. We paid our collective 13-member county commis-

sion $78,000 – far less in total than many aides get individually. How smart is that?

Commissioners themselves are unlikely to ever ask voters for more money by putting a raise on the ballot, which would be the right thing to do. They’d view it as political poison, and all 13 have found their own ways of getting by on $6,000.

And that’s the danger – what populace wants commissioners to find a way to get by while being paid 36% of minimum wage and handling billions of public dollars?

Somehow, some way, commissioners are doing all right for themselves. But how?

If we turn a blind eye to what we create when we pay this way, then we just plain deserve the outcome.

Some will say commissioners don’t deserve anything more. If you believe that and refuse to pay more, we’ll never have commissioners who are worth holding office.

We don’t believe that our commissioners are worthless. Some do fine jobs. But

we put them in an untenable position by refusing to increase their pay to a living wage and then holding them to the full time, quality service that the job should demand.

Most of our commissioners will be term-limited out of office in a few years.

If we want to upgrade the quality of government – or just be fair to those we elect – we need to have a decent pay level by 2020 to attract quality candidates.

Heaven knows we don’t want a 2020 ballot heavy on candidates who are looking to get ahead on $6,000 plus the nasty hidden perks of public office.

Now is the time for business and civic leaders to unite to put on the ballot a commission pay raise to $100,000 or more. The total cost increase of $1.2 million can be recouped many times over in just a single smarter commission vote.

If you like what the commission is doing now, pay members fairly. If you don’t, pay fairly and attract better candidates. Thrift may be smart, but being cheap is very costly – it costs us all dearly.

Brain Drain: Fact? Fiction? Or a little of both?

Depending upon whom you speak with in the business community, “brain drain” is either a serious problem in South Florida or a fiction that people bandy about.

In any given month, corporate Jerry Haar executives with whom I interact will proclaim: “FIU is turning out some great MBA students. We intend to hire a lot more from your school,” while others will exclaim: “We can’t find talent here; your best and brightest leave and don’t return.”

To begin with, any honest and accurate discussion of “brain drain” should dispense with the term altogether. In our 21st century, globalized and interconnected world, the more relevant term to use is “brain mobility.”

Talented individuals have more choices than ever regarding where they choose to live and work, depending, of course, on the labor market demands for their particular skills and the quality of life they wish to enjoy. Just as with the removal of tariff barriers and the continuing liberalization of trade, investment and finance decisions will rest with a free market, so too will the free market choices of individuals.

But what about the notion or accusation that, one, companies cannot find talent here and, two, that the best and brightest leave?

The first accusation is baseless. If firms cannot find talent here, then they are not looking hard enough. If there were such a dearth of talent, would the vast constellation of companies in financial services, real estate, health care, IT and other services be present throughout the tri-county area, not to mention expanding their operations?

Would the business community not be up in arms if our local higher education institutions were not turning out the quality of graduate they sought hire?

Organizations such as the Beacon

The Writer Jerry Haar is a professor of business at Florida International University and a Global Fellow of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, DC.

Council, through its Academic Leaders Council’s Talent Development Network and New Leaders Taskforce, are working hard to promote local talent; and Miami Dade College’s two-year technical programs along with the proliferation of non-college coding academies are testimonies to the fact that talent should not be defined as a four-year college degree.

As for the best and the brightest leaving, that often occurs in other places as well. Many in the top 10% of high school graduating classes attend toptier universities. There they develop connections and networks, including relationships with recruiters at prestigious companies.

Not surprisingly, they do not return to their hometowns after graduation but begin their careers elsewhere. They may well return to their hometowns, however, if opportunities arise after they have achieved success elsewhere. In essence, the exodus of top talent is often less about what their communities lack than what other locales have in quality and reputation.

For example, a high school graduate from Cleveland who decides to study at Columbia University because of an interest in investment banking or management consulting will opt for a job after graduation in New York, not Miami, Houston or Minneapolis. A Miami high school graduate interested in film and entertainment will probably make UCLA his or her first choice college and seek employment in that industry afterward.

And students from the US and abroad who are interested in college and a career in hospitality management, health

care and international business will rank Miami high on their list of places to study and work.

It is important to recognize, too, that as a global city with a heavy Latin American focus, Miami is a beneficiary of brain gain attracting many of the best and brightest from the Americas. (Courtesy of the late Hugo Chavez and Nicolas Maduro, I’ve been blessed with a continuing cadre of Venezuelan students who are among the best I have taught.)

There are many “quality of life” factors that will continue to make our community a beneficiary of brain mobility – talent coming and going. This is particularly true in the area of startups, where Miami ranks number two nationwide, according to the Kauffman Foundation.

Economist Edward Glaeser has produced compelling research that concludes that human capital predicts population and productivity growth at the city and metropolitan levels. Striving to become one community with one overarching goal, targeting promising industries for growth and development, Miami and South Florida in general will increase attractiveness as a place where talent can thrive.

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WEEK OF THURSDAY, JULY 14, 2016

TODAY’S NEWS

MIAMI TODAY

7

The restaurants’ riverwalk mystery: has it vanished or not?

BY JOHN CHARLES ROBBINS

A unique double-decker restaurant being built to house two eateries on the banks of the Miami River has come under fire for its lack of a required public riverwalk.

Officials with the Miami River Commission are upset, saying the project doesn’t comply with a plan approved in 2014 for a 14foot-wide riverwalk.

The project’s architect said work on the riverwalk itself has not yet begun, but he said when complete it will comply.

SUSHISAMBA and Duck & Waffle are to locate in a multilevel commercial building under construction at 40 SW North River Drive, the former East Coast Fisheries site.

The project was discussed Monday at the monthly meeting of the river commission. Members voted unanimously to reaffirm their November 2014 approval of a plan to build the commercial structure consistent with Miami 21 and the City Charter requirements for a public riverwalk of at least a 14-foot width.

The project was proposed by The Melo Group and considered Phase II of Flagler on the River.

Melo has a commitment with one tenant that plans to build-out the interior of the new structure after Melo constructs the exterior of the four-story building, according to Arturo Griego of Itec Design, principal architect of Phase II. The site is directly on the river, across Northwest North River Drive from Melo’s 32-story, 300unit condo Flagler on the River.

The city’s zoning code and charter require a public riverwalk be built and maintained.

Normally, the code requires a structure built on the river must be set back from the water at least 50 feet. Within that setback, a 25-foot-wide public riverwalk is required, featuring a minimum 15-foot-wide unobstructed pathway.

Because this site is narrow, a formula was used based on overall size of the property, and the final plan called for the 14-footwide riverwalk.

Concerns arose after a site visit in March where river commission officials saw revised plans they say are inconsistent with Miami 21 and the charter.

Minutes from a June 22 meeting of the commission’s Urban Infill and Greenways Subcommittee noted, “…the width was

In a photo provided by architect Arturo Griego, the riverwalk would be beside fence in center of picture.

‘We were snubbed at the committee meeting. It’s a major outrage.’

Ernie Martin reduced from 14 feet required to 12 feet wide total, while reducing the unobstructed circulation zone from 8 feet 4 inches wide to 4 feet 6 inches (ADA requires 5 feet minimum) – 5 feet 10 inches. In addition the revised narrower public riverwalk, which is no longer consistent with Miami 21 … and the city charter, is now no longer continuous across the entire site, and the public side-yard connectors (from sidewalk to public riverwalk on both sides) were reduced in width as well.”

The minutes say neither the developer nor a representative accepted an invitation to attend the June 22 meeting.

“We were snubbed at the committee meeting,” said Dr. Ernie Martin, co-chair of the committee. “It’s a major outrage.”

Brett Bibeau, managing director of the river commission, said the developer claims to have a

building permit from the city approving the site work but had not produced a copy of the permit after repeated requests.

In an email response to Miami Today, Mr. Griego included a document he said is the building permit, which appears to be a City of Miami electronic document on the project showing plan status is “Active,” and is marked “Plan Approved.”

There is no specific reference to the riverwalk, however.

Mr. Martin said he’s upset by the lack of a riverwalk, calling it “an egregious violation of a clear code,” and said it impacts another nearby major project on the river.

The riverwalk in front of the restaurants is supposed to connect with another stretch of public riverwalk to the east to be built as part of the Riverside Wharf project, Mr. Martin said.

That project consists of a complex of four riverfront restaurants and event spaces and a fish market and oyster bar, along with a new riverwalk, and was approved by city voters March 15.

Mr. Martin mentioned the referendum and the plan to connect the two portions of riverwalk, and the adverse impact of a smaller or disconnected riverwalk to the west.

Speaking of the reported changes to the riverwalk at 40 SW North River Drive, Mr. Martin said, “This cannot be tolerated.”

River Commission Chairman Horacio Stuart Aguirre also expressed frustration with the SUSHISAMBA and Duck & Waffle project.

Public Notice NOTICE IS GIVEN that a Committee of the Whole/Public Hearing has been convened by the Honorable Jean Monestime, Chairman, Miami-Dade County Board of County Commissioner, for Tuesday, July 19, 2016, at 9:30 AM, to discuss the proposed millage rates for Fiscal Year 2016-17, including, but not limited to, the impact of such proposed millage rates on funding for Community-Based Organizations and the community. This Committee of the Whole/Public Hearing is scheduled to take place in the Commission Chambers, located on the Second Floor of the Stephen P. Clark Center, 111 N.W. First Street, Miami, Florida 33128.

All interested parties may appear and be heard at the time and place specified.

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“This developer has basically thumbed a nose at us,” said Mr. Aguirre. He predicted the developer will eventually go before the city commission and “beg for mercy” to allow the smaller and altered riverwalk because the project will bring the city jobs and money.

“I’m not in the mood for the game,” Mr. Aguirre said.

Mr. Aguirre said he planned to talk to the mayor, the city manager and the planning director about the project. He said if the

work is being done “roguely,” he will ask that the building permit be pulled and the construction shut down.

In an email response to Miami Today, Mr. Griego said the developers have an approved plan.

“The riverwalk portion of the project is not under construction yet. Only the shell building has really been built,” he wrote.

He said he has been trying to keep the river commission in the loop as to progress on the site.

“The fact is that the riverwalk portion of the project has not been built because the tenant is not ready with the TI [tenant improvement] plans and this may have an affect on the design,” wrote Mr. Griego.

“I look forward to having the riverwalk built in compliance with all requirements, inclusive of FAC (Florida accessibility code) and all other applicable codes.

“We have gone through great lengths to design a compliant plan on an extremely challenging site. I am not sure who was the expert who claimed non-compliance, but it was not the architect, contractor, City of Miami building department, nor the City of Miami planning department.

As mentioned, we have an approved plan that went through a full plan review for months at the city and the riverwalk construction has not even commenced,” Mr. Griego wrote.

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Ross Report on Real Estate

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TODAY’S NEWS

WEEK OF THURSDAY, JULY 14, 2016

Commissioners huddle on how to reward well-behaved cabbies

BY SUSAN DANSEYAR

of for-hire drivers operating in Miami-Dade, and on Monday disCounty Commissioner Daniella cussed with Commissioner Levine Cava is refining legislation Esteban Bovo Jr. the possibility that would reward good behavior of waiving a portion of their li-

cense renewal fees.

The commissioners also explored during a Sunshine meeting the amount of money that would be waived, rewarding multiple

years of operating without incident and whether rider-rating of drivers – a feature of the smart phone app that will be going into taxicabs – should be part of the

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eligibility criteria for the rewards program.

Ms. Levine Cava deferred her resolution to create a rewards program for all for-hire chauffeurs who operate in the county without incidents during a June 15 Transit & Mobility Committee meeting when drivers and commissioners expressed reservations. At the time, she introduced the legislation saying one of the complaints she’s heard is that some local taxi and limousine drivers were offering sub-par service.

“While we have an enforcement system that punishes drivers who break the rules, we don’t have anything that rewards our drivers for providing good service and who have clean records,” Ms, Levine Cava said June 15. “This would create an incentive, with rewards made from whatever money [is settled upon from fines owed by] outfits operating illegally over the last several years.” She was referring to Uber and Lyft drivers.

However, when drivers said the money to fund the program is not readily available or any fines collected could be better used for enforcement, Ms. Levine Cava agreed to work with the county’s Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources and drivers to improve the legislation.

Mr. Bovo, who chairs the Transit & Mobility Committee, is supportive of an incentive program and has agreed to co-sponsor the revised resolution, Ms. Levine Cava told Miami Today after this week’s Sunshine meeting.

She reiterated that Mr. Bovo favors waiving license renewal fees rather than a monetary bonus, and said he would rather see multiple years of good behavior.

Additionally, Mr. Bovo raised the idea of the smart phone app for riders rating drivers as a criterion for eligibility, Ms. Levine Cava said, which she agrees might be a part of the standard by which drivers are judged.

Additionally, she said, they discussed how much money will be available for the proposed incentive program. Currently, Ms. Levine Cava said $4 million in fines are uncollected and the mayor’s office is reportedly collecting 80%.

On May 4, just a day after the 9-2 commission vote legalizing ride-sharing services such as Uber and Lyft, Miami-Dade County was served with a 28page class action complaint and demand for jury trial. Miadeco Corp., B & S Taxi Corp. and Checker Cab Corp. “individually and on behalf of others” are seeking $1 billion in compensation for violation of the equal protection clause of the Constitution. Essentially, the taxi owners claim the commission’s legalization of the ride-sharing services in Miami-Dade devalued their industry.

Even at 80% collection, Ms. Levine Cava said, past fines could pay for any bonus funds. No new hires were made for enforcements. Additionally, she said, increases in permits could be used for bonus funds as the number of drivers will go from a current 5,000 to 15,000.

WEEK OF THURSDAY, JULY 14, 2016

MIAMI TODAY

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Technology New, expanding tech companies to add 300 jobs in county

BY CAMILA CEPERO

Two new technology companies and one expanding firm will altogether bring in more than $4 million in new capital investment and 300 new jobs to Miami-Dade County within three years, the Beacon Council, the county’s official economic development partnership, said last week.

Tecnocom USA, a Spanish IT services company, is planning to open a 3,500-squarefoot facility in Coral Gables in the next three years, adding 50 jobs and $2 million in capital investment. Westernacher & Partner Consulting, a Germanbased company that implements business and IT strategies using the SAP business operations and customer relations system, is using Miami as a base to expand into the Latin American market. They’re expected to add 20 jobs and invest $10,000 within three years.

Topp Solutions, which develops, remanufactures, distributes and repairs consumer electronics, is moving its facility from Doral to the West End Innovation District in the West Kendall area. The move is expected to add 230 jobs and $2 million in new capital investment within three years.

The Beacon Council lures and develops tech companies of all sizes by promoting and developing local talent, taking part in national and international tech conferences, and demonstrating to outside companies the pros of establishing a presence in the area.

“We have our focus on One Community One Goal,” said Beacon Council’s senior vice president of economic development, James Kohnstamm.

According to its website, One Community One Goal offers strategic recommendations aimed at creating an environment where significant job creation occurs with a focus on

Photo by Maxine Usdan

Co-working spaces like this Pipeline Workspaces site are a key part of the technology scene in Miami.

new higher-paying jobs in target industries.

The One Community One Goal strategy focuses on seven target industries, technology being one of them, Mr. Kohnstamm said.

The other six industries are aviation, banking & finance, creative design, hospitality & tourism, life sciences & healthcare and trade & logistics.

“For technology, what we have is a committee made up of private organizations that work on a number of issues but inform us about the trends and opportunities in the industry and help the Beacon Council staff [gain] deeper access into the industry,” Mr. Kohnstamm said.

According to Beacon Council data, some of the 1,583 tech companies in Miami-Dade include Amadeus North America, Avaya, Telefonica Data USA, Verizon Terremark (NAP of the Americas), SAP, Oracle, Apple, Cisco, Facebook and Intel.

Niche sectors being served in-

clude back office support & IT, computational science & health IT, data centers, logistics IT, mobile applications and tourism IT. The area has 8,367 tech industry jobs with an average salary of $94,314, saw a 24% increase in tech jobs from 20122014 compared to 9% nationally, and sees more than 1,000 students graduate each year with IT-related degrees.

The organization strives to “get in front of decision-makers of tech companies” in order to attract business from outside the community, he said, adding that a great local opportunity for that is eMerge Americas, a multi-day technology conference in Miami connecting innovators, investors and thought leaders through summits and workshops.

“We’ve found it, as always, to be a great opportunity to speak to not only individuals interested in working in tech in Miami but also companies looking to invest,” Mr. Kohnstamm said.

“Earlier this year we were at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, the world’s largest mobile tech gathering. We were there with our senior leadership, meeting with companies – not only companies from Spain but from all over the world,” he said.

In the past, the organization has attended the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and took a technology-focused business development mission to New York City, meeting with targeted companies to discuss relocation to Miami.

Right now, more than any other time in recent history, Mr. Kohnstamm said, talented individuals are first moving to cities where they want to live and then looking for or making jobs for themselves in those cities.

Additionally, Miami’s talent pool is growing as a result of local educational institutions such as Miami Dade College, the University of Miami and Florida International University graduating large numbers

of technology engineers, he said.

Not only does Miami have a diverse culture and international exposure giving companies the opportunity to do business internationally and have a multicultural workforce, he said, but even Miami’s connection to other parts of the country, such as anywhere up the Eastern Seaboard or bordering states, makes it a great place to facilitate an entrepreneurial environment.

Miami has amazing incubators, accelerators and co-working spaces, Mr. Kohnstamm said, citing examples such as Venture Hive, an incubator and accelerator program, Pipeline Workspaces and LaunchCode, which helps companies find new tech talent.

Recently, Mr. Kohnstamm said, an out-of-state financial services tech company came to Miami to check out the local tech talent pool. The Beacon Council hosted the team and spent the day with them visiting existing companies, some being major corporations, and speaking about the talent pool.

“Coming and seeing, feeling, touching the tech industry and learning from existing businesses here is the ideal approach.

It’s always better to hear it from the private sector.”

The organization has two focuses, Mr. Kohnstamm said, the first being the expansion of the local industry and the second being accessing capital and financing.

“We have a great story to tell.

We’re finding our place in the broader community among our peers and our competitive cities,” he said. “I think that we’re only going to benefit from more investment in the tech industry.

I feel like we’re at a tipping point, with a lot of action happening here and a lot of national and international excitement about the growing tech scene here.”

Enterprise Florida targets seven sectors to recruit tech firms

BY CATHERINE LACKNER

The tech companies Enterprise Florida recruits bridge many industry categories, said Sean Helton, vice president of strategic communications for the economic development organization. “‘Technology’ is kind of a broad term for us, as a lot of the jobs we bring here are high-tech skill positions.”

The high-tech recruiting sectors are aviation/aerospace, advanced manufacturing, clean tech, defense and homeland security, information technology, life sciences, and logistics.

Lufthansa Technik Component Services, a global leader in aviation maintenance, repair and overhauling, currently has 90 employees in Miramar and plans to add 100

more jobs in South Florida as it expands its customer service, account management and product sales center over the next few years, Enterprise Florida said in March.

In May, Univision announced the expansion of its Newsport facility in Doral, which was projected to create about 350 jobs and local economic impact of more than $200 million.

Univision is one of the leading networks in the US, regardless of language, and the most-watched Spanish-language broadcast television network, according to a news release. The network’s programming serves Hispanic America and includes news, telenovelas, dramatic series, sports, music award shows and reality series. The Univision Network is available in about

93% of US Hispanic households, according to the Nielsen rating service.

That followed the February announcement that NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises plans to build its global headquarters in Miami-Dade County, creating about 150 jobs. The company, along with parent Comcast, will spend $250 million to build the global center, which is to initially house 1,100 employees, with the capacity to expand to about 1,300.

The Telemundo expansion was made possible by partnerships among Enterprise Florida, the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, Miami-Dade County and the Beacon Council, the Enterprise Florida website noted.

Fresh Express, the top retail packaged

salad producer in the US, and parent Chiquita, the top banana retailer in the US, in April opened offices in Orlando. A satellite Chiquita office in Dania Beach is expected to add 90 South Florida jobs.

In January, Total Quality Logistics announced the expansion of its Miami facility, which was projected to create 75 jobs by the end of 2018. The company has facilities in Jacksonville, Daytona Beach, Orlando, Tampa Bay and Fort Lauderdale.

“Opening in a world-class city like Miami helps attract the kind of highly motivated employees who will allow us to grow our market share and maintain our leadership role in the third-party logistics business,” said Kerry Byrne, the company’s president, in a release.

14

MIAMI TODAY

TECHNOLOGY

WEEK OF THURSDAY, JULY 14, 2016

Miami accelerator lures tech entrepreneurs from 40 nations

BY MARCUS LIM

Venture Hive’s program supporting high-growth technology businesses has seen many companies thrive in Miami and boost the technology industry. Its accelerator has helped companies develop niche ideas and business strategies, with businesses from more than 40 nations applying to the program, where only 2% are accepted.

Founded in 2013 by CEO Susan Amat, the accelerator has helped Miami strengthen the technology industry while also having a job creation impact of $7.3 million, according to a statement it furnished, that represents a 15-to-1 return on Miami Downtown Development Authority investment.

“Venture Hive was created because there wasn’t any structured program supporting highgrowth technology businesses and Miami wasn’t yet on the map as a place that international entrepreneurs could have a successful US market entry,” Ms. Amat told Miami Today.

The program helps see companies succeed. Through a partnership with the Downtown Development Authority, companies in the accelerated program receive a grant of $25,000 over the 12-week program that they could receive in increments by completing a tailored, unique milestone set by Venture Hive to help them reach their goals.

“We are unique in our approach in that we don’t take equity from the companies, so the support from Miami’s Downtown Development Authority and Mayor [Carlos] Gimenez allowed us to be completely conflict-ofinterest-free to focus on building them – as people and as teams so they could build their companies,” Ms. Amat said.

“We offered a world-class accelerator to provide them with a different skill set than anyone else was doing… we know how critical what we teach is in helping entrepreneurs reach the next level.” Venture Hive has done programs all over the world for organizations like Microsoft, the US State Department and the World Bank. Companies supported range from the idea stage to over $20 million in revenue depending on the program, allowing them to succeed with

Photo by Maxine Usdan

Said founder Susan Amat, “Venture Hive was created because there wasn’t any structured program supporting high-growth technology businesses and Miami wasn’t yet on the map” for that internationally.

apply to. Venture Hive for us was a great fit – the resources, mentorship and quality of the company.”

In Mr. Otalvaro’s prior experience working in a video production company, he saw businesses wanting to create professional videos. He also noticed that technology is on the rise and wanted to integrate that with his video production expertise to meet a demand from these businesses at a monthly subscription rate of $49.

“I saw the rise and demand for these types of videos,” he said, “and production companies, such as myself, needed to scale to meet that demand. This platform was the answer to that.

When I ran my video production company, I could only serve one company at a time, but with RawShorts, now we serve 1,000 customers on a daily basis.”

Mr. Otalvaro was one of the 10 companies in the first cohort of Venture Hive’s accelerated program. Through the tailored program designed to help his company grow, the grant money helped develop, test and validate its prototype. The skills it learned, specifically pitching and presentation, has helped RawShorts reach investors.

“Learning how to present, learning how to pitch and convey your message to communicate the value proposition” is vital, he said. “There is a lot of businesses that start every year, but the level of insight of accelerator that Venture Hive brings to founders who are interested in scaling business is not something every business owner is exposed to,” he said. “So the program for Venture Hive was about how to build a business that scales, how we take a product we have and find ways to better understand our market and communicate the value to the market... and present it to a potential investor.”

In the same batch as Mr. Otalvaro was Juan Bermudez, chief technology officer and cofounder of NightPro, a platform on mobile devices and the Antonio Otalvaro hails Hive’s “resources, mentorship and quality.” internet designed to help night local Miami and foreign businesses.

With technology evolving in the world, the need for companies to specialize in the sector has increased with general businesses in the hub of Miami requiring a need for technology to cater to an evolving market dependent on internet and smart phones. Venture Hive’s program has helped companies reach that goal.

Many praised the Venture Hive mentorship and educational content that helped expand their businesses.

Antonio Otalvaro, CEO of RawShorts, a cloud-based video builder that supports thousands of small businesses around the world to make their own explainer videos, was among the first cohort of Venture Hive’s program. He praised Venture Hive for “believing” in his idea of helping businesses create their own videos, which were still in a very early stage.

“We were an example of a company that went into Venture Hive with an idea, but we had a solid team in place and history of launching successful products in the digital space and they took a chance on us,” Mr. Otalvaro said. “Venture Hive chose us and we chose them. There were a lot of accelerators that you can

clubs such as Space, Icon, Liv and clubs in Asia with their business and hospitality operations.

The idea came from seeing inefficiencies in the night club industry.

“Nightlife has always been a big part of Miami and [clubs] are very professional in what they do,” Mr. Bermudez said. “The reality is the staff and operators are in a cutthroat business. With technology and design, we can help them optimize how they work, and that is what we pinpointed on, to translate them into tools that make their lives easier.”

Mr. Bermudez and his cofounder developed a prototype that night club mangers praised.

To further develop business strategies, they applied to Venture Hive’s accelerator program.

“It was intense, kind of like being back in college because they have a lot of mentors coming in and a lot of people flying in across the nation to give us sessions on different subjects from engineering to marketing to optimization and pitching,” Mr. Bermudez said.

Like Mr. Otalvaro, Mr. Bermudez found the pitching techniques he learned to be of great value.

“Pitching to investors was something they worked on a lot, and we felt a big difference from what our pitch looked like before to when we came out,” he said. “We definitely grew, followed advice, strategic partnerships and found better ways to monetize our clients. That really helped us to keep growing, which helped us

get an acquisition.”

Ms. Amat told Miami Today in the past that Venture Hive was also designed to help Latin American businesses find a foothold in Miami, further boosting the city’s economy.

One example was Lucas Funes from Argentina, the CEO of Webee, considered one of the top IOT (internet of things) companies in the world that makes hardware and software to connect hundreds of devices to a single app and control system.

Now based in Miami and California, Mr. Funes attended Venture Hive’s incubator program last year and the accelerator program this year, saying the learning experience was unrivaled.

Like the other CEOs who attended the accelerator program, he praised the pitching skills he learned.

“Venture Hive helped us grow personally as an entrepreneur to improve my pitching and communication skills, how to present, those personal skills that we learn,” he said. “From a business perspective, they helped us network, reorganize our content and manage our business.”

He saw Miami as a convenient way to enter the US market and sees the rise of technology that helped his product have a need.

“There is a bunch of advanced technology, and that gives us the opportunity to implement the solutions,” Mr. Funes said. “We saw a greater US market than the entire Latin America, especially with the technology. In a few years, all houses in the US will have everything, lights, devices, all connected to one device.”

The rise and dependency on technology increases every year and for Venture Hive, helping tech firms reach their potential to capitalize on the growing market helps fulfill that need.

Mr. Ontalvaro sees his company as proof of Venture Hive’s success.

“We are a company in Miami that is in the process of hiring people who are in the tech space,” he said. “And that was one of the original purpose of Venture Hive, to attract high tech companies to develop in South Florida. So that the entity can attract and create jobs. Our company is an excellent example of that vision manifesting itself.”

Details: Venture Hive, https://www.venturehive.com/; RawShorts, http:// www.rawshorts.com/; NightPro - http://www.nightpro.com/; Weebe - http://webeelife.com/ en

Juan Bermudez and Francisco Quintero of NightPro for night clubs.

16

TECHNOLOGY

MIAMI TODAY

WEEK OF THURSDAY, JULY 14, 2016

Knight Foundation’s multiple launches fuel tech ecosystem

BY CAMILA CEPERO

As Miami continues to see a booming technology sector, the Knight Foundation is striving to work with the greater community to support start-up businesses by providing Miami’s entrepreneurs with the resources and foundation necessary to make their ideas a reality.

Since 2012, the foundation has made more than 180 investments in entrepreneurship initiatives across South Florida, totaling more than $20 million, according to its website.

Matt Haggman, Knight Foundation’s Miami program director, said the foundation has propelled the city’s innovation ecosystem by helping to launch numerous firms, including: eMerge Americas, a multiday technology conference in Miami.

Endeavor Miami, the first US office opened by Endeavor, which works in six parts to launch, select, support, multiply, give back and sustain the entrepreneurship movement worldwide.

The Lab Miami, a shared coworking office space and collaborative office workspace in Wynwood.

The Idea Center at Miami Dade College, where students and community members gather, collaborate and take advantage of resources to develop their entrepreneurial ideas.

LaunchCode, which pairs people aiming to work in technology with top-level employers through paid apprenticeships and job placement, with over 90% of apprentices ending up with fulltime employment in technology.

CS50x Miami, a partnership between LaunchCode and the Idea Center at Miami Dade College Wyncode Academy, a nineweek coding bootcamp.

Girls Who Code, which offers summer programs and after-school clubs for teen girls in an effort to close the gender gap in the technology sector.

Win Lab, an accelerator for women entrepreneurs that is

Photo by Marlene Quaroni

Matt Haggman said the aim is to create an environment where entrepreneurs can connect with each other,

modeled after Boston’s Babson College entrepreneurship program.

The idea, Mr. Haggman said, is to create an environment where entrepreneurs can connect with each other and with the community, whether that is on the search for funding, talent, mentorship or co-working spaces.

Location will always matter, Mr. Haggman said, but people will increasingly be able to launch ventures from anywhere in the world.

“Right now I see ventures here where they have part of their team in New York and Buenos Aires. You can do that now.”

However, people will always want to live and work in places where they would like to be, he said.

“That’s another way in which Miami wins... People love to be here for entrepreneurialism – the question is do they have the resources to build really big ideas here. The whole idea is to be sure that all those resources are here.”

It’s important to note, Mr. Haggman said, that “while Knight is making big investments, it really is a community effort.”

“More and more people and organizations are actively working to grow start ups.”

“This effort is not built on creating boundaries,” Mr. Haggman said, neither is it to prevent entrepreneurs from going to other places. Some entrepreneurs will always strive to end up in Silicon Valley, he said.

“We have the opportunity to ask ourselves ‘What – in addition to continuing our work in the arts and journalism – can we do here in Miami to identify emerging trends and put resources behind it to propel it?’”

“We looked around at many issues of importance and community need,” Mr. Haggman said. “There’s no right place to go, but we did identify entrepreneurship as an area where we thought we could make some important strides as a community.”

“Building the Miami entrepreneurial ecosystem,” he said, “would lead to expanded opportunities across the community, stirring greater retention and civic engagement.”

“We launched the effort... to try and create resources where entrepreneurs can build the ideas they want to build,” he

said, “and that includes places where entrepreneurs can work, meet mentors and advisors, and get access to funding to build the idea. It includes events that allow for connections and inspiration and learning opportunities... Risking, starting, launching – that’s very much in the Miami DNA. Where Miami has struggled is scaling ventures.”

The Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurship series is an umbrella of annual reports that measure US entrepreneurship across national, state and top 40 metro levels. Rather than focusing on inputs, the index focuses primarily on entrepreneurial outputs – the actual results of entrepreneurial activity, such as new companies, business density and growth rates.

In 2015, the Kauffman Index ranked the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach metropolitan area No. 2 in the country for startup activity, with Miami being the main city, yielding the top spot to Austin and the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos area. The South Florida metropolitan area moved up one spot in the rankings from its No. 3 spot in 2014, when Miami was

also designated the main city.

Startup businesses were defined as firms less than 1 year old employing at least one person besides the owner.

Using data from the US Census Business Dynamics Statistics and the US Bureau of Economic Analysis, Kauffman determined that there were 247.6 startup firms per 100,000 residents in 2015. And using data from the US Census Current Population Survey, Kauffman deduced that 0.52% of the adult population in Miami became an entrepreneur in any given month.

“Not only are we a highly entrepreneurial population, we’re also uniquely diverse,” Mr. Haggman said, adding that Miami is the nexus between North and South America, the Caribbean and Europe.

“The enemy of innovation is isolation. Our diversity is a great competitive advantage.”

“In the world’s primary centers of innovation, the trend we’re seeing is that the cost to create and to do continues to go down,” Mr. Haggman said. “We think it presents opportunities for communities to transform in ways previously unimagined, at a rate or at a speed that previously wasn’t possible... The thinking was that we can try to be helpful in offering resources.

All of the basic ingredients are here.”

The main problem to solve, he said, is how to build an ecosystem that propels startups to scale and grow – something that companies in Miami have historically had trouble doing.

“I really think it’s all about building community and building an environment where people feel they want to be, where they find it exciting, inspiring, growing, collaborative, where it feels like they’re building something and then have the resources to pursue the particular ideas they want to,” Mr. Haggman said.

“It’s all interconnected. This is all about building a network that’s interconnected and transparent... These are still the early days in Miami.”

General Electric leverages talent pool as it adds Miami jobs

BY MARCUS LIM

General Electric, which already employs 4,000 people Florida including 95 in the Miami area, is adding 30 jobs in its Miami facility that will include digital operations positions.

Those jobs will be in network delivery, software engineering for employee applications and end user support services for teams and sites in Latin America, one of the main reasons for GE’s expansion.

Chris Drumgoole, vice president and chief technology officer of GE, helped expand its presence in Miami in order to support the company’s growth in Latin America and investment in the digital experience globally.

“GE is excited to grow our presence in Miami and leverage the existing talent combined with the rich emerging talent from local universities to provide IT services and operations focused on Latin America,” he told Miami Today. “The

new technical roles join our growing IT organization that is focused on driving GE transformation into the premier digital industrial company.”

He also said that the individuals with emerging skill set and bilingualism in Miami would make great hiring.

“The emerging local tech talent, combined with language skills to reach our Latin American service makes Miami an attractive location for our growth,” Mr. Drumgoole said.”

Digital workplace skills in Miami will be built that includes software engineering with an app focus, data analytics and user experience. Mr. Drumgoole also said there would be many opportunities for entry-level posts focused on hands on keyboards, programs and coding skills.

The work will require a combination of new innovative ideas and solutions with experience in traditional IT tools and operations, according to Mr. Drumgoole, to keep up with technology

that constantly evolves.

“As GE becomes the world’s premiere digital industrial company, IT is tasked with solving technology problems never before seen in the world in order to adapt and be successful,” he said.

Gov. Rick Scott originally tried to get GE to move its headquarters from Connecticut to the Sunshine State last year when the digital industrial company was not satisfied after large corporate tax hikes were passed in Connecticut. He was happy that the renowned company would expand in Miami, praising the city as the gateway to Latin America.

“I’m excited to announce that GE is expanding their already impressive presence in our state and creating 30 new jobs for families in Miami,” Mr. Scott said. Florida is the gateway to Latin America and we are becoming a leading technology hub, which is why companies like GE are choosing to invest and grow in our state. I look forward to

GE’s success as we continue to work toward diversifying Florida’s economy so we can become first for jobs.”

Cissy Proctor, executive director of Florida’s department of economic opportunity, said Miami has always been the number one location to live and work, which would benefit GE in picking suitable candidates for its workforce.

Mr. Drumgoole said Miami is turning into a technology center and GE wanted to be there first as it happens to select young candidates who will have an affinity towards technology.

“We are excited about the opportunity to expand our presence in Miami and hope to be an attractive employer to Miami’s professionals and graduates,” Mr. Drumgoole said. “The strong emerging technical talent from area universities as well as the local language skills are critical to growing our U.S. and Latin America end user services.”

Details: www.ge.com

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