Boom or Bust: Miami

Ladies and Gentlemen check this out–and don’t forget to click the video feature.

[Via the Daily Business Review]

The information below was sent to me by Dawn Sheriffs of Cleanwater.org: Urban sprawl strikes again! In 2006, with your help the Hold the Line successfully kept the Urban Development Boundary (UDB) from being moved west into Florida’s Everglades to accommodate sprawling development that would strain Miami-Dade’s already backlogged infrastructure.

Four new pending applications have been filed to open another 178 acres of Miami-Dade to development outside the line. An additional application is expected that seeks to add another 7,000 residential homes to the county’s roads, schools, and utilities increasing both traffic and pollution.

Empty chambers at community council meetings lead to only 1 out of the 4 applications being recommended for denial.

Miami-Dade’s citizens can’t afford to pave wetlands and permit new developments that will draw from our already taxed water supply and jeopardize the Everglades.

We are asking anyone who is able to attend to show up at the Miami-Dade County Commission hearing on Tuesday, November 27, 2007 and show your support!. For those who cannot be there, please visit www.udbline.com to complete an “action alert” asking your Commissioner to protect the Urban Development Boundary.

Media

• U.S. Housing Crash: History repeating in Florida and Lessons from the Roaring 20’s (Part II) [Market Oracle UK]
• ArchRecord Interview: Craig Robbins (Dacra) [Businessweek]
• Finding South Florida’s next economic wave [Miami Herald]
• Miami-Dade helping bail out State [Miami Herald]
• Revised Museum Park plan to be unveiled [Miami Herald]
• Miami among popular destinations for European tourist dollars [Times UK]
• New Carnival Center Chief sees high profile programming on the horizon [Miami Today]
• City made no provision for free parking garage at Midtown Miami [Miami Today]
• Reason for Season 2007 (busiest six months for S. FLA) [Miami Sun Post]
• Florida: The Grow Me (Marijuana) State [Miami New Times]

 Blogside

• Miami Orange Bowl: The End of an Era [Miami Beach 411]
• The Miami Auto Show, Etc. [Stuck on the Palmetto]
• Bail out bankers, condo developers, and builders? NO!  [Eye on Miami]
• November Art Walk [Critical Miami]
• South Beach Luxury Condo Outlook 2008 [South Beach Condo Blog]

In the News:

• Shaq sells Star Island mansion to A-Rod? [Daily Business Review]
• Tobacco Road turns 95 this week [Miami Herald]
• Miami set to bid farewell to Orange Bowl [Forbes]
• One man’s pain is another’s reasonable profit [Chicago Sun Times]
• Miami’s home price appreciation up 89.2% last 5 years, down 7.8% since last year [NAHB]
• Buy, sell, or hold [CNN Money]
• Experience visual overload at Art Basel [USA Today]
• Port of Miami: not just any port in a storm [Miami Herald]
• Auto show set to wow and hopefully woo buyers [Sun Sentinel]
• WCI Communities posts loss on high cancellations [SFBJ]
• Manhattan gaining international investor confidence as Miami loses [International Herald Tribune, France]
• Zyscovich allegedly tried to skirt fire code standards and wasted taxpayer money [Broward New Times]
• Fortune International and Related International joint venturing for ICON Vallarta [Business Wire]

Blogside:

• What’s the point of a book fair? [Critical Miami]
• What’s cooking at the Miami Book Fair this weekend? [Mango and Lime]
• After the Vote [MVB]

• Property tax fight brews on two fronts [Miami Herald]
• S. FL Colombians aim for political unity [Miami Herald]
• Port lands cruiseline, will build $60 million HQ [Miami Today]
• Brickell’s Villa Magna gets name change, more focus on commercial [Miami Today]
• Lennar reports biggest loss in 53-year history [Bloomberg]
• More on Related v. Sarnoff [Miami Sun Post]
• August single family and condo sales drop [SFBJ]
• Photo Miami 2007 returns to Wynwood Arts District [E-flux]
• Biotech developer charged with 5 felonies [Miami Herald]
• Congress Group buys Brickell Tower [CoStar]
• Miami condos draw low bids at auction [Miami Herald]
• Miami 21 update [Transit Miami]

Local News

• What Brickell condo slump? Beacon developer adds units [Miami Today News]
• Permit for mixed use two tower project sought [Miami Today News]
• Retail: Faltering allegiance [Daily Business Review]
• Developers and Restaurateurs taking bars and clubs to next level [SFBJ]
• Groundwork [Miami Sun Post]
• Construction to detour traffic leaving MIA [Miami Herald]
• 395-unit attainable housing development planned for Miami [Multi-Housing News]
• Biscayne Landing accepted into pilot program for LEED [CG Gazette]
• Casino would buy Jai-Alai of slots OK’d [Miami Herald]
• Miami’s budget approved but more cuts sought [Miami Herald]

Other News

• Cracks in the economy [Time]
• Paris gets new architecture show [BBC NEws]
• Market tilts to buyers of real estate [NY Sun]
• CN tower topples to #2 world’s tallest [The Star]

Blogside:

• US-1 overpass updates [Transit Miami]
• First impressions in real estate [Miamism]
• South Beach Art Deco tours: the story behind the style [Miami Beach 411]
• Motel Sushi [Mango and Lime]
• Arch Park - for a nice weekend stroll [Miami Memories]

• The Law of condo contract cancellation in Florida [Beck and Lee Law]
• Countrywide, the nation’s largest mortgage lender, may cut up to 12,000 jobs [SFBJ]
• Wynwood rocks in a new season [Riptide 2.0]
• A stink surrounds it (Biscayne Landings) [Daily Business Review]
• Cycling the contours of Miami [Mike Lydon - Planetizen]
• Landscape architecture well beyond trees and shrubs [Daily Star]
• Buying Real Estate in Miami without a Realtor [Miamism]

• Condo Hotels: What to check out before you check in [The Street]
• Miami to host IDB annual meeting [Miami Herald]
• The Grove tries to reposition itself for local tenants, residents [SFBJ]
• Groundwork [Miami Sun Post]
• Whining in Wynwood [Riptide 2.o]
• Development: Full Court Press [Daily Business Review]
• Starck, Related, Arquitectonica get Award for ICON Brickell [Business Wire]

• The Related Group is suing Commissioner Marc Sarnoff [Miami Herald]
• Fading American Dream of Homeownership fuels rentals [USA Today]
• Best Renter’s Markets [Forbes]
• Condo misery [Daily Business Review]
• Commissioner investigated for Viscaya deal [CBS 4]
• OB money likely to go to new use [Miami Today News]
• Boom of condo crash loudest in Miami [Sun Sentinel]
• The firm that designed Miami Beach Public Library to design G.W. Bush library [Chicago Tribune]
• Miami plans to fight court over River rezoning [Miami Today News]
• Groundwork [Miami Sun Post]

• Big Real estate slowdown spurs legion of condo opportunists in Miami [Orlando Sentinel]
• Foreclosure ‘rescue’ deals shackle homeowners [Miami Herald]
• MIA’s South Terminal set to open amid high expectations [Miami Herald]
• The Morrison attains $85 million construction loan advance [Business Wire]
• Condo trouble further squeezes lenders (Miami in worst shape) [Wall Street Journal]
• Hulk Hogan sells Miami Beach mansion to Michael Bay [Luxist]
• Once hot Miami struggles to weather housing downturn [Turkish Press]
• Corus Bank swept up in condo undertow [The Street]
• Luxury Miami Condo conversion is facing financial trouble [NY Times]
• Why OB is lousy site for Marlins [Miami Herald]
• Shanghai: Art Deco capital, for now [Telegraph UK]

Babalu blog is reporting that Fidel Castro might be dead.

• Miami leads in year-over-year construction costs [Reed Construction Data]
• Police Chief Timoney rejects call to quit [Miami Herald]
• Wynwood Trade Zone attracts nine potential buyers [Miami Today]
• Security cameras will scan Downtown [Miami Today]
• The Related Group proceeds with plans for Celebration [Orlando Sentinel]
• Arquitectonica assisting in Jackson, Mississippi boom [Business Week]
• Modernism gets brutalist treatment [Financial Times]
• Miami Nice and Naughty [Jewish Exponent]
• Amy Winehouse to buy Miami love nest [Metro UK]
• Doral Condo Association President arrested [Miami Herald]
• 25 Florida companies make Fortune 500 list [SFBJ]

• Stadium’s loss may be Marlins’ gain [Miami Herald]
• “Stomp” smashing sensation returns to Miami, Carnival Center [Broadway World]
• Home builder WCI and investor Icahn compromise [Miami Herald]
• WCI’s financial fortune is staked to Miami condo tower [CNN Money]
• Lennar VP buys 30000 shares [SFBJ]
• The 3 hardest hit funds as real estate sector circles drain [Philadelphia Inquirer]
• San Antonio homeless shelter backers point to Miami [SA Express]
• Miami’s Prime One Twelve steakhouse to hit NYC hotel [NY Times]
• Nude people wanted at the Sagamore Hotel [Hotel Chatter]
• Hot Spot: Karu and Y [Newsweek]
• Shanghai Tang opens luxury boutique in Mandarin Oriental [ATT]
• PhoneBrasil has new headquarters in Miami [Business Wire]
• Carnival launching two new mega-ships out of Miami next fall [PR Newswire]
• Miami Police offering incentives to gain new recruits [ABC Local 10]
• Green is the color du Jour [Miami Sun Post]
  
• Art Director sees park project as economic and cultural stimulus [Miami Today]

• Selig: Relocation an option if (Marlins) stadium issue not settled [Sun Sentinel]
• The Related Group sued by designer [Miami Herald]
• Coral Gables Safe Haven for Real Estate? [Realty Times]
• Galveston residents worry about Miamization as FDA’s John Fullerton weighs in [Galveston County Daily News]
• Christa Development moves forward with Kobi Karp’s plans for Caribbean Miami Beach [CG Gazette]
• Miami’s Arquitectonica-designed new Federal Courthouse wins award [Earth Times]
• A resident’s view of Downtown Miami [Miami Herald]
• Condos have space but not for cars [Miami Herald]
• Groupe Pacific plans 30 story Ft. Lauderdale tower [Miami Herald]
• Subprime infects $300 billion of money market funds, hikes risk [Bloomberg]
• Financial markets could see a cleansing storm [Deutsche Welle]
• Waking up to the real estate nightmare [NY Times]

• MiMo designs districts under study for business districts [Miami Today News]
• New fed funds could be used for toll lanes [CBS4]
• Living near a golf course could be bad for you? [Miami Sun Post]
• Q&A on I-95 Plan [Miami Herald]
• North Bayshore Drive flooded by water main break [NBC6]
• BAP firm takes ‘local’ worldwide [Hispanic Business]
• Miami law makes world’s strangest law list at number 15 [Times Online]
• What I read: Jorge Perez - Related Group [USA Today]
• The Triangle: a neighborhood tries to overcome its past [Miami Herald]
• Court reverses Miami River zoning [SFBJ]
• Related Group, Cousins join up for $130 million Atlanta development [Globe St.]
• Construction stands out in worker casualty data [Miami Herald]

• Feds take over Miami Dade Housing Agency [Washington Post]
• Angry Homeowners Take to the web [MSNBC]
• Ralph Lauren on Brickell [Business Wire]
• Condo Hotel Trends [Arabia]
•  Could hedge funds be a looming crisis? [Miami Herald]
• Walkaways increase at WCI condos [Miami Herald]
• New Campaign promotes Miami Beach 25/7 [ABC local 10]
• Florida ranks second in pre-foreclosures [SFBJ]
• Miami courthouse receives award of excellence [Earth Times]

• Housing ills imperils condo deals [Herald]
• Miami 21 will make city more livable [Herald]
• More on One Bayfront Plaza [CPN]
• IVI to oversee development billion dollar Fontainebleau renovation [PR Newswire]
• Max (in the M&E) tower back on the Table with zoning adjustments  [Miami Today]
• More on the mural advertising issue [Miami Sun Post]
• Miami exile community frustrations [BBC News]
• Madrid replacing Miami as Cuban cultural haven? [NY Times]
• Pricey foreclosures wash up on Beach [Riptide 2.0]
• Language Barriers in Drug Stores thought U.S.– particularly Miami [Forbes]
• Miami a haven for Caribbean designers [Orlando Sentinel]

• Minority partner sells stake in Midtown Miami [Herald]
• Bayrock increases stake in Midtown Miami [CNN Money]
• Swiss Bank USB eyeing proposed 1450 Brickell tower for HQ [Miami Today News]
• Foreclosures rise 58% [Herald]
• Africa Israel, Boymelgreen agree on how to split assets [Jerusalem Post]
• Miami-based Arquitectonica designs symbolic gateway tower in UAE [PR Newswire]
• Luxury condo developers up the ante with critics [B-PB New Times]
• $510 million mobile park deal over? [Forbes]
• Developer builds office condos in tough market [Herald]
• “Part Vegas, part Miami, part New York, Dubai aspires to become a juggernaut where capitalism can be the one true faith.” [7 Days]

• Fewer homes were sold in June (except Ft. Lauderdale which saw a 1% increase)
• Condo prices are still holding high in Miami while sales take a nose dive
• A 2 percent decline in Miami moved median home prices to $378,000 from 371,600. The number of homes sold went down to 469 from 884, a 47 percent decrease.

For the rest of the numbers view the full MSN Money/Bizjournals article 

• Hotel, conference center in Master Plan for Parkwest [Miami Today News]
• Construction workers unearth age old cannon [Herald]
• Bursting condo bubble will bring forth goodies [Miami Today News]
• Police raids target developer [Herald]
• Condo Hotels: what to check out before checking in [The Street]
• Downtown Radisson to become a Hilton [Miami Today News]
• Real Estate broker battles Lennar [WSJ]
• The American Dream is over-bought and over-built [Seeking Alpha]
• More on the Grove Waterfront [Sun Post]

There is another report to add to the doom and gloom list. This time from Bloomberg. The report is eye-opening:

The oversupply will force prices down as much as 30 percent, the worst decline since the 1970s, and help push Florida’s economy into recession as early as October

The article discusses how Florida’s economic fortitude was largely attributed to jobs in the real estate sector. Now that the tide has turned, these jobs have dissipated. Ugo Colombo, Tibor Hollo, and the Related Group are mentioned–the Puig bancrupcy fails to escape the report as well. But, what is interesting is how even the articles referenced experts agree that this boom is anomalous:

We sold 38 units of the Opera Tower’s 635 units to Russians,” Hollo said, his eyes widening. “I would never have dreamed it. I would understand 38 Venezuelans, not 38 Russians.

This is dumbfounding to me,” Rosser said. “It’s a building boom in the middle of a housing bust.

There is much more to what is happening than the media says. This is no conventional event in real estate history. It cannot be summed up in one, two, or 10 reports.

Tibor Hollo is dumbfounded by the interest of Russians. Well, this morning one of my articles on Margaret Pace Park was linked to on what seems to be a Dutch speaking forum.

Media

• Riskiest U.S. Housing Markets: Miami #1 [Forbes]
• Does Miami want to kill its 24 hour nightlife district? [Sun Post]
• Overdue Metro Mover overhaul about to begin [Miami Herald]
• S. FLA gets first green car dealership [Miami Herald]
• Briny Breezes Makeover won’t include the Related Group [SFBJ]
• Commuting not so stressful study finds [Palm Beach Post]
• Carnival Center told it needs higher profile programming [Miami Today]

Blog side

• Metromover Upgrades [Transit Miami]
• Celebrity restaurant invasion continues [SotP]
• Dade County English only Ordinance [Miami Beach 411]
• New Restaurants in the Gables [Coral Gables blog]
• Bocce, Beer, and Fish [ Still Life With Feet]

The Intercontinental Hotel Group is expanding in Miami. This time in the burgeoning suburban area of Dadeland. The Indigo, as it is called, is slated to open in 2008:

“The vibrant and diverse culture and high quality of life in Miami make the city popular as both a business and leisure destination,” said Jim Anhut, senior vice president, Brand Development, the Americas, IHG. “We are proud to introduce our unique branded boutique concept to such an exciting market.”

Media

• Miami-Dade proposes 7.47 Billion budget [SFBJ]
• Wynwood Gallery installations show the district’s artistic heart [Miami Herald]
• Wynwood trade zone up for sale [Miami Today]
• Getting Away by pressing up [NY Times]
• Florida’s economic slump to linger [Miami Herald]
• Urgent tone emerges on State summit on warming [Palm Beach Post]
• FPL takes climate change criticism in stride [Palm Beach Post]
• Miami-Dade rolls out property tax pressured budget [Washington Post]
• Revised ordinance on ad murals get commission OK [Miami Today]
• Setai Expansing to San Diego and Nikki Beach to Panama [Miami Herald]
• FECI moves to settle class action lawsuit [SFBJ]
• Legislators helped poor cities…and Miami [SPTimes]
• U.S. Businesses prepare for post Castro era [SABC News]
• Hoods with goods in Miami [Washington Post]

Blogside:

• MIC Transit Hub [Transit Miami]
• Mango Weekend [Critical Miami]
• Bloody Bike Night [Stuck on the Palmetto]
• High on Life in Miami Beach [Miami Beach 411]
• Carlos Justo unloads Bachelor estate on North Bay Road [South Beach Condo Blog]
• Sting joins the crowd at Books and Books [Riptide 2.0]
• Madonna to buy in Miami? [South Beach Condo Blog]
• Florida bird decline and greedy developers [Eye on Miami]

Images: Diamond tycoon Lev Leviev (left) and real estate guru Shaya Boymelgreen (right)

The Miami development scene has been left in a speculative buzz since it was reported in April that Lev Leviev and Shaya Boymelgreen were definitely going their separate ways. The only LB project bearing fruit of any kind so far has been the Marquis, which has yet to top off. Soleil, Vitiri, Marquis West, and other plans have halted while the two moguls iron out their business differences. NYC-based blogs Curbed and Brownstoner have been observing the slow pace of Shaya’s Brooklyn projects and we, here in Miami, have been wondering the same thing about Vitiri. So what the heck is going on? It seems the split is getting a bit complicated. Read this to find out more.

• Miami rezonging on hold again [Herald]
• Miami 21’s zoning rewrite has no dearth of critics [Daily Business Review]
• Appraisers feel heat to inflate property’s value [Herald]
• Reducing development risk [Multi-Housing News]
• New law ties tolls to cost of living [Herald]
• Miami’s  hotel market [CNN Money]
• Will Related Group replicate Miami development patterns in other markets [CNN Money]
• Bailing out of troubled condo projects [Multi-Housing News]
• In conversation: Chad Oppenheim [BusinessWeek]
• New code could hit developers hard in the wallet [Miami Today]
• Related expands its loft concept [SFBJ]
• Tax Watch: Foreign visitors, investors, bypassing Florida [SFBJ]
• Google StreetView makes some City officials nervous [NY Times]