Miami Today: Week of Thursday, September 29, 2016

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WEEK OF THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2016

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Slowed condo market seeing some short-term gains, pg. 13 ROOM RATES, OCCUPANCY DIP: Revenue per available Miami-Dade hotel room fell 3.3% in the first eight months of this year, from $160.24 last year to $155.01, according to the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau, The average daily occupancy fell 1.3%, from 79.7% to 78.7%, while the average daily room rate fell 2%, from $200.96 to $196.92. The number of total rooms sold in the eight months rose 2.6% to more than 10.1 million, but the supply of rooms in the market rose faster, by 4.4%, as new hotels opened, raising the total number to 53,467, the bureau said.

Pre-cast rail beams installed as MiamiCentral rolls, pg. 16

THE ACHIEVER

BY JOHN CHARLES ROBBINS

VIOLENT CRIMES FALL: Violent crimes fell 7.23% in areas under Miami-Dade Police Department jurisdiction for the first eight months of the calendar year, police reported. Non-violent crimes in the area fell 5.09%, the report said. The 55 homicides in the eight-month period matched last year’s total for the same period. The only violent crimes that increased were rape, up 14.4% with 286 total cases reported. The crime figures do not include areas patrolled by city police departments. IMPROVE LICENSE PLATE LAW: County commissioners last week unanimously urged the Legislature to clarify state law to permit vehicle license plate frames to partially cover non-essential features of a plate if they don’t obscure the alphanumeric designation and registration decal. Former Marine Jose “Pepe” Diaz, who chairs the Miami-Dade Military Affairs Board, sponsored the resolution. A little-known Florida law now makes it illegal to obstruct “any feature or detail on the license plate,” and a Miami-Dade resident reportedly was recently ticketed for his “Wounded Warrior Project” plate cover. The plate frame partially covered the words “The Sunshine State,” but all essential information, including license plate number and registration sticker, was completely visible. Mr. Diaz said law must be clarified so well-meaning citizens who want to help a good cause don’t get hurt unnecessarily. TOLL ROAD REBATES: The Miami-Dade Expressway Authority will mail checks by December averaging $100 to almost 60,000 users of its five toll roads in a cash-back dividend, Executive Director Javier Rodriguez announced Tuesday. It’s the authority’s second year of the program, totaling $5.5 million in rebates. The rebates lower the average daily toll rate from 70 cents to 50 cents per State Road 836 mainline gantry. More than 112,000 SunPass users registered for the program in an enrollment period that ended in March, but not all spent the minimum $100 in the 12 months ended June 30 on the authority’s roadways.

Photo by Marlene Quaroni

Gloria Marina Bellelli

Archaeologist heads Italy’s regional Miami consulate The profile is on Page 4

Team to build 182 micro condos in Wynwood BY JOHN CHARLES ROBBINS

Looking to attract young professionals and artists, two developers are teaming up to bring micro-condos to Wynwood. The Related Group and Metro 1 Development plan Wynwood 29, a mixed-use project on 1.2 acres at 2828 NW First Ave. with 182 residences ranging from 416 to 892 square feet apiece. Raymond Fort of the architectural firm Arquitectonica said the building is designed with the young professional in mind. Wynwood 29 is designed as a well-balanced, urban scale project, he said. Mr. Fort said the bulk of the units, about 142, are expected to be less than 650 square feet. The city’s Urban Development Review Board recommended approval of the project Sept. 21. Planning staff noted the developers are asking for several waivers, including permission to increase the lot area from 40,000 to 42,000 square feet; allowing loading along a principal frontage; allowing a 30% reduction in required parking spaces, and more. Mr. Fort said the project has four uses on

AGENDA

838 rentals left in limbo in Midtown

two adjacent sites: residential, office, retail and parking. The west side will have a 12-story residential building with about 12,726 square feet of ground floor retail. The eastern part will have four stories of office uses, about 26,000 square feet, above 7,000 square feet of ground floor retail and a five-story parking garage. Mr. Fort said the two buildings will share a street between them accessible to pedestrians, cyclists and motor vehicles at slow speed. The project proposes 283 parking spaces. Developers’ attorney Carlos R. Lago said the desire is to fill the commercial space with restaurants and retail that will offer an enhanced pedestrian experience. Mr. Fort said the buildings are designed to capture the Wynwood vernacular, and geometric repetition is employed in the façades. “It’s a very urban building,” he told the board. “What is the Wynwood vernacular to you?” asked board member Neil Hall. “Paint on buildings in artistic fashion,” Mr. Fort responded. The Wynwood Arts District has a reputation for striking and varied street art and

murals on repurposed warehouses, a factor many new developments are trying to incorporate into new construction. The same is true of the Wynwood 29 proposal. Above the retail uses the buildings are to have a 5-foot-tall band for unique painted signage, Mr. Fort explained. Dean Lewis, acting board chairman, said he’d rather see a 5-foot tall band in the interior retail spaces and “leave it for the build-outs.” “As art space, it reinforces the idea of Wynwood,” Mr. Hall said. He also commented on the project’s mass or scale, since many current structures in Wynwood are one story. “I’m surprised the neighbors did not object to the scale,” he said. The property is between Northwest 28th and 29th streets, in an area that’s “very, very tight,” Mr. Hall said. In the end, Mr. Hall cast the lone vote against recommending approval of the project. But board member Willy Bermello was impressed with the proposal. “This will be a striking project,” he said. “I like very much your project, and I’m ready to approve it.”

A city board’s cool reaction last week left 838 apartments planned in two Midtown Miami towers in limbo. The Urban Development Review Board deferred Midtown 6+7 to October. Magellan Development plans them side by side at 3101 and 3001 NE First Ave., Midtown 6 with 447 rentals, 40,000 square feet of retail and parking for 600 cars, Midtown 7 with 391 apartments, 30,709 square feet of retail and 505 parking spots. Board members criticized lack of detail in renderings. Missing is how the towers will interact with the area, said Dean Lewis, acting board chair. “You’re missing some façade renders. Midtown is not shown in context… we’d like to see that,” he said. Perhaps contextual drawings weren’t presented because Magellan is also building Midtown 5 next door, he said, but he still wants to see how the towers relate to adjacent sites, “the relationship to your neighbors.” “They are sister buildings that play off each other,” said Grace Ames of bKL Architecture. Each is 27 floors of apartments and a four-story podium with amenity deck. Each will be ringed by first-floor retail and share a pedestrian path. Glass and bronze on the first floor and wood screens will offer a warm, inviting look, Ms. Ames said. “It’s disappointing,” said board member Neil Hall. “You talked about warmth and welcoming – I’m not seeing it.” Board member Jesus Permuy said he recognized it’s a rental but “do something more elaborate” to make the towers more attractive. “We can only react to what’s shown. I feel frustrated,” said board member Willy Bermello. He said “there are still areas needing attention.” Magellan was told to show renderings that articulate the retail, provide more detail on podium façades and show how the buildings relate to the rest of Midtown.

ARSHT CENTER INCHES AHEAD TO ITS FIRST PARKING ...

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FAIRCHILD HELPS SPACE SCIENTISTS USE STUDENT AID ...

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GABLES, DORAL KNOCK AT TRANSIT PLANNING DOOR ...

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INCENTIVES HELP DIAMOND SELLERS GROW IN DORAL ...

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TAKE ME UP TO THE BALLGAME VIA AN AERIAL TRAM? ...

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CITY REVIEWS WORLDCENTER’S SCALED-BACK RETAIL ...

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VIEWPOINT: TAKING A LESSON FROM UBER ON AIRBNB ...

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9% PROPERTY VALUE JUMP KEY TO COUNTY’S BUDGET ...

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WEEK OF THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2016

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Take me up to the ballgame? Downtown-to-ballpark aerial cable possible, study says BY CATHERINE LACKNER

Commuters frustrated with snarled traffic – or fans headed for a baseball game – might take to the skies if an alternative that was investigated by the Miami-Dade Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) earlier this year proves workable. The planning organization commissioned an 87-page study on aerial cable transit, which was conducted by Jacobs Engineering Group, Eco-Transit Technologies and CH Perez and Associates. “The Miami-Dade MPO is interested in understanding the applicability and potential benefits of an [aerial cable transit] system being added to the local transit network,” the study report said. “Specifically, previous studies conducted by the Miami-Dade MPO and others have identified new transit markets and corridors in Miami-Dade County, but these potential transportation projects have been adversely impacted by either the high cost of right-of-way or the lack of available right-of-way.” With aerial cable cars, or gon-

dolas, right-of-way is not an issue, the study said, and that’s why many Latin American, Asian, North African and European cities are using them. Austin, Texas, and the Georgetown area of Washington, DC, are also considering gondola systems, it noted. The disadvantage is that aerial cable systems are not designed to travel long distances, the report said, with the typical route spanning just 1 to 3 miles. The consultants studied eight major activity centers in MiamiDade and evaluated each for aerial transit. They were Miami Beach, PortMiami, downtown Miami, the Health District, Marlins Park, Miami International Airport, Dolphin Station west of Miami International Mall, and Florida International University’s main and engineering campuses in the western part of the county. The evaluation focused on whether the cable system would duplicate existing transit or planned transit improvements along the routes that connect the destinations to population centers. “This…feasibility study serves to start a high-level discussion of the potential to add the [cable]

mode to Miami-Dade’s transit network,” the report explained. “Additional market analyses, planning studies, and engineering efforts will be required to examine any promising alignments in greater detail. Further travel demand analysis, outside the scope of this initial study, would be required to develop more accurate ridership estimates and better understand market demand for any [cable] service.” The investigation found that most of the activity centers are already served by planned or existing transit, including express or enhanced bus service, a private-public partnership being developed by Miami Beach, possible Metrorail or Metromover extensions, Brightline and Tri-Rail train service into downtown, municipal trolleys and bus rapid transit. But one route stood out as a possible venue for the gondolas: Marlins Park to downtown, the report said. “The study team did not fully plumb the depth of stakeholder interest and support for this investment option, but based on its economic characteristics,

Over 26 million have ridden on New York’s Roosevelt Island Tramway.

market opportunities, and technological risks, this alternative’s overall evaluation is high,” it said. “With its short length and two-station arrangement, the stadium-downtown leg of this proposed service would be an economically attractive demonstration system with much lower capital and operating costs than other alternatives. “From a markets perspective, this option, linking a major parking facility with downtown, linking downtown with a major entertainment venue, and linking a vibrant resurgent cultural district with downtown, appears to tap several reliable and substantial sources of passenger demand. If city and county leaders are inter-

ested in further exploring [cable] options for their jurisdiction, this is the most attractive alternative identified by the study.” The gondola line might even qualify for federal funding, the report said, assuming there were no environmental concerns and other standards were met. “Once funding and permits are in place, actual construction of the system would be reasonably quick, typically in the range of 12 months or less,” it said. “The stations and terminals are the only substantial civil works required for the project. Erecting the towers and stringing the cables for a 5,000- to 7,500-foot system could be accomplished in a matter of weeks.”

Montreal trade mission brings in companies to forge alliances BY CAMILA CEPERO

Nine Canadian companies spent three days in Miami last week in an effort to form business ties with leaders in the North American hotel and architecture industries. The participating companies included: ActDesign, an interior design and architecture company. BALUX, which makes countertops, vanities, custom architectural stone, moldings, railings and outdoor kitchen products. Century Industries, which makes con-

temporary custom lighting, fixtures, lamps and wall sconces. Cuisine Idéale, a cabinet maker company. Décors Véronneau, an interior design company specializing in artificial flowers and plants. Intello Technologies, a computer consulting firm. MAAX Bath, a bathroom supply company. Mingus Software, a software company. Vortex Aquatic Structures Interna-

tional, an aquatic play company. Organized by the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal and its team of international trade experts, the World Trade Center Montréal, the Sept. 20-23 trip was the board’s fifth trade mission to Miami. Business meetings were facilitated with companies such as the Four Seasons, Lionstone Development and Sandals Resorts. “Businesses with expertise in design, manufacturing and software took advantage of networking activities to form ties with leaders in the North American hotel

industries,” said Michael Leblanc, president and CEO of the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal. Establishing ties in Florida represents an excellent business opportunity for Quebec hospitality companies as the state saw over 100 million visitors spend over $89 billion in 2015. “The impressive growth in the tourism industry is accompanied by a spike in demand for luxury hotels,” Mr. Leblanc said. The trade mission was facilitated to give Quebec businesses exposure in the region.

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WEEK OF THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2016

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Airbnb can produce pluses via more visitors, hotel profits

Miami Beach’s battle against Airbnb looks familiar. Didn’t we just fight that war against Uber and Lyft? If so, let’s make the likely outcome as positive for all as possible. Internet home-sharing Michael Lewis firm Airbnb is doing well on Miami Beach, where the main industry, hotels, is simultaneously taking a huge hit from the Zika scourge. Brick-and-mortar hotels naturally don’t want a company built (as its name says) on air taking their guests. Hoteliers complain it isn’t a level playing field because Airbnb doesn’t pay the taxes or meet regulatory guidelines that hotels do. That’s the argument taxi owners offered against Uber – which didn’t even pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for each medallion, just as Airbnb doesn’t pay multi-millions to build hotels. But business is in a new age of competition spurred by disruptive technologies. In the newspaper industry, websites that didn’t pay for licenses or newsprint or printing presses – or reporters and editors – quickly grabbed eyeballs and advertising by profiting from unpaidfor content that newspapers had produced. No level playing field. When taxi owners’ representatives a few years ago brought us a notebook listing the evils of unfair competition by a

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Forget light rail, answer is autonomous vehicles By the time light rail is funded and built, they will be obsolete. Miami’s traffic is a disaster. The county would do well to encourage autonomous vehicle only corridors. AV’s can create road trains of fuelefficient drafting buses that can sit off and deliver passengers to their destinations. Existing roads can handle twice the volume of AVs traveling faster. Fixed-route transit in all but the densest corridors will be obsolete well before new rail can be put in place Denis Eirikus

Hail Pérez museum gains This is wonderful news! Now the Omni CRA Trust Fund money given to the CRA by Miami-Dade County and Miami taxpayers through general fund ad valorem property tax payments for the CRA to alleviate slums and blight and provide for affordable housing will no longer have to be abused to subsidize the operating costs of PAMM that have not been covered by the wealthy of MiamiDade County who had committed to take care of this responsibility. Hopefully, this diversion of $1 million a year of slum and blight alleviation money will not be again diverted to another pet project of the elected officials, and addressing the Omni affordable housing needs can finally be considered. Frank Schnidman

thing we’d never even heard of called Uber, taxis still had a monopoly and a single cab’s operating rights sold for hundreds of thousands. Uber doesn’t own a single cab but grabbed a huge share of the industry after taxi operators paid lawyers and lobbyists millions to try to halt its incursion. No level playing field. Now it’s the hotels. Miami Beach has levied millions in fines for those who illegally rent short term in their homes or apartments, aided by Airbnb. That’s the same pattern as Uber drivers, who drew big-money fines before the county legalized the service. Airbnb, like Uber, is likely to pay those fines in the short run as it goes for a long-term legal victory. On its website, Airbnb details taxes it pays in Florida, including a 6% transient rental tax for reservations of a half a year or less and local county surtaxes of a half percent to 1.5%, depending on the county, for those short-term rentals. The company also pays tourist development taxes in 22 counties that the state administers, plus the tourist development taxes in nine counties, not including Miami-Dade, that administer their own. A tax deal in Miami-Dade could be tougher. Most of the county has 6% bed taxes, including 3% for convention development, 2% for tourist development and 1% for sports, but Bal Harbour and Surfside administer their own and Miami Beach administers its own taxes for tourist development and sports. That division of tax powers might require settlements in each community, once cities decide that if they can’t lick Airbnb, the company can at least fund

economic growth via taxes on the guests it sends here. Miami-Dade can’t erect a barrier against a web phenomenon that’s sweeping the globe just as Uber did. Airbnb says it has placed more than 60 million guests in more than 34,000 cities in 191 nations and has more than 2 million listings worldwide. Why should we freeze its clients out? We need an accommodation of this accommodations firm and its smaller competitors. The longer and harder Miami Beach pushes back, the more painful it will be for our tourist industry. Industry research surely reveals just how much overlap there is between the guests of high-quality Miami Beach hotels and the users of a service that sends visitors to homes and apartments. The vast majority of Miami Beach hotel guests wouldn’t put up with someone’s spare room for a vacation, convention or business meeting. They expect service that no householder is prepared to give. That, after all, is the hotel experience. Guests want good dining, entertainment, more comfort than they have at home and some veneer – plus a staff well trained to serve with a smile and ability. Very few apartments and homes can offer that – and even fewer to be found via Airbnb. If homes are that good they’re not listed, because no paid guests are wanted. We all know adventurous folks who’d take a chance with someone’s spare room on a trip through Europe. We also know folks who couldn’t afford to visit nice resorts at hotels’ rack rates. These are good candidates for Airbnb. But

they aren’t most of us, or the vast majority of present Miami Beach guests. What Airbnb clients do represent is people who now don’t visit Miami Beach but could come here via Airbnb sites, pay bed taxes, go to stores and restaurants and entertainment, and add to our economy. They won’t cannibalize the visitor industry but could expand it, leaving more money than the community now gets. This competition might also encourage hotels to find efficient ways to place “remainder” space – rooms not otherwise booked – at marginally profitable prices at the last minute. On an average night more than 20% of Miami-Dade hotel rooms don’t get used. If web travel sites aren’t getting them booked now, the industry needs to find another way – those unbooked rooms being their best way to compete, or cooperate, with Airbnb. In the end, Airbnb might build efficiency: unused rooms in homes and apartments can yield revenue while our hotels also generate more cash with their now-unbooked rooms. In the newspaper industry we sympathize with hotels – we’re also a business with tangible products affected by competitors who operate on air alone. But rather than spending to maintain legal barriers to keep out competitors, our hotels would do well to find ways to either compete or cooperate with the lower end of the industry. Moving toward 100% hotel occupancy 100% of the time – even with some lower rates – would be a great start.

Life in the Magic City: Vote for this robot’s candidate It was really upsetting that there was no clear winner of the county mayor’s race in the recent election – not because my candidate didn’t win, but because now we have to keep getting those blasted phone Susan Kahn calls for another two months. I won’t name any names, but if you have a telephone, you know who I’m talking about. One night I was trying to cook dinner, and every 15 minutes the phone rang for the same candidate. I kept ignoring the rings until I could finally stand it no longer. I picked up the phone and yelled into the receiver, “If you call me one more time I’m going to call…” and then I realized I didn’t know who I was going to call so I just blurted out “Somebody!!!” “Well, that’ll get ’em,” my husband observed. “If they don’t stop bothering you, you’re going to call Somebody.” And not only did I yell an inane comment, I yelled it to a machine. That’s just the problem – there’s nobody to call. Remember “Donotcall.gov”? A lot of good that did – it might just as well have been “Donut.gov.” I am sure that someone must listen to these calls or they wouldn’t make them. What kind of demographic has nothing to do, can’t read the caller ID, and has

a completely open mind capable of being changed by a robot? Sounds like the ideal constituent to me. But I’m not running for office. I can’t think of anything worse. Besides, I have enough trouble dealing with phone calls, not to mention the email quagmire some people have gotten themselves into. But again, I’m not naming any names. My own personal email crisis occurred a couple of years ago when I couldn’t get my AOL to work. Yes, I know, people who still have AOL are in a demographic of their own. Nevertheless, it was giving me fits, and after several days of not being able to retrieve my emails I broke down and called the AOL help line. The polite young man on the other end tried to be helpful. I am not sure if he was manning a station in the Philippines or Pakistan, but it was someplace humid, so we at least had something in common, and things went swimmingly for the first 20 minutes or so. International relations kind of went downhill after that, however, as it became clearer that he wasn’t going to be able to solve my problem. “You’re just going to have to talk to Michael Shraft,” he finally said in frustration. Oh, great, I thought. Now I have to start all over again with someone else. “OK, well, can you connect me?” I sighed. “No, I don’t have the number. You will have to call Michael Shraft.”

This was unbelievable. He wanted me to talk to this mysterious Michael Shraft, and I’m supposed to know his number?? The conversation went back and forth a few times over the same territory, and finally it dawned on me: I needed to call Microsoft. So maybe it is easier to deal with robots than real human beings. At least you can yell at them and not feel bad afterward. But I ran into a neighbor the other day, and he said he had solved the problem once and for all: he’d just removed his land line. Of course, it took him an hour and a half on the phone with AT&T to do it.

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Fairchild partnership helps space scientists use student tests BY MARCUS LIM

National Aeronautics and Space Administration scientists have found a way to speed their research on edible plants in space by involving the community through a partnership with Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden’s STEM education program, Growing Beyond Earth. In July, NASA awarded Fairchild $1.2 million to fund this program, now in its second year, which administers plant experiments for middle and high school students. NASA plans to use students’ results on which edible plants might be suitable for growth in space. “We are so pleased with the results, so pleased with the data that we received” in the first year, Carl Lewis, Fairchild’s director, said. “We received a mountain of information – 51 different varieties of plants grew in an artificial, low-resource environment.” As part of the “The Fairchild Challenge,” an environmental science competition based in Miami for the past 15 years, the Growing Beyond Earth puzzle is posed to middle and high schools and will help expand ongoing NASA research into a citizen science program for students. The research uses equipment that mimics the environmental conditions aboard the International Space Station. Students will test factors that might influence plant growth, flavor and nutrition. Gioia Massa, project scientist at NASA, visited Fairchild this month to explain to 120 teachers how to conduct the experiment into plants to achieve the results NASA wants. She also taught the teachers last year and was excited by the opportunity it brought to students. “A project that engaged students and uses their results is a magical idea to have citizen science doing research that would benefit NASA and getting them excited about space,” Dr. Massa said. “When I was a student I was interested in growing plants in space, and I just wanted to share that.” The way plants were grown in classroom, she said, would be similar to what they do at their veggie growth chamber at the Kennedy Space Center in Orlando.

Photos by Marcus Lim

Gioia Massa explains to 120 teachers how to conduct an experiment into plants that space scientists want. Some test plants are at right.

“We really have a pretty small group in Kennedy and limited resources,” she said. “So having all these students involved being able to test other species and other varieties of plants that we otherwise would not have the opportunity to look at were really enhancing the power of this research.” Fairchild was interested in NASA and its work on the Veggie facility, a compact LED-lit plant growth facility in the International Space Station. A video of the scientists at NASA harvesting and eating red romaine lettuce, the first produce grown in microgravity, piqued Fairchild’s interest. “Our philosophy here is, for education we want to provide authentic research opportunities with real-world implications for students,” said Amy Padolf, director of education for Fairchild. The $1.2 million grant will cover all the equipment for the schools. “Every school gets the same exact equipment, which is very important so that the lower-resource schools can perform with the higher-resource schools at an even level,” Ms. Padolf said. “It’s also for the science: you can’t have this timer and that timer and this soil or that soil. Everything must be consistent.” Ms. Padolf said the program also benefits groups historically underrepresented in STEM fields, providing the same methods that NASA scientists use that also tie into the Miami-Dade County Public Schools curriculum. “Miami’s diversity of student population is what the nation is going to look like, and we want to encourage kids of all backgrounds to be interested in science, and we want to make sure everyone gets involved,” Ms. Padolf said. “We are so far away from Kennedy Space Center that these kids do not have the connection to NASA as they do when they are in Broward or Palm Beach. This allows them to get that excitement down here.” “The scientists are so excited about this data and for this data to be used,” she said. “At first it was a few scientists gathering data. ‘We received a Now they have thousands of scimountain of information entists helping them.” Deborah Zwolinski, a STEM – 51 different varieties of teacher in Riviera middle school, plants grew in an found the initiative very exciting for the students, one that granted artificial, low-resource them real-life insight into scienvironment.’ ence. Carl Lewis “Our school has a science magnet program and we wanted stu-

dents to do real world science and experiments, so this was a great opportunity for them to get involved,” she said. Her school had five types of plants, including cress and kale, along with the control, the red leaf lettuce, which every school had. Some of the experiments benefited students who entered sci-

ence fairs with their projects. The students, Ms. Zwolinski said, were given an unforgettable experience. “I took these students at the end of the year to Kennedy Space Center and to see how the space program is and how important this research is, that they are really using their data,” she said. “It was

really impressive. The kids are super excited to do it again, and it encouraged some students to be plant scientists. That’s what teachers want to see.” Details: www.fairchildgarden.org/ Education/The-Fairchildchallenge.

FAST TRACK YOUR COMMUTE

METRORAIL DOWNTOWN EXPRESS

THE DOWNTOWN EXPRESS is a new Metrorail service that runs on weekdays only and stops at select stations. It departs twice in the morning and twice in the afternoon from the Dadeland South and Palmetto stations. See map for full details. For more information visit www.miamidade.gov/transit

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TODAY’S NEWS

MIAMI TODAY

WEEK OF THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2016

Miami Worldcenter’s South Plaza is intended to be a focal point of the mixed-use development. New plans show the project increasing residential units from 914 to 1,011.

City reviewing Miami Worldcenter’s scaled-back retail plan BY JOHN CHARLES ROBBINS

Miami Worldcenter developers are ready to begin the scaled-back retail portion of the sweeping mixed-use project promising to bring new life to

downtown Miami. This month, Miami Worldcenter Associates filed the formal application with the city’s Planning and Zoning Department requesting a new warrant for the redesigned “High Street� retail plan.

“Miami Worldcenter filed a new warrant with the city which is currently being reviewed, and we hope to earn approval over the coming weeks,� said Nitin Motwani, managing principal for Miami Worldcenter Associates.

Public Notice Notice is given that a meeting of the Miami-Dade County Board of County Commissioners will be held on Wednesday, October 5, 2016, at 9:30 AM, in the Commission Chambers, located on the Second Floor of the Stephen P. Clark Center, 111 N.W. First Street, Miami, Florida, wherein, among other matters to be considered, a public hearing will be held at such time that the item is called on the following: Ordinances and Resolutions: t 3FTPMVUJPO EFDMBSJOH BOE SFWJTJOH 4VSQMVT $PVOUZ PXOFE QSPQFSUJFT JO BDDPSEBODF XJUI JODMVEF 4FDUJPO 'MPSJEB 4UBUVUFT XBJWJOH "ENJOJTUSBUJWF 0SEFS /P BT JU SFMBUFT UP UIF 1MBOOJOH "EWJTPSZ #PBSE BOE *NQMFNFOUJOH 0SEFS /P BT JU SFMBUFT UP UIF 4FDUJPO FOUJUMFE BWBJMBCJMJUZ PG $PVOUZ 1SPQFSUZ BVUIPSJ[JOH DPOWFZBODF BU B QSJDF PG QVSTVBOU UP 4FDUJPO 'MPSJEB 4UBUVUFT BOE 4FDUJPOT FU TFR PG UIF $PEF t 3FTPMVUJPO BQQSPWJOH NPEJmDBUJPO PG #VJMEJOH #FUUFS $PNNVOJUJFT (FOFSBM 0CMJHBUJPO #POE 1SPHSBN 1SPKFDUT /P UP SFEVDF BMMPDBUJPO CZ BOE /P UP JODSFBTF BMMPDBUJPO CZ PG 4VSQMVT 'VOET GSPN 1SPKFDU /P 3FTPMVUJPO /P 3 BGUFS B QVCMJD IFBSJOH JO BDDPSEBODF XJUI *NQMFNFOUJOH 0SEFS SFHBSEJOH BMMPDBUJPO of Surplus Funds t 0SEJOBODF SFMBUJOH UP 3VMFT PG 1SPDFEVSF PG UIF #PBSE PG $PVOUZ $PNNJTTJPOFST BVUIPSJ[JOH UIF #PBSE PG 5SVTUFFT PG UIF 1VCMJD )FBMUI 5SVTU UP OBNF PS SFOBNF BOZ JOUFSJPS QPSUJPO PG B 1VCMJD )FBMUI 5SVTU EFTJHOBUFE GBDJMJUZ VOEFS DFSUBJO DJSDVNTUBODFT BNFOEJOH 4FDUJPO PG UIF $PEF t 3FTPMVUJPO DPEFTJHOBUJOH 48 UI 4USFFU $PSBM 8BZ CFUXFFO 48 UI "WFOVF BOE 48 OE "WFOVF & BT A 5JHFS 8BZ t 3FTPMVUJPO DPEFTJHOBUJOH 48 UI 4USFFU $PSBM 8BZ BU JUT JOUFSTFDUJPO XJUI 48 UI "WFOVF BT A *TMBT $BOBSJBT 8BZ Resolution Approving the Following Waiver of Plat: t 3FTPMVUJPO BQQSPWJOH UIF 8BJWFS PG 1MBU PG ,IBMFE "CEBMMB % CPVOEFE PO UIF OPSUI BQQSPYJNBUFMZ GFFU 4PVUI PG /8 TUSFFU PO UIF &BTU BQQSPYJNBUFMZ GFFU 8FTU PG /PSUI .JBNJ "WFOVF PO UIF 4PVUI CZ /8 4USFFU BOE PO UIF 8FTU BQQSPYJNBUFMZ GFFU &BTU PG /8 "WFOVF

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“In the meantime, construction continues on our Paramount Miami Worldcenter condominium, our first phase of pedestrian-oriented retail, and our multifamily apartment tower along Northeast Seventh Street,� he said. The new plans also offer details on adjustments made to the number of expected residential units and parking spaces for Worldcenter. In January, Taubman Centers Inc. announced it was not moving forward with an enclosed regional mall that was slated to be part of Miami Worldcenter. Instead, Taubman, in conjunction with The Forbes Co. and Miami Worldcenter’s master developer, Miami Worldcenter Associates, said it would pursue a “High Street� retail plan that would better utilize the unique characteristics of the site and the market. In July, Worldcenter representatives presented revised plans to the city’s Urban Development Review Board. 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 liked the less boxy and smaller plan. 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 adding some retail uses to upper floors to encourage more pedestrian circulation; and working to richen the landscape planned for a pedestrian paseo and public plaza. In a letter accompanying the request for a new warrant, attorney Ryan Bailine, representing the developers, said the development concept has shifted from a traditional, enclosed shopping center to an external, urban model with “High Street� retail. “These changes are a reflection of shifting market trends in the retail industry, predominantly driven by customer ex-

pectations, as well as a desire by [the developers] to highlight and more fully integrate the project into the urban fabric of downtown Miami,� wrote Mr. Bailine. The letter includes a summary of the changes including: „Total residential units increasing from 914 to 1,011. „ Maximum lot coverage from 88% to 81.5%. „ Open space going from 18.1% to 18.25%. „Height of Tower 1, Luma, goes from 460 feet to 482, but remains at 44 stories. „Height of Tower 2, Paramount, goes from 696 feet, 6 inches in 58 stories to 60 stories. „Podium height, from 129 feet to varying from 90 to 125 feet. „ Parking increasing from 3,901 spaces to 3,998. „Commercial area declining from 1,090,771 square feet to 338,036. „ Total area declines from 4,733,072 square feet to 3,913,326. “The most significant update to the design of the project is the externalization of the ‘Superstructure,’� wrote Mr. Bailine. A three-story indoor mall with five levels of parking above, originally planned to span five blocks from the FEC railway right of way to Northeast 10th Street between Northeast First and Second avenues, is now broken up into discrete blocks, each with ground-floor, and in some cases second floor, retail uses and parking above, Mr. Bailine wrote. In regard to promoting thoroughfares and pedestrian connectivity, a new northsouth paseo connects the planned Seventh Street Promenade to Northeast 10th Street, between Northeast First and Second avenues, the letter says. Worldcenter is a collaboration of 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.

WEEK OF THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2016

MIAMI TODAY

13

Downtown & Brickell Slowed Brickell condo market seeing some short-term gain BY CATHERINE LACKNER

The condominium market in Brickell – though slower in some ways than it was a year ago – is holding steady, observers say. “We’re continuing to see an increase in inventory, but it’s a little hard to track,” said Nayla Benitez, manager of EWM Realty International’s Brickell office. “From one month to another, it will change.” Brickell City Centre’s Rise condominium started delivering in August, “and units are not coming into the market as resales or rentals” yet, she said. Some units in Reach, a twin condo that was delivered first, have popped up as resales, she said. Two other buildings, The Bond and Le Parc, also began closing on units recently. The SLS Hotel & Residences Brickell’s hotel component will open soon, followed by closings of the condominium units. In August “we have seen a 5.6% increase in units closed as compared to the prior month,” she said, in that 92 units closed. “That’s still down from last year,” Ms. Benitez said. “In general, we have seen activity pick up on rentals and sales. Nothing crazy, but a slight increase from what we have seen.” Who’s buying or renting? “We’re seeing a lot of everything,” she said. “Brickell is so diverse. We have students, young professionals, small families, and older folks work on a project in the area for six months to a year, then go back to where they’re from. “What you see on the street and in the cafes and restaurants are established people who can afford to live here,” she said. “Unfortunately, there has been negative publicity because there are so many high rises and people think they’re empty. They’re not. Has it slowed down? Yes, and this market is

Photo by Maxine Usdan

“We’re continuing to see an increase in inventory, but it’s a little hard to track,” said Nayla Benitez of EWM.

Mannarino vice president of sales and operations at OneWorld Properties. “I’m seeing a little bit more in resales, and they are at prices that are discounted as compared to a year ago.” People gravitate toward resales because there are some comparative bargains and the buildings are known quantities with few or no surprises in store, he said. “It’s certainly cheaper than what you are seeing in preconstruction prices. Some tenants are looking to buy instead of rent, and the numbers are making sense, if they can get a mortgage. The units will sell if they are at the right price. “The rental side has remained much stronger than resales,” Mr. Mannarino said. But in some cases, landlords have offered some reductions in rent to retain existing tenants. “So, in that sense, landlords are being more cautious. They are aware that more units are coming to market, so tenants will have “Downtown and Brickell remain more options. They are offera bargain,” said Patricia Delinois. ing incentives instead of getting impacted by the global economic situation.” But, Ms. Benitez said, New Yorkers and Canadians are replacing buyers who are struggling with depressed economies and devalued currencies. “Miami is the place where everybody wants to live. Some projects are going to be held back, but that will help the cycle. Investors know that, in the long term, this is the best place to park their money.” “I think, overall, the market in Brickell is strong, but certainly there is less activity than a year ago,” said Sergio

greedy and asking prices they are not going to get.” Still, Brickell is a pricey market. Mr. Mannarino said the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment is $2,000, while research from Miami’s Downtown Development Authority said the average rent for a 700square-foot, one-bedroom unit is $1,600 for all of downtown, which includes Brickell and several other areas. “Apartments that are priced attractively will rent faster,” Mr. Mannarino said. “I’m not concerned about this market.” Though it’s true there’s been

“Apartments... priced attractively will rent faster”: Sergio Mannarino.

a slowdown, “I don’t see a bust” similar to the 2008 debacle, said Patricia Delinois, president of Century 21 Premier Elite Realty and past president of the Miami Association of Realtors. As compared to the easy-contracting and lending practices that prevailed then, “developers are requiring minimum 50% deposits, bringing us committed buyers,” she said. Prices have returned to 2004 levels, mortgage rates are at a historic low, as are treasury yields, and the after-effects of Brexit have many affluent buyers in the United Kingdom and Europe looking for a safe investment, she said. “There is still a high demand by international buyers coming from Brazil, Venezuela, Argentina, Canada, France, Colombia, Mexico, the UK, Peru, China and Russia,” she said. “A majority – 62% – of the buyers purchasing now in Brickell are foreign buyers.” Cash transactions are 22%, twice the national average, she said. The projects being delivered or under construction in Brickell and downtown “are unlike any other in the world,” she said. They include Brickell City Centre, Paramount Miami World Center, Brickell Ten, One River Point, Echo, Flatiron, 1010 Brickell, Brickell Heights, Le Parc, SLS Lux, The Bond and Casa Brickell. “Downtown and Brickell remain a bargain, as they are five times less expensive than Hong Kong, San Francisco, London and New York City,” Ms. Delinois said. “Miami’s Brickell area is becoming the hottest gateway to the world and to the financial district,” she said. “Downtown Miami and Brickell are transforming into a global mini-city. I am truly excited to see us developing quickly into a transformed Magic City in the next five years.”

Signs of end of seven-year drive to end sign mess downtown BY CATHERINE LACKNER

The Gannett Fleming engineering firm and its consultant, JRA, are still in the process of identifying underground utilities, a necessary step before the Downtown Development Authority’s signage and wayfinding project – which has been planned since 2009 – can move forward. “The DDA is still awaiting the consultant’s analysis and field verification as to utility locations for each of the 200-plus signs,” said Eric Riel Jr., leader of the authority’s planning, design and transportation team. “This task is a substantial undertaking and will not be completed until November, and thereafter will need to be reviewed and approved by the city,” he

said. Should Miami speedily give its approval, a bid for sign fabrication and installation could be advertised in early 2017, he said. “However, this is dependent upon city reviews and comments.” Miami’s Capital Improvements Program office will handle the bid process, which will probably take several months. The sign manufacture and installation will take about three more months. The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) has promised $1 million, while the downtown authority had earmarked $500,000. But the state transportation agency won’t hand over its money until the underground utility connections are identified. There has been some confusion over whether the City of Miami or the author-

ity was responsible for obtaining underground clearances. “We need utility clearance before we put 243 holes in the ground,” Mr. Riel said when the controversy began, referring to the number of signs that will comprise the network. The Omni and Southeast Overtown/ Park West community redevelopment agencies have both given soft commitments to help with the funding, and in return will have signs customized for their districts. The wayfinding system aims to unify a maze of more than 2,000 signs downtown and make it easier for visitors to find their way around. It is to extend from the Brickell area to the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts. It will include gateway signs for city

entrances and various districts; directional signs to landmarks, attractions and parking; informational kiosks with “you are here” maps; and pedestrian and bicycle trail signs, all with a consistent visual theme. Part of the project seeks to limit the jumble of private advertising signs, including those on pay telephones and newspaper boxes. It’s a particular problem where sidewalks are narrow and pedestrians have to step out into the street to avoid an obstacle, authority directors have said. After the physical signs are installed, the downtown agency plans to move into electronic media, using smartphone apps to direct drivers to public or private parking, and to help them get around the city.

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DOWNTOWN & BRICKELL

MIAMI TODAY

WEEK OF THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2016

Development agency final hurdle to Tri-Rail downtown link BY CATHERINE LACKNER

Commuters who hope to see Tri-Rail trains pulling into MiamiCentral Station by late next year will be encouraged to hear that work on the partner agreements to partially fund the service is progressing well. “We are still negotiating with the Southeast Overtown/Park West CRA,” Jack Stephens, executive director of the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority, said Monday. “We are hoping things will resolve soon, because we need to move forward.” The transportation authority is Tri-Rail’s parent entity. “We are very close to an agreement,” Clarence E. Woods III, executive director the Southeast Overtown/Park West Community Redevelopment Agency, said Tuesday. “It’s really down to just one issue that was not contemplated in the original agree-

ment and needs to be approved by the CRA board.” He declined to cite the issue but said it was “almost insignificant.” The board of directors generally meets once a month, but a special public meeting could be called to deal with the one remaining issue, he said. In August, Mr. Stephens and insurance underwriters toured MiamiCentral Station. The underwriters were impressed by progress on the station, he said then. “For two years, we have been saying, ‘This is coming.’ Now we can say, ‘This is what it looks like’ and see if we can get good prices on the insurance we will need.” The authority must obtain insurance for the 8.5-mile segment of track that it will share with All Aboard Florida’s Brightline service and Florida East Coast Railway, which will continue to carry freight on those tracks, he explained.

The project hit a bump when the Florida Department of Transportation pulled out over insurance concerns, but it still is supported by Miami’s Downtown Development Authority, Miami-Dade County, the Citizens Independent Transportation Trust, the City of Miami, the Bayfront Park Management Trust and both the Omni and Southeast Overtown/Park West community redevelopment agencies. After the state transportation department bowed out, the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority agreed to accept more of the financial burden, but none of the other parties was asked to contribute more money than was previously agreed. On May 2, Alice Bravo, director of Miami-Dade’s Transportation and Public Works Department, advised all the parties that agreements had to be finished quickly or All Aboard Florida might withdraw its offer to have commuter service operate

from MiamiCentral, the downtown station to be shared by All Aboard Florida and TriRail. All Aboard Florida, a wholly owned subsidiary of Florida East Coast Industries, “has advanced construction of the commuter rail platforms and is incurring significant costs since the station has gone vertical and columns have been erected,” Ms. Bravo’s letter said. “If we are not able to execute agreements by the aforementioned date, All Aboard Florida has advised us that they will be forced to cease construction on the commuter rail infrastructure. “Without a definitive plan of action and inter-agency coordination to pursue new agreements, we could forfeit this unique opportunity to bring commuter rail to the central business district,” Ms. Bravo’s letter warned. But the crisis was averted, and work never stopped on MiamiCentral.

More than half of massive pre-cast rail beams are installed BY JOHN CHARLES ROBBINS

Construction on the first leg of the Brightline passenger rail service has crossed the halfway point, on track for its anticipated service launch in mid-2017. Construction of the West Palm Beach-to-Miami segment is more than 65% completed, and the first trainset is expected to arrive this fall and will begin testing in Palm Beach County, according to Brightline officials. “Work continues progressing on the 11-acre MiamiCentral with hundreds of people working on site as we gear up to launch the Brightline train service next year,” said Scott Sanders, executive vice president of design and construction for Brightline. “This new multi-modal hub and urban development will serve the 90,000 residents who call downtown Miami home, bringing much-needed transportation, food, retail and residential options to the area,” he said. The massive steel and concrete transportation hub, MiamiCentral, continues to rise on the footprint of the city’s former train station, and work on the office tower has begun as well. According to the company, a status report on the downtown construction includes: Over the past week, more than 80 pieces of structural steel were installed and more than 140 tons of concrete Florida I-

In past week, station strip got more than 80 pieces of structural steel and 140 tons of concrete I beams.

Beams were placed by more than 350 workers. Installation of the massive pre-cast beams is more than 50% completed. Steel installation for 2 MiamiCentral office tower, which serves as structural foundation for the main station and office tower, has begun. The core for 2 MiamiCentral is 86 feet high.

Cores for two residential towers at final elevation are nearing completion; then vertical construction begins. Next steps include assembling a metal deck and concrete slab to be installed on top of the precast beams to hold the rail. The project is also to include a realignment of a curve on Northwest First Avenue. Parent company All Aboard

Florida selected Suffolk Construction Co. as general contractor for MiamiCentral, and site clearing and demolition began in late 2014. At MiamiCentral, the Brightline tracks and station will be elevated 50 feet to align with existing public transportation, with retail spaces beneath the tracks. The company says the innovative design will allow

thru-streets to remain open to traffic and create an atmosphere of walkability while creating a “landmark terminal.” 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 the Brightline passenger rail service, and will also house a Tri-Rail link. All told, MiamiCentral is to bring with it apartments, shops, offices and other companion commercial uses. Just west of the main construction, All Aboard Florida is also busy building a mixed-use project known as 3 MiamiCentral that will bring a grocery store, along with office and retail uses. The company said progress is also being made northward. Construction crews “topped out” the Fort Lauderdale station Sept. 16, meaning the structure is complete. Work has moved to interior outfitting including installation of the escalators, perimeter glass and roofing, and more. The station at West Palm Beach is expected to be “topped out” this Friday. The rail link to Orlando is expected to be complete in late 2017.

Literary lions of book fair require more than 700 hotel rooms BY CATHERINE LACKNER

Not only does the Miami Book Fair – the nation’s oldest – lure thousands of enthusiastic readers to Miami Dade College’s Wolfson Campus for eight days each November, but its founding in 1984 laid the groundwork for downtown’s emergence as the cultural center of South Florida, an observer says. Eduardo Padrón, who was then president of the Wolfson Campus, had visited book fairs in Europe and “decided this is what we needed,” said Lissette Mendez, the fair’s director of programming. “He set out to showcase the safe and wholesome side of downtown Miami, and to emphasize that Miamians really do read. It became a signature

event.” Dr. Padrón, who went on to lead Miami Dade College, wanted to show the community and visitors that downtown “was safe, and a place people could enjoy,” she said. That fact wasn’t always evident in 1980s Miami. This year’s fair, set for Nov. 13-20, will feature more than 600 luminaries including Maureen Dowd, James Carville, Trevor Noah, Tavis Smiley, Russell Banks, Brad Meltzer, Jeffrey Toobin, T.C. Boyle, Geraldine Brooks, Robert Olen Butler, Richard Blanco, Jane Hamilton, Adam Haslett, Padma Lakshmi, Dave Barry, Arva Moore Parks and others. There will be special focus on authors from the Caribbean, Latin America,

Canada and Europe, Ms. Mendez said. Returning this year is the Children’s Alley, with activities of all kinds for kids. There will also be musical and dance performances, cooking demonstrations, and more than 200 booksellers from around the nation. Attendees who participate in the Friends of the Fair program can buy tickets Oct. 17 and have reserved seats to events. Tickets go on sale to the public Oct. 31. The fair’s economic impact is considerable, Ms. Mendez said. The college buys blocks of rooms in hotels both in Miami and on Miami Beach to house authors who speak at the event. This year, it has reserved 700 rooms at the Miami Marriott Biscayne Bay and blocks

of rooms at the Eve and the Langford hotels, both downtown. Area restaurants will see a boost in revenues, she said. “One of the benefits of the fair is the sheer number of people it brings into downtown, many of whom are not familiar with the area,” Ms. Mendez said. “The city also gets press and television coverage, both nationally and internationally, during the fair, and there is positive splash effect on the Pérez Art Museum Miami, the Adrienne Arsht Center, the Olympia Theater and other cultural venues downtown,” she said. “It shows our destination offers more than beaches.” Details: Miamibookfair.com.

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