Miami Today: Week of Thursday, September 3, 2015

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WEEK OF THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2015

A Singular Voice in an Evolving City

WWW.MIAMITODAYNEWS.COM $4.00

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Despite commodities’ dip, labor keeps building costs high, pg. 13 STADIUM ACCOUNTING CONTINUES: No arbitration has been set for a dispute between Major League Baseball’s Miami Marlins and Miami-Dade County because the two parties are still in discussion regarding the amount that should be counted toward the team’s share of the stadium’s construction cost. The county attorney’s office says it cannot predict precisely when the date will be set as dialogue is ongoing. The stadium contract states that any dispute or controversy arising over $5 million or less must be resolved by final and binding arbitration. Currently, the Marlins claim $110.9 million should be counted toward the team owner’s share of spending for building the team’s Little Havana home but county auditors are disputing $4.2 million, or 3.8% of that total. When an arbitration date is set, the issue will go before a panel of three independent arbitrators acting under the auspices and rules of the American Arbitration Association. The hearing would be scheduled so that it’s completed within 60 days of the filing date.

Brickell City Centre realigns use of rising tower for offices, pg. 16

THE ACHIEVER

BY SUSAN D ANSEYAR

TRANSPARENCY IN BOND VOTES: Miami-Dade commissioners were to vote Tuesday to require disclosure of estimated operating and maintenance costs for proposed bond-funded projects and the precise funding source. However, Dennis Moss expressed concerns and wanted to discuss them but sponsors Juan C. Zapata and Esteban L. Bovo were not present when the item came up at 6:44 p.m. Therefore, the commission is to bring it back in the future. The resolution states that general obligation bond proceeds can’t be used to operate and maintain projects funded by such bonds, and it’s not currently clear to voters that expenses will come from their real estate taxes. The commission adopted the ordinance on first reading 9-2 on June 2. The Strategic Planning and Government Operations Committee unanimously voted July 7 to recommend that the full commission pass the item. NESTLED AWAY: Residential parking at Jackson Medical Towers, 1500 NW 12th Ave., is going to be relocated to an area of about 110 spaces in the parking garage in order to provide them with exclusive parking. This will require new parking access revenue control equipment at the facility, part of the Jackson Health System. The Miami Parking Authority operates the garage for the health system and will be reimbursed. The city’s OffStreet Parking Board has approved the purchase and installation of the new equipment from Scheidt & Bachmann. The cost is estimated at $21,174, and with an added 15% contingency fee, the project total is $24,351.

Wayne Eldred

Photo by Marlene Quaroni

Restaurateur promotes service as Coral Gables theme The profile is on Page 4

All-Aboard Florida closes on final downtown land BY JOHN CHARLES ROBBINS

All Aboard Florida has closed on the final land it needs to redevelop six blocks of downtown, as nearly 100 workers continue to forge the foundation of a new train station that will bring passenger rail to Miami’s urban core. All Aboard Florida just closed on 2 acres in Overtown, a move that clears the way to construct 3 MiamiCentral, a mixed-use complex that is to bring Class A office space, retail and a grocer to the neighborhood. The property is hugged by Northwest Sixth and Seventh streets and Northwest First Court and Second Avenue. Its neighbor to the east is the Miami-Dade County Administration Building. One of the first tenants at 3 MiamiCentral will be All Aboard Florida, which will relocate its corporate headquarters from Coral Gables to the new site. The plan also promises dedicated parking for the historic Lyric Theater nearby. Addressing an issue that has plagued Overtown for years, 3 MiamiCentral will feature a national grocer, the company said. Hundreds of residents expressed this need to

AGENDA

Courthouse gets safety thumbs-up

All Aboard Florida executives at a meeting in 2013. “I’m excited to see this project moving forward and continuing to spur job creation and economic investment in historic Overtown and downtown Miami,” said Miami-Dade County Commissioner Audrey Edmonson. “This is one of several developments that will truly be a catalyst for transforming Overtown into a sustainable community where people can live, work and play.” The plan calls for a 12-story building that will house a grocer at about 29,000 square feet on the ground floor, nearly 97,000 square feet of office space, 33,161 square feet of commercial/retail space, and a garage to park 1,096 vehicles. It’s perhaps the smallest piece of All Aboard Florida’s full development vision for downtown, which is to see a major train station, MiamiCentral, rise to be a transportation hub connecting All Aboard Florida passenger trains, Metrorail and Metromover, county buses, city trolleys and taxis, and possibly link with Tri-Rail. The major part of MiamiCentral is about 9 acres west of Northwest First Avenue. Work

to drill 50- to 100-foot pilings continues today, with 1,587 piles in place and about 40 to go, the company said this week. The transportation hub will also include a mix of uses, with residential, office, commercial and a retail concourse. All Aboard Florida has picked Facchina Construction of Florida for pre-construction and construction-management for 3 MiamiCentral. Construction is to begin this year, and sub-contractor and career opportunities are to be announced in coming months. The complex, to be done in the first quarter of 2017, seeks LEED Silver certification. Others working on 3 MiamiCentral are AECOM, a global provider of professional, technical and management support services in transportation and other markets, which is designing the complex, and Miami-based Design2Form, which is design consultant and bringing knowledge of the history and culture of Overtown to the project. The centerpiece of 3 MiamiCentral is to be a mural by Miami-based sculptor and visual artist Robert McKnight.

Engineering consultants have inspected all courts in the county except the new Children’s Courthouse and Overtown Transit Village and found all structurally safe to use, including the much-maligned Dade County Courthouse. A report that commissioners received Tuesday states that Rizo Carreño & Partners analyzed the historic Dade County Courthouse, built in 1928 on West Flagler Street, and recommended a 40-year recertification reliant on completing ongoing work including on 130 basement columns, anticipated by the last quarter of 2017; the exterior terracotta and plaza restoration, anticipated by summer 2016; and minor isolated repairs to non-structural reinforcing steel on five floors. The consultant listed other needed work including replacing panels on four floors as well as securing exposed wiring on eight floors. The deterioration of the Dade County Courthouse has long been a topic of discussion, with some judicial leaders saying that the building has organic system collapse and significant electrical and air quality issues. But in 2014, voters rejected a tax increase to fund a $390 million replacement. After the election, Chief Judge Bertila Soto said she and others were asking elected leaders to find $25 million to repair deteriorating support columns. Judge Soto set a priority of finding a new building even before discovery of problems with basement supports. She told Miami Today in early 2014 that the courthouse is too small for the 11th Judicial Circuit’s needs: not every floor has a bathroom, some civil judges don’t have a courtroom, and the probate division has none at all. This week’s report to commissioners also listed countyowned buildings and private space suitable for the relocation of court operations in an emergency.

WATSON ISLAND MARINA CREATING ARTIFICIAL REEF ...

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WEALTHY CHINESE EXPLORING MIAMI BUSINESS TIES ...

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HIGH-PROFILE TEAMS SEEKING NO-BID AIRPORT SITES ...

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COMMISSION SEEKS PRIVATE MEETINGS TWO BY TWO ...

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VIEWPOINT: SCHOOLING BEFORE OR AFTER ELECTION? ...

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GABLES LOOKS TO MINIMIZE IMPACT OF POWER LINE ...

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NO RUSH BY SOCCER USERS FOR A LANDFILL STADIUM ...

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ERASING EASEMENT COULD BOOST DESIGN DISTRICT ...

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