Miami Today: Week of Thursday, July 13, 2017

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WEEK OF THURSDAY, JULY 13, 2017

A Singular Voice in an Evolving City

WWW.MIAMITODAYNEWS.COM $4.00

COUNTY OKs $11 MILLION FOR TRAFFIC LIGHTS THAT SELF-ADJUST TO FLOW, pg. 13 ALL-STAR HOTEL PRICES: Hotel price comparison site HotelsCombined reported that hotel prices in Miami rose 16% Tuesday due to the 88th Major League Baseball All-Star game at Marlins Park. On Tuesday, a hotel room in Miami averaged $142, the site said. Hotel prices downtown – near Marlins Park – were more expensive, with rooms costing $187 Tuesday night, 27% higher than the rest of Miami. By next Tuesday, Miami hotel prices should decrease 16% to an average of $121, the site said. Downtown hotel occupancy rates on Tuesday were at 79%, with Miami’s total occupancy rate at 69%, HotelsCombined said.

The Achiever

By John Charles Robbins

MIAMI TAX RATE CUT OFFERED: Miami Mayor Tomás Regalado announced Friday release of 2017-18 proposed budgets that lower millage rate for city property owners, invest more in capital projects, divide the Planning and Zoning Department into two stand-alone departments, and create a Department of Veterans Affairs and Homeless Services. The Office of Management and Budget will hold community budget meetings around the city. The proposed budgets are at www.miamigov.com/budget. DELINQUENCIES DECLINE: Miami-Dade County reduced its past-due receivables by nearly $4 million from the first of the year to March 31, reports from Mayor Carlos Gimenez show. The county had delinquent accounts on the books of nearly $44.7 million on March 31, down from more than $48.3 million at the start of the year. The largest single reduction was more than $3.1 million in delinquent water and sewer charges from the first of the year, when the total was nearly $13.9 million, to more than $10.7 million on March 31. Much of the reduction was probably due to write-offs of delinquent accounts. The largest delinquent category as of March 31 was more than $11.6 million in public housing and community development. CLEAN CAMPAIGN CLASSES: Political candidates, campaign workers and politically active citizens are the targets of two classes on how to run clean political campaigns, produced jointly by the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics & Public Trust and the Miami-Dade Elections Department. The classes will teach how to open and manage campaign financial accounts and run ethical campaigns. The 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. sessions will help candidates in the upcoming elections avoid legal pitfalls, correctly raise and report funds, keep records properly and understand the legal and ethical implications of seeking public office. The sessions will be Aug. 10 in the council chambers at Homestead City Hall, 100 Civic Court, and Sept. 19 in the commission chambers in Miami Beach City Hall, 17990 Convention Center Drive.

Felecia Hatcher

Photo by Cristina Sullivan

Moved from corporate world to found Code Fever The profile is on Page 4

New Monty’s lease with city may add 32 years By John Charles Robbins

Monty’s Raw Bar & Restaurant, a longtime fixture of the Coconut Grove waterfront, is destined for major redevelopment – and a longer lease from the city. A deal in the works with the landlord – the City of Miami – would extend the lease of the property and bring $7.5 million in improvements to the commercial venue within three years. In a related action, an adjoining 34-slip commercial dockage facility would be realigned, resulting in fewer slips. City commissioners today (7/13) are to consider legislation bearing on the city-owned property at 2550 S Bayshore Drive. The first is a resolution directing the city attorney to prepare a charter amendment asking voters in November to approve a lease extension and other factors of a new deal. The city charter requires voter approval for the lease or sale of city-owned waterfront property. Voters would be asked to approve an amendment to the lease between the city and Aligned Bayshore Marina LLC for city-owned

Riverfront convention hub in deal

property at 2550 S Bayshore Drive, to modify provisions of the lease, including extending it an additional 32 years, plus two 10-year options to renew. Other provisions include the greater of an additional minimum rent of $200,000 per lease year (a minimum of $10 million over the term of the lease excluding renewals) or 1.75% of gross rent receipts from the property. The tenant would make at least $7.5 million in improvements within three years of voter approval of the lease amendment. The site includes Monty’s, a Starbucks, small shops and offices, and a marina. The resolution lists key dates in the history of the site and the lease. The city entered into a lease with Bayshore Properties Inc. (BPI) on Sept. 20, 1985, which the city commission authorized on July 18, 1985, and voters approved Aug. 13, 1985. The lease was assigned to Grove Marina Market Ltd. (GMM) March 16, 1986, an assignment of lease consented to by BPI and the city. The lease was amended again in August 1991, September 1993 and November 2001. The lease was further assigned by GMM

to Bayshore Landing LLC on Aug. 20, 2004. The lease agreement between the city and Bayshore Landing was further amended in December 2004 and February 2015. The lease was then assigned by Bayshore Landing to Bayshore Marina on April 8, 2015. The latest proposed lease would also create a capital account requiring a minimum additional investment to the property of $4 million over the amended lease term including renewal options. It would implement a transfer fee if the property were transferred or assigned, and would include a refinancing fee should the property be refinanced after the initial refinancing. The lease proposal also calls for two independent appraisals obtained by the city affirming fair market value of the latest lease amendment, and would provide consent to the related submerged lands lease and waivers of deed restrictions that are required from the State of Florida. The other proposed resolution would direct the city manager to execute a lease modification to re-configure and reduce the square footage of the submerged lands and number of wet slips at that location.

Hyatt wants to control a downtown convention center the City of Miami now manages and at the same time get a longer lease. City officials are onboard and are negotiating a new lease. Perhaps the first big step is to get voters’ blessing. By city charter, they must approve the sale or lease of city-owned waterfront land. At today’s meeting (7/13), commissioners are to consider a resolution directing the city attorney to prepare ballot language seeking to extend the lease with Hyatt Equities LLC and incorporate the James L. Knight Convention Center land. The vote would be Nov. 7, coinciding with the municipal election. City officials say redevelopment of the city-owned Knight Center and attached hotel at 400 SE Second Ave. could energize the prime riverfront site. City officials considered the venue a “money pit” for years, and some considered selling the entire property, which includes the Knight Center, the Hyatt Regency hotel land and a 1,450-space garage that is the base of the privately-owned Miami Tower across the street. The original lease with Hyatt began in September 1979. Voters may be asked to authorize commissioners, by a four-fifths vote, to waive competitive bidding and execute an amended lease with Hyatt to extend the current term to 99 years, with an annual base rent to the city of at least $2 million, plus additional percentage rent for other uses, and to incorporate the convention center land into a comprehensive redevelopment master plan requiring city commission approval. A background memo says the Knight Center has 34 meeting rooms, including a 444-seat auditorium, a 117-seat lecture hall and a 4,650-seat theater, all connected to the Hyatt offering more than 600 rooms and additional meeting space. Commissioners agreed the property has seen better days. Some have expressed a desire to see nearby Fort Dallas Park made part of redeveloping the riverfront.

STUDY OF GROWTH AT COUNTY’S AIRPORTS TAKING OFF ...

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TRUST TO OPERATE VIZCAYA, ALL WORKERS KEEP JOBS ...

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KENDALL SPECIAL NEEDS SCHOOL GETS COUNTY LEASE ...

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HEALTH CAREERS MIDDLE SCHOOL DELAYING OPENING ...

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VIEWPOINT: EXAMINE CITYHOOD THROUGHOUT COUNTY ...

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TRANSPORTATION PLANS INCLUDE AUTONOMOUS CARS ...

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COUNTY MODIFYING BONDS FOR NEW SAFETY BUILDING ...

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MULTIPLE SOLAR POWER INITIATIVES SHINE IN COUNTY ...

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Miami Today: Week of Thursday, July 13, 2017 by Miami Today - Issuu