Miami Today: Week of Thursday, January 5, 2017

WEEK OF THURSDAY, JANUARY 5, 2017

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Miami International Airport soars toward a record, pg. 3 PAYING FOR TRANSITWAY: The Florida Department of Transportation is paying $1 million toward the $15.9 million cost of running buses that have about 12,500 boardings each weekday along the 19.8-mile South Dade Transitway from the Dadeland South Metrorail Station alone US 1 to Southwest 344th Street. Miami-Dade commissioners in December accepted the money via an agreement with the state under the State Transit Corridor Program, which is designed to relieve congestion and improve capacity within a transportation corridor by increasing carrying capacity by using high-occupancy conveyances. The county’s Department of Transportation and Public Works budget funds the balance of the cost, $14.9 million a year.

The buses collectively take in about $2 million a year in fares.

Thousands fly here to train as professional pilots, pg. 7

The Achiever

By Camila Cepero

BEACH CHAMBER TO TOUR JAPAN: The Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce is headed to Japan from March 17-26, taking guests on a tour through “bucket list” destinations Tokyo, Mt. Fuji, Hakone and Kyoto.

Tour packages start at $5,080 and include lodging, most meals and tours.

For $5,980 the package includes international flights. Details: Rebecca Fletcher, rebecca@miamibeachchamber.com MIA’S HUDDLED MASSES: Passengers arriving on nearly 40 international flights at Miami International Airport on Monday evening were delayed several hours during a nationwide Customs and Border Protection (CBP) computer outage. MIA staff provided fans and bottled water to passengers while they waited to be processed, said Greg Chin, Aviation Department communications director. “We estimate more than 2,000 passengers missed their connections and were stranded overnight in Miami. MIA opened its Concourse D auditorium for passengers who needed to spend the night at the airport. CBP has had sporadic computer outages in recent years, but never for this extended amount of time,” he told Miami Today on Tuesday. CBP released a statement Monday night, saying a temporary outage with processing systems at various airports began at 5 p.m. Jan. 2, ending at about 9 p.m. All airports are currently online. “During the technology disruption, CBP had access to national security-related databases and all travelers were screened according to security standards. At this time, there is no indication the service disruption was malicious in nature.”

GAS ON THE RISE: Miami’s average retail gas price of $2.46 per gallon to start this week was 7 cents higher than the start of last week, 21.6 cents higher than a month ago and 36.1 cents a gallon higher than a year ago, according to GasBuddy price tracking service. AAA also noted that the gasoline tax in Florida rose by less than one cent a gallon to start this year.

Jorge Zamanillo

Photo by Cristina Sullivan

Prepares to step in as CEO of HistoryMiami Museum The profile is on Page 4

150 touch screen kiosks tied to free transit WiFi From 150 to 300 interactive touch screen kiosks with free WiFi, informational alerts and video surveillance cameras could soon be operating at Miami-Dade County facilities including Miami International Airport and the Port of Miami.

County commissioners are being asked to approve a contract that would have a Massachusetts company install and run the kiosks at no cost to the county, which would get a rising share of gross revenue from kiosk advertising.

The proposed deal with CIVIQ Smartscapes LLC has already cleared the county’s Transit and Mobility Services Committee but was bounced off the commission agenda in late December because it was brought up too late.

In addition to the kiosks, the company would provide 1,099 WiFi devices with free service on all Metrobus, Metrorail and Metrorail vehicles and 51 devices to provide free WiFi at all Metromover and Metrorail stations.

The kiosk equipment, said Alice Bravo, county transit and public works director, will include transit routes, interactive transit schedules and the ability to tap a button and call in. Free WiFi, she said, will extend 200

Agenda

State to test carpooling digital apps

feet from each kiosk.

The 15-year deal with two five-year renewal options would save the county $2.1 million in cellular charges plus $6 million in the first 15 years, Deputy Mayor Edward Marquez wrote to commissioners, plus a sliding scale of revenue sharing. The county would get 3% of revenues the first six years, 4% the second six, then 5% through the 17th year.

The measure asks commissioners to waive the county prohibition on advertising of alcohol. The memo says that the ban is already waived on buses, Metromover, Metrorail, and bus benches and shelters.

The memo says CIVIQ’s initial investment would be $20 million. The company is based in Milford, MA. The county lists John Anselmi as principal, though a June announcement listed him as joining CIVIQ as chief financial officer.

County commissioners, mindful of past transit communication deals gone awry, questioned transit officials at the Transit and Mobility Services Committee about details of the contract.

Their main concern seemed to be whether the county would have to repay CIVIQ for its capital investment if either the company

pulls out or the county cancels the contract for failure to perform. They were assured repeatedly that if the company leaves voluntarily the county will not be forced to buy the equipment, but may do so.

How long would it take to get the free WiFi operating on buses? Commissioner Dennis Moss asked. He was assured that most buses would have it within six months of a final deal.

After hearing the details, Mr. Moss asked transit officials, “We constantly go through this…

Dennis Moss Is this a realistic plan or pie in the sky? Are you comfortable with the business terms of this particular deal?” He was told the deal is solid.

Commissioners Barbara Jordan, Bruno Barreiro and Jose “Pepe” Diaz asked about upgrades and were told the company is responsible for upgrading at its cost the electronics on the kiosks every six years.

“I hope it works,” said committee chair and new commission chair Esteban Bovo Jr. “It should work, and that’s where everything is evolving.”

Over a year since the end of the Florida Department of Transportation’s 826/836 Carpool Incentive Program, the state has yet to announce new traffic mitigation programs – and it doesn’t plan on launching an incentive program of that magnitude for a while.

Instead, the state looks forward to launching pilot tests this year for a ride-sharing application that will match drivers up with others travelling the same commute to promote carpooling.

Using GPS technology, the application will match potential carpoolers by tracking the direction of separate drivers, said Jim Udvardy of South Florida Commuter Services.

The department declined to comment further until pilot testing begins early this year.

Though the large-scale 826/836 incentive program was unique and a first for the department, the state is looking forward to other programs, though it is comfortably unsure of when it will launch an incentive program of that magnitude again.

The objective of the carpool incentive program was to ease traffic congestion by promoting ride sharing during the construction of new connections between the Dolphin and Palmetto expressways, also known as state roads 836 and 826.

“It was the first large incentive program offered through Commuter Services,” Mr. Udvardy said.

In 2015, the program paid commuters $325,000 in federal funds allocated to the overall 826/836 construction mitigation plan.

When the program started in March 2012, the department was offering $25, $50 and $75 per person for two-, three- and fourperson carpools. However, there wasn’t enough initial interest, so the department doubled the payout rates to encourage people to consider it, he said.

The state currently is not looking at creating such a program, Mr. Udvardy said, adding that programs in the near future won’t have a component involving “paying people directly.”

CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITY, JOBS SLIDE AFTER LONG BOOM ...

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GRANT TARGETS BUSINESS, DINING NEAR ARSHT CENTER ...

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EXPERTS CONVENE TO ENVISION FUTURE OF PEDIATRICS ...

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WITH 3,296 MORE HOTEL ROOMS RISING, BUSINESS SLIDES ...

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VIEWPOINT: TURN OUR TOO-FAMILIAR ISSUES INTO ACTION ...

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VIRGINIA KEY MARINA PLANS PUT UNDER A MICROSCOPE ...

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IN FINAL DAY, PROSPERITY COUNCIL TALLIES SUCCESSES ...

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COUNTY’S OFFICE RENTS CLIMB AS VACANCIES TIGHTEN ...

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TODAY’S NEWS

MIAMI TODAY

WEEK OF THURSDAY, JANUARY 5, 2017

The Insider SHELTER IN A STORM: In early October, as Hurricane Matthew threatened the state, more than 270 homeless people were placed in shelters, said Victoria Mallette, executive director of the Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust. As of the trust’s Dec. 16 meeting, 61 people (or 23%) were still in some form of shelter, she said. “I want to thank Camillus House, the Chapman Partnership, the Salvation Army and the Miami Rescue Mission for stepping up,” she said. “I’d like to see a follow up on that population and see, several months later, what percentage we have been able to keep hold of,” said Ron Book, trust chair. Ms. Mallette agreed.

SERVICE RECOGNIZED: Officer James Bernat, homeless coordinator for the Miami Police Department, said police officers placed 54 people into shelters as the hurricane approached. “Since we’re actively placing and helping assist on emergency shelter, whether it’s for cold weather or a hurricane, we’d like the efforts of the Miami Police Department to be reflected,” in trust statistics. “We should be able to tell you that,” Mr. Book said. “It’s a fair thing to ask.”

LEAGUE OF CITIES ROLE: Diana Arteaga, the City of Miami’s direcPhoto by Maxine Usdan tor of government relations, has been appointed to the National League of Cities Finance, Administration and Early work on Brickell City Centre almost three years ago bolstered construction employment recovery.

Intergovernmental Relations Committee. The committee develops policy positions on the national economy, financial assistance programs, liability insurance, intergovernmental relations, the Census, municipal bonds and capital finance, municipal management, antitrust issues, citizen participation, civil rights, labor relations, Native American sovereignty and municipal authority.

Diana Arteaga

Construction activity, employment slide after big post-recovery boom

MIDTOWN 5 OPEN FOR OCCUPANCY: ChicagoConstruction investment, activbased Magellan Development Group announced Tuesday ity and employment are all slipthat Midtown Five, the 400-unit luxury apartment tower in Midtown Miami, ping downward in Miami-Dade has completed construction. The property received its temporary certificate of County after an almost straight occupancy just before the new year and residents began moving in on Jan. 1.

run up in the recovery from the

BUSINESS CONCERNS: Bruno Barreiro, county commissioner and Great Recession in the last decade. member of the Miami-Dade Metropolitan Planning OrThough cranes continue to ganization (MPO), asked Harold A. Desdunes, director dominate the skyline in hot areas of transportation development for the Florida Department of Miami-Dade like Edgewater of Transportation, about the survival of businesses along where high-rise residential develFlagler Street, which is under construction from downopment is being completed, new town to North and South 27th Avenue., at the MPO’s construction starts are falling.

December meeting.

ACCESS PROTECTED? “It’s killing business there,” agreed Francis Suarez, Miami Bruno Barreiro commissioner and vice chair of the MPO’s governing board. “I don’t know why there have been so many issues. Maybe you can work a little better with business owners,” he told Ms. Desdunes. “Can you make an inventory of all business there when you started?” Mr. Barreiro asked him. “I’m very curious to see if they are still in business when you finish. A substantial majority are mom-and-pop stores. This would Francis Suarez be a good case study to the state as to why you should have expedited, 24/7 operations in these corridors.” “I can check to see if we have that information,” Mr. Desdunes said. “Part of our contract language is that they have to maintain access to the businesses.

There shouldn’t be any issues in terms of access to businesses, but I will definitely take a look.”

TALK OF SCHOOLING: Two or more Miami city commissioners are to attend the Downtown Neighbors Alliance General Meeting today (1/5) at 6:30 p.m. to discussion schools and education in Edgewater and downtown, according to a sunshine meeting notice. The meeting is set for Temple Israel at 137 NE 19th St., a location that is accessible for members of the public.

GOING SOUTH: Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez told county commissioners last week that he will present his 2017 State of the County Address this year at the South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center, at 10950 SW 211th St. in Cutler Bay. It’s at 10 a.m. Jan. 18.

ACCOUNTING FIRMS MERGE: Two local accounting firms started the new year as one with the Jan. 1 merger of Lopez Levi Lowenstein, a specialized international tax consulting and forensic firm, and Glinsky CPA Group, which has offices in Miami and Boca Raton. The merged Carlos Gimenez firm, now named Lopez Levi Lowenstein Glinsky, will operate at Lopez Levi Lowenstein’s current offices at 201 S Alhambra Circle in Coral Gables. “With both our firms having similar values and upholding high standards for client service,” said Raimundo Lopez Levi, founder of Lopez Levi Lowenstein, “this union will further our presence in the business and financial communities...”

LOADING ZONES AND TRAFFIC FLOW: City of Miami officials held a special meeting recently to discuss traffic congestion in downtown and Brickell. Mayor Tomás Regalado convened critical partners with an interest in reducing congestion. “Traffic is one of, if not the biggest complaint for City of Miami residents, businesses and visitors,” the mayor said. The meeting’s goal was to produce ideas to improve traffic flow. Suggestions that can be immediately enacted include keeping unauthorized vehicles from parking in delivery loading zones so trucks could deliver without stopping in roadways and obstructing traffic. Other recommendations being addressed as top priorities include ensuring that buildings have loading zones and identifying opportunities for new loading zones as well as mini distribution centers in the area. The meeting included officials from the Miami Parking Authority, Downtown Development Authority, police and public works and a major parcel delivery service. Follow-up meetings are already scheduled.

GOOD FENCES MAKE GOOD NEIGHBORS: To give businesses more visibility from US 1 traffic, Miami-Dade County is being asked to remove its 6-foot-high fence on the Metrorail right-of-way between Southwest 24th and 27th avenues and replace it with a 4-foot fence. The City of Miami, which made the request, is to re-pay the full $50,000 cost of the change. The county’s Transit and Mobility Services Committee unanimously forwarded the request to the full county commission for action.

As current major projects like Brickell City Centre have been completed, fewer new ones have started to take their place.

The total value of new construction starts in South Florida was off 26% in November from the November 2015 totals, Dodge Data & Analytics reported last week.

Nonresidential new construction starts fell 32% and residential starts fell 22%.

The year as a whole remained in plus territory for overall new starts, but in single digits at 9%, a far cry from the heated numbers of 2015 and earlier 2016. Nonresidential starts were up 11% and residential starts up 8%.

The changes in new construction work were paralleled by slipping construction employment totals in Miami-Dade, where 44,500 persons worked in construction in November, down from 45,900 in October and 46,000 in September, according the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Those employment numbers had been rising steadily since they plummeted from 56,600 jobs, the record for the county, in September 2007 at the end of the last huge housing boom to a bottom of 30,100 jobs in January 2012.

The dip in construction employment comes as the county’s total non-farm wage and salary employment reached 1,163,700 jobs in November, highest in history according to records from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In the month, unemployment fell to 5% in the county, lowest in the bureau’s records since June 2008’s 4.9% unemployment.

Elsewhere in Florida, however, construction employment continues to remain strong. The Washington-based Associated General Contractors of America last week put Southwest Florida’s construction activity about 1% ahead of November 2015 and cited difficulties in finding skilled trades

Opening of the innovative Brickell City Centre mall ended construction.

construction workers. Florida as a whole registered about 467,100 active construction workers in November, up 5% in a year.

“Considering that spending levels remain relatively robust for most market segments, firms in many parts of the country are likely having a hard time finding enough workers to hire,” said Ken Simonson, chief economist for the Associated General Contractors of America. “It appears that the industry would be employing more people if it could only find enough qualified people to hire.”

For the first 11 months of 2016, according to Dodge Data, the total value of new construction starts in Miami-Dade totaled more than $9.9 billion, putting the county well in range of a $10 billion year, considering that despite the 26% total decline in new starts for the month, the value of new starts in November alone was almost $547 million.

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TODAY’S NEWS

WEEK OF THURSDAY, JANUARY 5, 2017

MIAMI TODAY

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Wearing purple, new team will keep Omni streets cleaner

By Catherine Lackner

Hoping to leverage what has become a successful program downtown, directors of the Omni Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) have voted to fund their own neighborhood enhancement team for one year with a $50,000 grant.

The Downtown Enhancement Team, a program of Miami’s Downtown Development Authority, “transitions formerly homeless individuals into the workforce while keeping the downtown area beautiful,” said a memo from

Jason Walker, CRA executive director. They are known colloquially as “the yellow shirts.”

“Dressed in bright yellow uniforms, the highly visible [Downtown] Enhancement Team makes an incredible impact on keeping downtown streets cleaner and more pedestrianfriendly,” the downtown authority’s website said. “Through enhanced cleaning, maintenance, and landscape services year-round, our teams ensure those using our downtown streets have a pleasant experience.”

Team members receive training through Camillus House before going out on the streets

to remove graffiti, power-wash sidewalks, dispose of trash and maintain planters and trash receptacles. The team is also responsible for planting, watering and fertilizing new shrubs and existing landscaping, the website said.

“The CRA board of commissioners … on June 30, 2008, passed and authorized the issuance of a grant to the Downtown Development Authority for expansion of the Downtown Enhancement Team program into the Omni redevelopment area,” Mr. Walker’s December memo explained.

“The board of commissioners of the Omni

CRAwould like to establish its own enhancement team by expanding the DDA’s yellow shirts into the Omni Redevelopment area,” the memo said. But the workers sponsored by the Omni CRA will wear purple shirts to distinguish them from those participants sponsored by the downtown authority, it stipulated.

The creation of an enhancement team fits into the CRA’s mission by “providing employment opportunities and upward job mobility for residents, and maximizing conditions for residents who live in the area,” the memo said.

50 hospital groups convene to envision pediatrics’ future

Photo by Maxine Usdan

Projections show 44.5 million passengers went through Miami International Airport’s corridors in 2016.

Airport soars to passenger record

By Camila Cepero

Although Miami International Airport won’t be releasing its final 2016 passenger statistics until the end of the month, all signs point to another successful year of passenger traffic growth.

Airport officials project that the 2016 numbers will exceed the previous record, meaning that 2016 would be the seventh consecutive year of growth in total passenger traffic.

Projections show that in 2016, the airport saw 44.5 million travelers, up 0.4% from 2015.

Statistics for 2015 show that a total of 44,350,247 passengers stepped foot through the airport that year, an 8.32% increase from 2014’s 40,941,879.

The project growth in 2016 can be partly attributed to the airport’s multiple route and carrier expansions.

Last year, Miami International added 10 new airlines, making it home to a grand total of 109 carriers – the most of any US airport.

Additionally, the airport welcomed six new international nonstop routes to Bimini, Bahamas; Cologne, Germany; Copenhagen, Denmark; Oslo, Norway; Paramaribo, Suriname; and Varadero, Cuba.

In 2015, 21,206,557 passengers – just under half the total – arrived from or departed to international destinations.

The airport’s final audited statistics are to be released at the end of January.

More than 300 persons representing 50 hospitals from around the globe are in Miami this week as part of Pediatrics 2040, which aims to showcase trends and innovation likely to emerge in pediatric healthcare during the next 25 years.

The sessions from Jan. 4-6 at the InterContinental Hotel downtown are hosted by Nicklaus Children’s Hospital, part of the Miami Children’s Hospital System.

Among Miamians who are confirmed as speakers are Narendra Kini, CEO of Miami C h i l d r e n ’s Health System’ Christian Seale, founder and managing director of Startupboot- Narendra Kini camp; Natalia Martinez-Kalinina, general manager of CIC; Jennifer McCafferty, director of the Research Institute of Miami Children’s Health System; and Susan Amat, co-founder and CEO of Venture Hive.

The conference promises three days of interactive learning and networking opportunities on the topic of pediatric innovation.

Among the sessions will be a young innovators workshop in

which 15 young people, many of them hospital patients, build virtual reality games designed to solve problems in healthcare.

There will also be a startup pitch event in which seven digital health startups compete for a top prize.

The keynote speaker, Dr. Jordan Shlain, founder and chairman of Healthloop, was to discuss “Digital empathy – Innovation by Irritation.”

A workshop led by Ms. Amat is to deal with how ideas are a dime a dozen and why an idea seems more exciting when it is presented by a startup rather than a hospital’s own employee, according to the program. The workshop was to focus on engaging startups through investing, purchasing or integrating their solutions into an organization.

Other workshops are dealing with design thinking in healthcare, the culture of innovation, partnerships and co-development, innovation successes and failures, and tech transfer and commercialism.

Panels are to deal with the evolving landscape of pediatric innovation, cultivating pediatric innovation ecosystems, measuring innovation outcomes, and patient and family perspectives on innovation.

Twenty health startups were expected to take part in the three-day program.

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MIAMI TODAY

VIEWPOINT

WEEK OF THURSDAY, JANUARY 5, 2017

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

Time to turn our too-familiar issues into unfamiliar action If global and national concerns are uncharted waters as 2017 opens, Miami’s top issues are far too familiar.

Our local issues linger on. They fall not onto a list of strange new pitfalls but into the ledger of familiar unfin- Michael Lewis ished business.

We know the problems well but have yet to solve them.

Nationally, we worry about what new leaders in Washington will really do. In Miami we don’t have to worry about unknowns. We know what’s coming – we just need to upgrade the results.

As comic strip character Pogo of bygone years said, “We have met the enemy, and he is us.”

We know, for example, that local elected leaders continue to dither over how and where to add transit even while to a man and woman they agree that we need to act now.

The pleasant surprise of 2017 would be not that we get the same level of demand to act on transit now, but that someone actually picks a route, finds funding, gets approval and starts work. We’re always

told that we have to wait for… well, wait for someone or something. The surprise will be if our authorities stop waiting and start acting. It can be done.

Then there’s the upgrading of county government not by tossing someone out of office but by changing the rules to help insure better results from our local government, not just once but repeatedly.

Those rules appear in a county charter that requires an opportunity every five years for voters to revise things. It’s been five years, but commissioners are trying to avoid change. They always do that, usually by skewing a charter review team, then by limiting its scope and finally by not letting voters act on all recommendations.

One of those key steps is to separating the jobs of mayor and manager, because the two roles require far different skills and sometimes conflict.

The mayor is our political leader. The manager is a trained professional who should report to both mayor and commissioners.

The mayor should stand alone. The jobs were separate for decades and could be again, if commissioners allow a charter study.

Another important step would be to elect some or all commissioners countywide.

Only the mayor now is chosen by everyone.

Commissioners love their district status.

But district election reinforces divisive parochialism.

Absolutely vital is to raise salaries of

all 13 fulltime commissioners, whose pay has been $6,000 since 1957. Florida’s minimum fulltime wage is $16,848; our commissioners get barely a third of that to oversee billions of dollars.

Voters unimpressed with the county have repeatedly refused to pay fairly. But if we want exceptional candidates to run in 2020 when nearly the entire commission will be term-limited out of office we need to raise pay now, and commissioners who will be gone when a change would take effect must allow voters to decide.

Finally, in the realm of charter review, voters should decide whether to subdivide Miami-Dade into cities, towns and villages everywhere. Commissioners who play “mayor” of some districts are dead set against that. But until the county stops micro-managing and allows cities to do that job, commissioners will remain too consumed with neighborhood issues to focus on our biggest opportunities.

All of those issues dovetail into what should be the central concern of both our county and our nation as 2017 begins: leadership. Locally, we have inaction where we need action because nobody has led our county to grapple with its biggest issues.

That’s not a criticism of any individual.

But it’s a fact.

Part of leadership is structure. If the charter requires our go-to official for big issues, the mayor, to report to a county

commission and do its bidding as manager, powerful political leadership to win vast community gains is close to impossible.

For the next few years we will know the familiar faces in the mayor’s office and commission chambers. They must unite under a very imperfect charter structure to advance such key concerns as workforce housing, transportation, water and sewer upgrades, a sustainable environment, job growth and more. It can be done.

In four years term limits will force the mayor and all but a couple of present commissioners from office. At that point the comfortable familiarity of our major problems will all be new as a dozen newly elected officials try to cope.

To make that massive transition easier for the public and officials alike, it’s crucial that today’s comfortably familiar faces not just kick the can down the road on transportation or sea level rise or housing or the charter’s structure of government or other issues.

Today’s county concerns may be reassuring because they are repetitive, though they’re huge. But left unresolved, in a couple of years and in new hands those festering sores could become overwhelming maladies in Miami-Dade.

That’s why our most pressing issues, though comfortably familiar, need rapid and resolute attention in 2017. They require not the usual can-kicking but firm can-do action.

If Miamians didn’t care: mean, meaning, and meaningless For a fleeting moment on Dec. 19, the entire city of Miami came to a sudden and complete halt.

The announcement was shocking, almost unbearable.

Upon hearing the news, city commissioners stopped talkIsaac Prilleltensky ing over each other.

Motorists stopped honking their horns. Drivers refrained from texting. They even respected traffic lights.

City officials in Opa-locka refused to take bribes, and former officials of Sweetwater and Miami Lakes promised to never accept kickbacks again. In Hialeah, people stopped using the Spanish “pero” instead of the English “but.”

Plastic surgeons interrupted breast augmentations that had been scheduled for months. Medicare fraudsters stopped enrolling their dead cousins in bogus clinics. Cubans in Calle Ocho interrupted their decade-long festivities celebrating the death of Fidel Castro.

TSA personnel stopped hogging the accessible toilets in Miami International Airport. Pill mills ceased operations and, most importantly, termites took a pause from eating my house in Coral Gables.

Such grave news had not been heard since the Bay of Pigs. The severity surpassed the disloyal demeanor of LeBron and Dwyane.

Upon hearing that Miami was ranked near the bottom on the latest survey of most caring cities in America, residents took to the streets. Such outrage had not been felt since Miami was ranked the worst city in America to live in, which had only been matched by placing first on rudeness to tourists. (By the way, these are

The Writer

Isaac Prilleltensky is the author of “The Laughing Guide to Well-Being: Using Humor and Science to Become Happier and Healthier.” You can follow his humor writing at his blog www.thelaughingguide.com all googable facts, and they all happened in 2016. Don’t take my word for it, go to the nearest google station and check it out yourself.)

The latest ranking on caring, published

by WalletHub, positioned us 93rd out of 100. The classification considered three factors: caring for the community, caring for the vulnerable, and caring in the workforce. Madison, Wisconsin, proved to be the most caring city in the country.

Earlier in the year, Travel + Leisure granted Miami the honor of being the rudest city in America, while 24/7 Wall St. listed our city as the worst place to live in the whole country.

Immediately after the release of the latest ranking in December, something unprecedented took place. In a valiant act of solidarity, various civic, government and business leaders from the 349 rival ethnic factions in Miami crafted a manifesto rejecting the results of the surveys.

Various communities came together to denounce the fact that we are regarded as a mean city.

In a written communique, the 579 signatories claimed that “We are not a mean city, we are a meaningless city: BIG DIFFERENCE. We find meaning in meaninglessness, which is more than you can say for Madison.”

The Miami Meaningless Manifesto, as it was called, called into question the veracity of the rankings and referred to

the journalists reporting the story as “the most dishonest group in America.” The authors also wrote that “reporters are very bad people.”

Still, in a gesture of good faith, the signatories agreed to go above and beyond the call of duty to make Miami the most caring city in the world. They all committed to create a public fund to offer free plastic surgery and Brazilian butt lifts to all the locals and, get this, tourists! Top that, Madison!

While Miami is near the bottom of any livability index, Melbourne, Australia, is almost always at the top. For the last six years, the Economist Intelligence Unit has ranked Melbourne as the most livable city in the world – another googable fact. The ranking includes factors such as safety, transportation, education, healthcare and infrastructure.

In characteristic self-immolation, my wife Ora and I decided to leave Melbourne and move to Miami several years ago. To check out for ourselves whether Melbourne still lives up to its reputation, Ora and I recently went back for a visit.

Since Ora uses a wheelchair, accessibility counts for a lot in our family. No sooner did we get to MIA than we encountered several accessible toilets occupied. From experience, these are used by TSA personnel, who are not, I repeat, not disabled.

Once I got so irritated by their use of these toilets that I asked one TSA officer why he was using a toilet clearly designated for people with physical impairments. He told me, and I’m not kidding you, that it was dangerous for them to use the regular toilets?!

If you have a physical disability in Miami, or you know someone who does, you know that it is nearly impossible to obtain decent public transportation for

wheelchair users. In Melbourne, there is frequent, predictable and accessible public transportation, including taxis! In Miami, you have to book accessible taxis days in advance, and there is never a guarantee that they will show up or that they will know how to operate the ramp, in the unlikely event that it is working, or that it does have a ramp.

Similarly, when you find an accessible toilet in a public space in Miami, it is usually occupied by your law protection officers or by women who cannot powder their nose in a regular restroom. In Melbourne, every single public venue had clean and available toilets for wheelchair users. But I’m not bitter.

I should not complain, though. The Miami Meaningless Manifesto promises to fix my big ears and my big nose, for free.

In fact, I’m also considering a Brazilian butt lift. For all its livability, I could never get such a deal in Melbourne.

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TODAY’S NEWS

WEEK OF THURSDAY, JANUARY 5, 2017

MIAMI TODAY

7

Photo by Marlene Quaroni

Boeing Campus Manager Marty Schaaf at the controls of one of 17 simulators on Northwest 36th Street.

Thousands flock to Miami monthly to train at professional flight centers

By Marilyn Bowden

Flight training centers around Miami International Airport bring thousands of pilots, mechanics and engineers to the area every month, airline officials say, with a local economic impact of millions of dollars.

Boeing Co., a multinational aircraft designer headquartered in Seattle, in 2000 built a new Miami Campus building on Northwest 36th Street that houses 17 fullflight simulators, says Campus Manager Marty Schaaf, with the capability of expanding to 20. When the company opted to consolidate its North American simulator operations – then split between Seattle and Miami – in 2013, he says, Miami seemed the obvious location.

“Our customers like Miami,” Mr. Schaaf says. “It’s convenient to get anywhere in the world from MIA, especially for our Latin and South American customers. And we got a lot of great support from the Beacon Council.”

In addition to pilots, Boeing trains mechanics and engineers on composite repair and the maintenance of new models, he says. The Boeing 777X series now under development, for example, will feature composite wings.

Although Boeing anticipated the Miami training center would serve 3,500 to 5,000 customers annually, Mr. Schaaf says it’s now bringing in 10,000 to 12,000 a year, accounting for upwards of 80,000 hotel room-nights each year. To accommodate some of them, he says, a new 350-room Candlewood Suites hotel is under construction just down the street.

He estimates the economic impact – including lodging, car rentals, meals, tourism, gift purchases and the like – at $15 million to $20 million locally and around $1 billion statewide.

Airbus, a multinational manufacturer of civil aircraft headquartered in Toulouse, France, opened its only US training center on Northwest 36th Street some years

ago to serve customers from all over the Americas, says Capt. Joe Houghton, Airbus vice president of training and flight operations.

“Miami,” he says, “is perfectly situated between the Americas and is a hub of commerce. A few years ago we re-validated that decision. We looked at all major cities, and Miami was still the right place for us.”

Airbus Training Center’s customers include pilots and maintenance teams employed by “all major airlines, new low-cost carriers and startups,” Capt. Houghton says. “We like to think of ourselves as the graduate level, with private companies as the universities.”

Currently, he says, “we’re training the world on the A350, the latest aircraft in the world, along with the A330neo.”

The custom-designed facility, Capt. Houghton says, has seven full-flight simulators. About 1,600 customers spend an average of 12 days each year at the training center, he says, “and we estimate they account for well over 20,000

An Airbus A350 flight simulator. The company uses seven in Miami.

hotel room-nights here. With other expenses while they are here, the economic impact is about $6 million.”

Both Boeing and Airbus are actively engaged in community outreach, working with local schools – in particular George T. Baker Aviation Technical College – as well as local charities and institutions.

Mr. Schaaf says Boeing is involved with the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers at FIU. His company has also given a grant to the Adrienne Arts Center for the Performing Arts for a project called Kitty Hawk, in which seventh graders from all over the county collaborate with a playwright and producers to create a musical about the Wright brothers and the history of flight.

It’s said to be among the first musicals to take its inspiration from STEAM, the national education initiative centering on careers in science, technology, engineering,

the arts and mathematics.

Aviation is poised to be a major provider of some of those careers.

“The future of aviation,” Mr. Schaaf says, “is really exciting.”

Industry-wide, he says, Boeing projects a global need between now and 2035 for 617,000 pilots, 679,000 technicians and 814,000 cabin-crew personnel.

Airbus forecasts a need over the next 20 years for 73,000 pilots in North America and 43,000 in Latin America.

“We have done some outreach in local schools,” Capt. Houghton says. “We bring civilians in to see the simulators and show them the latest technology, because there’s going to be a need going forward – and also because aviation is our passion.”

According to its website, PanAm International Flight Academy operates three training centers in the area. Representatives did not respond to requests for information.

County’s delinquent accounts rise sharply to $43 million Miami-Dade County government is owed more than $43 million other than taxes that is more than 90 days past due, according to a report that Mayor Carlos Gimenez sent to commissioners last month. The delinquency total was up sharply from $36 million reported in January 2016.

The report includes only past-due accounts that are more than $2,500 apiece, and shows receivables as of June 30.

The department with the most money 90 days past due is Water and Sewer, with nearly $13.6 million delinquent, up from $12.8 million reported in January 2016.

That makes up more than 31.5% of all delinquent county accounts over $2,500. The memorandum from the mayor notes that the money due is from retail water and sewer customers, wholesale customers and other governments.

“The department works with the customers to establish payment arrangements in an effort to not negatively affect the provi-

sions of public service and only after all collections are exhausted will it turn off the service,” the mayor wrote.

The Public Housing and Community Development past-due receivables of almost $10.8 million, up sharply from more than $8.1 million in January 2016 and now the county’s second-largest pool of delinquencies, “contains a large amount of receivables awaiting write-off because they are either second mortgage assistance loans where the first (lien) lender foreclosed, entiGet Your Master’s For an Accelerated Career Boost

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ties/corporations that received economic development loans and are no longer existing, or are participants in the federal Section 8 [housing rental] program that cannot be located,” the mayor’s memo stated.

The third largest receivable cluster is from the Miami-Dade Aviation Department, which has

more than $9.8 million delinquent, down from nearly $10.5 million in receivables more than 90 days old in January 2016.

The money owed, the mayor’s report notes, includes bankruptcy proceedings, payment plans and pending write-off approvals.

The fourth largest group of delinquent accounts, more than $3.9

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The fifth largest pool of delinquent receivables is owed to the Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources, totaling more than $1.4 million.

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TODAY’S NEWS

MIAMI TODAY

WEEK OF THURSDAY, JANUARY 5, 2017

With 3,296 more rooms rising, hotels hit a dip

By Camila Cepero

After posting record high revenues per available room in 2015, the Miami lodging market saw a decline in performance in 2016 after several factors impacted visitation, according to a Kroll Bond Rating Agency Miami lodging report unveiled Tuesday.

As of October, there were 3,296 hotel rooms under construction in the Miami area. The market is already the nation’s 12th largest, according to STR, formerly called Smith Travel Research. As a result of the continued market expansion, existing room supply will increase by 6%, the seventh highest amount within the top 25 markets.

The Miami/Hialeah metro lodging market achieved record revenue per available room, called RevPAR in the industry, of $152.83 in 2015. It was the fourth highest of the top 25 markets after New York, San Francisco/San Mateo, and Oahu Island.

The record 2015 RevPAR was a 5.5% increase from 2014’s $144.87.

However, RevPAR for the 12-month period ending in November 2016 period declined about 2.6% from the 12-month period that ended in April 2016.

It is apparent from these results, the report said, that the Miami lodging sector continues

to be hurt by the additions to supply, economic slowdown in the emerging Latin American economies, currency woes, and concerns about the Zika virus.

In addition, the partial closure and renovation of the Miami Beach Convention Center continues to weigh heavily on the lodging market, according to the report.

However, despite declining performance, Miami remains one of the top performing hotel markets in the US. It achieves significantly higher occupancy and average daily rates (ADR) than the US as a whole.

On a year-to-date basis, the Miami/Hialeah market achieved occupancy of 76.1% and an ADR of $187.17, compared to 66.7% and $124.32 for the nation.

Miami/Hialeah had the sixth highest RevPAR of all top 25 markets for the year-todate ending in November, trailing only after big-hitters like New York, San Francisco/ San Mateo, Oahu Island, Boston, and Los Angeles/Long Beach.

But it should also be noted, the report said, that Miami/Hialeah had the second largest decline in RevPAR of the top 25 markets, with a 4.6% loss, better only than Houston, with its 12.1% loss, for the year-to-date ending in November.

Miami was not alone, however, as four

of the top 25 markets were hit by RevPAR declines for this period, including Boston, Houston, Miami/Hialeah and New York.

As of March 2016, Miami/Hialeah had the second highest number of hotel rooms under construction of the top 25 markets. However, as of October, it had dropped to seventh, as measured by the number of rooms in the pipeline relative to existing supply, according to STR. Airbnb and other home-sharing web sites have played an increasing role in the lodging market in Miami. According to CBRE, Miami ranks within Airbnb’s top five markets in the US. To fight illegal short-term rentals, the City of Miami Beach increased its fines last March to $20,000 for each offense, the highest in the nation.

Although Miami remains one of the most sought-after hotel markets by international investors, transaction volume slowed considerably in 2016, according to the report.

There have been only two hotel sales in excess of $300,000 per room since June.

Crest Hotel Suites in Miami Beach with 69 rooms was purchased by Blue Road on Sept.

16 for $24 million, or $347,826 per room.

The Aloft South Beach in Miami Beach was purchased by the Rockpoint Group on Sept.

16 for $105 million, or $446,809 per room.

Virginia Key marina plan put under microscope

By John Charles Robbins

A continuing conversation on the fate of public marinas on Virginia Key was expected this week when the Virginia Key Advisory Board gathered Wednesday at Miami City Hall.

The main agenda item was further review of the latest draft of a request for proposals, or RFP, to improve and manage the two marinas on city-owned property near Miami Marine Stadium.

Board members were provided with a copy of the latest draft of the RFP, which clearly states: “No wet slips will be allowed within the historic basin.” This was one of the more controversial aspects of a similar RFP in 2015.

This latest draft also includes projected minimum base rent, makes notice of sharing parts of the barrier island with the annual Miami International Boat Show, and adds a newly-enacted bid protest procure that removes those protests from the city commission’s responsibility.

The latest draft was to be discussed by the advisory board at a special 4 p.m. meeting Wednesday and was to also undergo review immediately after by the city’s Sea Level Rise Committee.

The advisory board was expected to vote on its recommendation on a new RFP to be considered by the city commission when it meets later this month.

The draft shows anticipated dates for the request for proposals this time around, with a possible date of issue as Jan. 20, with proposals due back to the city’s Department of Real Estate and Asset Management by April 20.

City officials are facing deadlines, as they hope to get the winning proposal on the November ballot for voters to decide by referendum, required by the city charter.

An introduction to the latest draft reads, “The goal of this RFP is to create a vibrant recreational marina and restaurant destination with an

Photo by Maxine Usdan

City officials hope to get the winning proposal for Virginia Key marina operations on the November ballot.

ancillary ship’s store facility for city residents and tourists alike.”

The successful proposer will enter a long-term lease with the city for 26.65 acres (including uplands and submerged land) of waterfront at 3301, 3605, 3501, 3311 and 3511 Rickenbacker Causeway.

The lease consists of a 45-year term with two 15-year renewal terms. The total may not exceed 75 years.

All proposals must include a minimum base rent equal of $2.35 million a year or more.

Adjustments based on the Consumer Price Index should also be included, the draft reads.

Additionally, proposals must provide that the city receive a percentage of at least 6% of wet slip and dry storage operations, 6% of fuel sales, and 4% sublease income or other income the proposer receives.

The winning firm must provide an irrevocable cashier’s check of $2 million due on execution of the lease.

The marinas deal also includes participation in the construction of a new municipal parking garage to be owned and operated by the

Miami Parking Authority.

The successful proposer must contribute $3.45 million to construction of an adjacent municipal garage. Alternatively, the proposer may provide its own parking or may construct and run the city parking itself, the draft reads.

Under Project Goals, the RFP reads, “The city wishes to redevelop the property into a mixed use waterfront marina, providing first-class services to tourists and residents alike. The project shall combine the two marinas presently on the property in order to create a unified destination...”

Economic objectives include: Increase financial return to the city; improve revenue-producing capacity of facilities; ensure that any proposed ancillary or complementary uses further enhance the destination market appeal; and utilize the available property to maximize its economic potential.

Planning and land use objectives include: nAttract residents and visitors to the public waterfront. nConvert the existing facility into a modern world-class facility using state-of-the-art technology and include ancillary uses

that complement the setting and geographical location, aimed to stimulate public use of and widespread interest in the property. nProvide for development of a mixed-use marina and waterfront destination, portraying a unified and integrated marina that seamlessly interacts with adjacent restaurants and facilities. n Allow for easy access throughout the property, including development of a full-width baywalk that matches the design east of Marine Stadium, and provides seamless connectivity from Marine Stadium to Rusty Pelican restaurant. nPromote active, public uses of the site to enhance the public benefit derived from the property in terms of use, visibility, environmental protection and financial return. nDevelop an array of recreational waterfront uses operated by management experienced in waterfront programming in order to attract increasing and varied segments of the local, regional and visitor population. n Develop the project with considerations for anticipated sea level rise.

Alina Hudak: extra money will fund preventive maintenance system.

State doubles traffic control pay to county

State payments to Miami-Dade County to help operate traffic control devices along state roads have more than doubled this year.

The extra funding, Deputy Mayor Alina Hudak said in a memo, will allow the county to set up a traffic signal preventive maintenance program that the payments now require.

Last year the county got $2.632 million from the state under an agreement for traffic signal maintenance compensation. This year the agreement is for $6.137 million.

The state payments to the county began in 2005 to fund part of the maintenance and operating costs for traffic signals, signal systems and traffic control devices on state roads. The money helps defray costs that the county has already incurred.

Miami-Dade isn’t the only beneficiary of the state reimbursements. The reimbursement is based on a statewide standard rate, so compensation is likely to rise every year to keep up with costs, Ms. Hudak wrote.

The reimbursement this year is projected to be $4,500 for interconnected signals. That figure rises each year with the Consumer Price Index.

Miami-Dade operates and maintains 4,144 traffic control devices today, including 2,881 traffic signals, 887 school zone flashing signals, 14 flashing beacons, 339 flashing signs and 23 reversible lane gantries. But of these, 1,318 locations are owned by the Florida Department of Transportation.

Once the state transportation department adds new traffic control devices along state roads, they are inspected and then transferred to the county to maintain and operate.

The new agreement for payments from the state to help fund signal operation and maintenance is for 20 years. County commissioners approved it 12-0 in December with no discussion.

That agreement made three changes to past practices: ■It removed a proration division based on the number of state approached to a traffic signal.

■It added compensation to the county for operation of maintenance for all other traffic control devices, such as school zone flashing signals, warning beacons and rapid rectangular flashing beacons.

■It established the bi-annual preventive maintenance requirement, which Ms. Hudak estimated will cost $2.881 million.

WEEK OF THURSDAY, JANUARY 5, 2017

TODAY’S NEWS

MIAMI TODAY

13

61-story Brickell waterfront residential tower moves ahead

By John Charles Robbins

A plan to construct a new residential tower on the waterfront in Brickell advanced after review by the city’s Urban Development Review Board.

Over the objections of neighbors complaining of added traffic and the planned density, the board recommended approval of the project with conditions.

The property at 1111 Brickell Bay Drive already houses the 32-story Yacht Club at Brickell apartments, which would be redeveloped, adding a 61-story apartment tower and garage.

Amico Yacht Club at Brickell LLC proposes the mixed-use project for the 2.4 acres, calling it a mixed-use luxury retail, hotel and apartment residences development.

Plans from Stantec Architecture Inc. show 15,486 square feet of commercial and retail and 34,669 square feet of offices.

Zoning permits 48 stories, reaching a total of 80 stories through use of the Public Benefits Program bonuses, the developer says.

The 61-story tower is to rise 690 feet 2 inches and have 560 apartments. The property fronts Brickell Bay Drive to the west and Biscayne Bay to the east.

The developer would demolish the existing garage and build a new one. Plans include a new pedestrian garden walk to and along the bay; new arrival area, resident lobby and pool deck; and floor-to-ceiling windows, glass balconies and updated interior paint and finishes on the existing building.

The developer has presented the plan with two options. One is a mix of residential, commercial and retail. The other has fewer residences but adds hotel rooms.

The developer is requesting several waivers, including a 10% increase in the size of the floor plate, 10% reduction in the required space between towers, permission to have entrances off a primary frontage, side yard setbacks above the eighth floor, up to a 50% reduction in required parking and more.

Iris Escarra, an attorney representing the developer, told the board of the plan to renovate the existing building. It currently is home to 357 apartments. The socalled residential option would renovate the smaller building to hold 322 residences.

The hotel option would remodel the building to house 258 hotel rooms and 178 residential units.

Architect Jon Cardello, with Stantec, said he is excited to work on the project. He said the addition of retail to the site with “an active retail edge” helps make Brickell Bay Drive more pedestrian-friendly.

Mr. Cardello said the site layout will activate the waterfront with a new public access point and the project will also activate the public baywalk.

The project fully complies with the city’s waterfront setbacks, Ms. Escarra said.

Mr. Cardello said the developer is sensitive to the appearance of the parking garage and that those levels will be nestled and

The project would renovate the 32-story Yacht Club at Brickell to hold either 322 new residences or 178 residences and 258 hotel rooms.

screened, including an artistic treatment on part of the façade.

The bay side of the garage will be lined with residential units, he said.

An active and shared amenity deck would have three swimming pools and a fountain, the residential units will extend down to the second floor, and there will be outdoor dining.

The project will have a new grand entrance and drop-off area on the site’s south side, Mr. Cardello said.

Due to Federal Emergency Management Agency rules governing base flood elevations, the site will incorporate stairways leading to the ground floor levels and employ terraces too.

The site is large enough to accommodate the higher elevations, stairs and landscaping and still provide a clear view of Biscayne Bay, according to Mr. Cardello.

It is being considered a transitoriented project, said Ms. Escarra, noting the Metromover, Metrorail, city trolley stops and nine bus stops nearby.

1111 Brickell Bay Drive is about 857 feet from the Metromover Tenth Street Station.

The site is across the street from Florida East Coast Realty’s Panorama Tower, an 83-story mixed-use project now rising at 1101 Brickell Ave. The city’s zoning allows an up to 30% reduction of required parking for projects near mass transit.

Reductions between 30% and 50% require special payments to the city, if the waivers are granted and the project is built.

Ms. Escarra reminded the review board that the Panorama project was granted a waiver to allow reduced parking.

She explained other requested waivers. Miami 21 requires all access be from secondary frontages, however, 1111 Brickell Bay Drive only has two principal frontages: the bay and Brickell Bay Drive.

She said this triggers an automatic waiver.

All loading and unloading will be internalized, she said, but all access has to be from Brickell Bay Drive.

The zoning requires 60 feet between towers, but the proposal would have at least one corner or edge of the smaller building about 54 feet from the new 61-story tower, she said.

Board member Neil Hall referred to the “massive” reduction in parking being requested and wondered what public benefit would result.

“It’s a trade-off – define that,” he said.

Ms. Escarra said the project increases the public access to the waterfront and helps activate the site with retail uses. She said there will be substantial public benefit within a limited footprint.

While the southern end of the property will include the new grand entrance, the developer will keep and improve a north pedestrian pathway to the waterfront and baywalk, said Ms. Escarra.

She also noted that any reduction of parking above a 30% reduction is expected to cost the developer $25,000 per space, paid to the city.

A city planner said the amount is yet to be approved, but the money would go into the city’s new transportation trust fund.

Attorney Victor Diaz asked for “a more urbanly contextual building.”

One neighbor who said he lives and works in that area objected to the proposal, which he said would increase density by 140%.

He said the narrow two-lane street is already impacted by slow traffic, and when Panorama opens it will add 872 rental apartments and the accompanying traffic.

Adding hotel rooms and another tower of residences will only add to the traffic congestion, he said.

The man said he likes the plans to improve the waterfront on the site but suggested the city only allow improvements to the existing building.

Attorney Tucker Gibbs told the board he represents a company that owns property across the street from 1111 Brickell Bay Drive. He said that company has serious concerns, particularly about how the project can say it’s going to be pedestrian-friendly when all the added traffic will have to use Brickell Bay Drive.

Wouldn’t that, he asked, diminish the walkable urban environment?

The project will force the added cars to re-circulate through the neighborhood, causing conflict and “serious safety considerations,” he said.

Mr. Gibbs complained of the massing of the project, saying “you’re cramming a lot” onto a site that already has a building on it.

He said his clients also are concerned that the new garage will be close to the north property line.

“We urge the project be refined,” said Mr. Gibbs, and the number of waivers reduced.

Victor Diaz, who said he represents other interests in the neighborhood, opposed the waivers and said the project intends to cram the new 61-story tower too close to another building to the north. He asked the board to have the developer return with “a more urbanly contextual building.”

Ms. Escarra told the board that the developer has tried to reach out to stakeholders in the neighborhood as part of community outreach and desires to continue that outreach to address concerns.

“It’s a well-designed project,” said board member Fidel Perez.

“I like the way you’ve done the waterfront.”

He quickly added that he sees the requested waivers for less parking and the planned density to be very aggressive.

Mr. Perez said what bothered him the most was the residential vs. hotel option. He asked why the developer was presenting the project that way, instead of simply picking one.

“The hotel gives you a better opportunity to get more of a parking reduction,” said Mr. Perez.

Mr. Cardello mentioned the push to advance a population that depends more on ridesharing services like Uber and Lyft, and “public transportation needs to be encouraged.”

Will it include a hotel, Mr. Perez asked directly.

“We’d love the hotel option,” responded Mr. Cardello, but the developer needs the flexibility of not including the hotel.

“It’s important to decide which way to go,” Mr. Perez said. “Determine one way or the other, to convince me.”

Mr. Perez agreed with one critic,

‘Everything is kind of changing.’

Iris Escarra saying the developer needs to rethink the design and façade of the parking levels on the north side that abuts the neighbors.

“Now it’s just a blank wall 13 stories high,” he said.

Mr. Perez also suggested adding retail into the northwest corner of the new structure.

Mr. Hall mentioned the traffic on busy Brickell Avenue and its current challenges. He said most people are “still in car mode” and haven’t gotten away from private vehicles.

Mr. Hall said he agreed with Mr. Perez in preferring the developer pick one option and pursue it, but he praised the look.

“It’s a very exciting project to view and be around,” Mr. Hall said.

He said it is a “dense, dense area” and the site is a tight space, but the design is done brilliantly.

“You’ve done an extraordinary job creating very articulate spaces,” said acting board chairman Anthony Tzamtzis, “especially the street level retail.”

He also likes the way the lobbies relate to the street and the design of the southern pedestrian pathway.

Mr. Tzamtzis said he understood some of the concerns raised and also wished the developer would not proceed with options.

Ms. Escarra referred to the options and suggested the market will determine if a hotel should be included. She said rather than present it as a residential project and later come back with alterations for a hotel, the developer wanted to “put all of our cards out on the table” now.

“Everything is kind of changing,” she said.

Mr. Tzamtzis said there can be great consequences in reducing the parking required, and he agreed the requested waivers were aggressive.

“I have mixed feelings,” he said, asking for an improved pedestrian pathway on the north.

Mr. Perez made a motion to recommend approval with conditions, the first being that the project be limited to a 30% parking reduction if developers proceed with both options but they can get an up to 50% reduction if they pursue the hotel option.

Other conditions the developer’s team agreed to include redesigning the north façade of the new structure and trying to add uses to the northwest corner to make it more open and pedestrianfriendly.

Plans show that even with a reduction in parking the project will provide 955 spaces.

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