Category Archives: Data
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
Filed under BoB Articles, Commercial Developments
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
Filed under BoB Articles, Brickell Village, Commercial Developments, Economy
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
Filed under Architects
Development Outlook: Midtown Miami & Vicinity
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
Signs of Urban Life: Retail Oulook (Uptown’s Pros – M&E)
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
Construction Update: Shops at Fifth & Alton
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
3rd Quarter 07′ Construction Tour: North Bay Village
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
Filed under BoB Articles, North Bay Village, Residential Developments
Rethinking Brickell’s Interior (west side)
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:
Biz Buzz: New to N.E. 2nd Avenue (Uptown)
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
What’s Happening With Beacon Brickell?
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
Filed under BoB Articles, Brickell Village, Residential Developments
