A New Gym and Three Clowns
The other morning, I stumbled upon the Jose Marti Gymnasium construction site and thought it was a great public amenity for the neighborhood. With this in mind I stopped my car, rolled down the window, and began snapping some shots. Before I could finish, some where in the distance I heard shouts. It seemed to be coming from above me because no one was on the street. I rolled down the window further and heard…
Continue Reading 17 comments January 29, 2008
Collins Avenue Development Activity Expanding
Image: Formerly Fairwind Seafood Bar and Grill
On May 17, last year, I wrote a post on the Collins Avenue Shopping District’s relatively rapid emergence and unique attributes. I ended the post by stating:
“The shopping district currently ends at 10th street, but there is room for it to expand northward. Collins, between 10th and 15th streets represents an underutilized segment of the storied avenue.”
Since then, the area north of 10th street on Collins has begun to transform as the anticipated northward expansion of new retail and hotel activity takes place. Structures are getting bought, restored, or demolished to make way for new businesses.
South Beach as a neighborhood and international brand has continuously redefined itself. It’s in these subtle changes, the motifs within the theme, that you see the redefinition taking place, so that every time a New Yorker or Londoner visits SoBe they feel like the experience has improved. This adaptability, along with the endowments nature has granted the island, is the key to its continued success.
Let’s see what this expansion looks like on the ground:
Continue Reading 4 comments January 29, 2008
Jacobo Cababie Dies of a Massive Heart Attack
Today, the profile I wrote on CABI principal Jacobo Cababie (developer of Everglades on the Bay, Turnberry projects, the Capital at Brickell) was the most popular read on my site. Considering I had written it months ago and didn’t have a direct referrer (website linking to me), I figured maybe something happened to him and people are searching him on Google. Turns out, something did. He died of a massive heart attack. No word on how or whether this tragedy will affect his firm’s numerous major Miami projects–including the Fontainebleau expansion.
5 comments January 28, 2008
Foram Group Bullish on Miami’s Class A Office Market
Condo Boom Stimulating Class A Office Development
Loretta Cockrum, President of the Foram Group (builders of the Brickell Financial Center) has said that the condo market boom has impacted the demand for Class A office space. Most agree that the condo boom, with all of its problems, does have one major positive aspect: the improvement of Miami’s demographics. For Miami, the status quo means mostly low income. Although not likely to quickly change, the incoming occupancy waves in and around the urban core will bring up income levels so that they are more compatible with declining home prices. This demographic improvement, according to Loretta, has and will continue to result in significant high quality commercial development.
Local Small Business Owners Uninterested in Green
Regarding the “Green” or LEED aspects of the Brickell Financial Center, Loretta stated that local small business owners have been mostly indifferent to…
Continue Reading 2 comments January 28, 2008
Jorge Perez’s $1 Billion ‘Opportunity Fund’
Cash is King
At Friday’s ULI Conference Related Group principal Jorge Perez announced plans for a $1 billion “opportunity” fund for the purpose of bailing out troubled buyers and expanding assets. Mr. Perez emphasized the scarcity of prime land and claims that the next upswing, whenever that may be, will involve significantly higher acquisition prices–prices that will make today’s per square foot values seem minimal in comparison. In a market where cash is king, he aims to demonstrate that his crown shines the brightest…
Continue Reading 11 comments January 28, 2008
Update on the Empire World Towers
Ladies and Gentlemen check this out–and don’t forget to click the video feature.
[Via the Daily Business Review]
8 comments January 18, 2008
Not Closed
First off, for those who have commented, emailed me (I have to catch up on those), or posted info on their blogs or sites, I can’t adequately describe my appreciation, and I’m sorry about my sudden heavy-hearted departure from the Sphere.
Next, I want to make a few things clear:
-
I did not leave on vacation, although it’d be nice right about now
-
I did not move to Canada AND NEVER WILL!
-
I have not lost my drive nor have I run out of ideas to write about
-
I have not forsaken the mission of this site or its readers
-
As you can tell by now, I’m not dead or incapacitated–Thank God.
My personal life took a drastic and dizzying turn in the last few weeks, and I had to and still am dealing with it. I’m an all or nothing kind of blogger. I’m not willing to do this half ass especially with the high standards I’ve come to expect from the readers. I don’t expect to retain all of my current readership, but will nevertheless let you know that
BoB will return (for good) before the month is over.
For those of you who stick around and those who subsequently discover this blog, you won’t be disappointed. Until then, back to solving life’s problems.
21 comments January 17, 2008
Is Miami Home to the Most Foreign-Born Residents?
Technically, no. That unique distinction is reserved for Sweetwater, FL. Although in Miami-Dade County, City-Data (the source of the list) factors it in as an independent municipality. This is the same for all municipalities within Miami-Dade. In Fact, in the City-Data U.S. Top 100 list of Cities with the Highest Percentage of Foreign Born Residents, the City of Miami ranks fifteenth. Let’s take a look at the top twenty:
Continue Reading 17 comments November 20, 2007
Protecting the Urban Development Boundary
The information below was sent to me by Dawn Sheriffs of Cleanwater.org: Urban sprawl strikes again! In 2006, with your help the Hold the Line successfully kept the Urban Development Boundary (UDB) from being moved west into Florida’s Everglades to accommodate sprawling development that would strain Miami-Dade’s already backlogged infrastructure.
Four new pending applications have been filed to open another 178 acres of Miami-Dade to development outside the line. An additional application is expected that seeks to add another 7,000 residential homes to the county’s roads, schools, and utilities increasing both traffic and pollution.
Empty chambers at community council meetings lead to only 1 out of the 4 applications being recommended for denial.
Miami-Dade’s citizens can’t afford to pave wetlands and permit new developments that will draw from our already taxed water supply and jeopardize the Everglades.
We are asking anyone who is able to attend to show up at the Miami-Dade County Commission hearing on Tuesday, November 27, 2007 and show your support!. For those who cannot be there, please visit www.udbline.com to complete an “action alert” asking your Commissioner to protect the Urban Development Boundary.
3 comments November 20, 2007
Commercial Development Outook: Central Business District
Using the latest DDA Development Activity Report, I created the chart below. It represents commercial space that has been built since 2002, current active construction, and commercial projects that have been approved but remain inactive.
Chart: Derived from the DDA Development Activity report, the chart above, which is separated by retail and office use, represents new commercial space added to the market since 2002, current construction, and approved but inactive commercial development.
As is the case with Brickell Village, 2008-09 represents a significant hike in new commercial space for the CBD market. At 803,000 sq. ft. of new construction, the Central Business District, ironically, falls short of Brickell Village’s over 1.4 million sq. ft. of new office space coming into the market…
Continue Reading 1 comment November 20, 2007
Commercial Development: Brickell Village Outlook
The chart below is one of several I prepared that are based on the latest DDA Development Activity Breakdown Report. It represents office/retail development (built, under construction, and approved) from 2002 to mid-2007 in Brickell Village. In an effort to compare DDA data with with an alternative source (to get the best overall picture), I deferred to CBRE’s market outlook. Let’s look at the DDA derived chart first:
Continue Reading 4 comments November 14, 2007
Update on Fisher Island
I received this information from the SEIU regarding the situation with workers at Fisher Island:
“At www.onemiaminow.org –we are soliciting for creative ways to get to Fisher Island’s exclusive shores (and you get a free t-shirt). We are taking anyone who wants to go with us on Saturday to mingle with the super rich who have been squashing the human rights and civil rights of their workers. We are also keeping up a blog of our own at http://fisherislandwatch.blogspot.com where we are going to start listing the ideas people have come up with so far.”
Continue Reading 5 comments November 14, 2007
Early Week Links
Media
- U.S. Housing Crash: History repeating in Florida and Lessons from the Roaring 20’s (Part II) [Market Oracle UK]
- ArchRecord Interview: Craig Robbins (Dacra) [Businessweek]
- Finding South Florida’s next economic wave [Miami Herald]
- Miami-Dade helping bail out State [Miami Herald]
- Revised Museum Park plan to be unveiled [Miami Herald]
- Miami among popular destinations for European tourist dollars [Times UK]
- New Carnival Center Chief sees high profile programming on the horizon [Miami Today]
- City made no provision for free parking garage at Midtown Miami [Miami Today]
- Reason for Season 2007 (busiest six months for S. FLA) [Miami Sun Post]
- Florida: The Grow Me (Marijuana) State [Miami New Times]
Blogside
- Miami Orange Bowl: The End of an Era [Miami Beach 411]
- The Miami Auto Show, Etc. [Stuck on the Palmetto]
- Bail out bankers, condo developers, and builders? NO! [Eye on Miami]
- November Art Walk [Critical Miami]
- South Beach Luxury Condo Outlook 2008 [South Beach Condo Blog]
1 comment November 13, 2007
The Height Factor
Brickell Village is seeing the most high density development (mainly residential) with over 13,000 units built or under active construction since 2002, but what about the height race? Let’s see what the figures say:
Continue Reading 6 comments November 12, 2007
Residential Development: Actual vs. Speculative
The graph below is based on the DDA Development Activity Breakdown Report 2002-2007:
Chart: Each bar represents one of the three primary urban core segments. Brickell is combined with West Brickell; the CBD with Parkwest and South East Overtown; the Media and Entertainment District with Wynwood, Edgewater, and the Midtown vicinity). Red means speculative development–approved but inactive/unbuilt. Blue means real development–units built or under active construction.
HIGH DENSITY RESIDENTIAL IN THE THREE CORE AREAS
The chart above (2002 to 2007) is intended to weigh actual development against speculative development. Speculative constitutes approved but inactive projects–not under construction. Actual development represents projects built or under active construction. Let’s see what the numbers say about the three primary areas of the urban core:
Continue Reading 2 comments November 12, 2007
Weekend Links
In the News:
- Shaq sells Star Island mansion to A-Rod? [Daily Business Review]
- Tobacco Road turns 95 this week [Miami Herald]
- Miami set to bid farewell to Orange Bowl [Forbes]
- One man’s pain is another’s reasonable profit [Chicago Sun Times]
- Miami’s home price appreciation up 89.2% last 5 years, down 7.8% since last year [NAHB]
- Buy, sell, or hold [CNN Money]
- Experience visual overload at Art Basel [USA Today]
- Port of Miami: not just any port in a storm [Miami Herald]
- Auto show set to wow and hopefully woo buyers [Sun Sentinel]
- WCI Communities posts loss on high cancellations [SFBJ]
- Manhattan gaining international investor confidence as Miami loses [International Herald Tribune, France]
- Zyscovich allegedly tried to skirt fire code standards and wasted taxpayer money [Broward New Times]
- Fortune International and Related International joint venturing for ICON Vallarta [Business Wire]
Blogside:
- What’s the point of a book fair? [Critical Miami]
- What’s cooking at the Miami Book Fair this weekend? [Mango and Lime]
- After the Vote [MVB]
Add comment November 9, 2007
Wake Up, Fisher Island! A Documentary
4 comments November 8, 2007
Tracking Densification and Building Height Distribution (Intro)
Urban Core, Defined
When the term “urban core” is used here, it refers to three areas or segments in the center of Miami:
- Uptown (north of the I-395 & south of the I-195)
- Central Business District area (north of the Miami River & south of the I-395)
- Brickell Village (south of the Miami River).
Some would argue that the core’s boundaries exceed what I’ve mentioned. Others that it is less. For now, I feel comfortable with the three segment approach…
Continue Reading 1 comment November 8, 2007
Borges + Associates
Borges and Associates brings to mind sharply designed loft developments. Although specializing in many aspects of their field, including urban planning, interior design, and architecture, Borges and Associates’ bread and butter is the loft project. Here is a short list of…
Continue Reading 1 comment November 8, 2007
Pondering Parcel B
Map: Parcel B, highlighted in red, is almost in the center of the proposed Baywalk path (blue line) and is even closer to being in the center of the entire Core.
As per the 2004 PPS report, there are several propositions for this excellently situated parcel’s use:
- Restaurants such as an outdoor bar and grill
- An outdoor market, farmer’s market, or collector’s market
- Soccer field
- Bait and tackle shop for nearby marinas
- Dancing Ballroom
- An open area for T.V. events
- Science Museum Wildlife facility
- Recreational activities pavilion
- Bay of Pigs Museum
I like none of them. Whatever goes on Parcel B needs to be alluring to residents, visitors, and tourists. It should…
Continue Reading 11 comments November 6, 2007
Early Week Links
- Going Fast: Condos Along the [Miami] River [Multi-Housing News]
- Special Report: Real Estate’s Biggest Deals [Daily Business Review - free article]
- Condo Buyer Lawsuits Mount [Miami Herald]
- Elected property appraiser? Up to Voters [Miami Herald]
- On the night shift, this crew helps the homeless [Miami Herald]
- Slot machine backers say vote win would bring development [Miami Today]
- Aon Expansion drops residential, switches to office [Miami Today]
- Three Brickell condos have highest foreclosure rates [Miami Today]
- Lawyers grow green practices as building trend takes root [SFBJ]
Add comment November 6, 2007
Parkwest and Falcone Further Considered
The New Landlord of Parkwest
Under normal circumstances, Falcone’s plans for Parkwest would be astounding, but in Miami, normal circumstances are hard to come by. There are other projects that resemble Falcone’s vision for a city-within-a-city nearby: CitiSquare, Omni, and Midtown. In fact, his vision is simply the latest of Miami’s mega projects. This does not change the fact that his vision is unprecedented in scale and scope…
Continue Reading Add comment November 6, 2007
Big Plans for Parkwest
I have spent a considerable amount of time evaluating Parkwest’s prospects. Its location in the heart of the CBD, proximity to the proposed Museum Park, new ultra-luxurious condos, among other things, makes the neighborhood an important piece of Miami’s urban puzzle. Boca Raton builder Art Falcone, the latest billionaire in the Miami development mix, has, according to the latest Herald article…
Continue Reading 9 comments November 5, 2007
Social Networking Site for Miami’s Urbanites
Miamiurbanlife.com allows members to share ideas, gossip, images, and videos regarding anything related to living in urban Miami. Although brand new, the site has managed to gain members from 16 of Downtown’s newest condos. Check it out. If your building isn’t registered, be the first to sign up. It’s free and connects you to the emerging urban social sphere.
Continue Reading 6 comments November 5, 2007
Shanghai and the 305
Content is drawn in part from Stella Dong’s, Shanghai, The Rise and fall of a Decadent City.
Opium and Cocaine
Miami’s role in the cocaine trade during the 1980’s heavily influenced the evolution of the city just as the Opium trade in the late 1800’s shaped Shanghai’s.
“Even as late as 1914, when the amount of foreign opium entering Shanghai had been drastically cut, the North China Herald declared, ‘Practically every foreign bank and every big Chinese piece goods, yarn or metal dealer is involved [in the opium trade]‘” (SD, Shanghai, p. 61).
In Miami, during the 1980s, billions were being generated from the cocaine trade. Foreign banks sprang up all over Brickell Avenue. Miami was, as Shanghai was with Opium, the main entry point for Cocaine for the entire country. I’ve mentioned this comparison here before.
Foreign Investment, Booms, and Busts
During the late 19th century, foreign investment in Shanghai was…
Continue Reading Add comment November 5, 2007
Baywalk Blues
Pedestrian Access Denied
At what point is the Baywalk project going to move forward? Plans were submitted to the City in 2004. What has happened since then? Not much. Contrary to what some might think, this is no fantasy project and shouldn’t be a distant prospect. A Bay Walk is a common aspect of coastal cities throughout the world–large and small, obscure and renown. It represents a fundamental connection between city life and the bay. Biscayne Bay, being one of the defining natural characteristics of the city, is at the core of Miami’s identity, yet Miamians are largely blocked from walking its shores.
Image: Photograph I took of the waterfront promenade at La Coruna, Spain
The plans for Miami’s Baywalk are astounding. It would link together three major waterfront Parks, the Miami River, Bayside Marketplace, American Airlines Arena, and proposed Science and Art Museums. This would make for one of the most distinctive waterfront promenades in the U.S., yet the City has made no encouraging progress since the PPS report was submitted in 2004.
Continue Reading 2 comments November 5, 2007
One Year Later
I started this blog about one year ago. At the time, I knew little about blogging, bloggers, or the blogosphere. I didn’t anticipate many readers. For me, the blog represented a sort of project or personal experiment where I could use it as a virtual notebook–the purpose of which was to track and analyze Miami’s urban evolution. I had long since recognized the historic nature of the construction boom and was compelled to document its long and short term effects…
Continue Reading 25 comments November 2, 2007
Excuse Me (UPDATED)
I apologize for the lack of updates. There’s so much to cover, but I have a series of exams to prepare for that have occupied my brain for the last several days. I look forward to getting back into the full swing of things soon once I get past these exams. Cheers!
—-
I’ve since finished with my exams. Whew! And now, rather unexpectedly, depart to Europe till October 17th. Unfortunately, I’m the lone contributor here and cannot pass the torch, temporarily, to anyone else, so the site will be dormant until I return–with a fresh perspective.
22 comments October 2, 2007
Mid Week Links
- Property tax fight brews on two fronts [Miami Herald]
- S. FL Colombians aim for political unity [Miami Herald]
- Port lands cruiseline, will build $60 million HQ [Miami Today]
- Brickell’s Villa Magna gets name change, more focus on commercial [Miami Today]
- Lennar reports biggest loss in 53-year history [Bloomberg]
- More on Related v. Sarnoff [Miami Sun Post]
- August single family and condo sales drop [SFBJ]
- Photo Miami 2007 returns to Wynwood Arts District [E-flux]
- Biotech developer charged with 5 felonies [Miami Herald]
- Congress Group buys Brickell Tower [CoStar]
- Miami condos draw low bids at auction [Miami Herald]
- Miami 21 update [Transit Miami]
Add comment September 26, 2007
