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  #1041  
Old Posted Aug 14, 2008, 5:05 PM
NewAtlantisMiami NewAtlantisMiami is offline
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Originally Posted by futuresooner View Post
I'm glad the Biscayne Wall was built w/o that one built behind the freedom Tower. Hopefully, when all is good to build more, that one will not happen. Building practically upon THE Miami landmark is totally a no in my book.
We have so little older architecture here in Miami. I'm originally from Jacksonville, and I think they do better in that regard. Living in San Francisco made me appreciate Jacksonville's older architecture more. Thank God the powers-that-be had the wisdom to keep Freedom Tower.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3124/...2b746cdb_b.jpg
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  #1042  
Old Posted Aug 15, 2008, 3:22 AM
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[B]ICON BRICKELL

[B]MET 2


[B]MET 2

MET 2 HOTEL 11 STORIES

MET 3 SITE

WIND MINT IVY
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  #1044  
Old Posted Aug 15, 2008, 1:41 PM
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Thanks for all the pictures. What is the building between the new courthouse on the right and goverment center in the last picture?
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  #1045  
Old Posted Aug 15, 2008, 2:06 PM
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Q, you should create a photo thread in the photo section so everyone else can see these.
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  #1046  
Old Posted Aug 16, 2008, 6:13 PM
NewAtlantisMiami NewAtlantisMiami is offline
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Q, you should create a photo thread in the photo section so everyone else can see these.
You mean like I did on SkyscraperCity? How do I get there on here?
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  #1047  
Old Posted Aug 16, 2008, 6:41 PM
NewAtlantisMiami NewAtlantisMiami is offline
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Q, you should create a photo thread in the photo section so everyone else can see these.
Ok, I created a thread in My City Photos. I just posted pics there that I went back to Bank of America's roof yesterday to shoot because it was a nicer day.
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  #1048  
Old Posted Sep 1, 2008, 5:37 PM
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Happy Labor Day everyone!

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  #1049  
Old Posted Sep 6, 2008, 3:53 PM
GREGGYMIAMI305 GREGGYMIAMI305 is offline
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nice updates on MET 2
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  #1050  
Old Posted Sep 9, 2008, 11:56 PM
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Here's Icon, 500 Brickell, Brickell on the River and a little bit of Epic:

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  #1051  
Old Posted Sep 10, 2008, 4:33 PM
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Originally Posted by UrbanImpact View Post
Thanks for all the pictures. What is the building between the new courthouse on the right and goverment center in the last picture?
wHICH one?
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  #1052  
Old Posted Sep 10, 2008, 4:37 PM
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Exclamation Empire World Towers developer faces default judgment

Leon Cohen, the Miami Beach developer who proposed a 93-story skyscraper in downtown Miami, faces default judgment in New York State Supreme Court over fraud allegations related to a former hotel redevelopment project.

New York Judge Walter Tolub wrote the decision against Cohen, his father Maurice Cohen and other defendants on Wednesday in connection with alleged fraud at the Flatotel in midtown Manhattan.

According Tolub’s ruling, the “defendants’ long-standing patterns of default, lateness, and abject failure to comply with court orders amounts to willful … conduct which not only warrants but necessitates … award of default judgment.”

Cohen received initial approval from a Miami panel in January for the Empire World Towers project, slated to have 1,557 residential units. At the time, real estate analysts questioned the project because of hurricane codes, height restrictions, the ongoing credit market crunch and the downturn in real estate markets.

The impact of Wednesday’s decision in New York was not immediately apparent. Miami spokeswoman Kelly Penton said no one at the city had heard about the New York case.

Cohen’s New York attorney, John Gleason of Gleason & Koatz, declined to comment on Friday.

The plaintiff in the suit against Cohen is a French lender, CDR Creances, represented by Douglas A. Kellner of Kellner Herlihy Getty.

Court documents show Cohen, his family and their companies borrowed $92 million in 1991 to fund acquisition of the Flatotel. CDR received a security interest as part of consideration for the loan. The suit alleges that Maurice Cohen orchestrated the unauthorized transfer and eventual sale of shares of stock in which CDR held a security interest, without CDR’s knowledge.

According to Kellner, the Cohens “sold the New York Flatotel to a Bahamian company controlled by hotelier Simon Elias in 2000 without disclosing the transaction to CDR and without making any payment on the loan.”

The details behind the case involve foreign bank accounts and “extremely complicated business transactions,” the judge noted.

Kellner told the Business Journal of Friday that he plans to file a motion seeking $264 million in actual damages from Cohen and punitive damages of $2.5 billion.

Kellner said he is very interested in Cohen’s Florida company, Maclee Development, and its funding to pursue the Empire World Towers project.

“Where those funds came from to acquire his property has been of great interest to us,” he said.

http://www.bizjournals.com/southflor...1/daily53.html
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  #1053  
Old Posted Sep 10, 2008, 4:39 PM
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Banco Itaú signs downtown Miami lease

Banco Itaú Europa International has leased 38,143 square feet of Class A office space in downtown Miami’s Wachovia Financial Center. It will occupy most of the 21st floor and all of the 22nd floor.

Banc Itaú’s international private banking and wealth management area is affiliated with Banco Itaú S.A, Brazil’s second-largest non-government commercial bank. It will employ 150 employees in its Miami operation.

The lease is for more than 10 years. Its value was not disclosed.

The lease follows Banco Itaú Europa International’s acquisition of the Miami-based edge arms of BankBoston and ABN Amro.

Banco Itau is an Edge Arms bank, which means it is alloed to engage in international banking through federally chartered subsidiaries.

ABN Amro’s branch had been a long-time tenant in Wachovia Financial Center, and the bank’s lease was set to expire in 2012.

California-based Gensler Architecture and Design is redesigning the space.



http://www.bizjournals.com/southflor...8/daily38.html
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  #1054  
Old Posted Sep 10, 2008, 4:41 PM
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Lightbulb Backers of Marlins' stadium re-elected

Residents vote for politicians who support new park for Fish

MIAMI -- Miami-Dade County residents had their say last week, and they voted in favor of those who support a new stadium for the Marlins.

The Aug. 26 elections in Miami-Dade County had a direct connection to the Marlins efforts to get construction under way on a retractable-roof stadium in the Little Havana section of Miami.

At a time where there is a legal challenge to the project, several local politicians who voted in favor of the baseball park were up for re-election on Aug. 26. All of them won.

Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Alvarez won by nearly a 2-to-1 margin, and several county commissioners also were voted back into office by comfortable margins.

"The night of Aug. 26 was very, very important in the timeline of the stadium project, as well as, really, the success of Miami, which is a great city," Samson said.

Auto dealer Norman Braman is legally challenging some aspects of funding for the new ballpark, along with the financing of a $3 billion mega-plan for a number of ambitious projects. Not just a Marlins' stadium is at stake here for Miami. There are a number of projects impacted by the lawsuit, including a Port of Miami tunnel and revamping Bicentennial Park.

Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Jeri Beth Cohen, who also was re-elected on Aug. 26, still has to make two final rulings in the case. The decisions should come by the middle of the month.

Braman has said he would consider dropping his lawsuit if the projects were put to the public vote.

The political process did come into play last Tuesday, because the county residents had their chance to have their voices heard in the voting booths.

Elected back into office were Alvarez, along with Miami-Dade County commissioners Audrey Edmonson, Joe Martinez and Bruno Barreiro.

"There was a referendum, and it was called the Mayoral election," Samson said. "Mayor Alvarez was convincingly re-elected by the people of Miami-Dade County, thereby showing their support of him, the mayor, and these projects, including our stadium.

"The fact is the people did vote, and the judge can see that these commissioners and this mayor have time and time again supported not only this stadium, but other downtown projects. The people in each district had a chance to review what their commissioners stand for, and how they have voted in the past, and how they have voted on the projects. The people have spoken."

Even with the lawsuit in a holding pattern, the Marlins have remained active on the stadium front.

When the team was in Arizona recently, Samson and representatives for the Marlins park, including Miami-Dade County manager George Burgess, took a tour of two facilities with roofs: Chase Field (Diamondbacks) and University of Phoenix Stadium (NFL's Arizona Cardinals).

"When we were in Arizona, everyone got a chance to see what a downtown stadium [Chase Field] can offer and a rural stadium, which is what University of Phoenix Stadium is. That helped them see what what a new stadium could be like in Little Havana, which is maybe a mile-and-a-half from downtown Miami.

"We wanted everyone to see the roof at Chase Field, and the University of Phoenix Stadium, which has a fabric roof, a very unique roof."

University of Phoenix Stadium has already been the host of a Super Bowl, and the annual Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.

So many new ballparks are making major economic impacts in their respective communities. The Arizona Cardinals, for instance, contribute $150 million to the local economy each year, and the Fiesta Bowl brings in another $140 million.

These big economic numbers are not being lost on South Florida officials. For instance, the second round of the 2009 World Baseball Classic will be played at Dolphin Stadium, the Marlins' current home. The event is expected to pour $25 million into South Florida for those few days.

Representatives from HOK Sport, hired to design the Marlins new ballpark, and Hunt/Moss, the construction manager for the project, were part of the team's contingent that traveled to Arizona. The group also had representatives from companies that make retractable roofs.

"It was a very, very important trip," Samson said. "We're also going to make a trip to Minute Maid Park [in Houston] to see another roof facility."

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?...=.jsp&c_id=mlb
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  #1055  
Old Posted Sep 10, 2008, 4:43 PM
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Coconut Grove leaders want to strengthen retail district, improve mix of businesses

With retail complexes in nearby Brickell and Coral Gables stealing the spotlight, Coconut Grove business and civic leaders agree the area needs a transformation.
Some blame merchants for the turnover, insisting retail owners give up too fast on the Grove and don't do enough to reach potential shoppers.
"Sometimes people come from another country wanting to open up a store or restaurant," said Liliana Dones, president of the Coconut Grove Chamber of Commerce and member of the Coconut Grove Village Council, but said some fail to market their business well. "Market consistency is key and you have to do it in any number of ways."
Grove merchants' pending approval of the business improvement district could inject much-need vitality into the retail corridor, supporters say.
David Collins, executive director of the Coconut Grove Business Improvement Committee, a city-funded group formed in 2004 with the intent to transition it into the now-proposed business improvement district, said other factors exist.
Mr. Collins said some open businesses but fail to invest enough time and money in marketing the space and proactively inviting the community to visit them. He said these types of owners usually don't last long. Another factor to consider is that sales are cyclical, meaning the Grove has always had its high and low periods in shopper traffic and sales.
The Grove's commercial arm includes two open-air malls, CocoWalk and Streets of Mayfair, and other street-level shops and boutiques.
The Grove's competition is fiercer than in the past, with nearby shopping destinations such as Miracle Mile. Its own Business Improvement District was re-approved in August 2007 and it has launched a marketing campaign to re-energize the brand locally and regionally.
Another younger competitor is Mary Brickell Village, and tourist hot-spot Miami Beach, which Mr. Collins said make it tougher for the Grove to pull the numbers of visitors it did in earlier decades.
"The Grove is not going to come back as part of the natural cycle because competition has changed," he said. "The BID is the only plan on the table in terms of improvements, and that's why many small businesses and big property owners are participating in the efforts."
He warns the effort is a "non-ending" one.
The area needs to reinvent itself and grow with the times, he said.
For example, the retail mix needs more variety that fits the needs and wants of not only tourists and visitors but of Grovites too.
And the local restaurant industry needs new menu selections, Mr. Collins said.
That's especially the case with the Grove's core benefiting from incoming office tenants, such as Sony BMG, set to move into the Mayfair complex in October.
Its 120 employees are going to need more lunch options. Mr. Collins said he is encouraging some existing restaurants to open for lunch to accommodate them.
Ms. Dones, the president of Coconut Grove Chamber, said she is confident that Sony Music's presence is going to help stimulate the area.
If the proposed business improvement district gains approved, Mr. Collins said, it plans new retail recruitment programs to "go after restaurants and stores people want."
With the focus at hand to bring more tenants to suit the shopping wants of residents, the to-be-voted-on district is to hold focus groups of Grove residents to learn what businesses they want to see coming in.
The current retail mix includes restaurants, high-end jewelry stores, boutique shops, brand-name apparel stores, hair salons and other beauty-oriented businesses.
"I've never seen a beauty place go out of business in the Grove," Ms. Dones said.
Recent additions to the Grove's retail mix include a Chili's restaurant, Steven Anton Rehage, Anokha Indian Restaurant and Congas Guayaberas store, Grove officials said. Meanwhile, the likes of Qdoba Mexican Grill, Lavish and clothing store Life is Good have said goodbye to the Grove's tree-lined streets.
The Grove needs to be more aggressive to lure in new tenants, Mr. Collins said. "I am looking to stabilize that influx and take some calculated gambles, not just big risks."
He said one clear candidate would be Trader Joe's, a specialty retail grocery that currently has no stores in Florida, and the area could use more women's apparel stores.
"I am going to be excited about having new stores come in based on the interests Grovites have," he said.
Mayfair in the Grove, a largely hotel and retail complex, recently got its wish to convert a sizeable chunk of retail space into offices.
The Miami City Commission approved Grovites' request to convert some street-level retail space into office use, with hopes to fill empty storefronts and lure office workers to become patrons of area retail stores and restaurants.
Mayfair transformed about 43,000 square feet of retail into office space, said Sim Wilson, first vice president of the brokerage services division of CB Richard Ellis in Miami, the real estate management company for Mayfair.
When the retail market began to shrink in Coconut Grove, Mr. Wilson said, the firm had to decide how to lease the space.
Turning some of the ground-level retail into office space seemed the best option, he said.
And so far, Mr. Wilson said, the switch has proven successful, "a lot more activity as office."
The real estate company has secured leases with advertising agency Crispin Porter & Bogusky, which relocated its Grove offices to the complex, Mr. Wilson said. The Sony BMG space is wrapping up construction as the group is moving in soon, and Marc USA, a national advertising agency, is also inked.
"It's been a snowball effect. Once you get these types of names there it validates the area," he said.
Mr. Wilson said the shortcomings in retail are prompting other changes in Mayfair. It plans to bring more restaurants and boutique retail shops to the retail side.
"There is still less retail overall in the Grove then there ever was, and the economy is probably not helping us," he said. "If people aren't spending money, retail suffers."



http://www.miamitodaynews.com/news/080911/story4.shtml
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  #1056  
Old Posted Sep 10, 2008, 4:45 PM
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Dade builders could get millions in tax breaks

BY MATTHEW I. PINZUR
mpinzur@MiamiHerald.com
Tax breaks meant to lure businesses into distressed areas could be handed to developers of some of Miami-Dade's most luxurious new condos -- with a cut going to County Hall -- under a plan recommended by Mayor Carlos Alvarez and endorsed by county commissioners.

The proposal could give an estimated $47 million in sales-tax rebates to developers of six projects by moving the boundaries of the county's Enterprise Zone -- more than was given to every business in every enterprise zone in the entire state in 2006-07, and a sum the program's statewide coordinator called ``staggering.''

Tax breaks in the Enterprise Zone are supposed to attract new business to distressed areas. But the proposed changes would admit posh new condos backed by some of Florida's most influential developers, including Icon Brickell, a Miami River-front tower built by Jorge Pérez's Related Group, and the massive Biscayne Landing project on the Intracoastal Waterway in North Miami.

One project, Quantum on the Bay, built by Pedro Martin's Terra Group, is already occupied by condo owners who paid as much as $500,000. Just two of the six projects promise to build homes that meet the county's definition of ``affordable.''

''I am completely offended and appalled by this,'' said Commissioner Natacha Seijas, the only commissioner to vote against the boundary change last Tuesday.

During the '07 fiscal year, all of Florida's enterprise zones combined to provide $45 million in tax breaks. At the cap of $5,000 in rebates for every condo unit, the six new projects in Miami-Dade could exceed that.

''Wow, that's staggering,'' said Burt Von Hoff, who oversees Enterprise Zones as the community development liaison in the Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development.

Von Hoff said he had never seen a community try to give Enterprise Zone tax breaks to projects already well underway. ''The public intent is to attract new business,'' he said.

The state still needs to approve the boundary change, which would also make the projects eligible for corporate income tax breaks.

Terra, Related and Biscayne Landing officials did not respond to interview requests last week about the program.

The county approved any project that met the state's minimum requirements for joining the Enterprise Zone. The ones that are in municipalities have already received approval from the local city commission -- a point emphasized by Alvarez's spokeswoman when The Miami Herald asked about the program.

Miami-Dade had an incentive to encourage applicants: Developers agreed to give 10 percent of their rebates to the county for a new affordable housing trust fund.

''I think probably the commitment to the affordable housing or contributing to the trust fund was a benefit of the investment,'' said Cynthia Curry, senior advisor to County Manager George Burgess.

Tangie White Jackson, an official in the county's Office of Community and Economic Development, publicly told commissioners that Von Hoff approved the arrangement.

''He said it sounded fine,'' she said during Tuesday's commission meeting.

Von Hoff denied it.

''That's the first I've heard of that,'' he told The Miami Herald on Wednesday. ``I'm not familiar with that conversation at all.''

Jackson later said she thought she was being asked about the general practice of allowing companies to ask for admission to the zone.

The policy of requiring the developers to either build affordable housing or give the county 10 percent of their tax break was only vetted by the county's own attorneys.

That idea developed in 2007, when the Biscayne Landing developers asked the city of North Miami to help include them in the zone.

The 193-acre project has only completed a tiny portion of its plans to construct 12,000 homes, a hotel, shopping and office space, and the tax breaks could inject fresh energy into the plans.

Normally the boundary can only be moved once every three years, but the city, county and developer hoped for special dispensation from the Legislature. To sweeten the deal, they offered the county $3 million of their projected $30 million in sales-tax rebates.

Commissioners, led by Sally Heyman and Dorrin Rolle, approved the deal.

The Legislature refused to act, probably because the three-year window was closed, but others took notice.

'A couple of developers called the office and said, `We want the same thing,' '' said José Cintrón, who was running OCED at the time.

When the three-year cycle was up, the county let any business apply under the same terms, a process approved unanimously by the commission in January.

Beyond Biscayne Landing, four other developers submitted a total of five projects:

• Icon Brickell, two condo towers and a hotel, under construction overlooking the Miami River and Biscayne Bay.

• Quantum on the Bay, two condo towers on the bay, one of which is already occupied and the other well into construction.

• Floridian Key, a town house community in Florida City, which has finished its first 71-unit building and is now planning the second. It ultimately plans 614 units.

• Alto Plaza and Altos Pointe, a housing, office and retail complex.

• Terrazas Coconut Grove, a residential and office project.

Heyman now says she did not research the projects other than Biscayne Landing, which she said needs the breaks to fulfill its promises of creating jobs and homes.

''I would assume that in our administration someone scrutinizes,'' she said. ``It leaves me really concerned on how this came forward.''

Only two projects, Biscayne Landing and Floridian Key, offered to set aside at least 5 percent of units for affordable housing.

The rest, including Biscayne, pledged the 10 percent donation to the county.

''The board chose to treat it this way,'' Cintrón said. ``We took our cue from that.''

Altos Pointe, Alto Plaza and Terrazas, all being built by B Developers, are the only projects in the new deal not already under construction.

Company president Miguel Angel Barbagallo -- who has built affordable condos inside the existing zone -- said the tax breaks are crucial to build in-town homes that middle-class families can afford. Many units in his existing buildings sold for under $200,000.

''If you can reduce a little bit of operating costs, it's very important,'' Barbagallo said.

In addition to the sales tax rebates, which are funded by the Department of Revenue after the developer provides receipts for construction materials, businesses can get other deductions.

Companies in the zone -- whether the developers themselves or their business tenants -- can take deductions from their corporate income taxes for 20 to 30 percent of the salary of any employees who live in the zone.

Those businesses might be able to take further corporate tax deductions for up to $50,000 of the property taxes they pay, for up to five years.

Curry, who oversees the development office, said the rules might be changed before 2011, when the county can next alter boundaries.

''More strategic thinking might obviously be more appropriate the next time around,'' she said.

The law does limit the size of enterprise zones, and every piece of land added to the zone requires taking one out. Most of the new projects have small footprints and are replacing tiny doughnut holes taken out of the zone in undevelopable areas such as public parks, a cemetery and a water treatment plant.

Biscayne Landing won its application by suggesting a single 200-acre cut from the existing zone: the north runway at Miami International Airport.

''I think somebody has made a sublime error here,'' Seijas said of the entire plan to amend the zone. ``I'm not accusing anyone of doing anything wrong -- that would be unfair -- but there's been a huge, huge mistake.''

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/brea...ry/676892.html
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  #1057  
Old Posted Sep 10, 2008, 5:14 PM
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Miami-Dade economic stimulus plan moving full-speed ahead, is to help move $113 million worth of projects

By Risa Polansky
A Miami-Dade economic stimulus plan designed to jump-start the local construction industry is moving full-speed ahead.
About $31.5 million worth of projects are already in the pipeline, capital improvements head Johnny Martinez told the county's Citizens' Advisory Committee last week.
Within weeks, that number is to jump to $113 million, he said.
The stimulus plan, which commissioners approved in July, allows for expediting planned capital projects.
Under the plan, Mayor Carlos Alvarez has the power to advertise for bids and award them.
Rather than the lengthy process of OKing such measures prior, commissioners would later ratify his decisions.
Mr. Alvarez can approve change orders so long as they don't exceed contract amounts and is allowed to expedite procedures related to small business procurement programs.
The county estimates the plan will speed up the contracting process by as much as six months.
"There used to be a backlog of work, and now the backlog is not there," Mr. Martinez said.
Because the county needs to get its projects moving, and the construction industry is hurting for work due to the bursting of the real estate bubble and the dragging economy, "the timing is right to get the work out there," he said. "It's a win-win situation."
The plan comes as the national unemployment rate is at a nearly five-year high.
The US saw a net loss of 84,000 jobs in August, on top of the 60,000 lost in July, the Department of Labor reported Friday.
The local stimulus plan includes $625 million worth of capital projects.
About 18% of that total is to be in progress within weeks, Mr. Martinez said.
About 10% of the stimulus projects are to be backed by general obligation bond dollars, he told the advisory committee, which advises county officials on the $2.9 billion Building Better Communities Bond program, approved by voters in 2004.
According to a third-quarter report on the program submitted by County Manager George Burgess, 99% of the initial 2005 $266 million bond sale — about $263 million — has been disbursed.
About 792 projects are under development, with 95% of the projects running on time, the report shows.
The next bond sale, $325 million, is expected late this year.
With so many capital projects running smoothly, "we have statistically provided an economic stimulus through the GOB (general obligation bond)" program, said advisory committee Chair Robin Reiter.
To date, $203 million has been approved to accelerate 261 project sites moving faster than planned, Mr. Burgess said in his memo.
The funds are shifted from projects that are moving slower than anticipated.
But, Mr. Burgess wrote, "it is important to note that no projects have been delayed by the acceleration of other projects."
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  #1058  
Old Posted Sep 10, 2008, 5:44 PM
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Palmetto Gardens Plaza

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  #1059  
Old Posted Sep 10, 2008, 8:28 PM
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Unhappy Brickell CitiCentre (R.I.P)

I can believe this project was never built.

Here you can see more information on Emporis:

http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/cx/?id=...ticentre-miami

Is it true that they are going to place a CVS or Walgreens instead?

To hell with that!!!!!!!!!!!



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  #1060  
Old Posted Sep 10, 2008, 8:31 PM
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Any news on Capital?

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