MIAMI | Development Thread

[pj3000]

Originally Posted by QuantumX

Now here , I don't disagree with you, it's just that you originally said lack of a corporate presence was the reason for Miami's lack of height, not lack of tall office towers and I disagree with you here because taller buildings had been planned that were not office towers.

I'm not following you, but no matter, we don't need to get back into that stuff.

And again, I do love Miami's skyline. I realize that it's a tropical city and the design and function of the buildings will reflect that.


In other news:

Miami planning board speeds along massive Brickell redevelopment proposal

An ambitious mixed-use plan off Brickell Avenue sailed through Miami’s planning and zoning board.

BY ANDRES VIGLUCCI

After sailing through its first public hearing with no opposition, the most ballyhooed local redevelopment plan since Midtown Miami appears headed for speedy city approval, promising to transform a long-dead zone off Brickell Avenue into a new urban district characterized by cutting-edge design, pedestrian-friendly streets and novel environmental features.

After heaping praise on the mammoth Brickell CitiCentre proposal, the city’s planning and zoning board voted 7-0 Tuesday night to recommend approval to the city commission, which will take up the project next week in the first of two hearings. No one spoke in opposition, although two speakers raised relatively minor issues.

City officials, who are co-applicants along with the developer, Swire Properties, told board members the $700 million, mixed-use project will plug a gaping void in the city’s urban core. They said it would inject new life, jobs and commerce into the area, fill city coffers to the tune of $5 million annually in property taxes, and knit together the successful Mary Brickell Village redevelopment to its south with the Miami River and downtown Miami to the north.

Swire, which developed nearby Brickell Key, proposes to erect a residential tower, hotel, two mid-rise office buildings and extensive, street-fronting retail and restaurant space on three-and-a-half mostly vacant blocks straddling South Miami Avenue. Swire said construction could begin as soon as early 2012, would proceed in phases and be completed within four years of its start.

“It will have an immediate effect on our economy,’’ Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado said.

The project, designed in its entirely by Miami-based Arquitectonica, boasts a degree of pedestrian and transit friendliness new to Miami. It’s the first of its scale planned under the city’s new Miami 21 zoning code, designed to create denser and livelier urban streets.

It’s also among the first in the nation to conform to new “green’’ Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, standards that promote creation of sustainable neighborhoods -- dense districts easily navigated on foot, by public transit or by bike.

Swire promises wider sidewalks, hundreds of trees, storefronts open to the street, and a new traffic-calming circulation pattern on the existing streets, now hard to cross because of speeding cars and trucks. The project would also incorporate an existing People Mover station, which would be rebuilt to allow passengers to disembark directly into the development as well as the street below.

A new greenway under the mover guideway would connect to the Miami River. There would be hundreds of bike rack spaces, too.
The project also includes two large pedestrian bridges spanning South Miami Avenue and Southeast Seventh Street. Swire says they will be different from the stark pedestrian bridges erected in the ‘70s, which fell into disfavor because they sapped street life by keeping people inside self-enclosed projects.

CitiCentre’s bridges, Swire says, will have shops and restaurants and are part of a complex circulation plan meant to get people on foot from the People Mover station through the complex and down to ground level, where shops will open directly onto the sidewalks.

“They’re not void spaces,’’ said Arquitectonica principal Bernardo Fort-Brescia. “They will have life and activity.’’

Pedestrians would be shielded from the harsh Miami weather by a “climate ribbon’’ -- a translucent canopy that will snake through the entire project, filtering natural light down to the pedestrian bridges and the open-air shopping areas and gardens at ground level. The canopy, which also have solar panels to feed energy to the complex, would create a cooling “micro-climate’’ beneath it without the use of air conditioning, Fort-Brescia said.

The project hardly stints motorists, however: It would boast two levels of underground parking throughout.


Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/06/1...#ixzz1PVH787J2


Comments on the article are interesting... they all seem to wish the land was being used as a park... like I've been griping about on here.

[bobdreamz]

^ glad to see this got Planning & Zoning approval with no opposition. Now we have to wait on the city to approve this huge project next week. I'm still amazed at the amount of development downtown considering the boom we just went through! Thanks for the news PJ.

[pj3000]

Originally Posted by pj3000

Pedestrians would be shielded from the harsh Miami weather by a “climate ribbon’’ -- a translucent canopy that will snake through the entire project...

Had to chuckle at this.

[QuantumX]

Dave8721 originally posted this over on SSC. Arquitectonica is going to get this project as well. Can't wait to see what it's going to look like. I hope we get some nice-sized towers out of this project.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/06/1...-luresort.html

Miami firm to design luxury resort.

The developer of the 13.9-acre plot of land the Miami Herald occupies tapped one of Miami’s own firms to design its Resorts World Miami.


BY ELAINE WALKER, DOUGLAS HANKS AND HANNAH SAMPSON
ewalker@MiamiHerald.com

After considering architects from around the world, Genting Malaysia Berhad decided to choose one of Miami’s own to design the $3 billion mixed-use project Resorts World Miami.

Genting Group Chairman and Chief Executive KT Lim announced the hiring of internationally known Arquitectonica to create the master plan during a Thursday evening reception for more than 200 business and civic leaders at Miami’s Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts.

The event is part of a broader effort by Malaysia-based Genting, Asia’s third largest casino company, to quickly assimilate into the local community just three weeks after paying $236 million for the 13.9 acres of waterfront land occupied by The Miami Herald and previously owned by its parent, McClatchy Co.

“I believe Miami is destined to become one of the greatest global cities in the world,” Lim said Thursday evening.

Genting — part of the Genting Group, valued at $45 billion — plans to move quickly on its Miami luxury resort. The company has said it hopes to one day include a casino, although Florida law currently forbids it. Political and community support can only help Genting in its quest to get gaming approved, a process that could take years.

Thursday evening, at least one politician voiced his support for the group’s plan.

Miami Mayor Tomás Regalado told The Miami Herald he was briefed earlier in the day by Genting officials and supported plans to put a casino on the ground level with a resort area above to appeal to non-gambling vacationers.

“The way they have presented it,” he said, “I do support that .. . What they’re trying to is here is smart: bringing tourists to the resort. If you want to go to the casino, fine.”

Regalado said he has been a longtime advocate for expanding gaming beyond tribal lands.

Whether or not the law changes, Genting has said it is moving forward on a mixed-use project that will create thousands of jobs and remake the northern edge of downtown Miami. The mix is expected to include restaurants, shopping, residential towers, entertainment and other commercial facilities, with an initial master plan draft due by the end of August.

“There’s no greater honor than to do something in your hometown of this great importance,” said Arquitectonica co-founder Bernardo Fort-Brescia at the reception. “This is bound to be one of the greatest economic drivers of our history. It will change the tourism, entertainment and real estate picture of our city.”

Thursday’s invitation-only reception drew a cross section of political and business leaders, including Penny Shaffer, chair of the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce and market president for Blue Cross Blue Shield; realtor Jack Lowell, chair of the Beacon Council economic development agency; lawyer Mike Eidson, chair of the Arsht Center, and most of the Miami City Commission.

Several dozen of Miami’s most prominent business leaders also were invited for a more intimate dinner with Lim and the Genting team.

While Miami didn’t know much about Genting until a few weeks ago, parent company The Genting Group has been doing business in the U.S. for 25 years and 11 years ago acquired Miami-based Norwegian Cruise Line. The Genting Group currently owns 50 percent of NCL.

Lim highlighted the NCL purchase as he described a history with Miami that dates back to his university days in London 40 years ago, when he first visited South Florida.

“I enjoyed all that Miami could offer to a young man and I fell in love with Miami and have come back many, many times,” he said. “I always feel at home.”

[Dale]

Not that I don't like Arquitectonica, but it would be nice to see someone else get some work in Miami some time.

We've had the same problem in Orlando where Baker-Barrios dominates the skyline. So, we've got a bevy of highrises which sport the cute-at-the-time visors.

[tommaso]

Asian gambling giant gets foothold on U.S. terrain




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By Tom Brown – Mon Jun 20, 3:02 pm ET
MIAMI (Reuters) – Malaysia-based Genting Berhad, one of the world's largest international casino operators, is betting big on Miami becoming a palm-fringed playground for global gamblers.
The cash-rich company, which controls casino resorts in Malaysia and Singapore, will make its first official foray into the U.S. gaming market with the opening of a gambling parlor at New York's Aqueduct racetrack this fall.
Coupled with its plans for South Florida -- where it already controls Miami-based Norwegian Cruise lines and has lofty dreams about creating a sort of Macau of the Americas -- Genting is carving out a big foothold on the U.S. East Coast.
Florida, which is struggling to recover from the crippling U.S. recession and record-high unemployment, is desperately in need of a new source of jobs and tax revenues. The problem is that state law currently forbids casinos from expanding beyond businesses operated by the Seminole Indian tribe and selected racetracks and jai alai frontons.
Lawmakers are widely expected to liberalize Florida's gambling laws, sooner rather than later, however. And analysts say Genting has the deep pockets and "patient capital" to start laying the groundwork now for future business.
"I believe Miami is destined to become one of the greatest global cities in the world," Genting Chairman and Chief Executive KT Lim told a gathering of Miami business and civic leaders last week.
"With planes now able to fly nonstop from Singapore and Hong Kong, Miami will soon connect Asia with the Americas," he said.
In one of the priciest real estate deals in Miami's history, Genting Malaysia Berhad announced last month that it was paying $236 million for a 14-acre (5.7 hectare) piece of waterfront property in the downtown area that currently houses the Miami Herald newspaper.
For a total investment of about $3 billion, Genting plans to build a luxury hotel on the site overlooking the azure waters of Biscayne Bay, along with convention, entertainment, restaurant, retail, residential and commercial facilities.
Genting has stressed that the project would create thousands of jobs in the city. But the casino giant has also said the time it takes to complete the project, dubbed Resorts World Miami, a key potential contributor to tourism and local cash flow, will depend on Florida's gambling politics.
"MORE MOMENTUM"
Mike Speller, the New York-based president of Genting's Resorts World subsidiary, says the project will go ahead whether or not Florida changes its gaming laws anytime soon.
But the casino element is the driver of Genting's business plan, and legal changes would step up development, which is currently forecast to take up to 20 years.
"It would certainly shorten the period greatly that we would be able to build out the entire project because there would be that much more momentum," Speller told Reuters.
Gaming titans led by the Las Vegas Sands Corp have been lobbying to persuade lawmakers to allow for full casino gambling at so-called "destination resorts" in Florida since the Seminole Tribe won its right to offer blackjack, baccarat and other banked card games more than two years ago.
A legislative proposal to bring five destination resorts to the state died in the legislature in March. But industry lobbyists and lawmakers are already drafting new proposals, focused strictly on South Florida, and hope a large-scale gaming expansion can be pushed through when a new legislative session opens in Tallahassee in the fall.
Florida's conservative Republican governor, Rick Scott, has yet to stake out a clear position on the issue. But he met with Sheldon Adelson, the billionaire businessman and Sands owner, after his election last year.
"I think we've got a good shot to get it done during this 2012 session," said Nick Iarossi, Adelson's point man and lobbyist for the Sands in Tallahassee, when asked about the likelihood of seeing a change in gaming laws soon.
"We've gotten some encouraging signs from key members of the legislature, on both sides of the House, as well as the governor's office," Iarossi said. "We're going to make an all-out effort to get it done this session."
Representative Erik Fresen, a Miami Republican, is among those who plan to sponsor revamped gaming legislation in the fall. He said the economic benefits, including what he sees as more than 10,000 permanent jobs stemming from Genting's project, make expanded gambling a must-have for Florida.
"We're still obviously in kind of a recessive economy right now so it lends itself even more so to making game-changing decisions that will immediately inject billions of dollars of infrastructure investment into the state of Florida." he said.
"There's not a single piece of legislation that will be considered during the upcoming session that will create more jobs than this proposal," added Iarossi. He said Genting, Wynn Resort, MGM Resorts International and Caesars Entertainment were all part of the lobbying effort in Tallahassee, which was spearheaded by Adelson.
Like Genting, which operates the only casino resort that rivals the one owned by the Sands in Singapore, Iarossi said Adleson would happily pay $3 billion to develop a high-end destination resort in Miami.

[brickell]

Getting approvals in Miami is the easy part, but at least that hurdle is clear.

Miami commissioners approve big new developments in Brickell and Omni districts, in city core
http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/06/2...issioners.html

With no discussion, Miami commissioners voted Thursday to add millions of square feet in residential, commercial and hotel space to the city’s core, giving the go-ahead to a mega-project that seeks to transform a mostly vacant stretch of west Brickell into a dense, pedestrian-friendly urban district, and approving a proposed new mixed-use tower in the Omni District.

[lviz]

AXIS and the new Hampton Inn nearing completion:


West view towards Coral Gables from Infinity:


Museum Park construction:

[brickell]

thanks for the update

[Loqy Lion]

Originally Posted by pj3000

Or look at it this way... Miami has three 700-footers as its tallest buildings. Houston has two 1000-footers, one 900-footer, and seven 700-footer

CURRENTLY UNDER CONSTRUCTION, New York has 4 1000-footers, 1 977-footer, and hordes of smaller towers. That's not to mention about 6-7 more planned 1000-footers. You both lose.

In all seriousness, Miami is destined to overtake the Texas cities. Only a matter of time.

[Dale]

Originally Posted by Loqy Lion

CURRENTLY UNDER CONSTRUCTION, New York has 4 1000-footers, 1 977-footer, and hordes of smaller towers. That's not to mention about 6-7 more planned 1000-footers. You both lose.

In all seriousness, Miami is destined to overtake the Texas cities. Only a matter of time.

Well, it's not all that lop-sided. NYC technically has two thousand-footers u/c. We're all hopeful about the others planned. But for right now they're still planned.

[Loqy Lion]

Originally Posted by Dale

Well, it's not all that lop-sided. NYC technically has two thousand-footers u/c. We're all hopeful about the others planned. But for right now they're still planned.

2 and 3's bases are U/C.

[Dale]

Originally Posted by Loqy Lion

2 and 3's bases are U/C.

*bases*, not towers. Not yet anyhow.

[weatherguru18]

At the risk of coming across with a 'we're better than you are' attitude, you guys would be hard pressed to bypass Houston in height. Houston is the 10th tallest city in the world, according to a 2009 figure, and is home to 7 of the 10 tallest buildings in the state of Texas. Our inventory includes:

1 1,000+ ft
2 900+ ft
7 700+ ft
8 600+ ft
11 500+ ft

Long has been rumored of several other major highrises in the works including residential highrises in the Galleria area and another major tower downtown on Block 69---which Hines Interest owns. With the economy in the shitter and the highrise market in Miami nearly stalling out at times, I find it hard to believe all the proposed buildings in Miami will be built.

[pj3000]

This discussion ended almost a month ago.

Please let's not go back there just because some idiot fuck comes on and starts talking about New York.

[brickell]

A couple of weeks old now, but stinging none the less.

The 'Major City' That Isn't
http://www.time.com/time/nation/arti...080904,00.html

And Miami is supposed to be a major city: no less than the trade and cultural nexus of the Americas. Instead it more often seems a municipal version of the old joke about Brazil: that it's the country of the future — and always will be. Brazil has since grown out of that feckless reputation, but Miami just might inherit that mantle.

Miami faces the same problem that has always nagged developing countries like Brazil: the gap between its low wages and its high costs of living is one of the widest in America. Even in the 21st century, the Magic City still lives under its 20th-century illusion that tourism and condo construction are the basis of a modern economy. Nor has Miami found a way to turn its robust trade and banking sectors — some $95 billion worth of imports and exports moved through Miami last year, a 21% increase over 2009 — into equally vigorous job-creation engines.

[bobdreamz]

^ What a crappy written article especially when they mix in the actual city of Miami with the politics of the county! Time magazine predicted the demise of Miami 30 years ago with their cover "Paradise Lost" regarding Miami yet now they claim it was never paradise in the first place! I love this quote! :

(public transportation remains virtually non-existent) I guess buses don't count as public transportation? Between Metrorail, Metromover, Tri-Rail & MetroBus the transit system carries around 330,000 passengers a day!

and then what do you say about a "writer" who ends his story with this quote! :

The Miami Heat's embarrassing choke in the NBA finals this month proved that overpaid showboats don't necessarily win championships. Nor do they make you a major city.

This article is poorly written and laden with errors! They recalled the county Mayor not the city of Miami's Mayor!

[pj3000]

^ While I don't think it is a great article, I think there is some truth to it.

The Heat reference seems to be a metaphor for the superficial nature of Miami -- its culture and economy. Basically, you need a bit more substance if you're gonna be winning basketball team or a truly economically-prosperous city.

An over-bloated, real estate-based economy does not major city make.

[bobdreamz]

On a more positive note!

Miami-Dade's housing inventory is dwindling as internationals continue a buying frenzy for real estate at discounted prices, reflecting a more balanced market with six months of housing supply.
If sales stay at the current pace, the existing inventory would be absorbed by year's end, making the question of how much inventory is coming down the pipeline key to forecasting what's ahead for the local housing market.
Inventory housing, consisting of single-family homes and condos, has dropped 21% since Jan. 1 and 60% since August 2008, according to data from the Miami Association of Realtors and the Multiple Listing Service.
In South Florida, the leading buyers are Venezuelans at 28%, Canadians 10%, Brazilians 9% and Argentines 8%, the data show.
http://www.miamitodaynews.com/news/110714/story1.shtml

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* So if Miami isn't a "major city" like the TIME Magazine article claims why are all of these foreigners buying so much property?

[bobdreamz]

Originally Posted by pj3000

^ While I don't think it is a great article, I think there is some truth to it.

The Heat reference seems to be a metaphor for the superficial nature of Miami -- its culture and economy. Basically, you need a bit more substance if you're gonna be winning basketball team or a truly economically-prosperous city.

An over-bloated, real estate-based economy does not major city make.

Spare me please! I do know you are interested in Miami but it's not just real estate & tourism that are the sole engines of Miami's economy! That title is more adept to a city like Orlando than Miami's!