WEEK OF THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 2015
A Singular Voice in an Evolving City
WWW.MIAMITODAYNEWS.COM $4.00
COCONUT GROVE
TRANSPORTATION
Housing supply tight, prices rise in Grove seller’s market, pg. 13
Gables seeks firm to develop long-term traffic plan, pg. 17
WAGES UP: Total compensation costs for private industry workers rose 2.6% in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach area from June 2014 to June 2015, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported, compared to the 1% annual gain of a year ago. Wages and salaries, the largest component of compensation, rose 2.4% for the 12 months ended June 30, 2015 – the largest increase among the South’s five metropolitan areas (Atlanta, Dallas, Houston and Washington). Nationwide, total compensation costs rose 1.9% and wages and salaries rose 2.2% during the period.
THE ACHIEVER
BY JOHN CHARLES ROBBINS
CORAL WAY REZONING: City commissioners have approved land use and zoning changes designed to encourage development in Miami’s southwestern corner, while helping buffer a long-established Coral Way neighborhood. The changes were recently made to about 3.8 acres north of Bird Road between Southwest 37th and 39th avenues. The proposal targeted 17 parcels that are home to duplexes, a couple of single-family homes, multiple multi-family structures, the northwestern parcel of a Florida Power & Light substation and an empty lot consisting of three parcels. Commissioners OK’d changing the land use from duplex residential to low-density restricted commercial, and rezoning the land from suburban to urban. The changes will increase density from 18 dwelling units per acre to 36. FILM FEST RETURNING: The American Black Film Festival is coming back to Miami next year for its 20th anniversary, the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau announced this week. The bureau struck a three-year deal with the festival, which will be held June 15-19 next year. The event was last held in Miami in 2013. This year, the film festival is in New York City. WE’VE GOT YOUR BACK: The City of Miami has approved agreements with neighboring municipalities to receive and extend mutual aid in police services and resources to ensure safety and adequately respond to intensive situations, including natural and manmade disasters or emergencies. The municipalities are the Town of Bay Harbor Islands, Village of El Portal, City of Hialeah Gardens, Indian Creek Village, The Town of Medley, City of Miami Springs, City of Sunny Isles Beach, Town of Surfside, Bal Harbour Village, Florida City, Village of Biscayne Park and Village of Virginia Gardens. Local governments are allowed to join forces under the state’s Mutual Aid Act.
Cristina Mas
Photo by Marlene Quaroni
‘Community Builder’ honoree relishes digital change The profile is on Page 4
Insiders lay plans for mega-project’s governance BY CARLA V IANNA
The governing body that will oversee Miami Worldcenter’s Community Development District is wasting no time moving forward the mega-development just north of downtown. The new district at its organizational meeting Aug. 6 set its governmental structure, including a board of supervisors, and a proposed budget. Despite a number of residents who spoke against the developers as well as the project on 20-plus mostly vacant acres in Park West, the county approved the special district July 14. The district will become a financing mechanism for community infrastructure, facilities and services, along with the development’s ongoing operations and maintenance. A community development district is a special taxing district that may levy taxes and assessments as well as issue bonds. During Thursday afternoon’s meeting, a five-member board was appointed with John Chiste as chair, Neil Eisner as vice chair, and Steve Colamarino, Joe DiCristina and Cora DiFiore as assistant secretaries.
AGENDA
Blight fight earns city’s shot in arm
The initial board members were named in the county ordinance establishing the district. All board members are real estate or investment professionals with Encore Capital Management, a multiple fund, real estate investment and development firm. Encore was co-founded by Art Falcone and is now managed by Mr. Falcone and Nitin Motwani, both master developers for Miami Worldcenter. Craig Wrathell was elected secretary and treasurer and Rick Woodville assistant secretary. Their firm, Wrathell, Hunt & Associates, will reign as district manager. The board will typically meet monthly. By the newly elected board’s unanimous decision, each board member will receive $200 per meeting. One of two public hearings will be held at 2 p.m. Sept. 16 at a landowner election and assessment hearing. The second hearing at 2 p.m. Oct. 7 will allow the public to review and comment on the district’s proposed budgets for fiscal 2015 and 2016. The district’s fiscal year will be Oct. 1 to Sept. 30. The board unanimously approved the preliminary budgets, $54,258 for fiscal 2015
and $203,375 for fiscal 2016. The budgets cover startup costs such as fees to the interim engineer, the general counsel, the district manager, assessment role services (when bonds are issued) and insurance for board members. Minor budget adjustments will include board member pay and a higher insurance premium. The board voted to defer action on joining a statewide mutual aid agreement, in which the district could request assistance from other government agencies and vice-versa in a natural disaster. The Miami Worldcenter Community Development District is to meet next in mid-September. Formation of the district has been making its way through governing bodies since last year, when the Miami City Commission voted to support the developers’ request. Bounded by Northeast Sixth and 11th streets and between North Miami Avenue and Northeast Second Avenue, the mixeduse project plans to turn 26 acres of mostly vacant lots to residential, office, hotel, retail, restaurant and entertainment uses. Construction is to begin this quarter.
Miami commissioners have voted to keep redevelopment agencies active in communities that still need financial shots in the arm. Commissioners voted 3-1 to direct City Manager Daniel Alfonso to begin talks with Miami-Dade County to extend the lives of the Southeast Overtown/Park West (SEOPW) and Omni community redevelopment agencies. Frank Carollo voted no, saying other areas – namely Little Havana in his district – could benefit from a CRA. “I just can’t support this in good faith,” he said. Chairman Wifredo “Willy” Gort echoed some of Mr. Carollo’s comments, saying “I think all districts want a CRA,” but he sided with Marc Sarnoff and Keon Hardemon in approving the life extension vote. Francis Suarez was absent. Mr. Sarnoff reminded commissioners the Omni CRA helped buy a fire-rescue truck and six police cars. Commissioners were also reminded that the Omni CRA chipped in for the PortMiami tunnel. CRAs, by state law, allow for incremental increases in property tax revenue (tax increment financing or TIF) to be reinvested within their boundaries. The increment is calculated yearly based on property value increases within the districts, using the year they were established as a base. Taxes are split among the city, county and CRA, with the CRA getting 95% of the increment. TIF money generated in a CRA district can only be spent in that district to spur development. The SEOPW district was established in 1982 and Omni in 1986. City commissioners are their boards. The city resolution says more work is needed. It asks to extend the life of the SEOPW CRA to 2042 and Omni to 2045. Notwithstanding some positive changes, the resolution said, blight remains in the CRAs and additional public investment is vital to eliminate it.
CASH TRANSACTIONS DOMINATE RESIDENTIAL SALES ...
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VIEWPOINT: WELCOME TO HOME OF DULLEST SLOGAN ...
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MIAMI TODAY
TODAY’S NEWS
WEEK OF THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 2015
THE INSIDER TRANSIT FUNDING INCREASE: A county spokesperson says Mayor Carlos Gimenez’s proposed budget for fiscal 2016 resumes an annual 3.5% increase to the transit maintenance of effort allocation from the general fund. For 2015-2016, that maintenance value grew by $5.876 million from $167.869 million in fiscal 2014-2015 to $ 173.745 million in fiscal 2015-2016. In October 2014, commissioners proposed deferring for up to five years the annual increase in spending, nearly $6 million. The annual increases were ordered in a 2005 Carlos Gimenez ordinance after an uproar arose when the bulk of money from a sales surtax levied to fund increased transit was instead spent to fund routine transportation maintenance as the county shifted general fund transportation monies elsewhere rather than add promised transit lines. As a result, commissioners agreed to maintain the thencurrent annual transportation spending of more than $123 million and increase it by at least 3.5% a year. BUDGET MEETINGS: Mayor Carlos Gimenez is hosting a series of meetings this month where residents can offer input and ask questions about his proposed fiscal 2015-2016 county budget. On Aug. 20, he will hold two social media Town Halls, on Facebook, at noon followed by a Twitter chat at 2 p.m. Questions can be asked on the mayor’s social media pages via #AskMayorGimenez. Other meetings are today (8/13), City of Aventura Commission Chambers, 19200 West Country Club Drive, 6 p.m.; Aug. 18, Milander Center for Arts and Entertainment, 4800 Palm Ave., Hialeah, 6 p.m.; Aug. 20; Arcola Lakes Branch Library, 8240 NW Seventh Ave, 6 p.m.; Aug. 25, Miami Gardens City Hall, 18605 NW 27th Ave, Miami Gardens, 6 p.m.; and Aug. 27, West Dade Regional Library, 9445 Coral Way, 6 p.m. Details: (305) 375-1880. COLLIERS PURCHASE: Colliers International South Florida acquired Pointe Group Advisors, a commercial real estate firm specializing in property management founded in 2003 by Peter Gardner. Details were not disclosed. Mr. Gardner is to continue to lead Colliers property management operations in South Florida. The acquisition brings together an extensive portfolio of more than 7 million square feet of office, industrial and retail space in South Florida and more than 70 professionals. Mr. Gardner said while his company has enjoyed “tremendous success as an Peter Gardner independent firm, we are increasingly competing in a global environment where clients require a comprehensive worldwide platform and industry-leading tools in order to serve them consistently over many geographic regions.” By joining Colliers, he said, “we are part of a team that is culturally aligned to ours and is ideally positioned to continue excelling in the Florida market by leveraging the Colliers global brand, infrastructure and relationships.” DOWNTOWN DEALS: Metro Beauty, 11,300 square feet of land in Downtown Miami, was sold last week. Jersey Art Holdings purchased the property for $6.8 million. Located at 4 SE First St., the property sits about 150 feet from the Miami Avenue Metromover station. Metro Beauty and Churchill’s Barber Shop will remain open for business. TOURISM TRIP TO TAMPA: VisitFlorida’s Board of Directors will announce the group’s new strategic marketing plan at the Florida Governor’s Conference on Tourism. The conference, from Aug. 31 to Sept. 2 at the Tampa Convention Center, will feature experts within the state’s tourism industry. SERVICE UPGRADE: The IT Department of the Miami Parking Authority was authorized Aug. 5 to buy new computer servers for core operations to replace systems that are 4 to 6 years old. The annual cost of renewing warranties on these systems exceeds the cost of buying new ones, authority staff said. Of the three proposals, staff recommended buying three servers from the lowest bidder, GovConnection Inc., a New Hampshire-based company. The Off-Street Parking Board approved the $18,326.87 expenditure. MIAMI CITY BUDGET MEETINGS: The City of Miami Office of Management and Budget will hold additional community meetings regarding the proposed fiscal 2015-2016 budget. The meetings are set for 5 p.m. today (8/13) at Grapeland Park Community Center, 1550 NW 37th Ave.; 5 p.m. Aug. 18 at Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Church, 2055 Coral Way; and 5 p.m. Aug. 19 at Charles Hadley Park, 1300 NW 50th St. Staff will present an overview of the proposed budget and entertain questions. MIAMI CSI: City commissioners approved purchase of crime scene investigation camera equipment and accessories for the Miami Police Department’s Crime Scene Investigation Unit. The purchase for a bid of $79,994.62 is from sole bidder Adorama Camera Inc. The Crime Scene Investigation Unit was looking to buy additional investigative camera equipment and accessories. CITY PARK GETS MAKEOVER: Miami Mayor Tomás Regalado and Commission Chairman Wifredo “Willy” Gort joined Miami-Dade County Commissioner Rebeca Sosa and others Aug. 10 at the groundbreaking for the Sandra DeLucca Center New Building Addition at Kinloch Park, 4560 NW Fourth Terrace. Construction of an annex to the existing community center will provide programs and services to seniors. The new 4,200square-foot building will incorporate a large multipurpose space in addition to fitness, art and computer rooms, and such areas as restrooms, warming kitchen, Wifredo Gort storage, utility and an administration office. Additional work includes modernizing the courtyard floor, expanding the parking lot by adding 23 spaces, and removing or relocating trees. Construction is to last about 11 months. The about $1.85 million cost funded by Miami-Dade County, FEMA and City of Miami’s impact fees. CORRECTION: The chart on Page 11 last week shows Citizens Property Insurance Rates for 2016.
Photo by Maxine Usdan
The site of the proposed rental project is between Northwest Seventh and Eighth streets near the river.
633 rental units near river, canal win city board recommendation BY JOHN CHARLES ROBBINS
A large development that would include hundreds of multi-family apartments promises to breathe new life into a neighborhood near the convergence of the Miami River and Seybold Canal. River Central is a planned mixed-use residential development to include 633 rental apartments in two eight-story buildings connected by a centralized parking garage, with two 1,500square-foot commercial spaces, at 650 NW Eighth St. The city’s Urban Development Review Board recommended approval of the project. The site is an entire block of uneven concrete used as a piecemeal parking lot that’s home to a hulking cell tower, adjacent to a scattering of rundown and abandoned parcels, blocks of chain-link fence and rusted barbed wire. To the north sit several older two-story apartment buildings. The large parcel is about a half block east of the canal and
two blocks north of the river. Attorney Ben Fernandez, speaking for the developer, told board members this development can transform the neighborhood near the river and help it “come back in a strong way.” Redevelopment of an entire city block at that location can serve to “energize the riverfront,” he said. The design of the buildings, from Arquitectonica, is formed to break up the block and would be accented with “art modeled after the river – meandering,” said Mr. Fernandez. Architect Anne Cotter showed the board renderings of the project and said although it takes up the entire block it is broken up by length and dimensions into two parts. Each building creates a large courtyard, developed with landscaping, swimming pools and other amenities. The residential buildings are shorter and the massing is broken up by varying heights of the roof edges and balconies, she said. Some balconies will be recessed while others with project
out, and they will be painted in different colors, she said. The planned retail component will be ground level. The project will include a pedestrian walkway 30 feet wide, she said. Ms. Cotter told the board they are striving to build a neighborhood centrally located to the river the hospital and the Marlins ballpark. Board member Willy Bermello said the plan lacked detail. Some board members suggested more retail floor space for the project. “This neighborhood is in transition,” responded Ms. Cotter, who said they didn’t want to plan a lot of retail and have it remain vacant for long periods. Board member Anthony E. Tzamtzis said he liked the proposal, calling it “very good.” The board’s motion to recommend approval of River Central included recommendations that the developer consider relocating the pools and consider additional retail along Northwest Seventh Avenue. Mr. Bermello voted no.
Reversible lanes could derail rail BY CATHERINE LACKNER
As leaders continue their ongoing quest to solve MiamiDade’s traffic woes, Rebeca Sosa, county commissioner and member of the Metropolitan Planning Organization, has come up with a unique plan: lanes in which the direction of traffic can be reversed to accommodate the rush-hour crunch. “Now that Mayor Carlos Gimenez has allocated funding to synchronize the traffic lights, we could do this with arrows, and the lanes could be computer-controlled,” she explained. This is already being done near Sun Life Stadium to route traffic before and after games, she added, and it has been done successfully for years in Puerto Rico, where she said the traffic was worse than it is in Miami. Because the 2015-16 budget is not final, it’s not known yet how much money will be committed to synchronizing the lights, which observers say is long overdue.
Special-use lane studied, pg. 19 use what we have and preserve
the funding for what we truly Under the reversible-lane sce- need to build, which should not nario, east-west roads like Flagler be more asphalt.” Street and Bird Road would have more eastbound lanes open in the morning to handle the commuter We want to hear from YOU! flow from the western suburbs into downtown. In evenings, Phone: (305) 358-2663 more lanes heading west would Staff Writers: serve those same commuters on Susan Danseyar their journey home. sdanseyar@miamitodaynews.com The county would ask the state transportation department to John Charles Robbins study north-south routes like jrobbins@miamitodaynews.com LeJeune Road and Miami Avenue Carla Vianna to determine the demand for recvianna@miamitodaynews.com versible lanes, Ms. Sosa said. Letters to Editor “If you learn a behavior pateditor@miamitodaynews.com tern, then you work with that,” she said. “Computers can rePeople Column spond to the need” as various people@miamitodaynews.com traffic patterns emerge, she Michael Lewis added. mlewis@miamitodaynews.com The solution would be faster and more affordable than light or heavy rail – both of which require extensive environmental studies and a long approval process – as it would use existing assets, Ms. Sosa said. “We have the technology to do this now,” she said. “Let’s
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MIAMI TODAY
VIEWPOINT
WEEK OF THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 2015
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
Welcome to Miami-Dade County, home of the dullest motto Miami-Dade County is poised to toss a free economic development opportunity into the garbage for no good reason. The opportunity is to hang a global nametag on our commu- Michael Lewis nity – the kind of tag that almost everyone associates with the area, one that has a positive ring. The moniker would be visible on county vehicles, stationery and everywhere that the county posts its name. The county already has a title that’s seen all over – seen, but not noticed. Stick it in among some great urban nametags and it’s like the blank museum wall between two Warhols – blah and irrelevant. Yet a great branding job echoes the image of great cities around the world. You know who they are from the slogan alone. Take the test and match the community’s name with each of these famed slogans and brands: The Motor City, The Big Easy, The Eternal City, The Big Apple, the Windy City, The City of Light, The City of the Angels, What Happens Here Stays Here, The Research Triangle, The City by the Bay, The Mile High City, and Delivering Excellence Every Day. Did you get that last one, the one about delivering excellence? Pretty lame among all those others, isn’t it? Know whose it is? Ours.
It sounds more like UPS or FedEx than our vibrant community. For several years a few commissioners have recognized how lame that Miami-Dade County slogan sounds and how valuable it could be if it we directed a good line to the rest of the world rather than trying to tell local taxpayers what a good deal they’re getting for their tax bucks, which is what we’re doing now – tossing away opportunities to talk to the world by trying to burnish the county’s image locally. If it’s true, it’s really commendable that county employees do their best all the time. It’s what taxpayers have every right to expect. But tossing off hundreds of thousands of impressions that a county slogan can make on the world so that county leaders can visually pat themselves on the back in public is wasted opportunity – the kind of opportunity they don’t waste in the Big Apple or the Windy City or the City by the Bay. You know what their slogans are. But go to Chicago or New York or San Francisco and ask if they can figure out what metropolitan area is Delivering Excellence Every Day. Dollars to doughnuts they won’t pick us as first choice, or second. So back in 2013, Juan Zapata rounded up professional volunteers who offered to help recast our slogan, our county’s equally bland logo and our image at no cost. Fellow commissioners were skeptical that everything would really be free so they suggested that high school art students could for sure do it all for nothing. They forgot to say that it would probably be worth exactly that – so we said it for them.
Photo by Maxine Usdan
Then last fall Commissioner Dennis Moss asked Mayor Carlos Gimenez for a report on exploring a consistent theme for the county’s Metrorail cars, buses, water and sewer trucks and so on and recommend something new. The mayor responded in July that county policy requires that the county’s logo be everywhere so leave well enough alone – as though it really were well enough. Mr. Moss then said all he wanted to do was make sure that all the logos and looks of county vehicles match up. “I agree 100%,” the mayor told him. End of story – and end of opportunity to take a long, long step forward. The mayor is right that county policy gave us what we have. But last time I looked, it is the commissioners who set county policy. If they don’t like it, they can change it with a single vote. And, pardon me, what’s to like about “Delivering Excellence Every Day” beside a curved line name tag that says Miami-Dade County? It was never distinctive, and it has aged particularly poorly when compared with just about any metropolitan area in the nation. Can you find one with branding this flavorless? A municipal slogan that’s worth any-
thing catches the flavor, feeling and nature of its community. It also rolls off the tongue and sticks in the mind. Name a county or metropolitan area in the nation that couldn’t have the brand “Delivering Excellence Every Day” with more or less the same validity as we have? It doesn’t roll off your tongue or you’d have said it about your home town many times. Have you? As for sticking in the mind, I had to look it up to be sure I had it right. Nobody in Chicago has to look up The Windy City. So before the county spends a penny to make sure that every vehicle has the same insipid slogan and blah logo as every other county vehicle, couldn’t the commission call time out and think of something that actually reflects the assets, feel, appeal and individuality of Greater Miami? Once we dream it up we wouldn’t have to spend a penny – just apply it to every new vehicle and every envelope and every public image as they’re put in service. Now I’m sorry I pooh-poohed using high school students. Any of them could do better than “Delivering Excellence Every Day.”
Moldova last in life satisfaction, such as enjoying a good meal Last year Moldova won the distinction of having the highest rate of alcohol consumption in the world by a huge margin, which makes it a favorite destination for college students. A few years earlier, it Isaac Prilleltensky ranked last in the world in life satisfaction, which makes it a preferred destination for suicidal people. It is also the poorest country in Europe, attracting many destitute people who want to feel in good company. In 2008, Eric Weiner documented in “The Geography of Bliss” the utter desperation most people experience there, which makes it a Mecca for existential writers. Finally, a couple of years ago Transparency International wrote a scathing report about the level of corruption in Moldova, which makes it an excellent training ground for Miami politicians. For the past 54 years I have managed to hide the fact that my ancestors were from Moldova. When people detect an accent I tell them that I was born in Argentina and lived in several places, like Nashville, which have influenced the inflection of my voice. My parents were really born in Argentina; so technically I’m not lying by hiding my Moldovan roots.
The Writer Isaac Prilleltensky is dean of the School of Education and Human Development at the University of Miami. Follow his humor blog at http:/ /prilleltensky.blogspot.com. I managed to keep my Moldovan secret for years until I found myself in a restaurant with friends in Boca Raton a few weeks ago. My friend asked the cheerful waitress where she was from, and the next thing I know I’m telling her that my ancestors were also from Moldova. Irina (not her real name, her real name was Ioana) told us that she came to the US from Moldova a few years ago. She was ecstatic to hear that my grandparents were from her country and proceeded to share with us The Encyclopedia Britannica version of Moldova’s history. For 24 minutes she stood next to us and gushed about the many atrocities that were bestowed upon her countrymen and women since the establishment of the Principality of Moldavia in 1359. As a former history teacher in Moldova she was obviously starved for an audience, while I was starved for lunch. While she was getting hotter and hotter with the telling of every invasion by
Crimean Tatars, my entrée was getting colder and colder. When she got to the Treaty of Bucharest in 1812 I decided to start eating between calamities. Unless I started eating I was going to become the next victim of the Russian Empire, which annexed Moldova and gave it the name Oblast of Moldavia and Bessarabia. When Oblast was converted to the Bessarabia Governorate in 1871, I decided the hell with it and attacked my food with the same vigor that Romania went after Bukovina and Transylvania. When she got to the beginning of last century Irina went back to get us desserts. I used the opportunity to finish my plate and recover from the carnage. After serving dessert Irina went straight to Bessarabia’s proclamation of Independence from Russia on Feb. 6. 1918, conveniently skipping the first 18 years of the century, at which point I asked her about the Kishinev pogrom of 1903 in which dozens of Jews were murdered and hundreds wounded. It turned out that our adorable hostess was never taught the incident that prompted the exile of my ancestors. When she started squirming I asked her about the second pogrom that took place between Oct. 19 and 20 of 1905. At that point she told us that she needed to serve other customers, to which I asked if she knew of the Jewish community in Kalarash, just outside Kishinev, which
is where my ancestors were from. While I was relishing my revenge, unbeknownst to me I gave her more ammunition. Kalarash, she told us, is where the best cognac in the world is distilled. She went on and on about the cognac. At that point I gave up on ordering dessert because I would have been late for my next appointment, which brings me to the big lesson of the day: If I had kept my mouth shut about Moldova, as I have for the last 54 years, I could have eaten a hot lunch and enjoyed a nice dessert.
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WEEK OF THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 2015
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A Singular Voice in an Evolving City
WEEK OF THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 2015
MIAMI TODAY
13
In seller’s market, Grove housing supply tight, prices rising B Y C ARLA V IANNA
Low inventory and climbing prices make the Coconut Grove residential real estate market favorable for the seller, real estate experts say. “There’s not a lot of inventory and prices are very high,” said Toni Schrager, cofounder of Avatar Real Estate Services. Although August is one of the market’s slower months, most realtors remain optimistic. Ivory Cooks with Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate said he sold a home a year and a half ago in North Coconut Grove for $1.59 million. He sold the same home last month for $1.75 million. “That is why we’re seeing such a demand for single-family homes and seeing prices rise,” Mr. Cooks said. “There is no supply.” Berk Boge, director of sales for the Miami Real Estate Co. and owner of Mrcoconut grove.com, says he believes the market has stabilized. Although inventory for singlefamily homes remains low, he described the market as healthy. On the other hand, Riley Smith, a Coconut Grove native with EWM Realty International, said fewer than 100 homes are for sale in Coconut Grove, “a good 30% away from a healthy market.” He sees the market strengthening in the long run, but as of now, he said, the luxury market is suffering from a lack of foreign
$1 million are trading fast, Mr. Smith said. Homes selling for more than that are sitting on the market longer. On the condo front, new construction sales are doing well, Mr. Cooks said. Supply will increase as the Grove at Grand Bay and Park Grove come online. As of mid-July, 88 condos were for sale in Coconut Grove, which represents about a 5 months’ supply, according to a report by The Grove Experts, a real estate team headed by Alba Biondi and Isabelle Andrews with EWM Realty International. Sixty-eight of those condos are selling for less than $1 million, Mr. Boge said. In the condo market, units start as low as $205,000 and soar up to $8.5 million. Since the beginning of the year, 108 units have been sold, he said, again categorizing the market as healthy. Photo by Maxine Usdan Townhomes now sell at an Fewer than 100 Grove homes are for sale, said Riley Smith, “a good 30% away from a healthy market.” average of $750,000 to $795,000, Mr. Cooks said, comcash buyers and the lack of pared to $650,000 to $675,000 inventory in the market as a a few years ago. whole. However, there’s been a Prices in the resale market slowdown with cash buyers. rose about 0.8% last month Still, Mr. Boge said he doesn’t compared to the same period see fewer buyers because filast year, according to Mr. nancing opportunities and lenient Boge. He said he expects bank standards have opened the double-digit growth in home market to new buyers. and condo values by the end of But as the market relies more this year compared to last. on domestic buyers than it has Single-family homes start at in the past, Mr. Smith con$400,000 and go up to $55 tends, those buyers have yet million, he said. About 80 Grove homes were Grove’s housing supply will increase when Park Grove comes on line. to fill the void left by foreign buyers whose currencies are for sale as of Monday, with 33 million. Year to date, 74 Coco- sold, Mr. Boge said. of those priced at less than $1 nut Grove houses have been Homes selling for less than depreciating.
Chamber longs for coalition of ‘senior experts’ as advisers BY SUSAN D ANSEYAR
Coconut Grove’s business community will benefit from tapping into human talent for marketing input as well as maintaining its unique establishments, say local leaders. One of the ways businesses can grow, or expand their presence, is by pulling resources together, said Liliana Dones, board member for over 10 years, past president and chair of the marketing committee for the Coconut Grove Chamber of Commerce. “There is no more significant resource than that which is human,” she told Miami Today. “Businesses in this day and age often overlook the wealth of resource that is the senior population.” As baby boomers ease into their senior years, Ms. Dones said, they become a target audience for services and products.
Businesses ignore the wealth of advice by seniors: Liliana Dones.
Yet, she said, many of the businesses that provide these services and products ignore the wealth of information and experience that can be gained from seniors. “I would love for a coalition of ‘senior experts’ organized by the chamber that member businesses could tap,” Ms. Dones said. “This is something that savvy tech and design com-
panies are starting to do, and it works for all types of businesses.” The Coconut Grove Chamber of Commerce is turning 60 next year and is, in fact a baby boomer, she pointed out. “Through the perseverance of our members, we have withstood the test of time, trial and tribulation, and we continue to grow by embracing both trend and tradition.” Ms. Dones encourages all businesses to join the chamber, saying it’s a way to anchor one’s establishment and work together toward the good of all. “Businesses often ask: ‘If I join the chamber of commerce, what will the chamber do for me?’ but that is missing point of what a chamber does,” she said. “A chamber does for a business what the member business is willing to put into it. It is an interactive vehicle that goes be-
Grove-based personal assistant service could do well: Peter Laird.
yond simple networking. It anchors member businesses to the community and to other member businesses, thereby being able to profit financially.” Those who work in Coconut Grove who don’t have time during the day to run errands or take care of personal matters – and don’t want to waste valuable time after work taking care of these things – would prob-
ably benefit from an affordable “Grove-centric” personal assistant service, said Peter Laird, president of the chamber. “As our time becomes increasingly valuable, I think there would be a demand for a service a la TaskRabbit that, for a nominal fee, can pick up lunch or dry cleaning, run to the post office or even get your car washed or serviced for you,” he said. Looking at the bigger picture, Mr. Laird said all businesses in the Grove will benefit from a revitalized business district that attracts more locals and visitors alike. “The transformation has already begun, but we don’t need more chains,” he said. “We need to find ways to nurture those one-of-a-kind restaurants and shops that offer something you can’t find anywhere else – the kind of places that make the Grove ‘The Grove.’”
WEEK OF THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 2015
COCONUT GROVE
Miamians join crowd as tourism soars back
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City’s bayfront garage eliminates short street BY JOHN CHARLES ROBBINS
BY CARLA VIANNA
Anecdotally, there’s no shortage of tourists stepping off the big red bus touring through Coconut Grove. There’s also no shortage of visitors dining at the Grove’s restaurants, shopping at its stores, staying at its hotels and attending its events, locals say. It was a Monday afternoon and GreenStreet Café was bustling with patrons, owner Sylvano Bignon said. “It’s been a phenomenal summer,” Mr. Bignon said. “Miami used to be 100% tourists. Now it’s a good blend between [tourists] and local people.” The Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau sees Coconut Grove as one of Miami’s key tourist destinations. Although Grove hotels lodged only 1.5% of Miami’s visitors last year, tying with Key Biscayne, its hotel occupancy rates remained in the 60th to 80th percentiles, according to STR Inc. In fact, about 27% of all Miami-Dade County visitors went to Coconut Grove last year, said Rolando Aedo, senior VP for marketing and tourism at the visitors bureau. Coconut Grove is Miami’s oldest tourist magnet, and its Business Improvement District, a City of Miami board made up of local property owners and merchants, is dedicated to preserving and enhancing its commercial core. “The Grove suffered the same downturn in business six years ago that I think everyone did in Miami,” said Marshall Steingold, past chairman of the Coconut Grove Arts Festival’s board of directors and current chair of its marketing committee. “But we’ve been coming back so strong.” Vacant storefronts and restaurants are not as common as they once were, Mr. Steingold said. “There are some vacant spots, and there are some vacant spots in every area of Miami,” he said. But in the 30 years he’s known the Grove, he said, there are more dining options, and diversity in restaurants, than he’s ever seen.
MIAMI TODAY
Photo by Maxine Usdan
Big Bus tour rolls through Coconut Grove, a booming county attraction.
“The Grove is on an upward trend,” Mr. Aedo said, naming new Miami-born spots such as Panther Coffee and Michael Schwartz’s soon-to-come Harry’s Pizzeria. The neighborhood’s entertainment scene, including CocoWalk, Barnacle Historic State Park and a lengthy list of unique events, continues to attract tourists year-round. Events including the Bed Race and the King Mango Strut offer locals and tourists authentic Grove experiences, Mr. Aedo said. “Tourists want authenticity,” he said. “They want an organic experience.” The Business Improvement District has partnered with the visitors bureau to launch a digital marketing campaign, in which the neighborhood is promoted on travel websites. The bureau recently opened a new visitors’ center in West Coconut Grove, the historically black area of the Grove known for its rich bohemian culture, Mr. Aedo said. The Coconut Grove Village West Visitor Center is within the KROMA art gallery at 3670 Grand Ave. Coconut Grove, specifically including CocoWalk and the Mayfair Hotel & Spa, ranked No. 8 in the top ten most visited Miami-Dade attractions by overnight visitors in 2014, according to surveys taken by the visitors bureau. Last year, about 1 in every 5 overnight visitors stopped by the neighborhood. Mr. Bignon, owner of GreenStreet Café, said the red buses carrying their mixture of tourists around have helped boost his patronage.
CocoWalk is ranked within the top three most-requested destinations via the bus’s city loop, said sales and marketing manager Felipe Gonzalez. Last year, 120,000 passengers rode the open-top buses. Another 120,000 or so visitors flock to the Grove every February for its three-day art festival, now in its 53rd year, Mr. Steingold said. “The restaurants and stores definitely see an upsurge in business during that time,” he said. “Of course, many of them who come in from out of town want to stay in Coconut Grove at some of our hotels.” This past February, Coconut Grove hotels averaged 77.5% occupancy, according to STR Inc. The neighborhood’s hotels share the city’s overall high occupancy rates. In February 2014, occupancy peaked for that year at 87% in Coconut Grove. So far this year, occupancy has stayed within the 65% to 85% range. The Business Improvement District is now shifting its focus to the local community, said Manny Gonzalez, the district’s executive director. The neighborhood wants to cater to its own, as well as outside visitors. “Instead of it being 90% tourism and 10% local, we’re trying to go almost to 50/50,” Mr. Gonzalez said. “We’ve noticed that there is a correlation between businesses offering services to locals and their success, and we need to come back to that. We want to keep people working here, living here and playing here versus just counting on the tourism.”
Miami city officials are getting their first look at a planned garage that’s to be a key component of a redesigned waterfront in Coconut Grove. The structure, with a working title of Grove Bay Parking Garage, is planned to rise north of City Hall on Pan American Drive. It is part of a larger overall redevelopment plan that city commissioners and voters approved in 2013. Last week, the city’s Off-Street Parking Board reviewed a large preliminary plan showing the layout of the garage and its relationship to existing former airplane hangars on the city-owned waterfront parcel. The preliminary plan also includes renderings of the garage. Art Noriega, CEO of the Miami Parking Authority, explained some details of the preliminary plan to the board, including elimination of a short city street and regained open views of Biscayne Bay. “The plan reconfigures or eliminates Charthouse Drive,” Mr. Noriega said. Currently, Charthouse Drive extends off of South Bayshore Drive, between two hangars, and ends at the waterfront. The preliminary site plan shows that area rebuilt as part of offstreet parking and an open area that leads to the water. The rectangular garage is to rise at Pan American Drive and South Bayshore Drive. All access to the garage will be from Pan American Drive, Mr. Noriega said. There will be some limited parking spots along Pan American Drive as well, he said. The redesign of the uses on that section of the waterfront will mean, for the first time in years, true sight lines from the street to the water, Mr. Noriega said. “We’re not only creating pedestrian [walkways but also] view corridors all the way down to the water,” he said. The overall project helps
change the image and look of the waterfront, he said. The proposal to redevelop the waterfront north and east of City Hall includes two formal restaurants, Shula’s and Oceana, and a causal restaurant, Pub & Grub, in addition to waterfront retail, mostly in the former hangar closest to City Hall. The hangars, like City Hall itself, are left over from when the area was the terminal of Pan American Airways. Litigation has stalled the overall project for two years, but parking authority officials moved ahead – slowly – with plans to design the new garage, which it will construct and operate. In documents seeking proposals from architects in 2014, the garage was described as having a minimum 40,000 square feet of ground floor retail and 228 parking spaces. The parking board followed Mr. Noriega’s recommendation last year and selected architectural firm Wolfberg Alvarez & Partners to design the garage, with design fees not to exceed $400,000. Looking over the preliminary plan last week, Mr. Noriega said the garage’s exterior is accented by “significant up-lighting.” He described the design as “very Grove-centric.” No timetable was mentioned to start or complete construction. In the summer of 2013, the city commission agreed to lease about 7 waterfront acres to Grove Bay Investment Group LLC for $1.8 million a year upon completion and about $17.9 million of privatelyfunded improvements to redevelop a marina, construct restaurants, improve the public baywalk, fund a portion of the garage and make other improvements. The plan is to remake the waterfront in an area that now includes Scotty’s Landing and the Chart House. City voters approved the plan in November 2013.
WEEK OF THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 2015
MIAMI TODAY
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Access fees could sidetrack Tri-Rail Coastal Link express BY CATHERINE LACKNER
Though the Tri-Rail Coastal Link, an 85-mile passenger rail service linking Miami and Jupiter, is moving along, major issues remain, said Bonnie Arnold, spokesperson for the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority, TriRail’s parent. Principal among them is negotiations with Florida East Coast Railway (FEC) to determine the access fees Tri-Rail would pay to use its tracks north of Miami-Dade County. Tri-Rail runs on CSX tracks, which roughly parallel I95; FEC tracks are further east, she explained. Until access fees are known, the com-
muter rail service – which is hoped to begin by 2020-21 – won’t be able to set fares or move forward with other development segments, she said. “We’ve not negotiated access fees yet, and that’s a hurdle.” The plan is for Tri-Rail Coastal Link to run on FEC tracks from downtown Miami north to about Northwest 79th Street, then switch over to CSX tracks up to Fort Lauderdale, where a bridge over the New River would move the trains back to FEC tracks for the trip to Jupiter. Another connection between the Tri-Rail line and the FEC line is planned north of Palm Beach, she added. Funding is almost in place for the New River bridge, Ms. Arnold said.
Then there is the issue of station placement. “Some communities have been very vocal about wanting stations, but we know we can’t put them everywhere, so we have to decide.” There may be as many as 25 stations along the route; towns and cities have been asked to bear part of the construction cost of having one within their borders. A final puzzle piece is funding for the $800 million project. It’s hoped that federal funding will pay for about half of it and counties would contribute another 25%. Tri-Rail Coastal Link has applied to the State of Florida for the rest of the funding, but that request is still pending, she said. While exact locations haven’t been
pinpointed, some locations considered in Miami-Dade are near Midtown, on Miami’s upper east side, and in North Miami, North Miami Beach and Aventura. In Broward and Palm Beach counties, the Tri-Rail Coastal Link could stop in Hallandale Beach, downtown Hollywood, Wilton Manors, in the downtowns of Pompano Beach, Boca Raton and Delray Beach, and in Riviera Beach, Palm Beach Gardens and Jupiter. When the whole network is completed, Ms. Arnold said, the commuter rail will run 24 trains per day into downtown Miami, terminating in a station shared with All Aboard Florida; and 26 trains per day into the Miami Intermodal Center just east of Miami International Airport.
Gables looks for firm to help develop long-term traffic plan B Y N ICOLÁS R IVERO
Coral Gables has requested qualifications of firms interested in conducting a city-wide ten-year multi-modal transportation plan. The request notes that the city’s geographic position as a “transportation linchpin between the City of Miami to the north and east and the rest of the county to the west,” combined with the traffic demands of housing a downtown that doubles the city’s population during the day, have created a considerable transit headache. According to the request, “most of the arterial roadways in the city are at or beyond capacity during the peak hours and intersections in the downtown are failing or will fail in the near future.” Therefore, Coral Gables says it is looking for a firm that will help it develop a long-term plan to efficiently move traffic through the city without sacrificing its residents’ quality of life. Jessica Keller, the city’s community services director,
Photo by Maxine Usdan
Gables Community Services Director Jessica Keller said the city is seeking far-ranging traffic solutions.
said that in the past, when the cause new problems in other traffic challenges from a bird’scity tried to solve a traffic prob- places. Now, she said, Coral eye view and come up with lem at one location it would Gables is trying to look at its solutions that will work for the
whole city. Ms. Keller stressed that the city wants a multi-modal transportation plan. “We want to solve residential traffic problems,” Ms. Keller said, “but we also want to encourage residents and visitors to use other modes of transit.” The request says that one of the transportation plan’s main goals should be to provide “safe, sustainable, viable and effective alternatives to personalized motorized vehicles.” By encouraging commuters to use alternatives like an expanded trolley system or a cohesive network of bike paths, the city hopes to reduce the number of cars on the road. Ms. Keller added that working with neighboring city governments and the county is “vital to the success of the project.” “Since all of our neighbors face the same problems, we’re all interested in solving them,” she said. “Hopefully our neighbors will do the same. We can only benefit each other.”
State will look for ways to exit I-95 into growing Wynwood BY CATHERINE LACKNER
The quest to re-open an exit ramp from northbound I-95 to Northwest Sixth Avenue at Northwest 23rd Street is moving forward, says Tom Curitore, executive director of the Wynwood Business Improvement District. “It was passed by the city and the county, and the MPO approved it,” he said, referring to the Metropolitan Planning Organization, which signs off on transit projects. Now, it will go to the Florida Department of Transportation, which will study the re-opening, design the
Audrey Edmonson backs effort.
ramp and fund it, Mr. Curitore said. If a study shows that reopening the exit isn’t feasible, it will be up to the transportation
department to look for alternatives, he added. “We have an upcoming project development and environment study that will evaluate the possibility of adding an exit ramp between State Road 112 and State Road 836 on I-95,” said Ivette Ruiz, spokesperson for the transportation department. “The actual scope of work is currently being developed.” Audrey Edmonson, a county commissioner whose district includes Wynwood, and Francis Suarez, a Miami commissioner whose district lies south and west of it, were among the plan’s champions, Mr. Curitore
Francis Suarez champions plans.
said. Under current conditions, motorists on I-95 have to drive past Wynwood to get into it,
Mr. Curitore said in January, when he started the campaign. Drivers going north have to go all the way to Northwest 36th Street, which is already congested, because that is also the entrance to Midtown and the Design District. Wynwood runs from Northwest 20th through 29th streets. The current restricted access could also pose problems for drivers of emergency vehicles trying to enter the area, Mr. Curitore added. The old ramp was closed when the interchange of I-95 and I-195 was built in the 1960s.
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TRANSPORTATION
MIAMI TODAY
WEEK OF THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 2015
Partnership aims to create 3 express bus lines along 836 BY SUSAN DANSEYAR
The county, in partnership with the Florida Department of Transportation, Florida International University and the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority, is working to create express bus service that would branch out on three lines using State Road 836. Also known as the Dolphin Expressway, the state road is to include express bus service Line A, from Southwest Eighth Street at Southwest 147th Av-
enue, the Tamiami Park-and Ride/transit terminal facility, to Government Center. The county’s partner for this line is the state transportation department. Service is to begin in 2019. Express service Line B will be from FIU’s transit terminal at Southwest Eighth Street and Southwest 109th Avenue, Panther station, to the Miami Intermodal Center. County partners are FIU and the state transportation department. Service is also to begin in 2019. The earliest scheduled express bus
service on State Road 836, to be up and running in 2017, is Line C, from Northwest 12th Street at Northwest 122nd Avenue to Government Center. County partners are the expressway authority and the state transportation department. In July, county commissioners approved an agreement for the partnership to create a park-and-ride facility on Northwest 12th Street, just west of the Homestead Extension of Florida’s Turnpike, for this line’s terminal. Under the agreement, the state is to
transfer 15 acres to Miami-Dade Transit to construct the Dolphin Station Park and Ride, consisting of a bus terminal with 12 bus bays and 900 parking spaces. According to Transit Department officials, estimated capital costs for the express bus service include $27 million for lines A and B, along with the two terminals and 11 hybrid, articulated buses; and $11.2 million for Line C, along with an estimated $9.4 million to buy additional buses.
As UM grows, its figures show traffic it creates has declined BY NICOLÁS R IVERO
As the University of Miami has grown over the past two decades, it has shrunk its neighborhood traffic impact, a university study says. Janet Gavarrete, associate vice president of campus planning and development, said those living in the residential neighborhood north of Lake Osceola have often blamed the university for creating traffic on their streets. The university is an easy scapegoat, she said, because residents regularly see construction projects rising on campus. But according to university figures, although campus development has increased by 1.5 million square feet and full-time enrollment is up 39% since 1992, university traffic north of the lake has decreased by 37.5%. This statistic was calculated by measuring the number of cars that came into the university via entrances north of Lake Osceola. Ms. Gavarrete said that allows her to be certain that, although overall traffic in the neighborhood might not have fallen so significantly, university-related traffic has dropped. Most of the decrease has come since 2011, when the university created its first Mobility Plan to address the root causes of campus traffic north of the lake. One of the plan’s first goals was to shift parking to the south of campus, away from the residential neighborhood to the north, and make finding a spot more efficient. “Parking drives traffic,” Ms. Gavarrete said. “There’s plenty of parking. It’s just not where everybody wants it to be 50 steps from the core of campus.” The university began assigning students and faculty parking passes for specific lots to stop drivers from needlessly circling campus on residential streets searching for a parking spot. Instead, they are guaranteed a space in their assigned lot. The university also built an internal road connecting its northern parking lots to take UM drivers off external streets. In the process, it eliminated 400 parking spaces north of the lake and replaced them by expanding the Pavia parking garage, which is south of the lake. The university will add 800 more southern parking spaces when it finishes construction on the Merrick Garage in 2016. Shifting parking to the south is intended to alleviate traffic in the suburban streets of Coral
Photos by Maxine Usdan
The University of Miami has offered a free shuttle service both on and off campus since the early 1990s.
Gables and herd cars onto Ponce de Leon Boulevard, which Ms. Gavarrete said can handle the burden in the short term. But, she said, her plan is to eliminate traffic, not just redistribute it. One way to do that is to keep students on campus. To that end, the university built the Donna E. Shalala Student Center in 2013, which now houses more than 200 students groups, the Rathskellar student bar and new food options. “When you walk around campus and you see the activity on the new patio, that place rocks,”
Ms. Gavarrete said. “We firmly believe it is part of enriching our academic experience and it keeps people here.” The university also upgraded both its dining facilities and dining options, expanded its latenight event schedule, and created programs designed to keep commuter students on campus throughout the day. Meanwhile, the university has added 800 on-campus beds since 2004 and plans to add 1,100 more in coming years to eliminate the need to commute to class.
Ms. Gavarrete said adding oncampus housing in the next two or three years will “balance our checkbook” and neutralize the university’s impact on traffic south of campus. But when students and faculty do need to leave campus, the university hopes to encourage them not to use their cars. Since the early ’90s, the university has offered a free shuttle service to circulate people around campus and take them to off-campus points of interest like Coconut Grove or Sunset Place. But in 2008, it launched a
UM’s UBike program provides bike racks and air stations and helps construct and maintain bike paths.
slew of programs designed to reduce use of personal cars. That year, the university began subsidizing Tri-Rail fares and Miami-Dade Metropasses for roughly 2,700 employees, faculty and students through its public transit program. In exchange, participants are not allowed to buy parking permits. The university also launched UBike, a bicycle program that provides bike racks and air stations across campus, coordinates the construction and maintenance of bike paths, and even allows bicycle commuters to shower and change at the Wellness Center. Ms. Gavarrete said her office also tries to encourage biking and walking by shading paths with trees or overhangs to offer some protection from the sun. “A lot of what we think about are the in-between spaces,” she said. “Not everything has to be shaded, but if a lot of it is, it becomes more inviting.” Car-sharing program Zipcar also came to campus in 2008. Currently, 1,600 members share communal cars parked in dedicated spots around campus, and Ms. Gavarrete said the program is growing quickly. The last traffic-cutting measure of 2008 was banning all freshmen living on campus from bringing their cars to school. “There are so many options now that for college students it may not be so important to have that one car that singly belongs to them,” Ms. Gavarrete said. She said she envisions a day when students can sign up for a university car sharing program in the same way they choose a meal plan or pay for on-campus housing. Ms. Gavarrete said Miamians, still attached to their cars, have been slow to embrace what she sees as a transportation revolution. But she hopes the University of Miami can take a leading role in changing that. “We’re unique in that we’re a campus and we can control the policy, programs and services that can reduce traffic,” she said. “But we haven’t invented anything. We just made it more convenient and marketed it to our own people.” Ms. Gavarrete said a lot of her mobility planning hinges on getting commuters to break old habits. “A lot of things don’t happen because they require a little more effort, or they’re a little less convenient,” she said. “But if you push on both ends, you can modify people’s behavior.”
TRANSPORTATION
WEEK OF THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 2015
MIAMI TODAY
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Beach plan to put pedestrians first, cars last strolls ahead BY NICOLÁS RIVERO
The Miami Beach City Commission is to meet Sept. 10 for a workshop on an updated transportation master plan that is to create a new hierarchy for transportation on the island. In March, the commission approved priorities that might seem unfamiliar to Miami-Dade County residents: pedestrians are the city’s first concern, followed by cyclists, transit and freight, and lastly, private vehicles. Julian Guevara, transportation operations supervisor, said if all goes as planned the commission will adopt the new plan in October and the city will have its first updated transportation plan since 1999. Mr. Guevara said that plan, known as the Municipal Mobility Plan, is now 70% complete and long overdue for an update. Transportation Coordinator Josiel Ferrer-Diaz said the new plan will integrate the city’s current projects and perhaps a few new ones into one vision for the future of transportation on Miami Beach. “Different modes of transportation are typically siloed,” Mr. Ferrer-Diaz said. “We’re breaking those silos and uniting everything so we can get to the root of things: people.”
He said that Miami Beach’s plan won’t focus on an antiquated standard of moving as many cars as possible through its streets. Instead, he said, the city will design a system to move as many people as possible, which might mean eliminating general traffic lanes in favor of dedicated transit or bike lanes. “We want to get more people out on what used to be known as ‘alternative’ modes of transportation,” Mr. FerrerDiaz said. He added that creating an official master plan will also help “validate” proposed projects and “give them more weight” if the city requests state or county funding. At the Sept. 10 commission meeting, the transportation department is to present the master plan’s project bank. One of the city’s biggest projects in coming years will be its portion of the Beach Corridor Transit Connection Project, known as the Bay Link, which is to eventually provide rail service between downtown Miami and Miami Beach. The city’s piece, which would amount to a local streetcar in South Beach, could run as early as six years from now, the transportation department said. In the meantime, the city is working with Miami-Dade Transit on a possible bus route that could run from downtown Miami to Miami Beach as early as
next fall. The city’s proposal would have the buses running every five to 10 minutes along a route that would take advantage of dedicated transit lanes along Washington Avenue and Fifth Street. As another alternative, the city is negotiating with Water Taxi Miami to connect Miami Beach and downtown Miami via water taxis across Biscayne Bay. Miami Beach is also working on expanding its North Beach trolley route into a city-wide trolley system. Two mid-beach routes are awaiting county commission September approval, and the city’s transportation staff is working with Miami-Dade Transit to create a South Beach route. The entire trolley system could run as early as next fall, according to a release from the city’s transportation department. The release also said the master plan might include proposals for the construction of intermodal facilities, which would serve as transfer points between bus and rail lines. They would also give commuters a place to park cars and bikes before boarding a bus, trolley or train to their final destination. As an added benefit, they would concentrate cars in the outskirts of the city. Finally, the city commission has already approved use of an intelligent transportation and parking management
system. Using closed-circuit cameras and other devices designed to measure travel time, the city would monitor traffic and parking conditions to adapt traffic signal patterns and pass that information along to drivers through electronic signs and a mobile app. In a March city commission meeting, the transportation department proposed using the traffic and parking monitoring systems to adjust parking prices depending on availability and to surcharge drivers using congested roads. The proposal would both raise revenue to fund transportation projects and encourage commuters to use alternative modes of transportation by putting financial pressure on drivers. The city commission last year approved a pilot program for “strategic parking pricing.” Most of the funding for these projects, however, would come from resort taxes, the city’s share of the Miami-Dade County half percent transportation surtax, surplus parking funds, and fees charged to developers for their impact on traffic and parking during construction. “As we provide more alternative services that are clean, on time, safe and connected,” Mr. Ferrer-Diaz said, “it’s only a matter of time before people catch on.”
Create special-use lane, not Eighth St. overpass, commissioner asks state B Y C ATHERINE L ACKNER
Photo by John Charles Robbins
This old bridge is to be moved with a new bridge replacing it, under a resolution headed to commissioners.
Aged bridge swings to commission A deteriorating bridge that’s eligible to enter the National Register of Historic Places would be added to Miami-Dade County’s Economic Stimulus Program under a resolution due to come before county commissioners Sept. 1. The Tamiami Swing Bridge on Northwest South River Drive at the Delaware Parkway just north of Northwest 20th Street would be listed for renovation in the stimulus program under a resolution by Commissioner Bruno Barreiro. Under a 2011 county agreement, the bridge is due to be moved, with a new single leaf bascule bridge replacing it at its current site. The county solicited construction bids last September and awarded the work to Archer Western Construction LLC. In March, Mr. Barreiro had co-sponsored a resolution that reallocated nearly $4 million in bond funds that were targeted for the Tamiami Swing Bridge
to instead be spent on the Venetian Causeway drawbridge. “Here’s a district giving up funding on a temporary basis helping out a neighbor,” he said before the March 3 vote. The Tamiami Swing Bridge has long needed renovation. In a May 2013 report on the condition of the 209 bridges under direct county control, commissioners were told that the county then faced a $429 million need to repair deteriorating bridges. The four with the greatest needs, county administrators told them, included both the Venetian Causeway bridges and the Tamiami Swing Bridge. The others were the bridges on the Rickenbacker Causeway, which since have been upgraded, and the South Miami Avenue Bridge, where ongoing repair work is expected to be completed in December. The total cost of the Tamiami Swing Bridge work is $41.05 million, funded by the Building Better Communities general ob-
ligation bond program, Deputy Mayor Alina Hudak noted in a memorandum to commissioners accompanying Mr. Barreiro’s upcoming resolution. The bridge itself, Ms. Hudak noted, is a Warren Truss Span type swing bridge, one of the oldest bridges on the Miami River. The bridge has deteriorated from age and from being hit by both vessels below and motor vehicles above, she said, which has created structural damage. Moreover, she noted, “the existing bridge geometry does not allow for the required hydraulic water flow or the anticipated increase in both navigational and vehicular traffic along the Tamiami Canal.” The addition of the bridge to the Economic Stimulus Plan, Ms. Hudak wrote, will allow the county to expedite procurement of construction engineering and inspection services and lab testing services, both of which are needed before construction can begin.
Southwest Eighth Street in suburban west Miami-Dade runs through heavily populated neighborhoods and serves the Modesto Maidique campus of Florida International University. It is frequently trafficclogged, especially during rush hours. The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) has proposed a $42 million elevated overpass at the intersection of Southwest Eighth Street and Southwest 87th Avenue – a particularly busy exchange – so that east- and westbound traffic going straight would be removed from the traffic flow. Cars turning left and right from Southwest Eighth onto Southwest 87th and all through traffic on the avenue would stay at ground level, said Ivette RuizPaz, spokesperson for the transportation department’s District Six. “My question to them was, ‘What are you going to solve? You’ve still got that traffic there.’ So we had a public meeting,” said Rebeca Sosa, county commissioner and member of the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO). Ms. Sosa, whose district includes Southwest Eighth Street from Douglas Road to Southwest 92nd Avenue, proposed the MPO study a dedicated lane restricted to emergency vehicles, school buses, city buses and trolleys where available. “Can you imagine the traffic we could take off the streets?” Ms. Sosa said. Though the matter is still
‘My question to them was, “What are you going to solve? You’ve still got that traffic there.” So we had a public meeting.’ Rebeca Sosa being studied, she suggested using the outside shoulders for the emergency lane. “There is extra room on the shoulders; you just have to repaint the lanes,” Ms. Sosa said. That would also keep the left-turning lanes available for reversible lanes, which she has also suggested, she added. “FDOT is currently evaluating the MPO’s recommendations of dedicating a lane on Southwest Eighth Street for transit and emergency vehicles, rather than a grade separation,” Ms. Ruiz-Paz said this week. “There are so many positives to this idea, and you’re not talking millions,” Ms. Sosa said. “Someone could get on a trolley, go to FIU, and return home much faster than they can today. We are inviting people to leave their cars at home.”
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MIAMI TODAY
To calendar submit
of events OUTDOORS
cont.—
coastal birds. Closed-toe water shoes, water, sunglasses, sunscreen, towel and a wide-brimmed hat are recommended. 9:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Crandon Park, 6767 Crandon Blvd., Key Biscayne. $60 per person. RSVP required. Details: (305) 365-3018 or www.miamidade.gov/ecoadventures.
Sunday 8/16 KAYAK
ADVENTURE
ami. Details: (305) 375-3111. TASK FORCE
The Court Capital Infrastructure Task Force meets. 1-5 p.m. Stephen P. Clark Center, 111 NW First St., Conference Room 18-4, Miami. Details: (305) 375-1697. SUNSHINE MEETING
Sunshine Meeting takes place. 4 p.m. Miami Riverside Center, 6th Floor, South Conference Room, 444 SW Second Ave., Miami Details: (305) 416-1343.
Tuesday 8/18
Eco-Adventure naturalists will take participants on a journey along shallow waters of Key Biscayne, exploring the natural shorelines where coastal birds and marine life converge. Closedtoe water shoes, water, sunglasses, sunscreen, towel and a wide-brimmed hat are recommended. 9:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Crandon Park, 6767 Crandon Blvd., Key Biscayne. $60 per person. RSVP required. Details: (305) 361-6767 or www.miamidade.gov/ecoadventures.
CIVIL SERVICE BOARD
PUBLIC MEETINGS
The Mayor’s FY 2015-16 Proposed Budget meeting takes place. 6 p.m. Milander Center for Arts and Entertainment, 4800 Palm Ave., Hialeah. Details: (305) 375-1293.
Thursday 8/13 HUD FUNDING
The District 4 Public Hearing for Action Plan 16-17 meets. 5 p.m. Our Lady of Lebanon Church Community Room, 2055 Coral Way, Miami. Details: (305) 416-1770. AVENTURA BUDGET MEETING
The Mayor’s FY 2015-16 Proposed Public meeting takes place. 6 p.m. City of Aventura, Commission Chambers, 19200 West Country Club Dr., Aventura. Details: (305) 375-1293. FIRST TIER EVALUATION
The First Tier Evaluation meeting takes place. 9 a.m.-Noon. Stephen P. Clark Center, 111 NW First St., 10th Floor, CITT Conference Room, Miami. Details: (305) 375-3965. PRE-BID
MEETING
The Pre-Bid meeting takes place. 10-11 a.m. Station 29, W Flagler St., and SW 107th Ave., Miami. Details: (786) 331-4498.
Monday 8/17 CSBE ADVISORY BOARD
The CSBE Advisory Board meets. 1-3 p.m. Stephen P. Clark Center, 111 NW First St., 19th Floor, Mi-
The Civil Service Board meets. 10 a.m. Miami City Hall, commission chambers, 3500 Pan American Dr., Coconut Grove. Details: (305) 416-2020. INVESTIGATIVE
PANEL
The Civilian Investigative Panel meets. 5:30 p.m. Miami City Hall, commission chambers, 3500 Pan American Dr., Coconut Grove. Details: (305) 960-4952. HIALEAH BUDGET MEETING
SUNSHINE
NOTICE
The grand opening ceremony at the Northeast Dade-Aventura Library takes place. 10 a.m. Northeast DadeAventura Library, 2930 Aventura Boulevard, Aventura. Details: (305) 375-3543
Wednesday 8/19 TRUST BOARD MEETING
The MDEAT Monthly Trust Board meeting takes place. 3:30-5 p.m. Stephen P. Clark Center, 111 NW First St., 19th Floor, Miami. Details: (305) 375-5661 CRANDON MEETING
COMMITTEE
The Crandon Amendment Committee meeting takes place. 2-4 p.m. Hickman Building, 275 NW Second St., 5th Floor Large Conference Room, Miami. Details: (305) 375-1293. EVALUATION
COMMITTEE
The Evaluation Committee meets. 10 a.m. Miami Riverside Center, 6th Floor South Conference Room, 444 SW Second Ave., Miami Details: (305) 250-5360.
This is a calendar of selected events in Greater Miami for the week beginning Thursday, August 13, 2015. Information must be received in writing two weeks before the event. Include costs, details, relevant phone numbers and photos if possible. Send to: Miami Today Calendar Attention Katya Maruri 2000 S. Dixie Highway, Suite 100, Miami, FL 33133 E-mail: calendar@miamitodaynews.com
INTERNATIONAL
COUNCIL
The Mayor’s International Council meets. 5 p.m. Miami City HallCity Manager’s Conference Room, 3500 Pan American Dr., Coconut Grove. Details: (305) 416-1036.
Thursday 8/20
6T
O
P LAN
FAMILY MATTERS FORUM
The Business Families Foundation hosts the first edition of the “FAMILY MATTERS | Forum 2015.” The event will bring together entrepreneurial families and experts from around the world to discuss what the future holds for driving global economic growth. Nov. 19-22. Location TBD. Details: http://businessfamilies .org/forum/.
LEADERSHIP WORKSHOP
Florida International University hosts its “Leadership Essentials Workshop.” Sept. 21. RSVP before Aug. 28th. Graham Center Ballrooms, 11200 SW 8th St., MARC 326. $325. Details: http:// lead.fiu.edu/programs/workshop/ index.html
HISPANIC CULTURAL FESTIVAL
The Coral Gables Hispanic Festival’s sixth year will include local and international artists, musicians and designers showcasing the diverse flavors that the Hispanic culture brings to South Florida. Oct. 24-25. Intersection of LeJeune Road and Biltmore Way, Coral Gables. Free. Details: (305) 667-0577
4
o r sauma@gableshispanicfestival.com.
MASQUERADE BALL
Pridelines hosts its 10th annual gala, the Masquerade Ball. The gala is a blacktie affair to benefit the LGBT community. Aug. 15. The Biltmore, 1200 Anastasia Ave., Coral Gables. Details: http:// www.pridelinesmasquerade.com/.
CHAMPIONS OF BUSINESS
The Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce hosts its “Champions of Business Panel Discussion & Luncheon.” The event will bring together local business professionals and the leadership council of the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce in a panel discussion. 11:30 a.m. Aug. 28. The St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort, 9703 Collins Ave., Bal Harbour Village. Details: (305) 674-1300 or Catrina@MiamiBeachChamber.com
TAKE STOCK IN CHILDREN
Take Stock in Children hosts its 20th anniversary celebration Changing Lives Over Lunch. 11:30 a.m. Oct. 29. Jungle Island Tree Top Ballroom, 1111 Parrott Jungle Trail, Watson Island. $125. Details: (786) 369-5137 or www.tsic.org.
PARKS AND RECREATION
The Parks and Recreation Advisory Board meets. 6 p.m. Miami City Hall, commission chambers, 3500 Pan American Dr., Coconut Grove. Details: (304) 416-1332 SBE ADVISORY BOARD
The SBE Advisory Board meets. 10:30 a.m.-Noon. Stephen P. Clark Center, 111 NW First St., 19th Floor, Miami. Details: (305) 375-3121 ARCOLA LAKES BUDGET MEETING
The Mayor’s FY 2015-16 Proposed Budget meeting takes place. 6 p.m. Arcola Lakes Branch Library, 8240 NW Seventh Ave., Miami. Details: (305) 375-1293
SPECIAL EVENTS Saturday 8/15 FASHION PROJECT
Bal Harbour Shops hosts its fashion film festival. Attendees will see the film “Pandora’s Box” directed by Georg Wilhelm Pabst featuring Louise Brooks as guests are seated in a living/ screening room. The film festival runs through Sept. 30. 7 p.m. 9700 Bal Harbour Shops, Collins Ave, Bal Harbour. Details: (786) 245-2200 or info@fashionprojectbhs.com CULTURE
CLUB
The Bayfront Park Amphitheatre presents “Culture Club with Howard Jones.” Guests will hear the group perform songs from all five of their albums. 8 p.m. 301 Biscayne Blvd., Miami. $39.50-$149.50. Details: http://www.livenation.com/ DISCO NIGHT
Catch the fever disco night will feature Fred Astaire dancers, dance lessons and a costume/dance contest. VIP table for 10 comes with two bottles of champagne. All proceeds will go to the Women’s Club of Coconut Grove. 7:3011:30 p.m. 2985 S Bayshore Dr., Coconut Grove. $30 general admission. $500
MEETINGS & CONVENTIONS MISS FLORIDA PAGEANT The Miss Florida Pageant hosts its 43rd annual event. About 300 attendees expected. Aug. 9-11. Deauville Beach Resort, 6701 Collins Ave., Miami Beach. Details: http://www.missflorida.org/
MEDALLIA INC. Medallia, Inc. hosts its Q3 QSR event. About 220 attendees expected. Aug. 10-
13. Intercontinental Miami, 100 Chopin Plaza, Miami. Details: http://www. medallia.com/the-live-experience/
JAZZ GETAWAY
Jazz Getaway hosts its annual event. About 400 attendees expected. Aug. 13-16. Hyatt Regency Miami, 400 SE 2nd Ave., Miami. Details: http://miamiregency.hyatt.com/en/ hotel/meetings-and-events/events.html
SOURCE: GREATER MIAMI CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU
VIP. Details: (305) 446-2909 or http:// womansclubofcoconutgrove.com/ disco-party
House, Miami. $55-$75. Details: (305) 949-6722 or www.arsht center.org.
SPORTS
I’LL EAT YOU LAST
Thursday 8/20 MIAMI MARLINS
The Miami Marlins take on the Philadelphia Phillies. Promotions include “Senior Free Ticket Thursday” and “Subway Restaurants $5 Ticket Offer.” 7:10 p.m. Marlins Park, 501 Marlins Way, Miami. $16-$100. Details: (305) 480-1300 or www. miami.marlins.mlb.com.
THEA TER THEATER
Thursday 8/13 LOOKINGGLASS
ALICE
The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County and Lookingglass Theatre Company present “Lookingglass Alice,” adapted and directed by David Catlin from the works of Lewis Carroll, and produced in association with The Actors Gymnasium. The play journeys into Alice’s magical world, complete with gravity-defying thrills. 8 p.m. Additional performances through Aug. 16. Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County, 1300 Biscayne Blvd., Ziff Ballet Opera
The GableStage at the Biltmore presents “I’ll Eat You Last: a Chat with Sue Mengers,” with Laura Turnbull, directed by Michael Leads and written by John Logan. The play depicts the story of Sue Mengers, an agent representing almost every major star in Hollywood, and how she overcame poverty as a refugee from Hitler’s Germany. The play takes place in the setting of her home for an evening of gossip, dirty secrets and all the inside showbiz details only Sue can tell you. Additional performances through Aug. 30. GableStage, 1200 Anastasia Ave., Coral Gables. $55. Details: (305) 4451119 or http://www.gablestage.org/ current-season/. SHORTS GONE WILD 3
The City Theatre and Island City Stage presents “Shorts Gone Wild 3,” a short play festival that celebrates the LGBT and Progressive communities by Andy Rogow and John Manzelli. Guests will see eight short plays written by local playwrights. 8 p.m. Additional performances through Sept. 6. Empire Stage, 1140 N. Flagler Dr., Fort Lauderdale. $30. Details: http://www.citytheatre.com/ or http:// www.islandcitystage.org/
150 million web browsers view 740 miles of Florida shoreline B Y C ARLA V IANNA
More than 150 million web browsers have walked on Florida’s beaches via Visit Florida’s website in the past year. The state’s official marketing engine partnered with Google and used its street-view camera to capture 740 miles of Florida’s 825-mile-long shoreline. This is but one of the ongoing marketing strategies Visit Florida is working on to reach its goal of 100 million in-person visitors this year, a goal the state is expected to surpass, said J. William Seccombe, president and CEO of Visit Florida, during a Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce luncheon at Jungle Island last week. Mr. Seccombe announced a new “strategic plan” that will shift Visit
Florida’s focus from “visitor numbers to economic impact.” The new campaign is to be launched during the Florida Governor’s Conference on Tourism, which starts Aug. 31 in Tampa. He highlighted several campaigns the organization is working on to fuel the booming tourist industry in Florida, including efforts to promote Florida’s natural resources and target its top international markets. By 2020, the state is projected to welcome 129 million visitors. Must Be The Sunshine, the fall’s newest campaign launching in about two weeks, will be aimed at travelers not tied to the school calendar who are craving an extra day of sunshine, Mr. Seccombe told Miami Today. The Share a Little Sunshine cam-
paign that began two years ago has morphed into the hashtag #LoveFl on social media, in which Floridians share photos to show what they love most about Florida. Over the last two years, 750,000 pieces of content were shared, Mr. Seccombe said. #LoveFl then morphed into the hashtag #DogsLoveFl, in which Floridians share photos of their dogs in famed Florida spots. “It’s a different way to make Florida relevant,” Mr. Seccombe told Miami Today. Florida welcomed 98.9 million visitors last year – a 5.1% increase from the year before. That resulted in $82 billion in spending, which generated 23% of sales tax revenues and $4.9 billion in sales tax collections, according to data provided by Visit Florida. Last year, international travelers ac-
counted for almost 16% of Florida’s overnight visitors. China alone sent 267,000 of them. A partnership among tourism entities including the cities of Miami and Orlando, as well as the national marketing engine Brand USA, has been locked in place to bring in more Chinese visitors, Mr. Seccombe said. “China is an enormous market,” he said, “and a huge potential long-term market for the state of Florida.” VisitFlorida has also partnered with National Geographic in a multi-year deal to market Florida’s natural resources by land and by sea. “It’s an opportunity for us to promote some of the things that are lesser known,” Mr. Seccombe said, “and shift what people think of when they think of Florida.”