Monthly Archives: February 2007

A construction worker by the name of Felix, while working on the 10th floor of a Downtown Miami office building, was thrust into an action packed nightmarish emergency. Not surprisingly, construction resumed one hour later. I hope Felix got the … Continue reading →

The image above is representative of past failed efforts to follow through with a new baseball stadium plan. Today, the Marlins are in a favorable position with an excellent Downtown location being offered by the County and a reasonable financial … Continue reading →

New Buyers at the Marquis and Vitri will receive complimentary Bronze Center Membership at the Carnival Center for the Performing Arts. This membership is usually priced at around $12,500. The developers (Leviev and Boymelgreen) claim that they are strong supporters … Continue reading →

The City is offering an interesting property for development. The property is located at 400-430 SW 8th Avenue. What is really interesting is that there are no height restrictions. The density being allowed is 150 units per acre. The developer who acquires the property must allocate 20% of the units for affordable housing. The property is located west of the I-95 and the Miami River in an area not seeing any significant development. Since there is no height restriction, and the developer has to allocate 20% of the units for affordable housing, you can expect whoever takes control to put forth a uniquely laid out building plan to compensate. Continue reading →

Galveston residents are alarmed that a lack of height restrictions and some recently announced beach front high rise developments may lead to the emergence of a Miami Beach-like skyline along their shores. It’s rather interesting to see that they draw … Continue reading →

Miamians are no stranger to the notion of residing in THE Gateway to the Americas. I emphasize “THE” because all other hemispheric claimants to this title are misguided. This is in consideration of several economic, social, and geographic factors that Miami has and that Panama City, Port-of-Spain, Mexico City, and all FTAA secretariat claimants’ lack. I came across an unlikely source to further this point. It comes from Minneapolis’Star Tribune.

The author states, in this positive article, that he has been a steady visitor to Miami for years and has come to acknowledge the city’s fast growing hegemonic influence in international trade with Latin America. The author references the amount of cranes, new Performing Arts Center, and MIA expansion as indicators of the city’s rapid progress. He’s right in doing so. All the new construction, infrastructure improvements, and increased tourism are derived and founded upon Miami’s unique economic position—a position that has only grown stronger and has not been adequately represented by the city’s formerly sparse skyline, which is rapidly giving way to urban density.

When considering current real estate market conditions, it is important to realize Miami’s long term role as the Gateway to the Americas and how that role, although debatable to some, will not change due to variable market conditions. This role did not arise overnight, was not planned, expected, nor orchestrated. It is the effect of steady immigration from Latin America throughout the decades, which led to the establishment of a permanent Spanish-speaking economic enclave. Miami represents an anomaly that cannot be scripted nor replicated and reading an article where a Minneapolitan author uses Miami’s emerging global economic significance as an example for northerners to emulate is another indication of Miami’s transcendence from the ordinary. Continue Reading for the Star Tribune article. Continue reading →