It began with lead and arsenic in the soil at a small Coconut Grove dog park. Then elevated levels of barium and copper beneath a sloping lawn near residential Coral Gables. Followed by antimony and iron around the playing courts of Douglas Park.

One by one, the city of Miami shut down a series of parks starting last September after tests showed elevated levels of toxins in the soil. The closures alarmed residents and embarrassed city officials, who’d known for years about contamination concerns linked to an old West Grove incinerator.

All 112 of Miami’s parks were tested, and portions or all of seven closed for clean-up. One year later, the city is prepared to spend an estimated $11 million — more than triple initial projections — to remediate and reopen the tainted parks. Their plan is simple, though to some disconcerting: leave the contaminated soil in place and bury it two feet below the surface. “This two-foot option is not only an option we’re applying at all our parks, it’s the option that the county applies itself at their parks that get remediated,” said Deputy City Manager Alice Bravo. “This is the standard in South Florida.”

Under the plan, two feet of clean fill will be placed over contaminated soil. If the fill is less than two feet thick, a liner is also spread between the soil and the clean fill, explained Wilbur Mayorga, chief of the county’s Division of Environmental Monitoring and Restoration. New grass, artificial turf or recycled rubber mulch or mats top the fill, although those options are purely aesthetic, he said. Plans can vary from park to park, depending on the terrain and type of structures in place. “The approach is not new,” Mayorga said, explaining that both federal and state environmental rules allow clean-up methods that “rely on a cap or a barrier to eliminate any exposure to contaminated soil.”

Some parks, like Blanche Park, a small neighborhood park popular with tots and dogs, and Curtis Park, a much larger sprawling sports complex north of the Miami River, will have wells to monitor groundwater and ensure contamination doesn’t spread. At Merrie Christmas Park on South LeJeune Road in Coconut Grove, the city plans to move between a foot and two feet of contaminated soil from one area to another to level the park according to new design plans, Mayorga said.

Working with county regulators, the city has to continue to conduct inspections of the parks after reopening them. Covenants will also be attached to the land to warn future generations of the contamination, Mayorga said. “But at the end of the day, all contaminated soil in the park will have the required and approved engineering controls on top,” he said.

To date, the city has reopened only Blanche Park and has had its plans approved by the county for Merrie Christmas Park, half of which is still closed. Plans for Curtis, Douglas, Billie Rolle, Southside and Bayfront parks still need the county’s approval. But the city has surveyed the extent of the contamination at most parks, perhaps marking the end of a long period of uncertainty about the city’s problems.

Concerns about toxins and contamination first arose in 2011, when the city discovered contaminated soil at a firefighter training facility located at an old, defunct Jefferson Street incinerator dubbed Old Smokey by residents in the West Grove. County regulators ordered the city to find out exactly what was polluting the soil and address it, but it took two years to issue a report, which showed elevated levels of arsenic and other heavy metals like barium and lead. Even then, the contamination only became public knowledge after a University of Miami graduate student stumbled upon it.

Under intensified scrutiny from the university, residents and county regulators, Miami officials began sampling soils in a one-mile radius. When contaminants were discovered at nearby Blanche Park and then Merrie Christmas Park, the county ordered the city to test all its parks, setting off the discovery of five other contaminated sites.

The city’s slow response has fostered cynicism from residents near the parks and activists, who continue to distrust Miami’s handling of the matter. A group of residents around Merrie Christmas Park is protesting plans to redistribute some of the toxic soil beneath the park’s surface, and say they only learned about the details from the city’s contractor.

Anthony Alfieri, a UM law professor whose Environmental Justice Project unearthed contamination concerns, said the city continues to keep residents in the dark about its plans and actions. The city, by designating its contaminated parks as “Brownfields” this July in order to receive reimbursement from the federal government for clean-up efforts, increased its obligation to seek public input. But Alfieri said it doesn’t appear the city has done any outreach. “The city and the county are clearly committed to a policy of non-accountability,” Alfieri said. “And they ensure that by failing to reach out to the community and inform the community.”

Ken Russell, a woodcarver who lives next to Merrie Christmas Park, has loudly criticized the city’s plan and says he worries about the health of his three children, ages 12, 2 and 5 months. He says he understands that capping toxic soil is safe but is frustrated that the city’s plans will move contaminated material from the western edge of the park to some depressed areas that are currently closed off to the public but apparently untainted.

Another issue for Russell is the county has marked his home as being located within a quarter-mile of a contamination site, which he and other neighbors worry lowers their property values. He said if the city is digging up soil, it ought to simply remove it. “The city did this dumping. Even though it was 50 years ago, it’s their doing and it’s their responsibility to clean it up,” he said. “We want a clean-up, not a cover-up.”

Bravo stressed that the city’s plans are safe and sound, and she said the cost of removing toxic soils is simply too steep. Bravo said estimates put the price of removing soil at Merrie Christmas Park at $3million, though the city isn’t sure about the depth of the tainted soil.

By designating six closed parks as Brownfields — Blanche Park, the first to close, was reopened months ago — the city can apply for reimbursement of expenses up to $500,000 for each park. The city is also hoping that dredge from the port tunnel dig can be used as fill if it’s left over from a bond-funded project at Virginia Key. But even then, the final price tag for clean-up could be in the millions, and Bravo said the city doesn’t have the money to remove the tainted soil. “When this material is removed it has to be taken to a certain dump site approved by the county,” said Bravo. “The disposal is very expensive.”

Russell has in recent weeks gone back and forth with Commissioner Marc Sarnoff over the city’s plans. Sarnoff, who lives across the street from Blanche Park, defended the city’s handling of the closed parks. He said he has talked at least a dozen times with homeowners groups about what the city is doing to address clean-up issues, and said the city held two public hearings with scientists in attendance to answer questions when concerns were first raised.

Sarnoff said he understands fretting about real estate values — his home is also marked as being next to a contaminated site — but believes they’re overblown. He and Bravo say the city has done its best to publicize the issue, but are trying to schedule another meeting to explain what’s happening with its closed parks. “I guess you can always do more,” said Sarnoff. “But is the city doing the job it should be doing? In my estimation it’s doing a credible job.”

The Parks

Blanche Park, 3045 Shipping Ave.: The neighborhood playground and dog park remained open after contaminated soil was found in September 2013 because it was almost entirely covered with astro turf. Workers paved a parking area and installed monitoring wells to test groundwater, although no drinking wells are in the neighborhood. Total Cost: $700,000.

Merrie Christmas Park, South Le Jeune Road and Barbarossa Avenue: City workers reopened part of the park in February. Clean-up plans now underway call for digging up a foot to two feet of contaminated soil in the western half of the park where toxic metals are concentrated and using the soil to regrade part of the bowl-shaped park under new design plans. The city also plans to excavate contaminated soil around trees and install rubber mulch and lay recycled rubber mats on playground areas. Any area with contaminated soil will be covered with a liner or two feet of clean fill. Projected Cost: $1.5million.

Curtis Park, 1901 NW 24th Ave.: The city reopened part of the large sports complex, including basketball courts, in June, but has kept areas where contaminated soil is exposed fenced. A clean-up plan was due Sept.17, but has not yet been submitted. Estimated Cost: $4million.

Douglas Park, 2795 SW 37th Ave.: The third park closed after contamination was found at Blanche and Merrie Christmas, the 10-acre park near Coral Gables had high levels of toxic metals from ash in two areas. The city, which will discuss funding clean-up efforts at the park Monday, must submit clean-up plans to the county by Oct.5. The city must also test soil off site to determine the extent of contamination. Projected Cost: $3.5million.

Billy Rolle Domino Park, 3400 Grand Ave.: A neighborhood hangout with shady domino tables, the city is considering installing a liner and new soil as well as a monitoring well. A plan for the clean-up is due Sept.30. Estimated Cost: $250,000.

Southside Park, 100 SW 11th St.: A pocket park near downtown, the city still needs to finish mapping the boundaries of the contamination. A clean-up plan is due Sept.30. Estimated Cost: $1million.

Bayfront Park, 301 Biscayne Blvd.: Part of the downtown park remains fenced, but addressing contamination in the park may be complicated by its terraced design. A clean-up plan is due Oct.6. No cost estimate available.

 

Source: Miami Herald

JPMorgan Chase Bank will open a branch in Coconut Grove’s trendy CocoWalk retail, dining and entertaining complex.

The banking giant signed a 10-year lease for 3,117 square feet in CocoWalk, at 3015 Grand Avenue, according to the property owner.

It should open in January. It will occupy GAP’s former first floor space.

According to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., only six banks were in the zip code 33133 as of June 30, 2013. This would be Chase Bank’s first location there.

Chase Bank ranked fourth in South Florida deposits with $12.4 billion for a 7.1 percent market share. It had 175 branches here in 2013.

 

Source: SFBJ

 

A plan to remake the Coconut Grove waterfront is up for review by Miami’s Historic Preservation Board.

The plan includes the demolition of Scotty’s Landing and the Chart House, and the addition of new boat storage space, restaurants, retail, and a promenade along the water.

Miami voters approved the project last year, although activists claim that the majority of voters in Coconut Grove precincts voted against the proposal. Several lawsuits that could halt the project remain pending.

Arquitectonica is handling architecture and landscape design.

 

Source: exMiami

The Courtyard Miami Downtown, a 233-room Marriott hotel that sits on a prime 1.07-acre site in the heart of the urban core, is up for grabs.

CBRE is marketing the asset, which could be redeveloped into over 1,000 condo units under the Miami 21 zoning code.

CourtyardByMarriott4“This is an extraordinary location in the heart of Miami’s business district, directly between the new landmark All Aboard Florida Miami terminal, Miami Worldcenter and Brickell City Centre projects,” said CBRE vice chairman Robert Given, who is marketing the hotel on behalf of AVR Realty. The Courtyard Miami Downtown is located at 200 SE 2nd Avenue.

Miami’s hotel market  is one of the strongest in the nation, with a June year-to-date average daily rate (ADR) of $202.87, ahead of cities such as San Francisco and Boston, CBRE’s research reports. Meanwhile, luxury condominiums in Downtown Miami are commanding pricing in excess of $1,000 per square foot.

“Extremely high barriers to entry in a dense urban center, coupled with a booming residential and lodging market, make this property a one-of-a-kind investment opportunity,” says CBRE Hotels’ senior vice president Christian Charre. “The city’s current zoning code also allows for consideration of a high-return alternative—a rare chance to carve a new condominium community out of this saturated downtown core.”

A high concentration of class A office space in Brickell and Downtown surround the 13-story Courtyard by Marriott. Premier large-scale mixed-use developments, including Swire’s Brickell City Centre and the Met Miami projects are located within a short walk.

The site is also close to some of South Florida’s most recognizable attractions, including Bayside, American Airlines Arena, Miami Tower, the Port of Miami and Mary Brickell Village. Hotel visitors or condo residents would have quick access to Brickell Avenue, Interstate 95 and Interstate 395.

Given and Charre, along with Paul Weimer and Natalie Castillo of CBRE Hotels, and Gerard Yetming of CBRE’s Institutional Properties group, are marketing the asset.

 

Source: GlobeSt.

In 2008, Rhode Island’s Providence Arcade was in trouble.

Considered America’s first indoor mall, the nearly 200-year-old downtown building closed after struggling to fill its cramped commercial spaces. The arcade needed an overhaul, but few viable options existed: when the possibility of a gut job arose, preservationists raised holy hell. In the end, the shopping center and its snug quarters proved just the right fit for a growing housing trend: micro apartments.

Known as Westminster Arcade when it opened in 1828, the building marked the debut of English indoor shopping concept in the United States. Designed by architects Russell Warren and James Bucklin, the Greek Revival stone structure more resembles a courthouse than a shopping mall, what with its stately Ionic columns and sunlight-filled atrium with its glass gable roof. Shoppers browsed three floors of shops—or at least that was the idea; they never seemed willing to trudge up the stairs to the second and third floors.

The mall was nearly razed in 1944, but preservationists intervened, and it was spared. In 1976, the arcade was designated a National Historic Landmark, though businesses struggled. Even its 1980 renovation didn’t help much, and it ultimately closed in 2008. “It had become economically obsolete,” said J. Michael Abbott, a principal at Northeast Collaborative Architects. “When it was a full shopping center of all three floors, it just wasn’t working. Shops were opening and closing all the time.”

arcademicroapartment3 Oft smaller than a hotel room, micro apartments have grown in popularity in recent years as more people cram into urban areas and housing prices escalate. The concept first gained popularity in European and Asian cities before projects popped up in San Francisco, Chicago, and Boston during the Great Recession. And so, developer Evan Granoff, who bought the Westminster Arcade in 2005, sought to introduce shoebox living to Providence.

The construction practices of yore proved a challenge for the rehabilitation team, led by Northeast Collaborative Architects. “They just laid down some flat rocks and started building on top of those—that was the foundation,” Abbott said. “The building has settled over time. We call that ‘character.'” As a result, the walls had to be shored up, and custom doors and windows were created to fit the uneven contours. The well-worn wood floors and lacelike iron balustrades were left in place.

arcademicroapartment5Work on the $7M project wrapped in October 2013. Granoff retained the retail spaces on the ground floor and rented them to retail busineses. These commercial spaces are enclosed by bay windows so sound doesn’t drift to the residences above. Inspired by ship construction, each of the 38 rental units—which measure from 225 to 300 square feet—includes a bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, and built-in storage. The homes on the second floor even have guest accommodations in the form of a twin Murphy bed. The Providence Arcade also contains eight larger apartments, a game room, storage spaces, and laundry machine.

Micro apartments are not for everyone—in fact, their clientele are “young kinds that just graduated.” They “are at the bottom-end of the totem pole and don’t have that dining room set that grandma gave them,” Abbott said. “They travel really light. They might have a bike and two suitcases.” The Providence Arcade’s dwellings have also attracted keepers of the shops downstairs as well as second homeowners seeking a place to stay when they’re in town. Rent starts at $550 a month, but future residents better get in line—there is already a waitlist.

 

Source: Curbed