Boom or Bust: Miami

Great news for the Media and Entertainment District. Argent Venture’s plans for the Omni Mall have been approved by the City of Miami. The developer’s legal counsel, Lucia Dougherty, paved the way for the approval, which Marc Sarnoff acclaimed. Mr. Sarnoff said that the project is like a “second Midtown Miami”. It has been stated here before that Uptown has three mega projects. These are massive city-within-a-city developments. Argent’s plans for the Omni will span 15 years and comprise 6 towers:

• Omni West Tower 3 643ft. 65 floors
• Omni East Tower 3 624ft. 61 floors
• Omni West Tower 2 623ft. 63 floors
• Omni East Tower 2 604ft. 63 floors
• Omni West Tower 1 604ft. 61 floors
• Omni East Tower 1 584ft. 58 floors

The $1 billion project will reshape the city’s skyline to the north of the I395. By the time the fifth and final phase of the Omni project is completed, the FDOT’s repositioning of the I395 should have already taken place. The project is adjacent to Pedro Martin’s 10 acre site for his proposed City Square and Herald Square mega project. We’re talking two mega projects side-by-side. It looks like Uptown is, well, coming up.

The Omni development will also incorporate new bisecting streets flanked by retail: certainly aimed at increasing pedestrian friendliness and bolstering the project’s communal feel.The project will apply for LEED certification as per the recommendation of the City Commission. This project alone, is so massive, that if placed in Orlando, it would over shadow its existing skyline. In Miami, it is only one of three mega projects that are dramatically changing the urban fold. Again, this is evidence of the anomaly that is Miami’s urban development track.

Residents and buyers in South Edgewater (1800 Club, Opera Tower, Venetia, The Grand, Cite, Quantum, and Paramount Bay) should be popping champagne due to this excellent piece of news, because it represents the long term stabilization and progression of their urban neighborhood.

When looking at the big picture and factoring in the PAC, the plans for City Square, all the proposed and existing projects in and around the M&E District/South Edgewater, and now Omni, the Media and Entertainment District is well on its way to becoming a thriving urban experience worthy of international attention.