Miami Today: Week of Thursday, August 6, 2015

WEEK OF THURSDAY, AUGUST 6, 2015

A Singular Voice in an Evolving City

WWW.MIAMITODAYNEWS.COM $4.00

TRANSPORTATION

As air traffic grows rapidly, big push to handle it, pg. 13 DESTINATION DENVER: A delegation of 51 Miami business, political and community leaders is to meet peers in Colorado this week for a first-hand examination of how the Denver-area public transportation agency is creating a comprehensive mass transit system. The two-day summit provides an opportunity for MiamiDade to learn how the transportation agency that oversees public transportation for eight Colorado counties is executing its FasTracks project that will include 31 park-and-ride facilities, enhanced bus service, 122 miles of commuter and light rail service, 18 miles of bus rapid transit service and 21,000 new parking spaces at light rail and bus stations. The program includes detailed briefings on Denver’s FasTracks, its publicprivate partnership financing method and tours of some major projects.

Upon their return, delegates aim to apply lessons in Miami-Dade so local mass transit projects under consideration can move forward.

826-836 interchange to handle flow normally this year, pg. 16

THE ACHIEVER

BY SUSAN D ANSEYAR

HOMES NEAR TRANSIT: The way has been cleared for a developer with plans to build a large mixed-use residential project about a block from Metrorail’s Douglas Road Station. Miami commissioners gave final approval to ordinances that changed the land use for 3650 Bird Road from light industrial to restricted commercial and rezoned the site to “urban core transect zone open.” The triangular property is bordered by Douglas Road (Southwest 37th Avenue) and the Metrorail, just north of US 1, and is home to an auto dealership. Morgan Group plans 359 residential units in two 18-story towers, ground floor retail and a garage to park about 646 vehicles. Documents on file with the city show the project’s tentative name is Pearl at Douglas.

DEGREE IN DISASTER: Florida International University will offer a master’s degree in disaster management starting this fall. The Professional Masters in Disaster Management is the first of its kind in the state, and is designed to prepare a new fleet of emergency management and humanitarian assistance leaders. The degree will be offered through the Steven J. Green School of International and Public Affairs.

MLB ALL-STAR GAME: Major League Baseball’s All-Star game is to take place at the Marlins Park in July 2017. With the looming construction of a soccer stadium next door, Miami Today reached out to MLB to find out if the proposed stadium would affect the league’s event. “We will discuss the timetable for construction and all the relevant details with the Marlins,” the league responded.

Photo by Marlene Quaroni

Helio Vitor Ramos Filho

Helping forge Brazil’s business ties to South Florida The profile is on Page 4

Beach ready to seek proposals to build Bay Link

BY CARLA V IANNA

County works to unify Bay Link projects, pg. 3 Bay Link across the causeway are far

The City of Miami Beach is on track with its portion of the Beach Corridor Transit Connection Project, known as Bay Link, a rail network that was essentially split into three parts in May. The three parts include one rail line within the city limits of Miami Beach, another within the city limits of Miami, and a final piece running across the MacArthur Causeway to connect the two lines.

Mayor Philip Levine said Miami Beach has received an unsolicited proposal from Alstom, a global French company that supplies a variety of rail products that he visited in July. The next step, Mayor Levine said, is to request proposals to allow additional bidders to come forward.

“That could be 60 to 90 days to allow others to come forward,” Mayor Levine said. “Then, we’ll hopefully move forward.”

The city is looking for a cable-less rail service that will be powered via the tracks it runs on.

The portion of the rail line within Miami Beach will cost an estimated $150 million, he said, which will most likely be funded

through a public-private partnership.

Per the agreement that the committee spearheading the project came to in May, each city will launch its own, independent environmental study. The study each city conducts must comply with federal and state guidelines to keep the project in the running for federal funds once the three parts merge into one.

Miami Beach will begin its study, which should take about a year, once a provider is chosen, Mayor Levine said.

The breakaway from the original project aims to free the two cities from what could be a five-year-long federal environmental impact analysis that could cost up to $10 million, which is required for the portion of the system connecting the two rail lines via the causeway. Mayor Levine said Miami Beach continues to secure funds for that environmental study, in which Miami-Dade County and the cities of Miami and Miami Beach would each bear a cost of about $417,000 at the most, Miami Today reported in March.

“The problem is the environmentals, the federal regulations and the hurdles for the

AGENDA

8% bus use drop points to upgrades

greater in duration and complexity than for us to do our own within our cities,” Mayor Levine said.

The proposed Miami-Miami Beach light rail link is estimated to cost $532 million in capital expenses and $22 million for annual operations and maintenance, both in 2014 dollars, Miami Today reported.

Florida Department of Transportation officials warned the Project Executive Committee, which votes on Bay Link decisions, that splitting the project into three chunks could jeopardize federal funds. In the meantime, the state transportation department is to work with federal officials to make sure they understand that the project’s pieces are to eventually merge.

The committee is comprised of MiamiDade Mayor Carlos Gimenez; Miami-Dade Commissioners Xavier Suarez and Bruno Barreiro, both of whom are also members of the Metropolitan Planning Organization; Mayor Levine; and Miami Mayor Tomás Regalado.

“We are prepared to continue to move forward,” Mayor Levin said, “as a partner with county and the City of Miami.”

County bus ridership is falling rapidly, a trend Miami-Dade Transit officials say they plan to reverse by making the system clean, safe and reliable.

In May, weekday and weekend Metrobus boardings totaled 5,874,383, down 8.2% from May 2014.

This drop tracks national trends, said Karla Damian, Miami-Dade Transit public information officer.

The American Public Transportation Association’s transit ridership report for the first quarter of 2015 shows that total bus ridership dipped 1.78% nationwide.

In our world-class city the transportation system must be dependable for all, said Alice Bravo, county transit director.

“It’s a quality of life issue so we want to make sure we provide a high livability for the community,” she told Miami Today this week.

To that end, she said her department will analyze bus service and take remedial measures, including sending surveys to learn why people aren’t riding, streamlining routes, focusing on maintenance and possibly adding shelters and sidewalks.

Additionally, Ms. Bravo cited new buses en route. The system received 35 in December and is to get 43 more in a few months. State and federal grants helped upgrade the fleet.

“At the end of the day, the only way to eliminate traffic congestion is for people to use public transportation,” she said.

“We have a great bus system and it could work for a lot of people.”

It’s possible, she said, some residents don’t know about it.

“I’d like to get some testimonials out there so others can hear about those who use the bus, have been able to get rid of their cars and are seeing substantial savings.”

County bus ridership has fallen for a number of reasons, Ms. Bravo said, including people using new free trolley options that cities and towns are offering.

TANGLE OF OBSTACLES BARS MIAMI CIRCLE PARKING ...

2

CITIZENS’ INSURANCE RATES GOING TO RISE IN MIAMI ...

11

STATE AIMS FOR I-395 CONSTRUCTION PACT THIS YEAR ...

3

FUNDING STILL A STRUGGLE AT MIAMI DADE COLLEGE ...

12

VIEWPOINT: WE CHEAT OURSELVES BY BEING CHEAP ...

6

STRONG DOLLAR HAS LITTLE IMPACT ON OUR TOURISM ...

19

SOUR LOOKS GREET PLAN FOR 700 MIDTOWN RENTALS ...

10

COUNTY ADDS 27,900 JOBS, GROWS AHEAD OF US PACE ... 22

6

MIAMI TODAY

VIEWPOINT

WEEK OF THURSDAY, AUGUST 6, 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

As soccer flub proves, we cheat ourselves by being cheap It’s no surprise that elected officials were caught unawares when Miami Today revealed last week that a contract among Miami-Dade County, the City of Miami and the own- Michael Lewis ers of the Miami Marlins gives those baseball owners significant control over a soccer stadium next door.

It’s no surprise because despite a soccer stadium being top-level news and the baseball contract being the most controversial here in memory, few elected officials have ever read the document.

It’s not that elected officials are derelict or unable to understand a contract. The fact is, these officials get mountains of paperwork, attend multiple monthly meetings and get paid peanuts for it all. It’s a rare MiamiDade commissioner who can live on the $6,000 they get yearly and have the luxury to devote full time to county service.

Those in the press who pore through the documents that commissioners get and who try to view their meetings can attest that the job is a heavy load. It took us nine hours to read and annotate the massive 2009 baseball contract, plus added hours on subsequent reviews. We can’t expect that kind of time on major issues for $6,000 a year.

Unfortunately, if we want elected officials to make major decisions on our behalf with a county budget of

more than $6.76 billion this year and the future of our quality of life and our economy in the balance, some of that time from commissioners is vital even if aides help. After all, we didn’t elect the aides to make decisions – we elected those $6,000-a-year executives.

It’s no wonder that elected officials didn’t inform Miami Beckham United about the baseball contract’s strictures on any soccer team, or that one of the key investors, Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure, would tweet out a total denial of Miami Today’s report that the restrictions exist – which they most certainly do.

Soccer executives probably relied on public officials to tell them what they must know about their use of public property – and our elected officials didn’t know what the contract said.

That’s not only highly embarrassing but can undermine soccer talks. The outcome is still up in the air.

What is not up in the air is the need to pay elected officials enough that they can devote full time to knowing what they need to know and doing what they need to do.

Most commissioners totally missed this county’s transportation crisis until it got too bad to ignore. Most totally missed the need to update water and sewer infrastructure until we were told that we need more than $13 billion (that’s billion with a B) just to catch up with where we should have been years ago.

What else are we missing? And are we focusing on any of it?

We’d all feel better about attention to what’s coming down the road – both big problems and big opportunities – if we thought that our elected officials

L ETTERS

TO THE

Why can’t a soccer team play in Marlins Park?

million trip to Pluto 3 billion miles away was a success. But I have a problem.

There is a homeless camp half a mile Regarding the Marlins’ contract re- from my house.

George Childs strictions on a new Major League Soccer team, can someone explain, with these restrictions especially as to playing dates, why they can’t actually play in Marlins stadium?

It has hosted soccer before. It is alI disagree with your editorial about ready built (they could start sooner). It is cutting or returning tax money. county owned. I don’t get it. With 30,000 We have only two economic enseats in lower bowl and soccer is seeking gines in South Florida: tourism and 25,000? Seems like a match to me. trade through our airports and seaFrank R. Nero ports. But we could start seeing a drop-off if we don’t do some drastic and costly improvement in our ground transport systems. More highways are I just want to get from South Beach to not the answer: the toll system we North Beach without taking my car and have is going to tick off the tourists. fighting for a parking space. I also The locals are already really upset, won’t be competing for a seat on the and we know these [tolls] will go up already full Miami transit bus that is again in the future. There is only one transporting people going longer disanswer. It’s to have a huge and contances. nected rail system thoughout MiamiAnother issue is paying full bus fare Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Collier when I just want to go up the road a and Monroe counties. South Florida is short way and come right back in about a very interlocking area; we are nothan hour or two. Really excited about ing like the Florida above Lake using the expanded trolley service.

Okeechobee.

Marjorie Ochstein It would be an expensive infrastructure effort, but without it you can kiss the two economic engines goodbye.

I’m looking at this for the future I hear that the taxpayer-funded, $700

Transportation surcharge central to economic vitality

Beach trolleys ring a bell

It’s 6 billion times closer

were paying total attention.

Again, how can they at $6,000 unless we elect only multimillionaires?

As we have noted before, MiamiDade has more population than do 102 nations. Show us even the poorest nations paying their top officials just $6,000.

We are by far Florida’s largest county, yet we pay our commissioners by far the least. The state sets commission pay for the other 66 counties, but as a special charter county we get to set our own.

The result? The five large counties including Miami-Dade are capped at paying commissioners $95,782 this year, up $259 from last year and due to rise Oct. 1 everywhere but here. We still pay the $6,000 to govern 2.6 million people that we paid in 1957 to govern a third that many; it has never been raised.

Florida’s smallest county, Liberty with 8,483 residents, pays commissioners $24,573 – least in Florida other

than here but four times what MiamiDade spends. Lafayette County at 8,618 residents pays the state scale of $24,659, again more than four times what we pay.

Nobody pays less than four-plus times what we do. Why are we surprised that our commissioners don’t dig into issues? If they worked full time for $6,000 they’d get only about 36% of Florida’s minimum wage of $8.05 per hour, so what should we expect?

Commissioners themselves are unlikely to seek a raise. They’d need voter approval, and if voters did raise the pay to the state level of about $96,000 next year commissioners would find competitors at the next election who now can’t afford to run. Why add competitors?

No, the only ones who would seek to pay commissioners fairly would be business leaders who realize how underserved we are by $6,000-a-year work. It would take a publically initiated referendum to change our charter and raise commission pay to where it should be.

We save about $1.17 million a year in salary by paying $6,000, but how much more could we save if just one commissioner with a bit more time studied just more vital document or dug into one more important issue?

What if one of them had effectively pushed better transportation systems and funding a decade or so ago?

Or had looked at the water and sewer system before it became a crisis?

Or if anyone had mentioned to David Beckham’s group that they’d better examine the contract with the Marlins before a key soccer team investor got egg on his face by telling the public that the document didn’t exist?

E DITOR

residents of South Florida. I will not benefit a lot since I’m getting up in years, but as someone who has lived and enjoyed the use of the infrastructure built by others before me, I feel obliged to contribute and leave improved facilities for the future generations to have even better opportunities.

Today we are paying for the lack of foresight by our leaders since 1980 until the present, taking the easy way and instead of pushing the country forward in progress and economic growth let it stagnant and decay, and not making sure the wages increased over the years, so the average taxpayer was earning enough that infrastructure was looked at as the investment it is and not some tax burden he just can’t afford, even though he spends hours a day sitting in a traffic jam,

Make Your Views Known

while money he could use just pours out of his tailpipe as he idles on the expressway.

I think we need a transportation surcharge of maybe $200 from every home, apartment and business in the five South Florida counties yearly to save the South Florida economy of the future. Two hundred dollars a year isn’t that much – people blow more than that on one pair of sneakers!

Joseph Szot

MIAMITODAY miamitodaynews.com FOUNDED JUNE 2, 1983 VOLUME XXXIII No. 11 ENTIRE CONTENTS © 2015

To contact us: News Advertising Classifieds Subscriptions Reprints

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

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

Have an opinion on an issue of importance?

Send your letter to editor@miami todaynews.com, with Letter to the Editor on the topic line.

MIAMI TODAY (ISSN: 0889-2296) is published weekly for $145 per year; airmail: to Europe $190 per year, the Americas $145 per year.

Published by Today Enterprises Inc., 2000 S. Dixie Highway, Suite 100, Miami, Florida 33133, USA. Periodicals postage paid at Miami, FL. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to MIAMI TODAY, 2000 S. DIXIE HIGHWAY, SUITE 100, MIAMI, FLORIDA 33133.

8

MIAMI TODAY

TODAY’S NEWS

WEEK OF THURSDAY, AUGUST 6, 2015

Port looks at providing on-site fuel for big ships

BY SUSAN DANSEYAR

Photo by Maxine Usdan

The Florida East Coast Railway moves goods but also repositions empty cargo containers from the port.

‘We found a niche in the market’ moving empty containers for lines

BY CARLA VIANNA

A Florida East Coast train arrives at the PortMiami via an on-dock rail connection in the morning, then departs in the afternoon, carrying with it an assortment of commodities that range from garments to waste paper to refrigerated cargo.

As of July 28, the two-yearold rail service had transported 8,420 cargo container units northbound from the port and 10,257 southbound into the port.

Aside from transporting goods to and from the port, the rail service is also moving empty containers for major shipping lines.

“We found a niche in the market,” said Robert Navarro, port director for the FEC Railway. “Not only do we move loads, we will move empty containers for the [shipping] lines – what they call repositioning.”

Shipping lines move their empty containers, or empties, from one port to another. The port’s rail service has taken containers as far as California.

The rail service is operating

seven days a week, except for major holidays, Mr. Navarro said.

The port also ships seed corn grown and harvested in Chile in March, which is offloaded at the port, then transported via the FEC Intermodal Rail to Chicago, then taken to the heartland to be planted for the spring harvest, Miami Today reported in February. Cotton and yarn comes into the port via rail to be shipped to Central America, with finished goods then shipped from Central America to the US distribution centers via the port.

Mr. Navarro said he’s done business with all major lines but would like to add more cargo volume.

Nearly $50 million of the more than $1 billion PortMiami has invested into a slew of projects in preparation for the Panama Canal expansion went toward the revitalization of the on-port rail service.

“Our strategy is to bring more business,” said Juan Kuryla, PortMiami’s director. “Now that we’ll be able to accommodate larger vessels and unload a

larger number of boxes here in Miami and rail them in conjunction with the FEC rail, we can reach 70% of US population in less than four days.”

The rail service can carry up to 240 40-foot-equivalent-units on its 9,000 feet of track. But the trains are not yet leaving or entering the port hauling that much volume, Mr. Navarro said. The facility is being used at 60% capacity, with 40% left to spare, he said.

When a train leaves the port, it rolls straight across the PortMiami bridge, crosses Biscayne Boulevard, then goes west to the Hialeah Rail Yard, where it is connected to the national rail system.

Mr. Navarro said the trains have not yet backed up traffic downtown. The only area on its route that a train might affect is when it passes the AmericanAirlines Arena, he said.

Although rail cargo volume has increased dramatically since service was restored in 2013 after years of inactivity, Mr. Navarro said, there’s plenty of room for growth.

PortMiami officials are investigating the viability of providing onsite fuel service for large ships, a decision that will ultimately depend on further discussion with cruise lines.

PortMiami, one of the busiest cargo container ports in the US and the cruise ship capital of the world, does not currently provide fuel services itself. Rather, a tugboat and barges deliver fuel to the port from a terminal on Fisher Island.

The process is costly and timeconsuming. It can take five hours to fill a barge with fuel and an hour for a tug to push the barge to PortMiami. Cruise and cargo ship operators have reported paying about $40 more per ton of fuel at PortMiami than at other Eastern Seaboard ports.

For the PortMiami 2035 Master Plan that officials worked on over a year and completed in December 2010, they examined a long-term provision of fuel, said Kevin Lynskey, deputy director. In April 2013, county commissioners voted to ask that Mayor Carlos Gimenez confer with the seaport’s cruise and cargo customers regarding potential advantages of developing on-dock fuel facilities at the port.

The mayor was also asked to complete a feasibility study that would look at the port acquiring and installing on-dock fuel facilities and consider alternatives to do so.

PortMiami contracted with engineering consultant AECOM to complete the feasibility study, which identified two potential alternatives: build an on-port fuel facility and dockside hydrant system or install below-the-bay pipes to flow fuel from Fisher Island to PortMiami.

At this time, Mr. Lynskey told Miami Today, the port’s preference is to avoid taking up land on its 520-acre site on Dodge Island. He explained that building an on-dock fueling terminal would eat up as much as 10 acres and referred to that being “a huge negative.”

‘Our decision relies on discussions with the cruise lines to find out their preference.’

Kevin Lynskey Moreover, building a fuel facility and a dockside hydrant system would cost about $41.9 million, with an estimated annual operating cost of $2.8 million.

Building a pipeline between PortMiami and Fisher Island would be much less expensive and safer, Mr. Lynskey said. The estimated capital cost for the pipeline is $17.7 million, he said, and it would require using less than half an acre of port land.

Port officials don’t have a deadline to decide. Mr. Lynskey said the next steps are to enter talks with Fisher Island tank farm owners TransMontaigne Partners LLC about providing a piping system.

“Our decision relies on discussions with the cruise lines to find out their preference,” he said.

For either plan, the AECOM study states, the port would require a third party to finance and maintain the required infrastructure.

FILMING IN M IAMI These film permits were issued last week by the Miami-Dade County Department of Regulatory & Economic Resources’ Office of Film and Entertainment, (305) 375-3288; the Miami Mayor’s Office of Film, Arts & Entertainment, (305) 8603823; and the Miami Beach Office of Arts, Culture and Entertainment-Film and Print Division, (305) 673-7070.

44 BLUE PRODUCTIONS INC. California. Tentatively Rock and a Hard Place. Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.

HIGH NOON PRODUCTIONS LLC. Denver. Quinceanera.

Countywide, Miami Beach citywide, Unincorporated Miami-Dade County.

PILGRIM STUDIOS. California. Untitled Dancing Miami series. Unincorporated Miami-Dade County.

Telemundo Studios/NBC Universal Media, LLC. Miami.

Bajo el Mismo Cielo. Unincorporated Miami-Dade County.

Dangerous Lessons, LLC. Miami. Till death do us part.

Haulover Park Marina, William Powell Bridge Turnaround.

Richard Hall, Inc. Brooklyn. American Girl. Matheson Hammock Park.

The Pool Productions. Los Angeles. Shueisha. Marlins Park Stadium, Miami Beach citywide, Paradise Farms, Sam and Philly’s, Sweet Record.

8

TODAY’S NEWS

MIAMI TODAY

WEEK OF THURSDAY, AUGUST 6, 2015

Port looks at providing on-site fuel for big ships

BY SUSAN DANSEYAR

Photo by Maxine Usdan

The Florida East Coast Railway moves goods but also repositions empty cargo containers from the port.

‘We found a niche in the market’ moving empty containers for lines

BY CARLA VIANNA

A Florida East Coast train arrives at the PortMiami via an on-dock rail connection in the morning, then departs in the afternoon, carrying with it an assortment of commodities that range from garments to waste paper to refrigerated cargo.

As of July 28, the two-yearold rail service had transported 8,420 cargo container units northbound from the port and 10,257 southbound into the port.

Aside from transporting goods to and from the port, the rail service is also moving empty containers for major shipping lines.

“We found a niche in the market,” said Robert Navarro, port director for the FEC Railway. “Not only do we move loads, we will move empty containers for the [shipping] lines – what they call repositioning.”

Shipping lines move their empty containers, or empties, from one port to another. The port’s rail service has taken containers as far as California.

The rail service is operating

seven days a week, except for major holidays, Mr. Navarro said.

The port also ships seed corn grown and harvested in Chile in March, which is offloaded at the port, then transported via the FEC Intermodal Rail to Chicago, then taken to the heartland to be planted for the spring harvest, Miami Today reported in February. Cotton and yarn comes into the port via rail to be shipped to Central America, with finished goods then shipped from Central America to the US distribution centers via the port.

Mr. Navarro said he’s done business with all major lines but would like to add more cargo volume.

Nearly $50 million of the more than $1 billion PortMiami has invested into a slew of projects in preparation for the Panama Canal expansion went toward the revitalization of the on-port rail service.

“Our strategy is to bring more business,” said Juan Kuryla, PortMiami’s director. “Now that we’ll be able to accommodate larger vessels and unload a

larger number of boxes here in Miami and rail them in conjunction with the FEC rail, we can reach 70% of US population in less than four days.”

The rail service can carry up to 240 40-foot-equivalent-units on its 9,000 feet of track. But the trains are not yet leaving or entering the port hauling that much volume, Mr. Navarro said. The facility is being used at 60% capacity, with 40% left to spare, he said.

When a train leaves the port, it rolls straight across the PortMiami bridge, crosses Biscayne Boulevard, then goes west to the Hialeah Rail Yard, where it is connected to the national rail system.

Mr. Navarro said the trains have not yet backed up traffic downtown. The only area on its route that a train might affect is when it passes the AmericanAirlines Arena, he said.

Although rail cargo volume has increased dramatically since service was restored in 2013 after years of inactivity, Mr. Navarro said, there’s plenty of room for growth.

PortMiami officials are investigating the viability of providing onsite fuel service for large ships, a decision that will ultimately depend on further discussion with cruise lines.

PortMiami, one of the busiest cargo container ports in the US and the cruise ship capital of the world, does not currently provide fuel services itself. Rather, a tugboat and barges deliver fuel to the port from a terminal on Fisher Island.

The process is costly and timeconsuming. It can take five hours to fill a barge with fuel and an hour for a tug to push the barge to PortMiami. Cruise and cargo ship operators have reported paying about $40 more per ton of fuel at PortMiami than at other Eastern Seaboard ports.

For the PortMiami 2035 Master Plan that officials worked on over a year and completed in December 2010, they examined a long-term provision of fuel, said Kevin Lynskey, deputy director. In April 2013, county commissioners voted to ask that Mayor Carlos Gimenez confer with the seaport’s cruise and cargo customers regarding potential advantages of developing on-dock fuel facilities at the port.

The mayor was also asked to complete a feasibility study that would look at the port acquiring and installing on-dock fuel facilities and consider alternatives to do so.

PortMiami contracted with engineering consultant AECOM to complete the feasibility study, which identified two potential alternatives: build an on-port fuel facility and dockside hydrant system or install below-the-bay pipes to flow fuel from Fisher Island to PortMiami.

At this time, Mr. Lynskey told Miami Today, the port’s preference is to avoid taking up land on its 520-acre site on Dodge Island. He explained that building an on-dock fueling terminal would eat up as much as 10 acres and referred to that being “a huge negative.”

‘Our decision relies on discussions with the cruise lines to find out their preference.’

Kevin Lynskey Moreover, building a fuel facility and a dockside hydrant system would cost about $41.9 million, with an estimated annual operating cost of $2.8 million.

Building a pipeline between PortMiami and Fisher Island would be much less expensive and safer, Mr. Lynskey said. The estimated capital cost for the pipeline is $17.7 million, he said, and it would require using less than half an acre of port land.

Port officials don’t have a deadline to decide. Mr. Lynskey said the next steps are to enter talks with Fisher Island tank farm owners TransMontaigne Partners LLC about providing a piping system.

“Our decision relies on discussions with the cruise lines to find out their preference,” he said.

For either plan, the AECOM study states, the port would require a third party to finance and maintain the required infrastructure.

FILMING IN M IAMI These film permits were issued last week by the Miami-Dade County Department of Regulatory & Economic Resources’ Office of Film and Entertainment, (305) 375-3288; the Miami Mayor’s Office of Film, Arts & Entertainment, (305) 8603823; and the Miami Beach Office of Arts, Culture and Entertainment-Film and Print Division, (305) 673-7070.

44 BLUE PRODUCTIONS INC. California. Tentatively Rock and a Hard Place. Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.

HIGH NOON PRODUCTIONS LLC. Denver. Quinceanera.

Countywide, Miami Beach citywide, Unincorporated Miami-Dade County.

PILGRIM STUDIOS. California. Untitled Dancing Miami series. Unincorporated Miami-Dade County.

Telemundo Studios/NBC Universal Media, LLC. Miami.

Bajo el Mismo Cielo. Unincorporated Miami-Dade County.

Dangerous Lessons, LLC. Miami. Till death do us part.

Haulover Park Marina, William Powell Bridge Turnaround.

Richard Hall, Inc. Brooklyn. American Girl. Matheson Hammock Park.

The Pool Productions. Los Angeles. Shueisha. Marlins Park Stadium, Miami Beach citywide, Paradise Farms, Sam and Philly’s, Sweet Record.

If you need to know first, you need

MIAMI TODAY

»

»

M IA M I TO D A Y , JULY 30, 2015

M IA M I H ER A LD , AUGUST 1, 2015

MIAMITODAY

News that matters when it matters!

10

TODAY’S NEWS

MIAMI TODAY

WEEK OF THURSDAY, AUGUST 6, 2015

Plan for 700 rental units beside Midtown gets sour looks

BY JOHN CHARLES ROBBINS

A developer’s plan to turn half a dozen acres next to Midtown into row upon row of rental apartments is in limbo after a less-than-favorable examination by the city’s Urban Development Review Board.

The angular site on Northeast Second Avenue hugs the FEC railroad tracks and is the former home of a Chiquita Banana distribution center.

The proposal is in two parts and named Chiquita North and Chiquita South, at 3010 NE Second Ave. and 2900 NE Second Ave. The overall proposal is a multifamily housing development offering 700 rental apartments in several buildings, eight stories and one section at 12 stories.

The so-called Chiquita development stirred negative reaction from several review board members July 15 mainly due to its enormous size – the layout or massing of the low-level buildings.

Board member Willy Bermello also said the drawings were lacking in needed detail.

The bulk of the project was deferred until the board’s next meeting in September.

David Snow, an assistant city planner, told the board that staff has worked diligently with the applicant for more than six months “to get to where we’re at today.”

Some of the issues they worked to resolve included mitigating a large block look to the development, improving the façade on Chiquita North, adding larger setbacks to Northeast Second Avenue on the northern parcel, and attempting to make the “massing” at more of a “human scale,” said Mr. Snow.

The scope of the Chiquita buildings drew negative reactions from the Urban Development Review Board.

Mr. Snow added that staff recommended designers provide active uses along Northeast Second Avenue and encourage connectivity with Midtown.

AMLI Residential, a Chicagobased multifamily residential development firm, is the applicant.

The design package presented to the review board was prepared by Zyscovich Architects of Miami.

Attorney Javier F. Aviñó, speaking on behalf of the developers, said the project is “well under the allotted density” and the proposed heights are below what could be built.

The property is bordered on the south by Northeast 29th Street.

“The property abuts the FEC rail corridor and is a challenging

site to work with,” said Mr. Aviñó. “We think it’s thoughtfully scaled,” he said of the project.

Architect Bernard Zyscovich said AMLI is a company known for constructing “beautiful” apartment communities across the country with lots of amenities and landscaping.

Most developers want to maximize their development rights, building as high and as large as they can, said Mr. Zyscovich.

That is not the case for this project, he told the board. An agreement between the seller and buyer limits the height of the apartment buildings, he said.

This put some constraints on the design team, Mr. Zyscovich acknowledged. Another challenge is that the land is “discon-

If you need to know first, you need MIAMI TODAY

nected” from Midtown by the railroad tracks, he said.

At this time, the best cross connection for pedestrians would be at 29th Street, he said.

In designing the project, the thought was “how to be a good neighbor to Midtown without being connected to it,” Mr. Zyscovich said.

He said the planning staff was helpful and had great ideas.

The site plan includes areas with 15-foot-wide sidewalks.

The north block has 29% open space with a courtyard and several gardens, and the buildings will contain “highly-amenitized, quality rental apartments,” he said.

There are two large swimming pools in the plan, ground floor lobbies with bicycle parking adjacent to the lobbies, and more than adequate vehicle parking, he said.

Mr. Zyscovich said the façades would be built using a variety of materials including glass, metal, fiberglass, wood, corrugated metal and so on. The idea is to break up the long horizontal prop-

erty “with something interesting to look at.”

Not all review board members were critical of the plan. Several commended the designers for what they achieved while faced with unusual constraints.

Those board members who were concerned with the massing of the large project suggested breaking the buildings into smaller pieces and varying the heights of the buildings. Others suggested mixed uses including retail.

Mr. Zyscovich said the applicants have a certain business model that doesn’t include managing retail space, and there is no desire to build the project and have a row of empty retail units.

Mr. Bermello, while saying he has high regard for Mr. Zyscovich, wondered if there was a rush to approve the plans and why.

He complained of not seeing enough detail in the plans and said he would not vote to approve the project as presented.

“The architectural definition is simply not there… This is like a pre-, pre-concept with some renderings,” he said.

Mr. Bermello referred to the project as “a massive block,” “a humungous, massive building,” and added, “I can’t see how we allow this in our community.”

He said he’d like to see the project return to the board “cut into two or three pieces.”

Mr. Aviñó told the board that the project was not “rushed into,” noting that the designers have been working on various versions of the plan with the city’s planning staff for seven to eight months.

Board member Jesus A. Permuy said he was also concerned with the scaling or massing of the project. He said he felt uncomfortable approving “something of this scale.”

Board Chairman Robert Behar commended the architects for doing the best they could under the impositions they faced, equating it to sending a boxer into the ring with both arms tied behind his back.

»

M IA M I H ER A LD , JULY 31, 2015

WANT TO KNOW WHAT THE LOCALS

DO FOR FUN?

»

M IA M I TO D A Y , JULY 16, 2015

Coral Gables Brickell Downtown Miami

Miami Beach

COME JOIN US FOR HAPPY HOUR. Your Miami visit is not complete without discovering Downtown Coral Gables.

Great shopping with over 90 top rated restaurants all within walking distance.

Only 10 minutes from Miami Int’l Airport.

And oh yes...don’t miss our happy hours.

ONLY A Singular Voice in an Evolving City

News that matters when it matters!

ShopCoralGables.com @shopcoralgables

CORAL GABLES

WEEK OF THURSDAY, AUGUST 6, 2015

MIAMI TODAY

13

Miami International Airport officials seek 250 to 300 added Customs and Border Protection officers to handle influxes like this one at the North Terminal’s Passport Control.

As air traffic grows rapidly, airport pushes to handle it all

BY CARLA VIANNA

With numbers of passengers and flights entering and leaving Miami International Airport continuing to outpace projections, the airport is pushing forward efforts to accommodate the influx.

Those efforts include changing the airport’s infrastructure as well as working closely with representatives in Washington, DC, to acquire additional Customs and Border Protection officers to meet escalating demand.

“From my perspective, we would like to have between 250 and 300 [additional officers],” said Emilio T. González, director of the Miami-Dade Aviation Department.

The Department of Homeland Security decides which officers go where, Mr. González said. Although the county’s aviation department hasn’t yet formally requested the additional officers, Mr. González recently led a team to Washington to meet with members of Congress and federal officials.

He said officials are well aware of the airport’s needs.

“We got a commitment from [the Department of Homeland Security] to

look at their staffing model to see how they can send officers down here,” he said.

Last time MIA received authorization to acquire officers was this past year, when 60 trickled into the airport.

“It’s a process,” he said, noting that the officers need to be recruited, trained and go through a probationary period.

Because of the airport’s increased volume in passenger and airline traffic, that many officers hasn’t had much of an impact on airport efficiency, Mr. González said.

As of July 29, the airport had seen 1.5 million more passengers than the same period last year. At that rate, Mr. González predicts the number of passengers this year will easily surpass 43 million, compared to 40.95 million last year.

“All airports are experiencing growth,” he said. “When you’re talking about maybe 2.5 million people more than last year, that’s a pretty significant milestone.”

Miami-Dade County commissioners unanimously adjusted an agreement with aviation planning consultant Ricondo & Associates Inc. by adding $401,000 in May for strategic airport master planning, funded by the aviation depart-

ment, Miami Today reported. The original agreement, made in 2012 for targeted studies to address airport operational needs and enhancements, was $825,000 for five years.

According to a memo Mayor Carlos Gimenez sent to commissioners, it was difficult for the department to anticipate when it initiated the agreements in 2012 the extent of services required.

The airport has plans to redevelop its central terminal, which is now projected to begin in 2025. The redevelopment is to be completed in 13 phases for estimated at $4.3 billion. The aviation department currently plans to use aviation revenue bonds for the funding.

Other projects on the horizon include expanding MIA’s airfield and the renovation of its Concourse E-Satellite automated people mover system, in which replacement work has already started.

In the meantime, the airport plans to continue refurbishing its central terminal to extend its useful life. Mr. González also said the airport is planning on adapting aircraft hardstands on its grounds – areas away from the gates used to park planes that might not be in-use for a few hours.

Technology is also speeding up the

arrival process for travelers.

MIA’s automated passport kiosks allow travelers arriving from abroad to have passports processed in less than two minutes via a self-service kiosk rather than waiting in line for a Customs and Border Protection officer, Greg Chin, communications director for the aviation department, told Miami Today. After installing 30 kiosks in the north terminal and six more in south terminal last summer, the department added another 36 this summer for a total of $3 million. Thirty-six more are to come before this year’s winter travel season.

In February, MIA became the second US airport to offer Mobile Passport, the new Customs and Border Protection mobile app that allows travelers to enter and submit passport and customs declaration information using a smartphone or tablet. The airport acquired 10 mobile passport control scanners for $30,000.

“It doesn’t negate the fact that we need more CBP officers,” Mr. González said.

Miami is commonly referred to as the gateway to Latin America, but Mr. González wants to “grow Miami not just as a hemispheric hub, but we also want to be a new global gateway as well.”

Photo by Marlene Quaroni

Automated passport kiosks can process passports in less than two minutes rather than wait in a line.

Emilio González led a team to Washington to seek federal personnel.

16

MIAMI TODAY

TRANSPORTATION

WEEK OF THURSDAY, AUGUST 6, 2015

City parking chief puts travel where his mouth is, riding public transit

BY JOHN CHARLES ROBBINS

The pivotal 826-836 interchange project is expected to resemble this depiction by the end of this year.

6-year 826-836 interchange work to handle traffic flow by year end

BY CATHERINE LACKNER

While all the finishing touches on Miami-Dade County’s most impactful road project – the interchange of state roads 826 and 836 – won’t be in place until January 2016, “We expect the project to be substantially completed by the end of this year,” project spokesman Oscar Gonzalez said last week.

“There may be some punchlist items, lighting and signalization still remaining, and some additional ramps that need to be opened,” but traffic will be flowing the way that it’s meant to and main arteries will be open, he said.

The next big step comes in September, when all vehicles on State Road 836 will be driving in the permanent lanes, after months of being rerouted to

allow for construction, Mr. Gonzalez said. In some cases, drivers were heading west on the permanent eastbound lanes, and east on what will be the westbound lanes.

The 826/836 interchange project began in 2009 and is a collaboration between the Florida Department of Transportation and the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority. The interchange, which Mr. Gonzalez has described as “a pivot point,” is used by 430,000 motorists each day. When it is completed, drivers going north on State Road 826 will have a direct connection – for the first time – to westbound State Road 836, and then to the Florida Turnpike.

The massive project includes the installation of Intelligent Transportation Systems cameras and sensors to allow for

real-time traffic updates, as well to speed police and firefighters to accident scenes. They will also be used by the Road Rangers tow trucks that rescue drivers of disabled vehicles and move them from the travel lanes.

“Drivers are going to be seeing changes, but we are bringing benefits on line on 836 westbound,” Mr. Gonzalez said earlier this year. The project remains on budget at $560 million, he added.

Most of the work is being done at night. Drivers can visit the project’s website for progress updates and temporary road closures; they can also sign up to be notified by email of re-routings and other changes.

Details: www.826836.com.

Art Noriega, CEO of the Miami Parking Authority, has promised to not simply talk the talk but walk the walk.

Or more precisely, ride the walk.

Mr. Noriega, in comments to the city’s Off-Street Parking Board, said if he plans on advocating a park-and-ride program to help lessen the number of vehicles crowding downtown Miami streets, he needs to ride public transportation.

Mr. Noriega announced his intentions at the agency’s July meeting.

He told board members he’d purchased The EASY Card, a plastic reloadable fare card that is part of Miami-Dade Transit’s automated fare collection system.

Armed with a loaded card, Mr. Noriega is traveling the region on the county’s Metrorail and Metrobus system in a quest to discover the deficiencies in the mass transit network.

Growing traffic congestion in the city, nearing gridlock stages as the thousands of private vehicles converge on the urban core, has been a hot topic of late.

At the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce’s 2015 Goals Conference recently it was the number one topic and permeated other community topics up for debate.

Mr. Noriega’s road trip is part of his commitment to a chamber study group looking to help identify the holes in current public transportation options.

“I want to do a day in the life [of a transit rider],” he said.

His focus is on connectivity, or the lack thereof.

Mr. Noriega plans to ride Metrorail a couple of days a week to examine the rapid transit service and look for deficiencies and holes. He said he will zero in on “the last mile” – the distance between a rider’s home and mass transit, and from mass transit to the destination.

That is perceived to be a significant challenge to ridership, observers say.

What can be done to close those gaps? Additional circulators are needed, like buses and rubber-tired trolleys, he said.

Coral Gables has a trolley system connecting its downtown to the Douglas Road Metrorail Station, and it’s believed to be one of the busiest in the state. Every day, more than 5,000 commuters use the trolley, according to that city’s website.

“I really want to promote park-and-ride,” said Mr. Noriega. “There are multiple opportunities from the south.”

A planned connection of TriRail into downtown Miami should help commuters from the north, he said. In addition, the parking board authorized a new study of the MiMo area north of downtown, where Mr.

“I really want to promote parkand-ride,” said city’s Art Noriega.

Go further, navigate city’s parking landscape, suggested Marlon Hill.

Noriega said there are also opportunities for park-and-ride.

The east-west route “is the missing piece,” Mr. Noriega said.

Parking Board member Marlon Hill said he likes the “day in the life of mobility” in Miami, and suggested a similar examination by use of the agency’s parking facilities: “how to navigate the parking landscape.”

Mr. Hill suggested a partnership with the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau targeting tourists to “help visitors know how to park and get around the city.”

Mr. Noriega mentioned car sharing services available in the city, stating, “Zipcar and car2go are great resources,” particularly for visitors.

Board member Arthur Hertz suggested creating a pamphlet highlighting the area’s parking options and public transportation and depositing one in each rental car.

Mr. Noriega said it is a great idea but Miami Beach is “on its own.” He said he’s tried before to incorporate that information into one source but has been unsuccessful due to some in neighboring communities being “territorial.”

“I recognize the territoriality, but I’d keep asking,” Mr. Hill told Mr. Noriega.

“It needs to happen at a higher level. I’ve tried at the administrative level and it gets bogged down,” Mr. Noriega said.

Mr. Noriega said he would reach out to leaders in Coral Gables and Miami Beach to join together in preparing an informational document on parking and transportation options in the area.

“Focus on our customers and visitors,” Mr. Hill said.

“That’s all I care about,” Mr. Noriega responded, but sometimes “politics get in the way.”

WEEK OF THURSDAY, AUGUST 6, 2015

TODAY’S NEWS

MIAMI TODAY

23

Which study will apply to Callo Ocho: One way or two?

BY CATHERINE LACKNER

Residents and business people in East Little Havana, a historic neighborhood at the western edge of booming Brickell, are concerned about changes that are coming for two major streets that slice through the area.

The Florida Department of Transportation in June completed a study of Southwest Seventh and Eighth streets from Southwest 27th to Brickell avenues. The department’s goals for the two streets are to improve traffic operations, safety and access to the Brickell area, to develop a pedestrian-friendly corridor and to promote a multimodal transportation approach, said spokesperson Ivette Ruiz.

“This dense urban corridor has seen significant growth in the past decade with high-density, high-rise developments and its operation is expected to be impacted with increased traffic volumes by several new major development projects currently proposed within the Brickell area,” Ms. Ruiz said via email.

The next phase is the project development and environmental study, set to begin in the winter of 2016 and to take two to three years, she continued.

“Then design, right-of-way acquisition and construction will follow.” Construction is expected to begin in spring 2017.

Some neighbors are worried that the current one-way street design – which they say encourages drivers to speed and is not pedestrian-friendly – will remain. They are hopeful that a

PlusUrbia’s plan, shown here, would replace three one-way traffic lanes with one lane in each direction.

smaller, more human-scale design can take its place but fear the transportation department’s top priority is moving cars as efficiently as possible.

“This is our one chance,” said Juan Mullerat, director of PlusUrbia, a design firm that recently completed a redevelopment plan for Wynwood that has gained wide acceptance. Mr. Mullerat and several of the firm’s principals live in East Little Havana. “When you live in an area, it becomes more than a way to get to downtown and Brickell. We know the car needs to stay, but we believe transportation means more than cars.”

East Little Havana was once a thriving neighborhood with Southwest Eighth Street, or Calle Ocho, as its main street, he said. PlusUrbia, working pro bono, has designed a plan that Mr. Mullerat says will be safer and will restore that neighborhood feeling.

Currently, there are three oneway driving lanes that are 11 feet wide, two 7.5-foot parking lanes, and two 9-foot sidewalks.

PlusUrbia’s plan would replace them with two 10-foot driving lanes, heading east and west, an 11-foot transit lane, a 4-foot bike lane, and two 8.5-foot parking lanes. The sidewalks would stay the same width, at 9 feet.

The firm has decided not to bid on the $2 million project, though two out-of-state potential bidders have asked PlusUrbia to join their teams. “Our function is to raise awareness,” Mr. Mullerat said, adding that staying independent from the project gives the firm more credibility in presenting its ideas.

At a series of meetings the transportation department held to get public input, Mr. Mullerat said, the company’s plans fell on deaf ears.

“The department only recently became aware of PlusUrbia’s plan,” Ms. Ruiz responded.

“Specifically, their plan did not come up at the meetings.”

Redesigning traffic so that the area recaptures its neighborhood ambiance “is one of the alternatives recommended for further study, but any change to the existing traffic pattern will require public and community acceptance,” Ms. Ruiz said.

The department will continue to get input from the community and all interested parties throughout the project development and environmental study phase, she added.

Adopting the principles set forth in his company’s plan, Mr. Mullerat said, might help alleviate a serious jaywalking problem that has historically plagued the two streets.

Ms. Ruiz said the department will make a series of pedestrian improvements over the next two to three years. “This includes the addition of 10 new pedestrian crosswalks along Southwest Eighth Street between Southwest 27th and Brickell avenues.”

But, Mr. Mullerat said, “I want to ask that guy with a cane jaywalking across Calle Ocho where he wants his crosswalks.”

He is organizing a coalition of architects, planners, neighbors and business people to present ideas to the transportation department cohesively.

“We have some of the best planners in the world in Miami,” said Mr. Mullerat, who co-chairs the Urban Design Committee of the American Institute of Architects’ Miami chapter. “We have real specialists who can tell us how this should flow, how this should function.”

24

MIAMI TODAY

WEEK OF THURSDAY, AUGUST 6, 2015

WHO WOULD’VE THOUGHT WE

WERE THAT

FUNNY? The National Newspaper Association awarded MIAMITODAY with: ,-/ * č in the nation iÃÌ Õ À ÕÃ Õ “Top 10 lists and stadium quests” – Susan Kahn

- " * č in the nation iÃÌ Õ À ÕÃ Õ “Seal deal for soccer at seaport fast, before the waters rise” – Isaac Prilleltensky

" ",č / " iÃÌ Õ À ÕÃ Õ º À° > iÀý w Ûi à ÕÌ Ã Ì Ì i > ,-6* ` i >» – Michael Lewis

Not only do we strive to bring you the news that matters but we can give you a good laugh every so often.