WEEK OF THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2017
TODAY’S NEWS
MIAMI TODAY
3
County minimum wage rule may double state’s The county voted to grant Hard Rock Stadium owners bonuses for big events to avoid paying for upgrade.
County may defer bonus payments to Dolphins owner for major events Miami-Dade County wants to defer bonus payments to the owners of the Miami Dolphins for holding major events at Hard Rock Stadium until the end of 2025 in order to have time to build up a shortfall reserve. That means that the bonus award for the hosting of Super Bowl LIV (54) on Feb. 2, 2020, ending a string of rejections for the game because the stadium was not up to par for the National Football League, would be paid almost six years after the game was held. The legislation now in county hall that would delay the payments to team and stadium owners says the one-time delay would permit the county to build up a Convention Development Tax shortfall reserve toward its $45 million target. The county would not have to pay interest on the delayed funds. The delay is permitted in the agreement that got the stadium renovated at owners’, not taxpayers’, expense in return for the bonus plan. The first event eligible for the bonus payments was the soccer match between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona at the stadium this past July 29 in a game known as “El Clásico,” which was attended by 67,000 fans. The bonus payments are intended to incentivize the stadium owners to host major touristgenerating sporting events. The agreement aimed also to ensure that the Dolphins spend at least 30 years more in Miami. Deferring its checks would not create a situation in which the county would have to make lump sum payments to the stadium, according to Deputy Mayor Edward Marquez. Payments, he said, would come in the order in which they were earned, capped at $5 million a year and $30 million for the entire deferral period. The Super Bowl game at the renovated stadium in Miami Gardens, the first one here since 2010, will be a record 11th to be staged in South Florida, breaking a tie with New Orleans. Principal Dolphins owner Stephen Ross, a New York real estate developer, reportedly invested more than $450 million in the stadium overhaul. County commissioners in June 2014 approved Mayor Carlos Giménez’s plan for the bonus payments in exchange for Mr. Ross being financially responsible for the renovation of the stadium without county assistance. Commissioner Barbara Jordan, who sponsored the resolution in 2014 that approved the agreement, is the sponsor of the legislation seeing to defer payments of the
performance bonus until Dec. 31, 2025. The new deal, under what was termed a performance-based marquee event grant agreement, lasts for 20 years. Its key points include: Stadium owners were to finance and construct the stadium improvements. The stadium owners now earn performance-based marquee event grants for hosting a Super Bowl or World Cup final, a $4 million county payout; college football championship or World Cup soccer match, $3 million; college football semifinal, $2 million; and international soccer, $750,000. Under the agreement, owners can get credit for no more than two international soccer events, other than World Cup matches, per year. Grant payments can only be made from the county’s portion of available Convention Development Tax funds. The county is not obligated to make such payments
until Dec. 31, 2024, though it can pay early. Each year of the grant agreement has an earning and payment cap of $5 million no matter how many marquee events have been hosted. In the event Convention Development Tax funds aren’t available to fund the earned grants, the amount owed will be rolled over and be eligible for payment in future years under a payment cap of $5 million per year. Prior to 2024, the stadium owners may not earn more than a total of $30 million in these grants. The county may set aside additional operating funds from the Convention Development Tax for the Pérez Art Museum Miami, the Phillip and Patricia Frost Science Museum, and the cultural facilities the county operates prior to making the grant payments to stadium owners. The county has an obligation to pay unfunded amounts existing at the end of the agreement term.
County service contractors would be required to raise their employees’ minimum wages to $13.20 per hour if they have qualifying health insurance coverage or $16.35 per hour if they don’t have health coverage under a proposal sponsored by Commissioner Jean Monestime. The national minimum wage level is $7.25 per hour, with no health coverage required. Florida has enacted a higher level, $8.10 per hour, also with no required health coverage. The county’s proposed minimum for its own service contractors would be more than double both the state’s minimum level and the nation’s. The county’s current minimum wage for its own service contractors with health coverage is $12.63, a figure that was set inApril 2016. The increase proposed by Mr. Monestime is 4.5% above that current level. The proposal was to be heard by commissioners Sept. 7, a meeting that preparations for Hurricane Irma washed away. In his resolution, Mr. Monestime says that the county “has a responsibility when spending public funds to set a community standard that permits full-time workers to live above the poverty line.” The current minimum for county services providers is spelled out in the county’s living wage ordinance as it was amended last year. That county ordinance dates to 1999, when the minimum wage was set at $8.56 per hour for contractors’ employees who get health
Jean Monestime offers change.
benefits or $9.81 per hour for those without health benefits. Since then, the wage rate and the health benefit have been adjusted annually using the US Department of Commerce’s Consumer Price Index rate for Miami-Dade County. But, Mr. Monestime says in his legislation, “the general Consumer Price Index has proved inadequate when applied to the inflationary effects on health benefits,” a factor in the commission’s 12-1 vote last year to raise the minimum levels that county contractors must pay their workers. The county’s Living Wage Commission, Mr. Monestime wrote, asked the county to review the wage rates and to push up the base levels that the commission approved last year. If commissioners approve Mr. Monestime’s proposed ordinance, it will take effect Oct. 1. The legislation would also make the new rate schedule a part of county code.
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MIAMI TODAY
VIEWPOINT
WEEK OF THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 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
New federal survey offers vital clues to good transit policy A bonanza of new data about MiamiDade residents can be a goldmine for policymakers who use reality rather than assumptions to plan the future. Whether it’s trying to speed commutes, view- Michael Lewis ing the impacts of foreign immigration, planning housing development or bidding to lure the massive second headquarters of Amazon, the reality of our situation trumps wishful thinking every time. And last week the federal government pulled aside the curtain to reveal a new reality, the 2016 US Census Bureau American Community Survey of social, economic and housing information that, carefully selected and read, offers broad hints about what we can and should do in business and government. Applying just a slice of that data to transportation, for example, we find key factors that should enter our thinking as we seek to develop a six-leg transit network to speed mobility in Miami-Dade. One enlightening fact is that the dreaded morning rush hour that seems to ensnare every worker in Miami-Dade does no such thing. While the morning commute can indeed be horrible, the 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. rush hour in fact affects fewer than half of all
Miami-Dade workers. Only 47% of them arrive on the job in that span. Another 33% of us get to work somewhere between 9 a.m. and midnight, the survey shows, and fully 20% of us arrive on the job between midnight and 7 a.m. This shows us, for example, that about 10% of all Miami-Dade workers arrive while our Metrorail and Metromover systems are out of service to save money. If we expect to cultivate a working population that gets out of cars and into a rail system to get around, 10% are left out from the start. And when we talk about trying to flatten and lengthen rush hour to even out auto traffic flows, we should be aware that Miamians are already arriving at work at every hour – 3% between midnight and 5 a.m., 2.6% from 5 to 5:30 a.m., 2.6% from 5:30 to 6, 4.8% from 6 to 6:30 a.m. and so on. The feds even know how we got to work at each hour. The same 3% slice who commuted to work from midnight to 5 a.m. went by car, truck or van, either alone or carpooling, but only 2.1% of public transit riders got to work in that span – probably because they had no rail choice at those hours. It should be no great surprise that the average Miami-Dade worker’s one-way commute takes more than half an hour – a mean 33.2 minutes, the census bureau found, meaning the average worker is commuting well over an hour a day. In fact, 14.8% of us work more than an hour from home – making more than two hours of commuting daily – and only 4.3% of us are 10 minutes from home or less. It’s more surprising that so many Miami-
Dade workers have access to a personal vehicle despite income levels that don’t support car ownership – perhaps a testament to our love for cars or a stronger indication that with weak mass transit we require cars, whether or not they are actually affordable. The survey found that only 4.1% of us had no personal vehicle access, 23.7% had access to one car, 42% to two cars and 30.2% to three or more. As for being able to afford all those cars, consider this: nearly 41% of all MiamiDade workers over the prior year earned less than $25,000, with 19.8% earning less than $15,000. Think how high a percentage of income must go to owning a car and keeping it running. Only 14.1% of county workers earned $75,000 or more. The median was $30,419. Put that all together and you can understand how Miami-Dade residents say they go to work each day: 85.3% via car, truck or van; a pitifully low 5.3% in public transportation; 2.1% on foot; 0.5% by bicycle, and 1.3% via taxi or motorcycle. And the rest: 5.5% work at home, a higher percentage than all the public transit commuters. If we want to get cars off the road, one good policy may be to get more of us into the same car, truck or van: 76.2% of all workers commute alone in a vehicle, 6.7% go in a two-person carpool, 1.5% in a three-person carpool and 0.8% in a carpool of four or more. Suppose we could add 5.3% of all workers to carpools or get more crowded vehicles – pooling three people instead of
two, for example. That would remove from roads cars equal to all of our mass transit commuters – like doubling mass transit commuter use. It would cost a whole lot less than the $6 billion plan for six new transit corridors. Think too about this: mass transit legs planned for Miami-Dade won’t meet the needs of the 6.8% of our workers with jobs outside of the county. New transit that only goes to the county line won’t get them there. As for how far they go, we know from the survey that fewer than a quarter of our 1,357,768 workers over age 16 – 23.2% – work in the municipality where they live. Very few of the other 76.8% are candidates to walk or cycle to work, no matter how nice the sidewalks or bike paths. Numbers don’t change behavior, but they sure help to sketch reality and the barriers and opportunities for change. Growing carpooling by two-thirds, for example, would have an impact greater than doubling mass transit commuting. During reconstruction of the 826-836 interchange the state paid people to carpool. Impact was light but real. Would raising the bounty and offering it all over the county for all carpooling change behavior and open up roadways – plus cut billions off the bill for mass transit? Could rebates for use of new-generation mega-buses have the same impact? Maybe the new federal data cornucopia holds the answers for transit, and perhaps for other puzzles like housing needs. One thing for sure: we ignore the newly available facts to our own policy peril.
Stalemate in Washington leaves health insurance in limbo What should you expect now that the drive to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act appears dead – at least for the moment? Given how legislation gets made in Washington, I wouldn’t be surprised to see some el- Trudy Lieberman ements of the repeal and replace bill surface again, possibly tacked onto what’s known as must-have legislation. All that, though, is speculation at this point! What’s more important to millions of families who must buy health insurance for next year is how much will it cost and what will it cover? It’s safe to say that Obamacare will be around for awhile, meaning that people without employer coverage, Medicare or Medicaid will have to buy their insurance through their state’s shopping exchange or choose a policy that insurers may be selling in the individual market. At the moment the state exchanges are fraught with uncertainty that will affect what your family will have to pay. Insurance companies are not sure whether the federal government will enforce Obamacare’s individual mandate. Recall that the mandate requires nearly every American to carry insurance. It was a point of contention in the congressional failure to repeal the health law. Without the mandate, there’s no way to compel people to buy health insurance, and that means fewer people in an insurer’s pool
The Writer
Trudy Lieberman is a fellow at the Center for Advancing Health. Contact her at trudy.lieberman@ gmail.com. to share the risk of insuring the sick who will be among those signing up for coverage. If the mandate is not enforced in the coming year, some insurers say they must price their policies high enough to cover the claims of people who need medical care. Their other big worry is that the Trump administration will not continue the costsharing subsidies for people with low incomes who buy on the exchanges. The Affordable Care Act assumed that people with low incomes – 250% of the federal poverty level or less – that’s about $30,000 for a single person and $61,000 for a family of four – would need help paying the deductibles and other out-of-pocket costs. So it provided for a system of subsidies for people whose incomes qualified them and who purchased a silver plan in their state exchange. This year some 58% of Americans buying on the exchanges received subsidies, which reduced their deductibles and other out-of-pocket costs by between $700 and $3,400. If the administration takes that help away, it’s a good bet those people won’t be able to buy insurance. That’s exactly why the prospect of losing subsidies worries insurance companies as well as policymakers. It means the risk pool will shrink even more. That, in turn, will cause premiums to rise, perhaps more than they otherwise would.
Because of all this uncertainty, insurers are taking no chances and are pricing their 2018 policies to account for the possibility of no enforcement of the mandate and loss of cost-sharing subsidies for individuals and families. In early August the Kaiser Family Foundation began to quantify what the uncertainty could mean for families buying in the state exchanges this fall. In 15 of the 20 states Kaiser looked at, insurers have proposed double-digit increases. For example, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan requested an average rate increase of 26.9% while the New Mexico Health Connections asked for 32.8%. While those proposed increases offer a flavor of what’s to come for policyholders in some states, it’s important to remember that few, if any, people pay average rates, and actual premiums for some people could be lower. Furthermore, insurance regulators often approve lower rates than the ones insurers ask for. Still, in some states, residents are likely to be paying more because of the uncertainty. Keep in mind that paying a higher monthly premium isn’t the only way the uncertainty can hit your pocketbook. If an insurer chooses to charge lower premiums, most likely it will compensate by making you pay higher deductibles, coinsurance and copays. For 2018 the maximum pay out-of-pocket amount is $14,700 for families and $7,350 for individuals, which includes spending for deductibles, copays and coinsurance, but not the premium. Paying those amounts is tough, so those
buying on the state exchanges this year will have to carefully consider the tradeoffs between paying higher premiums up front or more later if they get sick. It’s a choice that comes down to a family’s tolerance for risk. What about the 156 million Americans with insurance from their employers? They’re not immune from higher costsharing, either, as their employers shift more of the burden of the growing cost of medical care to them. Using Kaiser data, Axios Vitals, a Washington health newsletter, estimated that deductibles for HMOs have increased 70% and for PPOs (preferred provider plans) they’ve gone up 41% from 2010 to 2016. Just about everyone is feeling the pinch one way or another.
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MIAMI TODAY
TODAY’S NEWS
WEEK OF THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2017
7
Wide range of job types in county’s 19,300 gain
County would pay the Girl Scouts $415,000 for a half acre to add to 462-acre Matheson Hammock Park.
Girls Scouts selling land to park The Girl Scouts are selling Miami-Dade County land to expand Matheson Hammock Park, which will provide a 10-foot-wide nature trail and pedestrian access to the west side of the park, expanding nature-based programming. Up for purchase is a vacant half acre at 9950 Old Cutler Road. The proposed contract is for $415,000 for land that was appraised in February 2016 at $440,000. Added to the county’s cost would be $6,500 for closing the sale. The park, at 9610 Old Cutler Road, is now 462 acres. The additional land is owned by the Girl Scout Council of Tropical Florida Inc. County commissioners are being asked to modify the 2004 Building Better Communities General Obligation Bond project that set aside $6 million that the county would borrow for Matheson Hammock Park improvements. The project’s description in the bond issue – a borrowing program that included more than 300 capital projects – did not
provide for land acquisition, so the modification is needed for land buys. Michael Spring, senior advisor to Mayor Carlos Giménez, wrote to county commissioners that the land purchase would be consistent with a commission resolution passed in 2012 “that requires the mayor to consider and analyze the acquisition of any parcel of land that becomes available adjacent to a county park.” Mr. Spring wrote that “due to high land values, limited availability of funding options when needed for this acquisition and the opportunity for the county to exercise its rights, the use of the bond allocated funds is vital for the successful park expansion.” The park’s general plan, Mr. Spring said, will be amended to incorporate the land being purchased. The citizens advisory committee that oversees the 2004 bond issue recommended the purchase of the land April 27, Mr. Spring said.
A mixed bag of job types scored employment gains in Miami-Dade County in August from a year earlier, boosting non-agricultural employment by 19,300 persons. No single area stood out, with the largest percentage gain in jobs at 6% in a category that the US Bureau of Labor Statistics labels “other services.” Jobs in that grouping rose 3,200 in the 12-month period, from 53,500 to 56,700. The types of jobs seem totally unrelated other than that they are in a broad category of services that don’t fit into the larger groupings of leisure and hospitality, financial, professional and business services and other service categories that the bureau tracks as units. Among “other services,” the bureau lists such categories as equipment and machine repair, grant-making, promotion of religious activities, advocacy, dry cleaning and laundries, personal care services, funeral homes, pet care, parking services and dating services. The largest category of job gains in the 12-month period
in total jobs was in leisure and hospitality, which scored a 5.3% employment gain of 7,300 jobs to 145,600 jobs in the county. The next largest gain was in a broad category encompassing trade, transportation and utilities, which saw a gain of 6,300 jobs to 296,600, a 2.2% increase. That category includes wholesale trade, where jobs rose 4.2% to 76,400; retail trade, where jobs inched up 0.2% to 147,800; and transportation, warehousing and utility, where jobs rose 4.2% to 72,400. The next largest net gain in jobs was in education and health services, which recorded a 2.4% gain to 180,500 jobs. The largest job drop over the year was a 1.2% decline in professional and business services employment to 167,600 jobs. The county’s unemployment rate at the end opf August was 4.9% not seasonally adjusted or 4.6% seasonally adjusted. Both figures were slightly worse than the nation’s total 4.5% unadjusted unemployment rate and 4.4% adjusted unemployment rate.
Ross Report Real Estate by Audrey Ross
Millennial Buyers Have Arrived
PUBLIC NOTICE SOUTHEAST OVERTOWN / PARK WEST COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR THE DISPOSITION AND DEVELOPMENT OF BLOCK 55 PLAT BOOK “B” PAGE 41 249 NW 6TH STREET, MIAMI, FLORIDA RFQ NO: 17-02 **SUBMISSION DATE EXTENSION TO OCTOBER 17, 2017**
• Millennials are mainly first-time buyers competing against repeat home buyers with more leverage. • Prices have gone up due to a shortage of homes, especially After many years of experts starter homes falling within the speculating that Millennials budgets of first-time buyers. weren’t all that interested in According to Zillow, 3% fewer buying a home, they have homes were on the market become the largest group of in the first half of 2017 and homebuyers in the country. In the home values were up about 7% first quarter of 2017, Millennials compared to a year ago. were responsible for 45% of all homes purchased, according to • Bidding wars are making it Ellie Mae. Millennials may be harder to get an offer accepted. ready to become homeowners, Many properties are receiving but they don’t enter the market multiple offers above list price, without plenty of struggles, here especially in the lower end of the are a few: market.
The Southeast Overtown/Park West Community Redevelopment Agency (the “SEOPW CRA”) is seeking proposals for the disposition and development of Block 55, a 3.44 acre land parcel located at 249 NW 6th Street, Miami, Florida 33136. The SEOPW CRA is declaring its intent to dispose of its interest in the above-referenced property, and is seeking proposals from private developers or any persons interested in undertaking to develop the property. **As a result of Hurricane Irma and the disastrous aftermath, the SEOPW CRA is extending the Response Submission Date. The new date for submission of completed responses is now: No later than 11:00 am on Tuesday, October 17, 2017. Responses must be delivered to the City of Miami - City Clerk’s Office, 3500 Pan American Drive, Miami, Florida 33133. Any Responses received after the above date and time or delivered to a different address or location will not be considered. RFP documents may be obtained from the SEOPW CRA offices located at: 819 NW 2nd Ave, 3rd Floor, Miami, Florida 33136, or from the SEOPW CRA webpage: http://www.miamicra.com/seopwcra/pages/procurement.html The SEOPW CRA reserves the right to accept any Responses deemed to be in the best interest of the SEOPW CRA, to waive any minor irregularities, omissions, and/or technicalities in any Responses, or to reject any or all Responses and to re-advertise for new Responses as deemed necessary by the SEOPW CRA without notice. For more information please contact the SEOPW CRA office at (305) 679-6800.
#29036
Millennials may consider raising their budget, which could lead to them ending up with a home they cannot afford. Patience during the home-buying process is paramount. First-time buyers need to stick to their pre-determined budget. Do your homework, figure out your budget and be first in line to offer for the home of your dreams. Audrey Ross 305.206.4003 aross@miamirealestate.com www.miamirealestate.com
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MIAMI TODAY
TODAY’S NEWS
WEEK OF THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2017
Gables chamber looks for future opportunities after Irma By Catherine Lackner
In the days following Hurricane Irma – including over the weekend – staff members of the Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce called every chamber member. “We were not able to reach all of them, because some had evacuated,” said Mark Trowbridge, chamber president and CEO. “But we wanted them to know somebody was thinking about them.” The city’s downtown was largely undamaged, but business operators there had connectivity problems, he said. “It’s a relatively compact area and there are not as many trees as in the residential section,” he said. “FPL did a darn good job there. But most of the city is served by Comcast, and connectivity is the lifeblood of
the restaurants and retail.” City and chamber officials met with Comcast representatives and were told the cable company could only begin its repairs after power had been restored, he said. Then representatives would begin to analyze which parts of the system can be quickly brought into service. “The frustration level is so high; people aren’t privy to some of the conversations we’ve had. I feel empathy for folks. Our role is to ask the questions and to have that conversation with Comcast.” Connectivity wasn’t the only issue, he added. “Businesses were having a hard time finding employees to staff up. Transit wasn’t running 100%. People think of Coral Gables as affluent, but many workers here commute from other
Mark Trowbridge: called them all.
areas,” Mr. Trowbridge said. “We told our staff, ‘Come to work and be in the air conditioning.’ They could bring their kids, because some have child-care issues. We advanced our payroll a week so people would have cash and be
able to gas their cars. And we urged all of our members to be as flexible as possible with their employees.” In addition to its other outreach activities, the chamber will partner with the City of Coral Gables and the federal Small Business Administration to hold a workshop at 3 p.m. Sept. 25 at Actors’ Playhouse, 280 Miracle Mile, to explore what resources are available, he said. Should a similar disaster strike, “there are some things we’d do differently,” he said. “We’d like to have some redundancies. When you can’t reach people for 24 to 48 hours, all bets are off,” he said. “Post-disaster, I think we have to ask a lot of questions,” he continued. “The opening of the shelters wasn’t as smooth as it
was hoped to be. The American Red Cross has some explaining to do, and thankfully the National Guard stepped in. People didn’t have access to good information.” The recovery effort should be collaborative, he said, between groups and between regions. “As we found with Zika, people look at Florida as one spot. They don’t know the difference between Naples and Monroe County. So it makes sense to collaborate, as we do on other issues. “We learn something from any type of event,” Mr. Trowbridge said. “We learned from Andrew, Katrina and Wilma. We could have another storm in two weeks or not for 20 years. I’m an optimist, and I look for opportunities for this to be our finest hour.”
City officials tally Irma’s damage, look to state, federal aid By John Charles Robbins
City of Miami government officials prepare for storms like Hurricane Irma by tucking away money for emergency needs, lining up a fleet of private contractors with trucks and chainsaws, and taking proactive action like cleaning out stormwater drains and ditches. By nearly all accounts, the reaction to the Sept. 10 hurricane has been: It could have been worse. Along with downed trees and scattered debris in many city parks, the city did sustain some damage to government buildings, including police and fire stations. Perhaps the most significant hit was to the city’s three marinas, which remain closed due to the storm damage. City officials are working to calculate the financial hit the municipality will have to bear, while holding onto expectations that the state and federal government will provide assistance, according to Christopher Rose, director of the Office of Management and Budget. It is still too early to tell what the financial impact will be to the city budget in terms of clean-up efforts, and overtime costs for police, fire-rescue, public works crews and others, he said. “The city is still assessing and estimating costs of overtime,
Photo by John Charles Robbins
Debris from Hurricane Irma washed up along the shore of Dinner Key Marina beside Miami’s City Hall.
logistical response, debris clearing, and necessary repairs. The city does not have a comfortable estimate right now,” Mr. Rose told Miami Today on Monday afternoon. Because this was an “all hands on deck” situation, most departments have some costs that can be attributed to the storm, whether it is overtime, repairs, or purchases that would not have been made if it were not for Hurricane Irma, he said. The city’s three marinas were
damaged and are undergoing assessment and cost estimation, said Mr. Rose. The next largest impact was tree and fence damage in many city parks. “City fire and police stations sustained some water damage, some roof damage, fence damage, as well as signage and lights damage. City Hall and the Miami Riverside Center both had some water damage,” Mr. Rose said. The city does have $5 million of reserve set aside every year for just such situations, known
as the Contingency Reserve of the Operating Budget. The city also has $8.2 million in the current year and $8.8 million next year (not yet approved by the City Commission and subject to amendment) in a reserve known as the “Reserve for Uncollectable Revenues” that could also be used for this purpose, he said. “But, most importantly, the city will be seeking FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) reimbursement according to the Federal Stafford Act for
most storm-related costs,” said Mr. Rose. City crews and trucks have been clearing away debris from the storm. City contractors have estimated 1 million cubic yards of debris on or along public streets from the storm, he said. The city had more than 40 private trucks and vehicles working on debris removal the Monday after the storm, ramping up to 80-100 vehicles toward the end of the week, he said. “This is in addition to the City of Miami Department of Solid Waste and Public Works crews that are also clearing debris from public roads, as well as Parks and Recreation crews clearing debris in parks,” Mr. Rose said. He noted there is a significant demand for these crews nationwide, especially in the rest of Florida and in Texas. Through it all, Mr. Rose had praise for city employees. “The Department of Real Estate Management team worked extraordinarily hard to get the Dockmaster Building back open within two days at the Dinner Key Marina,” he said. “This building is the communication line that patrons of the marina have with their family and acquaintances.” He added, “Our procurement team did an amazing job getting ice, water and food for city residents – and fuel for city vehicles – and for other municipalities, too.”
Greater Miami Chamber credits those who stepped up By Catherine Lackner
The role of the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce in the Hurricane Irma recovery is manyfaceted, said Alfred Sanchez, president and CEO. In addition to serving as an information clearing house, the chamber is publicly commending organizations that have stepped up to provide relief, he said. “One of the things that makes Miami so resilient is that its corporate citizens take their social responsibilities very seriously,” he said. “We want to highlight that and encourage others to find ways to support recovery efforts.”
A recent press release praised Carnival Corp., the Miami Heat Charitable Fund, the Arison Foundation, Florida Blue, Bank of America, Baptist Health South Florida, Wells Fargo and Uber, among others, for their contributions. As if to practice what it preaches, the chamber itself is offering free workstation space to member companies that have no electricity, no Wi-Fi, or neither. When talking to members, “The No. 1 concern we heard was about connectivity,” he said Monday. “There are so many Comcast and T-mobile customers out there without service, and it
Alfred Sanchez: encourage others.
might be awhile. We figured we can help.” The chamber is also circulating news of available state and federal
loan and aid programs, including bridge loans for small businesses. “There’s a lot of information coming down from the government and state; we want to be a conduit for that through our website and social media,” Mr. Sanchez said. On a less positive note, the chamber is also spreading warnings about consumer rip-offs, including predatory lending and phony-contractor scams, he said. As they were working through the storm, chamber staff members discovered the most effective communications were emails and text messages, he said. “Those seemed to get the most attention, so that will figure
into our future planning.” The chamber is considering convening a meeting to discuss what was learned from Irma and how to best prepare for future disaster situations, he said. “This is a cautionary tale: we really dodged a bullet, but we still had major disruption,” he said. More than 1 million people tried to evacuate and, at press time, some homes still didn’t have electricity. “What we got was maybe a category 1 or 2 storm; a category 4 or 5 would have been disastrous,” Mr. Sanchez said. “We need to understand the power of these storms and not get complacent.”
MIAMI TODAY
WEEK OF THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2017
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Arts & Culture Miami Children’s Museum prepares for 47% expansion By John Charles Robbins
The Miami Children’s Museum on Watson Island is preparing to expand its facility by 47% and add to its programming. It needs the approval of the Miami City Commission, which was to consider the expansion this week. The barrier island, connected to the mainland and Miami Beach by the MacArthur Causeway, is city-owned. Portions of the island fall under the control of the Miami Sports and Exhibition Authority, which is appointed by and answers to the elected city commission. Before the commission is a resolution urging the city administration to take all steps necessary to amend the agreement between the city and the authority and the sublease agreement between the authority and the Miami Children’s Museum Inc., in order to transfer 26,599 square feet of land on the southwest side to the museum. This would allow the museum to expand its program space and provide a new entrance. On July 18, representatives of the museum made a presentation to the board of the Miami Sports and Exhibition Authority to request the
The Miami Children’s Museum is seeking more city land to expand program space and add an entrance.
board’s support for the transfer of the 26,599 square feet, according to a background memo. Museum representatives indicated that the southwest side of the museum site is underutilized and would provide a wonderful location to expand and “provide a stunning new entrance to guests from across the globe.” The requested land would allow the museum to expand its program space for its youngest guests, and would include a new program building. According to the memo, mu-
seum officials indicated they would: Convert the newly transferred land to an early childhood experiential center. Include the autism spectrum. Create the first model center in the US utilizing proven practices from Beit Issie Shapiro and other premier centers that develop innovative therapies and services for children with disabilities and their families. Convene a panel of experts to bring the most progressive and best programs to Miami.
The proposed resolution details the background of the original lease and sublease. On Nov. 2, 2001, the city and the Miami Sports and Exhibition Authority entered into an agreement that leased to the authority a portion of Watson Island to develop the Miami Children’s Museum. On the same date, the authority and the Miami Children’s Museum Inc., a Florida, not-for-profit corporation, entered into a sublease agreement for the leasing of a portion of Watson Island to develop a world-class children’s museum
and other related facilities and improvements, the resolution says. Miami Children’s Museum constructed, operates and maintains the children’s museum at 980 MacArthur Causeway. The 56,500-square-foot facility represents the elements of the world; earth, wind, water and fire. It includes 14 galleries, a pre-school, a charter school, the KidSmart educational gift shop, a 200-seat auditorium and a Subway restaurant. The museum offers interactive exhibits, programs and learning materials related to arts, culture, community and communication. The museum was established in 1983 as the Miami Youth Museum in 2,000 square feet in a West Kendall shopping center. Over the past 34 years, the museum has relocated and expanded several times in response to both public and private support and involvement. “Since opening our 56,500 square foot state-of-the-art facility near Downtown Miami in fall of 2003, MCM has experienced tremendous growth and hosted over 5 million guests. Annual visitation has reached 430,000+ in recent years,” according to the museum’s website.
Wolfsonian extends offering to negotiate for two properties By Marilyn Bowden
An Invitation to Negotiate, or ITN, issued earlier this year by the Wolfsonian-FIU for the ground lease of two Miami Beach properties – The Annex, 1538 Lenox Ave., and a nearby surface parking lot at 1500 Lenox Ave. – has been extended, said Casey Steadman, the museum’s deputy director of business affairs. “Based on feedback from the ITN process,” he said, “we will now be accepting proposals on each property individually, in addition to both properties as a joint package.” Both properties, acquired by Wolfsonian founder Mitchell “Micky” Wolfson Jr. in 1986, are now owned by Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund, an entity of the State of Florida. The parking lot currently has 34 marked spaces, though the ITN states that a multi-level parking garage would be a better use of the site. Some restrictions would apply due to a perpetual, nonexclusive access easement. Built in the 1920s, The Annex is an historic commercial structure in the Mediterranean Revival style constructed of stucco-faced concrete block with the original decorative ornamentation. The four-story, approximately 28,000-square-foot building is now used to store some of the museum’s collections. “The Annex is just below Lincoln Road, so it’s a valued loca-
Photo by Marlene Quaroni
Director Tim Rodgers aims to move museum storage to the mainland.
The Wolfsonian-FIU, at 1001 Washington Ave., aims to expand soon.
tion, and storage is not the best use for it,” museum Director Tim Rodgers said. “We would like to move our storage to the mainland, into a larger, newer and hopefully more secure building. The museum will of course remain on Miami Beach.” That said, the impact of Hurricane Irma on this and all Wolfsonian buildings – located in the heart of Miami Beach’s Art Deco District – “was limited to the anticipated, minor leaks,” Mr. Rodgers wrote in an open
letter earlier this week. “I cannot commend enough the efforts of our incredible staff in prepping the site and safeguarding the collection in the days prior to the hurricane, with lightning speed; many stayed behind to ensure that Floridians continue to set the standard for museum disaster planning.” The Wolfsonian, at 1001 Washington Ave., was founded in 1986 to exhibit, document and preserve the vast Mitchell Wolfson Jr. Collection of Decorative & Pro-
paganda Arts, which was stored in the Washington Avenue building, an historic structure built in 1927. “There are about 180,000 objects in our collection,” Mr. Rodgers said, “which makes it one of the largest museum collections in the country, if not the world. Certainly it is much larger than any other museum in the county.” Various expansion plans designed to increase the museum’s exhibition space have been floated over the years. The most practical and cost-effective, Mr. Rodgers said, involve containing the expansion with the Washington Avenue building. Renovations in 1992 to convert that structure into a state-of-the-art museum included the addition of two floors. The county in 2004 granted the Wolfsonian-FIU $10 million in bond money to increase public
access to the collection, to be raised through a bond issue once final plans are approved. The grant was part of a $2.9 billion general obligation bond (GOB) program funding more than 300 projects over 15 years. “This ITN,” Mr. Steadman said, “is still step one in our long-term plans for expansion and accessing the $10 million in GOB funds to support that expansion.” Once those funds are allocated, Mr. Rodgers said, the WolfsonianFIU and the city will have to work out how many development rights are available. Issues concerning renovations to historic buildings in the Art Deco District will have to be addressed. The state, to which Mr. Wolfson donated the museum in 1997, would also need to approve any changes to the building housing it.
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MIAMI TODAY
ARTS & CULTURE
WEEK OF THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2017
Spotlight on fall cultural season: Highlights to plan for
ISRAEL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts presents the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra live in concert performing “Footnote Suite” by Pozansky, “Symphony No. 36” by Mozart and “Symphony No. 9” by Schubert. Nov. 5Adrienne Arsht Center for the PerformingArts of Miami-Dade County, Knight Concert Hall, 1300 Biscayne Blvd., Miami. Details: (305) 949-6722 or www.arshtcenter.org.
By Katya Maruri
As the summer months fade into fall and the rainy season slowly lets up, South Florida’s arts and culture season comes alive with an array of plays, concerts, ballets, exhibits, symphony performances, contemporary dances and operas, transforming the city into a cultural Mecca like no other. With an assortment of cultural events to choose from, audiences of all ages can enjoy a variety of musical, theatrical and dance performances, dynamic art displays and more as this year’s arts and culture season lights up South Florida. With the event season starting to pick up, and calendars filling in, here’s a list of a few buzz-worthy events that you definitely don’t want to miss
JEWELS The Miami City Ballet presents George Balanchine’s three-part full-length ballet “Jewels,” which showcases different international styles of ballet set to music by Fauré, Stravinsky and Tchaikovsky. Oct. 20-22. Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, 1300 Biscayne Blvd., Miami. Details: (305) 929-7010 or miamicityballet.org.
LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR The Florida Grand Opera presents “Lucia Di Lammermoor,” which tells of an unlucky Scottish girl who becomes a pawn in her family’s plot to revive its fortunes. As a result, she is forced into a marriage against her Yo-Yo Ma joins with the New World Symphony at the Knight Concert Hall at the Arsht Center on Oct. 28. will and butchers her bridegroom on their wedding night. Nov. 1118. Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County, 1300 Biscayne Blvd., Ziff Ballet Opera House, Miami. Details: (305) 949-6722 or http://fgo.org/.
FROM THE TRUER WORLD OF THE OTHER The Pérez Art Museum Miami presents “From the truer world of the other: Typewriter Art from the PAMM Collection,” which explores how artists and poets have transformed the typewriter into a tool for experimental artistic and poetic expression. Nov. 17-April 15. Pérez Art Museum Miami, 1103 Biscayne Blvd., Miami. Details: (305) 375-3000 “The Book of Mormon” follows the misadventures of two missionaries send to spread the Good Word. or http://pamm.org/exhibitions/ the collection of the Organization truer-world-other-typewriter-art- of Strauss’ “Don Quixote,” Men- CONTINENTAL delssohn’s “Symphony No. 4” ABSTRACTION of American States Art Museum of pamm-collection. The Patricia & Phillip Frost the Americas, based in Washington, and Schubert’s “Overture to Rosamunde.” Oct. 28 Adrienne Art Museum presents its exhibit DC. Oct. 8-Feb. 18. The Patricia & YO-YO MA PLAYS STRAUSS Arsht Center for the Performing “Continental Abstraction,” which Phillip Frost Art Museum, Florida Yo-Yo Ma, in collaboration with Arts, Knight Concert Hall, 1300 examines the wide spectrum of International University, 10975 SW violist Jonathan Vinocour and the Biscayne Blvd., Miami. Details: social, cultural and artistic concerns 17th St., Tamiami. Details: https:// New World Symphony, presents (305) 673-3331 or https://www. of countries across Latin America frost.fiu.edu/exhibitions/2017/cona once-in-a-lifetime performance nws.edu/. through over 40 works drawn from tinentsl-abstraction.html.
POSTERS FOR A MODERN AGE The Wolfsonian-FIU presents its exhibit “Julius Klinger: Posters for a Modern Age,” which explores issues of personal, corporate and national identity and the impact of cultural displacement on the history of design, and the role of commercial art in the modern city. Oct. 6-April 1. Wolfsonian-FIU, 1001 Washington Ave., Miami Beach. Details: http://www.wolfsonian.org/explore/ exhibitions/julius-klinger-postersmodern-age. RHYTHMIC ATLANTIC The Peter London Dance Company presents its “Rhythmic Atlantic” program featuring choreography by Miami natives Jamar Roberts, Gentry Isaiah George, Melissa Fernandez and Justin Rapaport with world premieres by Peter London in collaboration with Joel Gresham’s new art collection series. The program, which celebrates the influence of the African drum and instruments
The Hip Hop Nutcracker features dozen dancers and electric violinist. Continental Abstraction: Highlights from the Art Museum of the Americas at the Frost Museum at FIU.
WEEK OF THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2017
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Musicals, dance, art, symphony on new world music, will also showcase jazz, spiritual, soul, rock and roll, R&B, salsa, reggae and calypso music. Dec. 29-31. Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County, 1300 Biscayne Blvd., Carnival Studio Theater, Miami. Details: (305) 949-6722 or www.arshtcenter.org.
BRONFMAN PLAYS BEETHOVEN The New World Symphony presents pianist Yefim Bronfman live in concert as he performs “Piano Concerto No. 3” by Beethoven and “Symphony No. 5” by Shostakovich. Jan. 13. Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County, Knight Concert Hall, 1300 Biscayne Blvd., Miami. Details: (305) 673-3331 or www.arshtcenter. org or https://www.nws.edu/. THE BOOK OF MORMON The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts presents “The Book of Mormon,” which follows the misadventures of a mismatched Conductor Eduardo Marturet leads the Miami Symphony Orchestra. The Wolfsonian-FIU offers “Julius Klinger: Posters for a Modern Age.” pair of missionaries, sent halfway across the world to spread the Good Word. Nov. 28- Dec. 3. Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County, 1300 Biscayne Blvd., Ziff Ballet Opera House, Miami. Details: (305) 949nations Gala rship’s Illumi apman Partne 6722 or www.arshtcenter.org. 800 join in Ch 40
MIAMI TODAY
WEEK
et us L highlight Your event Robert F. Lewis, Chair of the Alcohol Beverage Group and the Managing Shareholder at the Downtown Miami office, and Marbet Lewis, Shareholder in the Alcohol Beverage Group.
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SALOME The Florida Grand Opera presents “Salome,” which captures all the corruption of King Herod’s court in ancient Jerusalem as a depraved princess executes a frenzied dance of death, which leads her straight to her own destruction. Jan. 27-Feb. 3. Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County, 1300 Biscayne Blvd., Ziff Ballet Opera House, Miami. Details: (305) 949-6722 or http:// fgo.org/. MIAMI SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA The Miami Symphony Orchestra presents its grand season opening featuring conductor Eduardo Marturet, saxophonist Ed Calle, guitarist Tulio Cremisini and the Miami Symphony Orchestra as they perform “Lullaby” by Gershwin, “Concerto for Guitar” by Cremisini, “Music for Sixty and Sax” by Marturet and “Symphonic Dances from West Side Story” by Bernstein. Oct. 15. Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County, 1300 Biscayne Blvd., Knight Concert Hall, Miami. Details: (305) 949-6722 or www. arshtcenter.org. Get ready South Florida, be sure to purchase your tickets, RSVP and don’t miss out on this year’s upcoming season.
DAY, JUNE 16, 2016
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MIAMI TODAY
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THE HIP HOP NUTRACKER The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts presents the evening-length production of “The Hip Hop Nutcracker,” featuring performances by a supercharged cast of a dozen dancers, an on-stage DJ, an electric violinist and rap legend Kurtis Blow as MC. Dec. 2. Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County, 1300 Biscayne Blvd., Knight Concert Hall, Miami. Details: (305) 949-6722 or www. arshtcenter.org.
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WEEK OF THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2017
MIAMI TODAY
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Miami’s Art in Public Places Program a picture of dissent By John Charles Robbins
The City of Miami is still getting grief about its proposal to expand its new Art in Public Places Program to include private developments. Some developers and representatives of building contractors have voiced concern and opposition to the city’s move, forecasting a negative impact from adding unnecessary costs to future projects. Meanwhile, business leaders in the Wynwood Arts District continue to fight to be excluded from the proposed legislation. The second part of the city’s Art in Public Places Program, identified as Phase II, isn’t yet on the books. City commissioners approved the legislation on a first reading in June. A final vote has yet to be held. David Polinsky, member of the Wynwood Business Improvement District (BID) board and chair of its planning and zoning committee, said the item may come up in October and he implored the arts community to appeal to the city commission. The city’s plan to take over responsibility for its own Art in Public Places Program from Miami-Dade County began more than a year ago. The move is designed to save administrative fees, avoid financial penalties and have more control over bringing iconic art pieces to public and private developments. The first part of the changes came in January when city commissioners approved legislation governing public projects. Opposition to proposed rules
“Endless Melody” is an example of public art outside of the Melody Tower in Miami’s Omni neighborhood.
on private developments stalled that portion of changes for several months to refine the details. Commissioners granted initial approval to the redrafted legislation governing art in public places on private projects June 22, after hearing from supporters and detractors. Support was expressed by neighboring municipalities including Coral Gables, Miami Beach and the Village of Palmetto Bay. Dade Heritage Trust and Miami-Dade County Public Schools back the measure as well. Opposition came from representatives of builders and developers, with the main complaint being added costs. Truly Burton, executive vice president of the Builders Asso-
ciation of South Florida (BASF), spoke in opposition to the proposed rules on private developers and submitted a letter outlining continued concerns of the group. “At this time, respectfully, BASF cannot support what amounts to an art impact fee. Instead, the association respectfully suggests this board consider recommending an incentive-based approach, to the city commission,” said Ms. Burton. The ordinance would impact projects with construction costs above $3 million. All non-governmental and private sector development projects (including interior or exterior modifications, additions or new construction) including parking structures, residential development projects, mixed-use projects
or commercial sites would have to provide for the acquisition of works of art subject to a project valuation schedule, a fee into a public art fund, or a combination of the two, according to Phase II. The project valuation schedule includes: Developments costing $3 million to $5 million would provide for the acquisition of art worth at least one-half percent of construction cost for artwork provided on site, or a quarter percent if the fee is paid into the fund. Developments of $5 million to $10 million would provide for the acquisition of art for at least three quarters of a percent of construction cost on site, or half a percent if paid into the fund. Developments of $10 million
to $15 million would acquire art costing at least 1% of construction cost for display on site or three quarters of a percent if the fee is paid into the fund. Developments above $15 million cost would acquire art worth at least 1.25% of construction cost or 1% if the fee is paid into the fund, or a combination. This ordinance wouldn’t apply to interior renovations or remodeling costing less than $3 million. The legislation would establish a Public Arts Program and board. The city could use money in the new Public Art Fund to buy public art and for cultural and educational programs and historic restoration and preservation. The proposed legislation reads, in part: “… a public art program would create a stimulating and diverse cultural environment that reflects, defines, and enhances the city’s heritage, values, and visions for the future through art integrated in the architecture, infrastructure, and landscape.” The legislation cites two court cases regarding a municipality’s authority to have such rules. In Metromedia Inc. v. San Diego, a 1980 case, the US Supreme Court held that land development regulations that require development to meet aesthetic conditions have been generally found to be supported by a legitimate public purpose. In Ehrlich v. City of Culver City, a 1996 case, the California Supreme Court held that an art fee on private development is a legitimate aesthetic regulation that does not require the same level of legal scrutiny as an impact fee.
107 finalists for funds in 10th annual Knight Arts Challenge By Katya Maruri
The Knight Arts Challenge, which has previously funded local cultural institutions such as O Cinema, New Dimensions Variable, Nu Deco Ensemble and the Light Box at the Goldman Warehouse, returns for its 10th year with over 107 finalists, with the intention of making high quality art experiences accessible to everyone in the community. “I think one of the ways that the Knight Arts Challenge has impacted the growth of the arts community in Miami is through the challenge’s two-pronged strategy,” said Victoria Rogers,
vice president of arts at the Knight Foundation. “The Knight Foundation works with partners who create or present art that engages, educates and delights residents in ways that reflect the rich diversity and identity of each community.” “We endeavor to make art general in Knight communities,” she said, “by funding anchor institutions seeking wider audiences and by supporting grassroots initiatives of individual artists and organizations.” As a result, the 107 local Knight Art Challenge finalists, which were named in August after proposing a range of projects that use the arts to explore the city’s ever-
‘The overall goal is to provide all individuals within the community with access to high quality art experiences regardless of where they live.’ Victoria Rogers evolving identity, will announce the winning ideas on Dec. 4 at the Knight Plaza in Museum Park. “What sets the Knight Arts Challenge apart from other initia-
tives,” Ms. Rogers said, “is that it is genre agnostic in the sense that applicants can propose a variety of artistic ideas through dance, theater, visual arts and so on while
focusing on expanding the reach and engagement of the arts within the community through authenticity and inclusion.” “The overall goal,” Ms. Rogers said, “is to provide all individuals within the community with access to high quality art experiences regardless of where they live.” In regards to the Knight Arts Challenge’s overall presence in Miami, Ms. Rogers said, “the arts inspire and challenge us, but they are also one of the things that brings this wonderfully diverse community together. After 10 years, we continue to be delighted by the high-quality art ideas from neighborhoods around South Florida.”
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Public-private deal could revive Fort Dallas Park downtown By John Charles Robbins
Fort Dallas Park, on the Miami River downtown, could be redeveloped and include a new restaurant and improvements to a historic cottage on the cityowned site. The plan for improvements at the park is included in an unsolicited proposal to the City of Miami from Sanctus Spiritus LLC, which has proposed a public-private partnership with the city. The proposal for the city-owned park at 60-64 SE Fourth St. was a discussion item on the city commission agenda this week. Two buildings occupy the site on the north bank of the river, sandwiched between a hotel and the county’s Riverwalk Metromover station. They include a gutted and dilapidated former restaurant and The Flagler Worker’s House, also known as Palm Cottage, the last known building in Miami directly associated with railroad magnate and developer Henry M. Flagler. For many years, seafood restaurant Bijan’s operated from the commercial building under a lease with the city. Litigation and allegations of unpaid rent ensued and the eatery eventually shut down. The legal battles have
Photo by John Charles Robbins
An unsolicited offer would improve Fort Dallas Park and build a new restaurant on the downtown site.
since been settled, yet the park’s fate remains in limbo. For the most part, the waterfront site has been blocked off and forgotten for several years, attracting trash and the homeless. The situation got so bad that a temporary security fence was installed around the site. More than a year ago, the city requested letters of interest to reactivate the site with a restaurant. At the time, the city
was offering only a short-term revocable license of five years, and the move didn’t secure a new operator/tenant. Since then, the City of Miami Department of Real Estate and Asset Management received an unsolicited proposal from Sanctus Spiritus LLC to redevelop the property to include a new restaurant, as well as capital improvements to the Palm Cottage.
Built around 1897, the historic house was one of at least 30 rental houses that Mr. Flagler constructed as homes for workers building his Royal Palm Hotel. The building was moved to Fort Dallas Park in 1980 and listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1989. Sanctus Spiritus is proposing to demolish the remnants of Bijan’s, construct a new restaurant, and improve the Palm Cottage
in accordance with the City of Miami Historic Preservation Office standards and requirements of the National Register of Historic Places. Code requires staff to bring unsolicited proposals to the city commission for discussion and action prior to advancing any such proposal. If the commission likes the idea and approves moving forward, a vote of city residents may be required as well, because it’s city-owned waterfront property. Fort Dallas Park was established in 1897 by the Florida East Coast Railway. It was designated a city park in 1983. The Miami River Commission has for many years pushed the city to clean up and improve the park for public use. The park came up in recent debate over redevelopment of nearby city-owned riverfront that’s home to a Hyatt Regency hotel and the James L. Knight Convention Center. Hyatt has proposed a major redevelopment but wants a new lease and control of the convention center. Commissioner Ken Russell has suggested a master plan for the entire riverfront, to include the hotel and convention site and Fort Dallas Park.
American Dream Mall team says it expects final OK Dec. 7 By Gabi Maspons
The team promoting the American Dream Miami megamall says it is working to have the 194-acre development at the Florida Turnpike and I-75 approved by the county on its last public hearing Dec. 7 and it will open to the public in 2023. “The hurricane shut down the county for almost two weeks, so we’re waiting to find out how that’s going to affect their schedule,” said Robert Gorlow, an attorney for the complex. “We’re working very, very hard with the Miami-Dade County staff on preparing the application for the final hearing on Dec. 7, and then we can move forward,” said Miguel Diaz de la Portilla, a former state senator representing Developer Atlantic LLC. Of the three meetings left, two are public hearings currently set for Nov. 6 and Dec. 7. At the most recent hearing, Broward County expressed traffic concerns about the $4 billion project, planned to have 2,000 hotel rooms, millions of square feet of retail and
Traffic mitigation plans are in hand: Miguel Diaz de la Portilla.
restaurants, movie theaters, a water park, an indoor ski slope, an aquarium, a performing arts center and more. Mr. Gorlow said the traffic concerns are simply a misunderstanding: “Broward has several representatives in the South Florida Regional Planning Council, and they are all on board,” he said. “We love and respect Broward County and hope that everything is settled to their satisfaction.” The single-phase retailtainment center will draw in 25,000 direct and indirect jobs, and 70,000 daily trips have been accounted for in the planning, Mr. Diaz de la Portilla said. “We already have plans to mitigate any added traffic,” he said. The projected opening is 2023, and the mall “will only open only once all of the infrastructure improvements are in place,” Mr. Diaz de la Portilla said. “Wherever there is a real or significant impact, we’re legally required to mitigate it,” he said. “More importantly, we’re investing billions of dollars of private capital, so we have 4 billion good reasons to make sure traffic is easy and comfortable for people to go to this family entertainment center.” Mr. Diaz de la Portilla said other mall developers in Broward don’t want competition and are driving the resistance. “We’re the future of retail, which is entertainment-based retail, and they’re scared to death about American Dream coming in and being extremely successful,” he said. Asked about Broward’s requests for a $28 million roadway extension to Miramar Parkway linking to US 27 and the $1.1 million capital cost of an adap-
tive signal system at the most recent public meeting Aug. 17, Mr. Diaz de la Portilla said, “The requests Broward is making are a wish list to Santa Claus; they’re unsupported and unsubstantiated impacts. We did an extensive traffic impact analysis with 12 transportation agencies and found no significant impact on Broward,” he said. “There’s
nothing for us to mitigate.” Broward’s request to design on-site transit infrastructure to include the county will be met: “Of course we will be including them,” Mr. Diaz de la Portilla said. “It makes sense and has basis in fact.” The mall will accommodate Miami-Dade Transit, Broward Transit, Uber, Lyft and a private
shuttle service with parking spaces, restrooms, a cafeteria and other amenities, Mr. Diaz de la Portilla said. Mr. Gorlow said he doesn’t anticipate the application facing challenges: “The application process is almost complete. Once [the county commission] votes on approvals, their vote is the will of the county.”
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File No. 2017 002217CR Division: PMH03 IN RE: ESTATE OF MAVIS L. GORDON (Deceased) NOTICE TO CREDITORS The administration of the estate of Mavis L. Gordon, deceased, File number 2017002217CR, is pending in the Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County, Florida, Probate Division, the address of which is 73 W. Flagler Street, Miami, FL 33130. The names and addresses of the personal representative and the personal representative’s attorney are set forth below. All creditors of the decedent and other persons having claims or demands against decedent’s estate including unmatured, contingent or unliquidated claims, on whom a copy of this notice is served must file their claims with this court WITHIN THE LATER OF 3 MONTHS AFTER THE DATE OF THE FIRST PUBLICATION OF THIS NOTICE OR 30 DAYS AFTER THE DATE OF SERVICE OF A COPY OF THIS NOTICE ON THEM. ALL CLAIMS NOT FILED WITHIN THE TIME PERIODS SET FORTH IN FLORIDA STATUES SECTION 733.702 WILL BE FOREVER BARRED. NOTWITHSTANDING THE TIME PERIODS SET FORTH ABOVE, ANY CLAIM FILED TWO (2) YEARS OR MORE AFTER THE DECEDENT’S DATE OF DEATH IS BARRED. The date of first publication of this notice is September 21, 2017. Attorney for Personal Representative: Chioma Deere Florida Bar Number 048950 Law office Maxine Cheesman 1818 S. Australian Ave, Suite 406 West Palm Beach, FL 33409 Telephone: (561) 656-1715 Personal Representative: Hendrick D. Chen 2980 NW 164 Terrace Miami, FL 33054
Pub: 9/21 and 9/28/2017
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