Miami Today: Week of Thursday, August 18, 2016 by Miami Today

WEEK OF THURSDAY, AUGUST 18, 2016

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TODAY’S NEWS

Zika war hammers businesses in epicenter Wynwood, pg. 3 COMPENSATION COSTS RISE: Total compensation costs for private industry workers rose 2.5% in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach metropolitan area from June 2015 to June 2016, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported this month. Locally, wages and salaries, the largest component of compensation costs, increased 2.9%. The tri-county figures outpaced the national increases of 2.4% for total compensation costs and 2.6% for wages and salaries. Regional commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted in a statement that one year ago, Miami’s compensation costs showed a 2.6% annual gain.

184-room Hilton checks in, joins Baptist Health, pg. 12

THE ACHIEVER

BY SUSAN D ANSEYAR

COSTS RISE IN PARK UPGRADE: Miami city commissioners increased the expenditure ceiling for the Kinloch Park Building Addition Project by $230,000, due to the costs of a new security system and new fencing requested by the Capital Improvements and Transportation Program and the fire department. On Sept. 29, 2014, the commission approved a contract with Grace & Naeem Uddin Inc. of up to $1,699,336.10, including for $154,485.10 contingencies. However, as security measures were added, the original contract amount was deemed insufficient. Commissioners increased the contract ceiling to $1,929,336.10, including $154,485.10 for contingencies. LOWER ELECTRIC CHARGES: Miami households paid 22.3% less for electricity in July than the national average of 13.9 cents, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Tuesday. Area households paid 10.8 cents per kilowatt hour in July, compared with 11.6 cents in July of 2015, when Miamians were paying 18.3% less than the national average, the bureau said. GROVE BAY EASEMENTS: Miami city commissioners have granted easements clearing the way for utilities on city-owned land. One resolution authorizes an underground easement with Peoples Gas System, a division of Tampa Electric Co. It allows a non-exclusive perpetual underground easement about 10 feet wide by 709 feet long to city-owned property at 3377 Charthouse Drive for construction, operation and maintenance of natural gas utility facilities. This to part of the Grove Bay project, bringing redevelopment to the waterfront in Coconut Grove. The other easement is with Florida Power & Light Co. for an underground easement of about 10 feet wide and 202 feet long at the same address for electric utility facilities.

James Davidson

Photo by Marlene Quaroni

President and Chairman of Coral Gables Trust Co. The profile is on Page 4

Airport trade zone process faces long flight time BY CAMILA CEPERO

Miami-Dade’s Aviation Department is working to set up a foreign trade zone magnet site on Miami International Airport property, which officials say will attract new business opportunities and better utilize vacant cargo and non-terminal areas. “It’s a long application,” Aviation Director Emilio González told Miami Today. “We have submitted our foreign trade zone magnet site application to the Port of Miami; they are the grantee for the foreign trade zone.” With a projected launch date of early 2017, the foreign trade zone has the potential to generate $7.7 million a year in lease revenue and create an estimated 1,500 jobs at the airport. Foreign trade zones lure businesses because the sites allow goods to be unloaded, manufactured, reassembled, tested, sampled, processed, repacked and re-exported without intervention by US Customs authorities. Zone users benefit from duty exemptions and face no duties or quota changes on reexports; duty deferrals where customs duties and federal excise taxes are deferred on

AGENDA

Metrorail’s car test site 2 years late

imports; inverted tariff duty rates; logistical benefits such as streamlined customs efficiencies including direct delivery and weekly entry; and elimination of duties on waste, scrap and rejected or defective parts. By reducing these costs, businesses can compete better globally. “Once the Port of Miami approves [the trade zone application], then it goes before the board of county commissioners for approval,” Mr. González said. Afterward, the process flows into the hands of the US Foreign-Trade Zones Board, he said. “The department has not received a foreign trade zone application related to Miami International Airport at this time,” a US Department of Commerce official told Miami Today. “Once the application is submitted, the department generally has 10 months to adjudicate the request. During this time, there will be an opportunity for public comment and information about the application will be publicly available throughout the process.” Aside from the Commerce Department, foreign trade zones are also approved in part by US Customs and Border Protection,

because the areas are in or near ports of entry. Officially, the Foreign-Trade Zones Board grants authority for establishing the foreign trade zones under the ForeignTrade Zones Act of 1934. About 250 general-purpose zones and over 500 subzones now operate in all 50 states and Puerto Rico, according to the Foreign-Trade Zones Board. Miami-Dade County is home to four foreign trade zones, including one run by PortMiami, which has a major geographic trade advantage. Three phases govern the application process to become a magnet site: Application approval from PortMiami (Foreign Trade Zone No. 281’s Grantee). Approval from the Foreign-Trade Zones Board and Site Operator Agreement. Activation from US Customs and Border Protection and Grantee Approval. A magnet site application costs $10,000. The airport hopes to attract usage-driven site clients through a strategic marketing plan designed to draw new industries and businesses into the airport.

Miami-Dade still awaits a twoyear-late testing track and expanded yard for 132 replacement Metrorail cars, the impact of which transit officials and the contractor have been analyzing. Munilla Construction Management (MCM) has a $25 million county design-build contract for the Lehman Center Test Track and first phase of the Lehman Yard Rehabilitation expansion that was due to be done Aug. 5, 2014. A July report states the Department of Transportation and Public Works seeks an extension to the construction engineering and inspection services contract with consultant Parsons Transportation Group, which is helping oversee and review these project phases. According to the report, MCM began work Feb. 13, 2013. Through Nov. 30, 2015, 97.82% of the construction was completed and invoiced, with $23 million invoiced and $21 million paid to date. The contractor maintains the main delays include more than a fourmonth hold-up to complete most of the design elements, procurement of materials and equipment, as well as setbacks in construction of the test track service and inspection building. Additionally, MCM claims, delays were caused by late track and contact rail installation, mainly because of “failures relating to track alignment, gauge, geometry, clearances and fouling points.” Track integration testing and the safety certification and verification report were also over 20 months late as of late June. Contract days totaled 1,225 on June 22, 687 days over what was allowed, the report states, with damages specified by contract at $3,083.52 per day – totaling at that point more than $2.1 million. A transportation spokesperson said the delay hasn’t affected transit plans because the county devised alternatives to continue rail car tests.

MANA’S PARKING-LESS DOWNTOWN TOWER PRAISED ...

DESIGN DISTRICT 433 JOBS VOW GRANTED $2 MILLION ...

VIEWPOINT: FLOATING PLANS TO COMMUTE BY BOAT ...

EX-WYNWOOD OWNERS FIND ALLAPATTAH BARGAINS ...

ESTEFANS ADD TO HOME-GROWN AIRPORT EATERIES ...

VOTERS TO RULE ON HERITAGE TRUST’S CITY LEASE ...

WORLDCENTER 67% RETAIL TRIM VEXES CITY BOARD ...

DOWNTOWN STREET CLOSING FOR ALL ABOARD RAIL ...

MIAMI TODAY

TODAY’S NEWS

WEEK OF THURSDAY, AUGUST 18, 2016

THE INSIDER RIDING BUSES CAN BE COOL: The first air-conditioned bus shelter in Miami-Dade County is going into use at the Hialeah Metrorail Station, a point where many Metrobus routes connect with Metrorail. The county was to cut the ribbon this week. MIAMI OPEN FOR BUSINESS: The Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau (GMCVB) is in close contact with the Florida Department of Health and Miami-Dade County to communicate updates for visitors about mosquito-borne illnesses and states there is no wide-spread transmission of Zika in Miami-Dade County. Information is available at miamiandbeaches.com/travel-advisory-information. Additionally, the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce, GMCVB and Miami-Dade Beacon Council held an event last weekend urging followers to continue patronizing Wynwood businesses; and the Miami Downtown Development Authority provides Zika resources on www.miamidda.com NEW SCHOOL RISING: Miller Construction Co. has begun building a two-story, 51,200-square-foot higher education facility for developer and owner The Graham Companies at 15201 NW 79th Court in Miami Lakes. The $7.4 million, single-user structure on an 8.5-acre site will be the new Sistema Universitario Ana G. Méndez South Florida Campus, which has signed a 15-year lease with The Graham Companies and is expanding from its current location in Miramar. The Puerto Rico-based university operates 15 university centers throughout the island territory and five in the US. The university uses the Discipline-Based Dual Language Immersion Model, which focuses on the development of English and Spanish language skills to equip adults with both the professional and dual language skills that are in high demand in today’s global workplace.

Moise Mana plans this new tower near MiamiCentral rail hub without including a single parking space.

MLK MURAL GETS APPROVAL: Miami city commissioners have approved a community aesthetic agreement with the Florida Department of Transportation for the installation, completion and maintenance of a Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. mural on the south side of the I-95 overpass at Northwest 62nd Street. The agreement includes renovations to the center columns. In a separate resolution, commissioners accepted the recommendation of the Liberty City Trust approving a service agreement with Moving Lives Kids Arts Center (MLK Arts Center) Inc. for the installation and maintenance of the mural. The move also authorized the BY JOHN CHARLES ROBBINS city manager to execute an agreement with the Liberty City Trust for ‘It’s very exciting. I’m funding the project at about $90,000. Developer Moishe Mana is ALHAMBRA TOWERS WELL CONNECTED: WiredScore, a com- planning to build a tall and slen- looking forward to it.’ pany behind the international standard for cutting-edge internet connec- der residential tower in the heart Robin Bosco tivity in office buildings, said Alhambra Towers in Coral Gables has of Miami’s urban core with not achieved Platinum Wired Certification, making it the first building in Coral a single new parking space. Gables and the second in Florida to receive the Platinum ranking. This But the project is to rise one home to a handful of small busisignifies that it offers the best-in-class tech capabilities. Alhambra block from the city’s new trans- nesses in older two- to threeTowers joins a distinctive group of technologically advanced buildings, portation hub known as story buildings. with peers around the world including the Empire State Building and MiamiCentral. The tower was designed by Miami’s Southeast Financial Center.

Plan for Mana’s tall, slender tower near new transit hub wins praise

AIRPORT ATTRACTED JAPANESE DELEGATION: The MiamiDade Aviation Department last month welcomed executives from Kagoshima, Japan, who traveled to South Florida as part of its Sister Cities International partnership with the City of Miami, the airport said. The delegation toured Miami International Airport and learned about its passenger and cargo hub operations. “We made the pitch that Miami is a great place to fly non-stop,” aviation department Director Emilio González told Miami Today. The delegation’s visit came in the wake of two June meetings with Japan’s Emilio González All Nippon Airways executives and an April meeting in Miami with Tokyo’s Narita International Airport representatives. HATE CRIME LAW BACKED: Miami city commissioners adopted a resolution urging the Florida Legislature to amend state law to include enhanced penalties for felonies and misdemeanors committed against law enforcement officers, firefighters and emergency services personnel due to their employment status. The legislation directed the city clerk to send a copy of the resolution to the members of the legislature, Gov. Rick Scott and his cabinet. The resolution was authored by Commissioner Frank Carollo, who cited recent ambushes against police officers as a motivat- Frank Carollo ing factor for the move. TAYLOR & MATHIS ACQUIRED: Cushman & Wakefield has acquired Taylor & Mathis of Florida LLC, a commercial real estate company specializing in agency leasing and property management. The acquisition makes Cushman & Wakefield the second largest property management firm in Florida. The company manages nearly 32 million square feet in the state. Over the past six years, Taylor & Mathis of Florida has developed more than 600,000 square feet of office and retail product valued in excess of $250 million. The acquisition creates a combined portfolio of 41 million square feet. CONDO RESALES, RENTS DOWN: “Condominium resale pricing in greater downtown is down 4% since year-end, however after three years of double digit price growth (2012-2014), this current retreat from 2015 pricing may be temporary, as supply-demand economics continue to shift,” a mid-year report from Miami’s Downtown Development Authority says. “The rental construction pipeline has expanded to more than 5,500 units as of June, and combined with the delivery of more than 500 rental units since the new year, has yielded a leveling-off of pricing. Conventional rent growth has been nominal or negative in all unit types except studios, which grew by 4% year-to-date.” NEW EDUCATION PROGRAMS: Miami-Dade County Public Schools will begin 2016-2017 with 59 new choice/magnet programs, the most ever created in an academic year, bringing the total to nearly 600. CORRECTION: In an Aug. 4 article, the business title of Gene Schaefer, incoming chair of the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce, was incorrect. He is Miami Market president for Bank of America.

The city’s new expanded train station now under construction will be home to Brightline, a high speed passenger rail service to Orlando, the Metrorail and Metromover, a Tri-Rail link, and connections to other modes of transportation including Metrobus, ride-sharing services, taxis and bicycles. The point: It should be easy to live in Mana’s new tower and not own a car. The city’s Urban Development Review Board recommended approval of the project, which remains nameless at this stage but is planned for 200 N Miami Ave. Board member Gerald C. Marston likes the project so much he made the motion to recommend approval “enthusiastically.” The tower is to rise 49 stories and include about 328 residential units aiming to attract a millennial crowd. Some of the lower apartments are expected to be small or micro units. David Lederman, an attorney representing the developer, said about a dozen stories will have the micro apartments, about 23 stories will be home to market rate apartments, and the top floors will be penthouse units. The site, 14,325 square feet at the northwest corner of Northwest Second Avenue and North Miami Avenue, is today

Zyscovich Architects, and the firm’s Suria Yaffar offered details to the review board about the project. While the tower has no parking, it will rise in an urban environment close to public transit, she said. MiamiCentral helps create “alternative choices of living” for those people wanting to reside downtown, she said. The tower’s micro units will be studio-sized, and the market rate apartments will be one- and two-bedroom units, Ms. Yaffar said. The development is to include two floors of amenities and a top pool deck. “It will be an exciting place to be at,” she said. The amenity options and common area spaces between floors will help keep the building lively, she said. The tower is to have a large lobby but no retail uses. Ms. Yaffar explained a unique design element on the outside of the planned tower. Mesh screens that can be moved, she said, will keep the façade on the upper levels fluid. She said tenants will be able to see through the material but it can shade the apartments. “The skin of the building is conceived as a movable sculpture; the screens will animate the building as they are opened or closed. The operable screens provide shade and reduce heat gain,” Ms. Yaffar said. ‘This project is the Mr. Marston commented that future of Miami.’ he considers “architecture that David Lederman changes” is a good thing. Board member Robin Bosco

also liked the proposal, and congratulated the developer on an excellent project. “It’s very exciting. I’m looking forward to it,” said Mr. Bosco. Mr. Marston also offered congratulations, saying the proposed tower was refreshing and “not a glass box with balconies on it.” Mr. Marston concluded by saying the tower will be “a very, very creative addition to the city.” While board member Dean Lewis expressed reservations about the sliding façade and how weather might affect the material, he said introduction of micro units in the area is important. The fact that developers don’t have to building parking can “bring down rents,” said Mr. Lewis, and this is an appropriate place for such a project. Mr. Lederman followed up on that point, noting that along with being near public transit the project is about 150 feet from a public parking garage. “This project is the future of Miami,” he said.

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

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WEEK OF THURSDAY, AUGUST 18, 2016

TODAYâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S NEWS

MIAMI TODAY

Wynwood businesses â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;incredibly frustratedâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; in Zika war BY CATHERINE LACKNER

Leaders of the Wynwood Business Improvement District (BID) say the neighborhood has been unfairly singled out in the battle against the Zika virus and that has created a false sense of security for those outside â&#x20AC;&#x153;the box.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;All of the businesses in the district are taking a 50%-75% hit,â&#x20AC;? said Albert Garcia, BID co-chair and chief operating officer of the Mega Shoes, at a meeting Monday of officials from Miami-Dade County, the Florida Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). â&#x20AC;&#x153;These are mom-and-pop operations; we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have Cheesecake Factory and Starbucks. In another week or two, some of them will be closing up shop,â&#x20AC;? Mr. Garcia said. The neighborhood brings in $300,000 per month in tourism, dining and entertainment revenue, said BID director Joe Furst, who is managing director for Wynwood at Goldman Properties. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Businesses look to us for guidance; theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re incredibly frustrated.â&#x20AC;? While the zone of cases discovered spans a large area, only Wynwood has been called out by name, he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;A terrible spell has been cast over the district.â&#x20AC;? Many business owners and residents are upset over the way information has been disseminated, he added, because they generally find out about new cases when the office of Gov. Rick Scott sends out a press release. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re on the front lines,â&#x20AC;? Mr. Furst said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This could have been dealt with differently.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;We share your pain and concerns,â&#x20AC;? said Alina Hudak, Mi-

Photos by Maxine Usdan

Albert Garcia: â&#x20AC;&#x153;These are mom-and-pop operations... In another week or two, some of them will be closing.â&#x20AC;?

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;We share your pain and concerns.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Alina Hudak â&#x20AC;&#x153;We havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t done justice to you guys,â&#x20AC;? said the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Lillian Rivera.

ami-Dade County deputy mayor. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Messaging is an issue.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;When we started investigating, we didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know Wynwood,â&#x20AC;? said Lillian Rivera, administrator and health officer for the Florida Department of Health. Originally, she wanted to identify the af-

fected area only by its ZIP codes, the way the department had handled similar situations in the past, she said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t done justice to you guys,â&#x20AC;? she told the BID members. â&#x20AC;&#x153;How can we make it better? We have to learn a lesson from Wynwood.â&#x20AC;?

The way the state health department has handled the outbreak is â&#x20AC;&#x153;unacceptable and unreasonable,â&#x20AC;? Mr. Garcia said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re going to continue to state this. Damage continues to be done. Wynwood gets singled out.â&#x20AC;? Just that day, a press release by the governorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s office an-

nounced two new cases in Miami-Dade (not necessarily within the target area) but said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;We still believe local transmissions are only occurring in an area that is less than one square mile in Wynwood.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s clear that there is Zika throughout the Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties,â&#x20AC;? Mr. Furst said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The findings create a question of correlation. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s imperative that this box gets removed.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;There is no transparency in this process,â&#x20AC;? Mr. Garcia said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re past the box.â&#x20AC;? Much about how the state is conducting its investigation is murky, he said. No trapped mosquitoes have tested positive for the virus, and the state health department, citing patient confidentiality concerns, hasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t given information about where the Zika victims live or work. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We control some sanitation services, and can help create safe zones,â&#x20AC;? Mr. Garcia said, if more was known about where the cases were discovered. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We hear you and understand itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hurt the community,â&#x20AC;? said John Jernigan, director of the CDC office of healthcare-associated infection prevention research and evaluation in the Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s very unfortunate.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;How do we start lifting these zones?â&#x20AC;? Mr. Garcia asked. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The goal is no ongoing transmission,â&#x20AC;? Dr. Jernigan said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Then the travel guides might be changed. But how long is enough? Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not there yet.â&#x20AC;? Dr. Rivera promised the BID members that communications would improve and that the state health department would do its best to address the neighborhoodâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s concerns. â&#x20AC;&#x153;You guys can help us, too,â&#x20AC;? she said.

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MIAMI TODAY

VIEWPOINT

WEEK OF THURSDAY, AUGUST 18, 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

Floating a plan for Miami-Dade for commuting by boat One of the more romantic notions among the serious efforts to alleviate MiamiDade’s traffic congestion is to try boatloads of commuters. It’s under serious study in the county’s transit depart- Michael Lewis ment, a way to get us out of bumper-to-bumper cars and gasoline fumes and onto colorful boat trips with no traffic and good clean fresh air. It works around the globe, from Hong Kong to Sydney to Venice, where boats ferry commuters as well as sightseers. It works in Manhattan and Boston, San Francisco and Seattle. But it doesn’t work everywhere or for everyone, and county researchers will have multiple issues to chew over in trying to find a way to make commuting by boat succeed here 52 weeks a year. An obvious concern is whether boats can meet schedules. It sounds simple, but on the busiest routes that have been running for decades, county buses routinely are late a third of the time or more. Can boats run on time in bad weather? If not, you can’t commute in them – they become merely tourist boats, which fails to achieve the mission. Another concern is the total time of a trip. If boats stop at multiple docks along the way, how much time is spent landing, tying up, boarding and then departing?

Photo by Maxine Usdan

The Water Taxi already serving Bayside Marketplace and other stops may get company.

And how much time is spent on water? If they’re significantly slower than other transit options, boats won’t cut it. The fare is critical. Bus and Metrorail fares are $2.25. Boats may be more pleasant, but if they’re going to serve commuters they also have to be priced in the ballpark or they become merely novelties to be tried once or twice and discarded. A boat service that Washington, DC, tried five years ago lured commuters for a peaceful half-hour commute but couldn’t hold them for an $8 fare that was four times as high as mass transit. The economics of boat travel are tough. When Sarasota’s metropolitan planning organization considered water taxis more than a decade ago they estimated the cost of each vessel at a quarter of a million dollars or more. Boats that carry more people cost more. And if each route doesn’t have multiple vessels going both ways constantly it won’t work for commuters. The longer the wait between boats, the less useful the service. Sarasota planners estimated the fare for each commuter at $2 to $5. But they also assumed that the public would sub-

L ETTERS Signature I-395 bridge waste of time and money Such a waste of time and money. It’s only being rebuilt for aesthetics, not because it can’t handle the amount of traffic it now serves. This all began probably a decade ago when the Arsht Center (then Carnival) folks realized that the bridge over Biscayne Boulevard was too low, that it divided downtown in half, that it had in fact separated it from all of the action and power on the south side of the bridge and made crossing under it a fearful and dangerous act since it was dark and a haven for the homeless begging for money. If there is any problem with traffic, it’s because of accidents and stoplights on the beach side of the MacArthur Causeway. Otherwise, traffic is rarely impeded. DC Copeland

Tunnel, don’t build bridge Let’s hope it’s not the published bridge rendering. That is far from being a “signature bridge.” Maybe something comparable to the Tampa bridge. How does this remedy the issue of dividing the city? Higher or not, there will still be an overpass at Biscayne. The real solution would be to tunnel under Biscayne. Gerwyn Flax

No open rail conversation on Miami Beach’s system Miami Beach and Alstom have led the way and have promised the Beach’s

sidize some sort of public-private service. Miami-Dade’s planners will surely look at every combination of public service, private service and public-private partnership to see what’s feasible. A hidden financial issue is all the free and part-fare passes the county mandates to favor one group or another. You ride county transit free or at substantial discount if you’re over 65, over 65 but don’t live here, are a military veteran with income below a stated ceiling, are on Medicare, are a commuter, are below school age or are disabled. Would water taxis have to honor all these rate breaks? That would make break-even harder. How about docks? Would water taxi operators have to pay to use those that exist? Would the county or private operators have to build new ones? Or covered waiting areas? Or ticket offices? Even clearing these hurdles, water taxis can’t serve most of us without seamless connectivity to other transit at both ends. Unless you happen to live or work near the dock, you still must travel on land. How would connections work?

TO THE

How to Write Letters for publication may be sent to the Editor, Miami Today, 2000 S. Dixie Hwy, Suite 100, Miami, FL 33133 or email to letters@miamitodaynews.com. Letters may be condensed for space.

counterparts across the bay the following: construction of a street car that will go Fifth Street, Washington Avenue, 17th Street and Alton Road, 1.5 miles north-south and a half mile east-west, in a circle around South Beach. One must question if rail is the correct application for moving people such short distances, the cost to the landscape, 24 feet of all roads removed for six train tracks, the costs to pedestrians and bicyclists, the $500 million to build and $20 million annual cost to operate. South Beach is 3,500 households and this loop does not serve their needs. A true open and honest conversation has not transpired. It’s been closed doors. The citizens are being asked to ultimately pay for a $2 billion to $3 billion train system and have been largely kept in the dark. Robert Lansburgh

Expand Beach trolley now Until the county finalizes a connection between Miami and Miami Beach (which is 10 years away) I prefer that Miami Beach nix a tracked streetcar and instead expand the existing trolley because the trolley is free for passengers and is a bus on wheels with flexible route option, including circular and east to west.

Gear whatever service the county picks to commuters, not tourists. Tourists may certainly ride – although Venice this year gave priority to commuters, with tourists boarding last if room remains – but the priority is mobility, not sightseeing. Finally, the numbers game. A county of 2.7 million people needs a whole lot of boatloads at 24 passengers a trip to dent auto traffic. At the same time, the county’s study will have to divide the number of daily passengers by daily capital and operating costs of a fleet of boats to find a cost per commuter and see if it’s in the ballpark. Having commuted three days a week by ferry, we can attest that it can serve well. But we had a choice of three ferry lines landing within a few blocks of one another, all running as frequently as every 15 minutes. Two of the three made money, the other didn’t. It’s a tough business – even though service was to an island where no alternate transit was possible. An inexpensive trial might be to lure an entire ferry line that operates in a northern resort in summer to operate in Miami in winter. The boats and trained crews already exist. If a winter’s tryout succeeds, operators might make the capital investment to add a taxi or ferry fleet here. Water transportation is certainly worth probing. We have the waterways in abundance. We have the need. If ferries can work in snow and sleet in the north, they can do better in Miami’s sunshine. One thing for sure: a boat commute is head and shoulders ahead of the sinking feeling of rush hour on Dixie Highway or the Palmetto or I-95.

E DITOR

That was the original mass transit plan presented by the city to our homeowners association. We were told the contract expires this December between MiamiDade and Miami Beach for the 25 cent local bus in Miami Beach, creating the perfect opportunity for the Miami Beach trolley to take over all routes (and get reimbursed by Miami-Dade County). The disadvantage of the streetcar is it’s super expensive, the track is on a permanent route, it will cost passengers a fee to ride it, stations are more spread out than a trolley, and it will remove shade trees, make sidewalks more narrow, remove on-street parking and remove proposed parklets. Gayle Durham

Wheelchair users getting worst spots in our trolleys I’m a big fan of trolleys. Fixed and rubber tire transit can take away the crushing expense of owning one or more cars from working families. Sadly, most models used locally place wheelchair user spaces over the back tires – the bumpiest part of the ride by far. Why you would place folks with sore joints on the most painful location of the vehicle is beyond me. Also, the wheelchair user seats in the rear are directly under the overhead air conditioning units. This means my wife, on her way to work dressed in her finest, has had clothing ruined by the dirty drippings from AC units. Hopefully, our well-meaning elected and appointed officials could avoid mak-

ing wheelchair users the modern day Rosa Parks of public transit… i.e., welcome aboard but only sit in the back in the most uncomfortable space littered with AC drippings. Steve Wright

Free riders taxing system Granting that increased public transportation of any kind is a very positive thing for Miami, I’m still having trouble reconciling a fare oriented Metrobus / Metrorail system with a free service. Aren’t some transit dollars being siphoned off the paid system, making the cost per rider higher and reducing funds needed to improve infrastructure and service? Irwin Seltzer

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Miami Worldcenter cut in retail space by 67% vexes board BY JOHN CHARLES ROBBINS

The new streamlined retail plan for Miami Worldcenter received positive comments and support from the city’s Urban Development Review Board, but a staff analysis noted some concern with the viability of the smaller commercial footprint. Miami Worldcenter is billed as a $2 billion project out to transform 27 acres of Miami’s urban core in the Park West neighborhood. A major component of the long-awaited mixed-use project was its proposed shopping center, initially designed as a massive indoor mall, stretching from the FEC railroad tracks northward to Northeast Tenth Street. The new retail plan, being called “high street retail,” is a shadow of its former self. The original plan called for 1,090,771 square feet of commercial space. The new plan sets aside less than one-third as much, 338,036 square feet. While the city’s planning staff voiced concerns about the major change, some of the review board members like the less boxy and smaller plan. At its July meeting the board unanimously recommended approval of the new plan, with conditions including: making some elevators external and transparent to the street; considering a more creative design to a southern residential tower; bringing more retail uses forward and add some retail uses to upper floors to encourage more pedestrian circulation; and work to richen the landscape planned for a pedestrian paseo and public plaza. Worldcenter is a collaboration of master developer Miami Worldcenter Associates and a team of development, design and engineering firms. The entire development promises a mix of residential towers, hotels, retail stores, restaurants, entertainment venues and a convention center to an area hugged by AmericanAirlines Arena and All Aboard Florida’s MiamiCentral train station.

A plan that called for a mall with two major anchors has become a much smaller high street retail area.

At the July meeting, board member Dean Lewis referred to a staff report on the amended project from the planning and zoning department and asked the developers’ representatives to address three main comments: Proposed new development program is inconsistent with general intent of Miami Worldcenter Development Standards, which stated in part, “Development Standards will benefit the area by promoting the development of a significant mixed-use community in the City’s Urban Core inclusive of a retail commercial center, residential units, hotel rooms, multiple central open plazas promoting interaction with existing uses.” The new program proposes a 69% decrease in commercial uses with no additional programming (Office, Commercial or Lodging) added to promote greater integration of active spaces. Re-evaluate the

development program to consider including an array of mixed-uses. Decrease in commercial programming “may impact the economic vitality of project and diminish job creation ….” Proposed parking count is not justifiable for the programming identified for this project. An additional 178 parking spaces have been provided beyond the requirement amount for a total of 4,079 with no added benefit to the surrounding area. Furthermore, as proposed a reduction of 69% of commercial space while providing 4,079 parking spaces, appears that the principal use is that of a regional parking facility verses a regional mixed-use commercial destination. The excess parking may have a negative impact on the total experience of the retail environment and pedestrian realm. Attorney Ryan Bailine, representing the developers, quickly

reminded the review board what happened at its December 2014 meeting when the original, larger shopping mall was proposed. The board voted to recommend denial of the plan. Miami Today covered that meeting and reported that Board Chairman Robert Behar repeatedly referred to the massive design of the mega mixed-use project as a “monumental mistake.” Board member Anthony Tzamtzis had this observation: “The design is destructive to the urban grid of Miami.” Mr. Bailine said the board rejected the original plan and cited three reasons: the multi-level enclosed mall covered several city blocks and “created a massive project”; extending the mall across Eighth Street would make for dark conditions; the façade was too dominating. Mr. Bailine said the new, smaller retail plan addresses all

three of those issues. The attorney said an appraisal of the economic vitality of a project “falls outside of planning review.” Mr. Bailine also disputed that the new plan is a 69% decrease in commercial uses – he said it is a 55% reduction. He also stressed that this is a phased project. “This is one phase. Two more are coming,” he said. Mr. Behar said, “You addressing the volume of the podium, to me, is a positive.” The scaled back commercial plans show the developers are watching the market and able to adapt to changes. One of the project designers explained to the board, “We analyzed your comments [and] we took a three-story shopping mall, that was very long over several streets and turned it into high street retail… it creates great open spaces – a big-time pedestrian environment.” The staff report on the amended project listed several modifications requested by the developers, beyond the decrease in commercial space, including: Change sustainability certification from LEED to NGBS (National Green Building Standards). Increase the overall building height of the Luma Tower (Tower 1) by 21 feet, from 460 feet to 481 feet, a 4.6% increase. Reduce the clear height of the loading area from 15 feet to 14 feet. Redistribution in residential unit count of Paramount and Luma towers from 914 units to 1,003 units. (Paramount, a condominium, is currently under construction.) Decrease lot coverage from 88% to 78%. Refine materials for Luma Tower and podiums. Balcony material upgrade from stainless steel mesh to aluminum wire mesh and glass. David Snow, a city planner, said the developers have worked long and hard with the city staff to address concerns.

Seven months after city OK’s car-charging deal, pact stalled BY KATYA MARURI

city approved it seven months ago to install and operate elecBlink Network LLC hasn’t tric car charging stations at completed its contract with the some of the city’s parking faCity of Miami Beach after the cilities.

“The city sent a draft to the vendor based on a discussion they had Friday afternoon and is waiting to hear back from the vendor,” said Melissa Berthier,

a city spokesperson. “After that, it’s expected to turn around to the city so that it can be finalized.” Last August, Miami Today reported that Miami Beach had requested proposals for companies to install, operate and maintain 24-hour, year-round charging stations in at least nine of its surface lots and garages. Last September, City Manager Jimmy Morales appointed an evaluation committee to examine the proposals. The city got only one proposal, from Blink Network. Outside of Miami Beach, Blink has 65 stations in South Florida, with 35 at private locations that aren’t open to the public, said Suzanne Tamargo, a Blink spokesperson. Property owners who want to install their own stations can

have them installed, monitored, operated and maintained by Blink or can choose to pay for, monitor and maintain the stations themselves. Once a station is installed, guests can use the “Blink” Smartphone app, an activated evCharge card, ChargePass card or call the 800 number listed on a charging station to connect to the network and charge their cars. Pricing can vary from 39 cents to 69 cents per kilowatthour. An electric vehicle can take up to 10 hours to fully charge based on its size and model. “It’s very different from going to the gas station,” said Ms. Tamargo. “You can log in and monitor how often you charge your car, view what charging stations are available and pay to charge your car all in one app.”

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Ex-Wynwood owners brand Allapattah today’s bargain spot BY SUSAN DANSEYAR

Roland DiGasbarro was actively looking to invest in Allapattah two years before purchasing his first building there in early 2014 because it’s an important and appealing urban location like Wynwood, he said, but at a fraction of the price. The owner of Windsor Investments, a family-owned South Florida real estate investment company, Mr. DiGasbarro said he has been very involved over the past decade in the region’s urban locations, including downtown Miami, Coral Gables and Wynwood. At the beginning of the year, however, Mr. DiGasbarro sold his last property in Wynwood, where he owned a number of buildings. Two years after venturing into Allapattah and buying that first building for $70 a square foot, he now owns almost a dozen properties in the area, which is northwest of downtown and a few miles east of Miami International Airport. Mr. DiGasbarro said he purchased for investment reasons and believes the neighborhood has distinctive qualities. Geographically, Allapattah makes sense and costs are substantially lower than everything surrounding it, he said. Moreover, Mr. DiGasbarro firmly believes in the area’s appeal. As Windsor Investments acquires assets, he said, the company continues to improve and renovate them. “We’ve been able to attract a varied tenant base into the area, including artists, restaurants and manufacturers.” The beauty about this steadily increasing interest in Allapattah, Mr. DiGasbarro said, is that “like us, other local real estate families are aggressively buying for the very long term and who have the intention of improving the area.” William Betts, an artist who owned buildings in Wynwood, began buying property in Allapattah in 2011 to add to his portfolio. Eventually, he sold his Wynwood buildings. “The market had peaked and it was hard for it to go up,” Mr. Betts said. He said the buildings he saw in Allapattah were high quality – spacious, in good shape and inexpensive. “When I bought, the prices were $75-$80 a square foot, which was a great investment,” Mr. Betts said. “Now, it’s hard to find anything under $150 a square foot.” He owns an entire block near Seventh Avenue, keeping a portion for garden space and renting the rest to automotive tenants; a few warehouses on 10th Avenue that he uses for his own storage and others that he rents to artists; and a number of buildings as investments. “There’s a working class vibe to Allapattah and I’ve always been attracted to that,” Mr. Betts said. “There’s also a large residential component, which makes it a real community.” Wynwood is where people come to party, he said, but Allapattah is where Miami works. “It won’t become a restaurant

Allapattah, in the northwest part of the city of Miami, has been attracting investors who like the appeal at a fraction of Wynwood prices.

Carlos Fausto Miranda recounts the arrival of investors, not users.

A warehouse for an art materials supplier shows off some of the neighborhood’s working class vibe.

and club scene but will stay true to its legacy,” Mr. Betts predicts. “More and more artists will be attracted to Allapattah because its spaces are large and it’s affordable by today’s standards.” Creative types will fit in well with the traditional atmosphere of Allapattah, Mr. Betts said. “It’s the only area in Miami where it feels like people are working and doing things.” Francisco De La Torre IV, director and curator of Butter Gallery, has also relocated from Wynwood to Allapattah, where he said many important real estate developers have already acquired properties and it is just a matter of time before the area is completely transformed. “The buildings in the area are amazing and, in my opinion, some

should be preserved,” he said. “They tell the story of Miami and the glory of State Road 441.” Mr. De La Torre said his interest in Allapattah started with the “over-commercialization” of Wynwood and it seemed to him the logical direction to move slightly west and stay close to the previous location in which his gallery operated for years prior. Mr. De La Torre bought a building four years ago – his only property in Allapattah – where he runs Butter Gallery and shares the rest of the space with a group of friends including Wynwood Radio, Product 81, Panther Coffee and the Sushi Samba Group. It was 2008 when commercial broker Carlos Fausto Miranda closed his first deal in Allapattah.

At that time, he said, most buyers were very utilitarian, strictly owner-users. Historically, the area housed produce and food suppliers, concentrated in the produce district by 12th Avenue and 22nd Street as well as a broad range of industrial, distribution and light manufacturing businesses. Allapattah, which was nicknamed Little Santo Domingo by Miami City Commissioner Wifredo “Willy” Gort in tribute to its large population of Dominican heritage, remarkably up until only a few years ago was entirely undiscovered by the wider market, Mr. Miranda said. “You could still easily acquire industrial properties and make them cashflow well in the short term, while prepping for a larger

An extensively renovated former warehouse on Northwest Seventh Avenue now houses retail tenants.

transformation in the future,” Mr. Miranda said. However, four years ago “we started seeing an increased flow of interest from operators who had been priced out of Wynwood.” Three years ago, Mr. Miranda said, trends changed significantly. “We started seeing several new groups of investors show up who were quite different from prior waves, in that they were investors and not owner-users, and the type of investors who buy in transitioning neighborhoods with a distinct strategy for their future,” he said. “Through creative re-adaptations of buildings, greater emphasis on curating the tenant mix of a neighborhood and amplified long-term vision, these investors catalyze dramatic repositionings of neighborhoods.” Mr. Miranda, broker and president of Fausto Commercial Realty Consultants, who has completed the majority of commercial brokering in Allapattah, said these investors’ work isn’t necessarily quick, as sometimes it takes over a decade to realize, but it is inevitable. The story hasn’t finished yet, he said. “These earlier pioneers have a gravity; they pull more interest from further abroad,” Mr. Miranda said. “They embolden others to dive in who had just been dipping their toes in the pool. We’re already getting interest from a new wave of investors – some more conventional, some larger, some more institutional, but all noteworthy and transformative.” What also makes this all rather remarkable, Mr. Miranda said, is that most of the work is still under wraps. “There are major projects in the neighborhood now under contract of a far larger scale, as well as smaller scale stuff which has yet to break ground. Once these break ground, or are announced, we can expect another substantial jump in demand.”

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Part of downtown street closing for All Aboard Florida site B Y J OHN C HARLES R OBBINS

Part of Northwest First Avenue in the heart of downtown Miami will close to public use so it can be realigned as part of the major redevelopment of the area led by All Aboard Florida. Miami city commissioners approved the closure, which impacts Northwest First Avenue between Northwest First and Second streets. First Avenue curves in that area, between the county courthouse and the Stephen P. Clark Center, Miami-Dade County government’s headquarters. Applicants for the street closure are DT Miami A LLC, DT Miami B LLC, and the City of Miami. Bilzin Sumberg land use attorney Javier Aviñó, representing the companies, said the move was needed in order to realign the street and is part of a larger agreement that the developers and the city reached last year. The commission’s resolution closing the street says the purpose of the closure is to annex the closed section of Northwest First Avenue into the approved Tract A, and to realign it with North Miami Court. “The reason for the request is to further unify a development site for the redevelopment of Flagler Gran Central Station (part of the All Aboard Florida rapid transit facilities),” the resolution says. The realignment will basically

straighten out the curve of that section of Northwest First Avenue. With work commencing in 2014, the 11-acre site is being redeveloped as a major transportation hub called MiamiCentral, rising in an area that once was home to the city’s first train station. MiamiCentral is on track for a 2017 opening, and with it, apartments, shops, offices and other companion commercial uses. The new rail station is being integrated with the Miami-Dade County Metrorail and Metromover systems, and is being considered a major transit hub for the city with connections to buses, trolleys, taxis and more. Its primary function is home to a new passenger rail service called Brightline. MiamiCentral will also house a Tri-Rail link. Just west of the main construction, All Aboard Florida is now building a mixed-use project known as 3 MiamiCentral that will bring a grocer, along with office and retail uses to the Overtown neighborhood. The planning and zoning department as well as the planning, zoning and appeals board recommended approval of the street closure. A staff analysis said the closure is consistent with the Miami Comprehensive Neighborhood Plan. The closure will facilitate cohesive development, economic growth, and revitalization the analysis says.

“The closure is important to the local traffic flow, as well as for the revitalization and enhancement of the areas surrounded by Flagler Gran Central Station Transit facilities. This street closure will result in a positive impact for the City of Miami in general,” the analysis says. Included in the staff analysis are findings from the city’s Plat and Street Committee on the closure, including: The tentative plat site is part of the new “rapid transit facility station (All Aboard Florida),” which will combine mixed-use development spanning from Northwest First to Northwest Eighth streets, between Northwest First Avenue to the east and Metrorail to the west. The closure of a section of Northwest First Avenue and the redevelopment as a passageway “will enhance the pedestrian access and circulation areas in and around the proposed Station.” The proposed redevelopment of the Flagler Gran Central Station site will benefit from the enhanced public access and circulation provided by the new configuration connecting Northwest First Avenue and Northwest First Street. In order to mitigate the impact of the closure, the applicant proposes to connect and realign Northwest First Avenue (between Northwest Second and First streets) to North Miami Court by broadening its lanes and reducing pedestrian and vehicular conflict.

There would be no adverse effect on the ability to provide fire, police or emergency services. The closure will provide a wider realigned street that allows access for these services. In October 2015 there was a land swap between the City of Miami and another affiliate of All Aboard Florida. Commissioners were told the move could one day lead to a new fire station downtown. On Oct. 22, commissioners approved an agreement with FDG Rail Holdings 25 LLC and AAF Miami TOD Holdings LLC. It involved a land exchange of two city-owned properties, about 0.18acre and about 0.32-acre, for about a half acre of FDG-owned land at 435 NW First Court. All Aboard Florida also agreed to pay the city $500,000 and “shall be granted certain crossing rights to allow AAF to use that certain portion of NW 8th street including subsurface and air rights,” the agreement said. This was to assist the company in construction of MiamiCentral and related development. City Manager Danny Alfonso said then that staff was working with AT&T to get more land nearby for a fire station to replace Station 1, at 144 NE Fifth St., the city’s oldest firehouse. The commission recently approved land use and zoning changes to the Fifth Street property, with the intention of selling the high-profile site.

New businesses fuel parking coffers BY JOHN CHARLES ROBBINS

New businesses in the heart of Miami are key contributors to a planned growth of more than 7% in Miami Parking Authority operating revenues in the year ahead, but expenses are expected to increase even faster, driven substantially by employee costs. The budget of the city’s parking agency was one of several operating budgets submitted to the Miami City Commission for review and adoption in September. Under the guidance of the appointed Off-Street Parking Board, the authority manages and develops on-street and offstreet parking assets in the City of Miami. It shares responsibility with the Miami Police Department and Miami-Dade County for enforcement of parking regulations. “During Fiscal Year 2015-16, the Miami Parking Authority (MPA) continues to thrive,” wrote Authority CEO Art Noriega in a cover letter to city commissioners that accompanies the 2016-17 budget proposal. “We have increased our market share while continually working to improve customer satisfaction and fulfill our mission to meet the City of Miami’s parking needs,” he wrote. The proposed 2016-17 budget shows total operating revenues of $31,116,339, which is $2,146,449 or 7.41% more than the fiscal 2015-16 budget. Mr. Noriega highlighted other parts of the new budget, including an estimated increase in lot revenues by $336,983 or 4.77%,

primarily due to increased utilization being experienced at various lots throughout the city which are being used by construction crews for a variety of development projects. On-street revenues are budgeted to increase by $943,850 or 6.19%. The biggest factor influencing next fiscal year’s revenue projections in this category is the opening of new businesses in the areas of Brickell, Design District, Midtown, and Central Business District along with the rapidlychanging Wynwood Arts District. “This positively affects the hours of operations and revenues being generated, as well as expanding our parking space inventory. This increase is offset by the removal of on-street parking spaces due to construction and other projects throughout the City,” Mr. Noriega wrote. Operating expenses are projected to increase by $1,350,701 or 8.58% to $17,086,286. Mr. Noriega said the increase is mainly due to: an increase in salaries and benefits due annual adjustments, increased health insurance costs and increased pension contributions; increased bank charges due to the continued surge in utilization of PayByPhone technology by customers as a preferred payment platform and; increased land rental fees which are directly tied to revenue share agreements for the use of state-owned lots. Each budget year, the parking authority has been able to contribute excess revenues to the City of Miami. During the year ending Sept.

30, the authority estimates it will contribute approximately $7.2 million in excess revenues to the city. The proposed 201617 budget shows the same amount. Leading off a list of accomplishments during the past year is the PayByPhone payment program. “The PayByPhone program continues to attract new users, as it affords them a convenient method to pay for parking. We educated the public about the program through various media streams including social media, radio and print media,” Mr. Noriega wrote. This year the authority took over parking management at several Miami-Dade County Parks where PayByPhone was promoted as the main payment platform. Due to those initiatives and to the convenience offered by the program, the usage rate of the online application rose to 65% of all parking transactions, he said. Since the inception of this program in the city in 2008, some 653,157 customers have registered to participate in the program, which in turn has generated $24,642,370 in parking revenue. The authority continues to manage 7,000 parking spaces for the Public Health Trust of Miami-Dade County, and continues to maintain a relationship with the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts as its primary parking provider. The parking authority, officially titled the Department of Off-Street Parking of the City of Miami, was created in 1955 by a Special Act of the Florida

Photo by Maxine Usdan

Arthur Noriega, at authority offices, hails increased market share.

State Legislature and incorporated into the City of Miami’s Charter in 1968. The authority provides parking for about 6 million vehicles a

year. Currently the authority has more than 34,000 parking spaces under management, including 15 garages, 75 surface lots and 10,600 on-street spaces.

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