According to an article featured on Azobuild.com (A to Z of Building), Miami’s economy is the thirteenth largest in the U.S. (including states) and has outpaced Chicago and positioned itself behind Beijing in office market growth. Miami’s $7.2 billion trade surplus is the second largest in the U.S. The data was compiled via the U.S. Census Bureau. According to the same source, the Greater Miami area out performed New York and London in terms of investment growth. Miami has already surpassed the Big Apple in new construction activity and currently leads the U.S.
Wikipedia has an article on Manhattanization, which references Miami’s version of it as a great example of the urban phenomenon. Wikipedia, humorously enough, also has an article on the emerging Biscayne Wall.
According to the Beacon Council, 46% of all trade with Central America goes through Miami’s Customs District along with 30% of all Caribbean trade and 20.6% of all the trade with South America. As far as total U.S. exports go, Miami dispatches 49% of all trade to Central America, 42% to the Caribbean, and 38% to South America. Brazil tops the list of Miami’s trading partners with almost $5 billion in yearly trade. According to Florida FTAA, Miami is home to over 500 multi-national headquarters, about half of which specifically target Latin America.
The continued progress of Miami will bode well with domestic and international investors down the line and help sustain what is being considered “over-development” by some. The Magic City continues on its world-class track.
April 5, 2007
Panama City is a force to be reckoned with. Currently, there are plans to build approximately 107 residential properties (20 floors and up) valued at $3.5 billion. It is definitely Latin America’s boomtown. Two of the proposed projects are vying to be the tallest in the southern half of the hemisphere. Many of the projects are extremely impressive but I have to admit not altogether original. The Trump Ocean Club International Hotel and Tower looks like a replica of Dubai’s Burj al Arab.
Continue Reading April 3, 2007
It is argued that Miami is the Gateway to the Americas. Many claim that there is no better place to do business with Latin America. The numerous major corporations that have set up Latin American headquarters in the city testify to this. Miami is in the international limelight. Of that, there can be little doubt. Yet, the lime light does not shine on the Magic City alone. Right now, the high level of new construction in Panama City is beginning to pull attention away from Miami; particularly with South and Central Americans. This is crucial to consider when realizing that Panama City is also vying to be home to the FTAA’s prestigious secretariat.
Continue Reading March 20, 2007
With Mercosur drawing Latin American attention away from the FTAA, the whole international trade-bloc idea has stalled. Still, cities like Houston, Dallas, and Atlanta are vying for the secretariat of this proposed trade bloc. The whole idea was concocted in Miami in 1994’s Summit of the Americas in the Biltmore Hotel. Therefore, it seems fitting—given Miami’s unique role in facilitating trade between the north and south part of the western hemisphere, its central geographic location, and huge bilingual population—that the city attains the secretariat, but politics tend to obstruct logic. The 2008 Inter-American Bank conference, which is to be held in the United States is the latest way that Miami is reasserting itself as the best staging point for hemispheric trade talks and negotiations. If the FTAA were to become a reality, and the Secretariat be located in Miami, then not only will the city’s unofficial title as “The Gateway to the Americas” be secured, but the level of economic propulsion for the city would likely be enormous. Continue reading for the BizJournal article on the IDB conference.
Continue Reading November 30, 2006
