Posts filed under 'Data'
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 January 28, 2008
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 November 14, 2007
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 November 8, 2007
Image: Midtown Four and Midblock
The Foremost Symbol of Miami’s Emerging Urbanism
Midtown Miami is, in many ways, the most obvious symbol of Miami’s rapid urban transformation. It exhibits Miami’s architectural star power, represents the most ambitious push west for urbanism in the city thus far, sits on a formerly blighted and infrastructureless area of the city, and incorporates large-scale commercial and residential elements. For all intensive purposes, it is a city-within-a-city.
Image: The shops at Midtown Miami’s northwest side
The Skeptics Viewpoint
Yet, despite this, there are those that recall the past failure of the much hyped Omni Mall when considering Midtown’s prospects for success. However natural this historic allusion may seem, the Omni, which never had the residential component Midtown has, is currently owned by a New York-based firm with billion dollar plans that span 10-15 years. Suffice to say times have changed. Then there are those that claim the project is…
Continue Reading September 25, 2007
Image 1: An under utilized retail structure with blue awnings on NE 24th street and Biscayne Boulevard is shown in the foreground with new developments surrounding it.
Continued from Signs of Urban Life: Development Outlook (Uptown’s Woes)
Uptown is the largest of the three primary urban core segments (CBD and Brickell Village being the other two). It contains four unique sub-segments:
- Media and Entertainment District
- Edgewater
- Wynwood Arts District
- Midtown Miami & vicinity
Map: Uptown and its four subsegments are shown above. The Media and Entertainment District is shown in blue, the Midtown Miami vicinity is shown in yellow, Edgewater in green, and Wynwood in red.
Continue Reading September 12, 2007
Image: Active construction site for the Shops at 5th and Alton
The Shops at 5th and Alton, which will include 185,000 sq. ft. of vertical retail space and a 943 space parking garage at the 5th street entrance to South Beach, has begun to see activity on its site. U.S. Century Bank is financing development for the Berkowitz Development Group and Potamkin family. The Shops at 5th and Alton will…
Continue Reading September 4, 2007
Let’s take a tour through North Bay Village to take a look at the third quarter status of recently topped off buildings, ongoing construction, and recently started foundation work:
Continue Reading August 31, 2007
Image: (from left to right) Infinity, Axis, and Vue on South Miami Avenue
Envisioning Brickell During the Boom
Since the inception of the surge in construction activity that later became known as the boom, I have envisioned how the skyline would transform. As activity picked up, so many projects were being announced that I found it increasingly challenging to remember them all off the top of my head. Still, I would look at the skyline and consider the height and design of those projects that were anticipated to fill in the sky. Now that the boom has dissipated, it has become clear that many projects that were announced may never come to exist. Several examples of this can be readily found on South Miami Avenue. Let’s see what I mean on a map:
Continue Reading August 22, 2007
Map of the area: N.E. 2nd Avenue is shown in green and Midtown Miami in blue
Economic Artery in the Making?
N.E. 2nd Avenue, which runs parallel to Biscayne Boulevard and the FEC Corridor in Uptown, has remained largely untouched by new development. This north-south thoroughfare is important because it links to the Performing Arts Center, Midtown Miami, the Design District, and is next to Edgewater and the Wynwood Arts District. Currently, the Avenue is mostly dotted with vacant lots and decrepit buildings for sale, which indicates a ripeness for transformation, but change, although small, is already turning N.E. 2nd Ave into something of an economic artery. Let’s take a quick gander:
Continue Reading August 21, 2007
The sales phone number on the sign is disconnected. That’s not encouraging. In 2005, Renzi’s plans for the Beacon were reportedly expanded from 38 to 50 stories. However, the unimpressively designed website doesn’t reflect the expansion while the sign on the parcel does (but at 53 stories). The reality on the ground shows no activity on the site. Some sources point towards a 2008 completion, but it seems that the project could be heading towards the scrapped book.
Continue Reading August 20, 2007
One of Brickell’s most impressively designed projects is under going work on its foundation. Capital at Brickell, designed by Fullerton Diaz Architects, has an award winning design, will include retail, office, and residential space, and is situated across from One Broadway. It’s being developed by Cabi Developers.
Image: Foundation work on the site of Capital at Brickell
August 20, 2007
Image: Rendering on fence banner–notice the lily-pad dotted moat surrounding the building
I stumbled upon this proposed 32-unit loft project on 92nd Street in Surfside called Lanai. It appears to be another
Continue Reading August 14, 2007
Let’s take a tour through Sunny Isles to take a look at the third quarter status of recently topped off buildings, ongoing construction, and recently started foundation work:
Continue Reading August 14, 2007
Founded in Miami in 1939, Bermello Ajamil & Partners is making history in Dubai. I had known that it was a great firm, locally, but never imagined they’d get themselves into this (via - Maria De Los Angeles). Yes, that is Dubai’s The World. An 18 billion dollar dream-like endeavor to incorporate the globe into one huge, man-made, 300-island archipelago. Without getting into the details, it’s big, unprecedented, historic, and a Bermello Ajamil project.
Satellite image: The World at Night
That’s not all.
Continue Reading August 9, 2007
The Filling Station Lofts, developed by Intrepid, has one of the most forward thinking marketing campaigns I’ve seen lately. The image above illustrates the ampleness of 18′ ft. ceilings and cleverly employs a silhouette of a 15′ ft. tall baby giraffe to show the excess space above.
According to the developer, three Hummers stacked on top of one another could fit in a Filling Station Loft. This is a neat way of showing the unit height dimensions. The Filling Station Lofts is being marketed extremely well, but the building’s design alone is impressive. Check out the project website.
The project is located in the heart of the M&E District on N.E. 17th Street across the street from the newly built Parc Lofts, and a short walk away from the proposed Bayview Market. The neighborhood remains unstable but has a great deal of potential.
July 6, 2007
Image: Zendai Forum, Shanghai
Miami-based Arquitectonica is known for having designed some of Miami’s most recognizable buildings. In the early 1980’s they designed, what were then, groundbreaking concepts for the Imperial, Atlantis, and the Palace on Brickell Avenue. Since then, they have gone on to design many more of Miami’s most notable buildings and established something of an architectural hegemony in the local market, but apparently, that was not enough. These local architectural old-schoolers have gone global, and in the Far East they’re doing it BIG.
Here’s the low down:
Continue Reading July 3, 2007
I have praised the Zyscovich firm for their imaginative and functional designs here before, but I failed to mention that they are involved in a number of the most important urban master planning projects and studies in the region. If even half of what they are planning becomes a reality, Zyscovich’s role as Miami’s most important urban planning firm will be cemented for a long time to come.
Miami Master Plans:
Continue Reading June 27, 2007
Image: Under utilized buildings near the BOA tower are highlighted.
The Purpose
Boom or Bust focuses much of its efforts on tracking the new construction that has consumed Miami. But, what about the older, neglected, and under-utilized properties in the Central Business District? No one seems to care about them unless they’re being demolished to accommodate a new tower or revamped in grand style, yet knowing the level and forms of under-utilization is vital in helping to understand the development challenges facing Downtown. This week’s aim is to demystify under-utilization in the urban core by answering these fundamental questions:
- What constitutes an under utilized building?
- What current uses are derelict buildings lending themselves to?
- What are the use alternatives?
- What is the effect of under-utilization in the CBD?
- What role do these buildings play in shaping the social and economic environment of the CBD?
- What is the current proportion between vacant land, new construction, and under utilized properties?
- What are the under-utilized structure age patterns?
- How many of them have restoration potential?
These are just some of the questions that are to be addressed this week as we delve into the nitty gritty of the matter. I have developed a color coded chronological development map to assist in the study.
Image: Portion of the Chronological Development Map. The color codes will be explained in the 2nd installment.
The chronological map, which will be explained later, will be used to illustrate when certain areas of the CBD were built out. In the end, the Central Business District’s historic nature, restoration potential, and level and effects of under utilization will be addressed and tied into surrounding new construction trends and Miami 21 zoning.
(To be Continued)
Continue Reading June 25, 2007
Houston-based Hines has developed world class projects in twelve countries and four continents. The firm’s project portfolio boggles the mind in its use and design versatility. For 19 years two buildings dominated the Miami skyline. Both were built by Hines:
Continue Reading June 22, 2007
Native Miamian developer Craig Robbins has been around the block. In South Beach, the influence of his development firm, Dacra, bounces all over the place. While Jorge Perez slams his influence down at the southern tip of the island, Dacra has brought life to the heart of the island community. Dacra is attributed with having ignited the spark of Lincoln Road at a time when the funky strip was underground and unstable. Today, bustling Lincoln Road is the main East/West economic artery in South Beach. The north side of Espanola Way is another major trace that Dacra has imprinted upon South Beach.
Continue Reading June 15, 2007
We’ve added a Miami Map Index Page to BoB. The purpose of the index is to list useful Miami maps. The index includes many map types, for example, some pinpoint art galleries, new construction developments, zoning boundaries, demographic patterns, master plans, historic districts, etc. The index will be constantly updated.
Keep an eye on it to watch the index grow:
I just thought of the idea so the list is in no particular order and short, for now. Keep an eye on it to watch the index grow:
June 14, 2007
The construction of Logik, a two phase Class A office tower project (I.C.E. Development), in the often overlooked Overtown area signals a positive stride in Miami’s office market and the urban core’s evolution. As it stands, Overtown represents an entire under utilized segment of the core. Park West is rising to the east, the CBD is busting at the seams to the south, and the M&E is seeing quite a bit of activity to the north. The well-designed Logik will help to fill in the Overtown development gap with Class A office. Construction is set to begin this year. The towers are slated for completion some time in 2009. Office condos start at the $300’s.
Logik specs:
- 31 floors (352 ft. height)
- 700,000 total sq. feet
- 130,000 sq. ft. for office tower suites
- retail component
June 12, 2007
Wouldn’t it be nice if Google Street View could look up? Pardon me for complaining despite the revolutionary break through the feature represents, but there is always a way to improve. Let’s consider this random thought for a moment:
Continue Reading June 7, 2007
I recently took at tour of the Lofts at Mayfair while construction was still in progress. The halls were more like dark corridors, the pool like a cloudy puddle, and there was dust everywhere. Today, I returned to see a spectacular loft development near completion.
Here is a glimpse of today’s tour:
Image: Lobby (sofa still wrapped in plastic)
Images: Pool during construction (left) and after (Right)
Continue Reading June 7, 2007
New York-based Extell Development has a broad and impressive portfolio of office, residential, and hotel towers mostly in Manhattan and Boston. Their latest venture represents their first foray into the Miami market: Avenue Brickell.
Avenue has gone up rapidly, with no negative publicity, and the project, despite it being light on glass and heavy on concrete, is looking sweet.
Continue Reading June 6, 2007
One can see some interesting patterns when map-plotting developer activities. The purpose of this map is to identify which developers are the most influential in the different areas of Miami’s urban core. This map has several colored placemarks. Each one represents a project either built, under construction, or planned by one of four (4) developers:
Continue Reading June 5, 2007
In analyzing the urban transformation of Miami, using tools such as Google Earth, Microsoft Virtual Earth, and Google Maps/StreetView is extremely useful. However, when making final determinations, there is no substitute for surveying the reality on the ground–venturing out into the city, street by street. To illustrate this further, let’s take a look at these images:
Continue Reading June 4, 2007
Jorge Perez of the Related Group is a giant in Florida. In Tampa, his firm is being relied on to complete the Trump Tower, which ironically Trump pulled out of. In Palm Beach he’s building another Trump-brand tower. He has major projects in Georgia and elsewhere in the U.S., but now, his firm plans to aggressively transcend the U.S. market with Related International.
Related International is planning projects in Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Argentina, and Uruguay. In Mexico, Related already has $1 billion worth of development in the pipeline. Mr. Perez’s expansion is that of Miami’s as well. His techniques and resources were formed, for the most part, in the Magic City, and his foray into international markets is Miami’s as well.
June 4, 2007
Developed by Robert Wennett, The proposed 1111 Lincoln Road mixed use development, located across the street from the Zyscovich-designed Lincoln Road Cinema (1100 Lincoln Rd.), is sharply designed and unorthodoxly thought-out. The project combines the architectural brilliance of two preeminent firms: Zyscovich, and Herzog & De Meuron (designing the planned Miami Art Museum and designers of the Allianz Arena in Munich and Beijing Olympic Stadium).
Image: Raymond Jungle courtyard landscaping and unit interior rendering
The project will have 50,000 square feet of curated street-level retail space with 18-30ft
high ceilings and a 300 space parking garage. Located at the west entrance to Lincoln Road, the site offers optimal visibility for its future tenants. The project will include residences that are surrounded by Raymond Jungle landscaped courtyards. This standout project further solidifies Zyscovich’s leading role in innovative design in Miami Beach, introduces a world-class international architectural firm to the Beach, adds Class A commercial space to South Beach, and compliments the westward expansion of Lincoln road.
May 31, 2007
New York-based Morgans Hotel Group, best known locally for the Delano and Shore Club hotels, is expanding its presence in South Beach. This time around, the venture is joint, involving local real estate development firm Sanctuary West Ave LLC. Mondrian South Beach will have a hotel component operated by MHG. The interior design is coming from the creative genius of Marcel Wanders who has conceived the hotel as being a “sleeping beauty castle” where guests will step into a “magical world”. Pretty intensely imaginative stuff. The website’s interior renderings are unprecedented in terms of design: possibly comparable to ICON South Beach in abstract and stark design.
Continue Reading May 31, 2007
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