Miami, Two More South Florida Cities Among ‘Greenest’ In The Nation

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Rank: 5 2014 median air quality index: 43 Carpoolers: 10% Public transportation riders: 11% Walking commuters: 4% Biking commuters: 1%

Rank: 5
2014 median air quality index: 43
Carpoolers: 10%
Public transportation riders: 11%
Walking commuters: 4%
Biking commuters: 1%

Carpooling and healthy air quality is what makes Miami one of the greenest cities in America, according to a survey from consumer advocacy site NerdWallet.

Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Hialeah were the three South Florida cities that made the Top 15 list based mostly on its air quality and its penchant for carpooling. That shouldn’t be a surprise for everyone trying to make their to work via Interstate 95.

Fort Lauderdale Rank: 11 2014 median air quality index: 54 Carpoolers: 10% Public transportation riders: 5% Walking commuters: 3% Biking commuters: 1%

Fort Lauderdale
Rank: 11
2014 median air quality index: 54
Carpoolers: 10%
Public transportation riders: 5%
Walking commuters: 3%
Biking commuters: 1%

What South Florida did lack was the use of public transportation, which less than 12 percent of commuters use. For instance, in Miami, only 11 percent of residents commute via public transit, one of the lowest public transportation figures among
NerdWallet’s Top 10.

Hialeah Rank: 15 2014 median air quality index: 43 Carpoolers: 8% Public transportation riders: 2% Walking commuters: 2% Biking commuters: 0%

Hialeah
Rank: 15
2014 median air quality index: 43
Carpoolers: 8%
Public transportation riders: 2%
Walking commuters: 2%
Biking commuters: 0%To pick the top cities in the nation, NerdWallet took a look at the following:

To pick the top cities in the nation, NerdWallet took a look at the following:

• 2014 Media Air Quality Index.

• Percentage of workers who carpool, bike, take public transit or
walk to work.

• Percentage of occupied buildings with 10 or more residences.

• The number of residential buildings with a primary heat source of solar, coal or wood per 10,000 buildings.

 

Source: SFBJ

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Working Alone, Together

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One of the largest leasing deals in Miami-Dade last year was for 37,700 square feet in a building on Miami Beach’s Lincoln Road.

The lessee: WeWork. Founded in 2010, this New York-based company specializes in creating shared workspaces for startups, private contractors, artists, small firms and international corporations — basically, everyone. WeWork, which was valued at $5 billion in December, has opened locations in nine cities across the U.S., plus two in Israel. The firm’s four floors at 350 Lincoln Road, a 1940s-era building that will be its first Miami location, will be among WeWork’s newest locations once renovations are complete.

“As we build out our global network with locations in major global cities, Miami of course is on our map,” Mark Lapidus, head of real estate for WeWork, told The Real Deal. He cited the city’s growing “entrepreneurial market” and its status as a “gateway to Latin America” as reasons for opening the new location.

WeWork is far from first to market in Miami with the shared office space concept. Local players have been operating here since at least 2010, and many are in the process of expanding.

Pipeline Brickell founders, Philippe Houdard and Todd Oretsky.

Pipeline Brickell founders,
Philippe Houdard and Todd Oretsky.

“The demand for what we offer is very high,” said Philippe Houdard, co-founder of Pipeline, which has operated in a 23,000-square-foot office space in Brickell since 2012. So high, Houdard added, that occupancy for Pipeline’s private suites and reserved desks is near 100 percent, with tenants ranging from established corporations such as Italian car design company Pininfarina to relatively unknown companies including Ironhack, a computer programming school, and Crea7ive, a local web design company.

Monthly rates for shared offices can range from $99 for a mailbox and a phone number to more than $3,000 for a private suite. Services, much like the rates, vary from operation to operation, but typically a shared-office space in Miami offers access to refreshments, high-speed Internet, meeting rooms, and — perhaps most significantly — networking opportunities and camaraderie.

“There is a sense a community,” said Ana Maria Yumiseva, owner of Frecuencia Latinoamerica, a mobile technology company that operates in Pipeline’s Brickell office.

Donna Abood, managing director of the Miami office for Avison Young, said Miami-Dade is fertile ground for shared office space. “When you have entrepreneurs, you have a lot of startup businesses, and their need to collaborate is great,” said Abood, a 30-year veteran of South Florida commercial real estate.

An added bonus: co-working spaces typically offer short-term leases or require no leases at all.  Short-term and month-to-month leases are traits shared by an ancestor of the co-working space: the serviced “executive suite” office model. In the 1980s, companies such as Regus started opening executive suite offices in Miami-Dade that provided separate businesses a shared secretary and a conference room. Unlike the new generation of co-working spaces, tenants in executive suites (which continue to operate in Miami) tend to keep to themselves. “They aren’t looking for collaboration,” Abood said.

Büro Miami features open areas as well as private suites.

Büro Miami features open areas as well as private suites.

Michael Feinstein, CEO of the Büro Group, said his company was the first to bring the collaborative co-working space model to Miami (Abood said that if Büro wasn’t the first, they were certainly one of the first). Feinstein said he had spent a lot of time in coffee shops when he worked as a resort development consultant back in 2009. Then inspiration struck.

“We had not seen anyone actually [create] a shared work environment, so we went about doing it ourselves,” said Feinstein, who started Büro in Midtown Miami in 2010 with the help of friends, family and  later on, an investment from G3 Capital.

Büro now provides space for more than 100 companies (The Real Deal South Florida is a temporary tenant). The company operates in a second, 10,000-square-foot location in Sunset Harbour in Miami Beach, and Feinstein doubled his office space in Midtown Miami from 10,000 to 20,000 square feet last year. They are also opening additional spaces in the Coppertone building in the Miami Modern Historic District and the Engle Building in Coconut Grove.

Pipeline is growing, too. This summer they will open a Coral Gables office, which will include specialized services for lawyers, Houdard said. Pipeline is also planning to build an 80,000-square-foot space in Miami’s Little Haiti area. They also operate in Philadelphia.

Pipeline and Büro are seeing increased competition in the market, and not just from behemoths like WeWork. In Little Haiti, Urbana Atlantic Group and Conway Commercial Real Estate just finished converting a 26,000-square-foot office building, once used as a BellSouth headquarters, into MADE at the Citadel, a co-working space that offers shared work space in addition to a shared workshop area for artists.

“We are just opening our doors now and about 40 percent of our office space is already accounted for,” said Timothy Conway, managing director of Conway Commercial Real Estate. “And we have not done much marketing, if any.”

Another shared office space entity, The Lab Miami in Wynwood, just celebrated its two-year anniversary. Its managing director Tamara Wendt said co-working spaces are proliferating because they’re attractive to young professionals.  “Millennials and tech startups are drawn to co-working spaces because it’s a low barrier to entry and low cost for office space,” explained Wendt.

Wendt and other sources estimate that there are 15 to 20 shared offices ventures operating in Miami-Dade. Companies providing shared office spaces are still a relatively new concept in the area and are not yet specifically tracked. Wendt noted that the growth of shared offices is not just local or national — it’s a global phenomenon. “Co-working spaces are doing well around the world,” she said. “It’s a very fast-growing segment.”

 

Source: The Real Deal

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The “Greenest Schools On Earth” Do More Than Put Solar Panels On The Roof

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To be the “Greenest School on Earth” in the eyes of the U.S. Green Building Council, it takes more than a few solar panels on the roof.

GreenestSchoolThose are nice, of course. But you also need to teach sustainability throughout the curriculum and engage students in improving environmental performance. The greenest schools have an “all-school approach,” says Rachel Gutter, director of the group’s Center for Green Schools.

This year the council is giving its top award to Dunbarton High School, in Ontario, Canada. Gutter says it exemplifies the top-to-bottom ethos, even if its building is less shiny and energy efficient than some. “The place where green schools can make the biggest impact—and where they fall down—is the level of engagement from the school occupants and the broader community, and whether they’ve created a culture of sustainability,” Gutter says.

GreenestSchool4Dunbarton has a 40-seat outdoor classroom (meant to bring students closer to nature), a 5,000 square foot “pollinator garden” (designed to attract butterflies and the like), and “bee condominiums” (stacks of wood with holes to provide shelter for insects). It’s also installed energy efficient lighting and windows, introduced an organic waste management program, and takes part in an Atlantic salmon restoration program. Many of these initiatives are led by students.

“One of the things we loved about Dunbarton is that so much of its activity is driven by the students and the community. We really believe that is the way it can be sustained and magnified,” Gutter says. “They’re also applying sustainability across many different subjects, from photography and art classes to finance and math.

The “Greenest School on Earth” title is a little misleading as the council doesn’t actually survey the planet for the best school. Instead, schools submit their own applications and a team of judges choose the ones it likes most. This year, schools from 20 countries came forward and the criteria encompassed three categories: how well schools are reducing energy, water and waste; how well they’re enhancing health and well being in their environment; and how well they’re teaching environmental “literacy.” The judging is subjective and relative: Schools are awarded for progress as much as absolute accomplishments.

GreenestSchool9The judges gave an honorable mention to Vele Secondary School in Limpopo, South Africa. Unlike Dunbarton, which was built in the 1960s, it’s a new school with its own energy monitoring system, natural ventilation, and gardens for growing food. But it doesn’t engage students in the same way Dunbarton does, according to Carly Cowan, Center for Green Schools’s international program manager. “The big differentiating factor between Dunbarton and Vele is that Dunbarton’s students showed a lot more leadership and initiative in making the school green,” she says.

The big point is that schools can do a lot, even without big resources. What matters is whether people are willing to get involved. “There’s always an accessible project to be advanced at the student level or faculty and administration level,” says Gutter. “You can start anywhere and move on from there.”

 

Source: FastCoExist

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Developer Plans Live/Work Lofts And Boat Storage Project On Miami River

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A group of developers is preparing a plan for live/work loft units and a boat storage facility with a marina along the Miami River.

Chapman Ducote on a Delta Powerboats yacht.

Chapman Ducote on a Delta Powerboats yacht.

Chapman Ducote, the managing member of the development group, said he’s planning two buildings at 600 N.W. Seventh Ave. One would be a dry stack for boat storage attached to a high-end marina. The other building would have live/work lofts with high ceilings and a modern look, in addition to some retail, he said. While the size of the buildings aren’t finalized, Ducote said the mixed-use building would be eight to 12 stories tall.

“There is a beautiful neighborhood on the other side of the canal from us and we want to be in tune with what works in the neighborhood,” Ducote said. “We will remove a boat yard that isn’t very pretty and replace it with a nice modern building.”

Miami Boat Storage, an Aventura-based partnership between AL US Investments, Quillpoint Capital Investments and Ducote, recently bought the 47,152-square-foot lot for $3.65 million to save it from foreclosure. Ducote is also the president and CEO of Miami Beach-based credit card processing firm Merchant Services LTD, a professional racer on the American Le Mans series, and a major investor Delta Powerboats, a Swedish company that builds yachts fully out of carbon fiber.

“The live/work concept, particularly in other cities, is starting to work and get some legs behind it,” Ducote said. “You have residential and office in the same dwelling with a wall separating the two.”

 

Source: SFBJ

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2015 Greenest Companies In Commercial Real Estate

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Sustainable building and operation practices continue to shift into the mainstream as industry firms embrace the impact green building has on their triple bottom line.

Green-Ranking-Chart - Commercail Real Estate CompaniesAdvances in solar, lighting and water-saving technologies mean payback periods are shorter than ever. While the jury is still out on the exact impact on valuation, institutional investors and funds are hungry for green product. As energy-use benchmarking and organizations like GRESB continue to gain traction, there really is no limit to how green commercial real estate can go.

It is no surprise, then, that the vast majority (all but two) of the respondents to CPE’s 2014 Greenest Companies Survey expect to increase green building activity over the next calendar year. A full quarter of respondents plan to increase their activity by more than 25 percent. And the number of LEED- or otherwise-certified assets increased across the board—dramatically at a number of firms—compared to last year’s results.

Green-Ranking-List - Commercial Real Estate Companies

 

Methodology

For the purpose of scoring firms, CPE took into account information that was submitted in narrative form and balanced that against weighted scoring of categories having to do with dedicated personnel, industry specializations, levels of current and planned LEED certifications and announced plans for 2015 and beyond. Service providers, which are viewed as catalyzing agents in the greening of commercial real estate, were ranked against each other using the same criteria. Because as catalysts they have less of a direct impact on the environment than building owners do, CPE oriented them to the middle of the list. To be included in upcoming surveys, contact Mike Ratliff at mratliff@cpexecutive.com.

 

Source: Commercial Property Executive

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Four Miami-Dade Communities Rank as Top Places to Invest in Florida Real Estate

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A budding technological industry, a nationally renowned art scene, and several recent multibillion-dollar retail ventures have played key roles in turning Miami into one of the world’s most attractive and dynamic global cities.

Miami’s median single-family home prices – which have registered four years of consistent growth and sit at $245,000 according to the latest MIAMI Association of REALTORS® (MIAMI) report – remain affordable compared to other similar international cities.

The region’s long-term housing appreciation helped four Miami communities – Doral, Bal Harbour, Homestead, and Miami Lakes – finish as the top-four places to invest in real estate in the entire state of Florida, according to a new study from consumer finance site NerdWallet. Miami communities comprised seven of NerdWallet’s top-10 places to invest, and 12 Miami-Dade County locations made the top-25. The San Francisco-based NerdWallet analyzed 227 Florida cities using U.S. Census and Florida Department of Revenue data. Municipalities were scored using Census vacancy rates, affordability, and 10-year home value appreciations.

MiamiDadeCommunitiesDoralDoral

Doral topped the list because of its relative affordability, low unemployment rate (4.4 percent or more than a full percentage point lower than the statewide rate), and strong population growth, NerdWallet said. The Miami-Dade County city has increased its population by 14 percent, or 6,000, from 2010-13.

MiamiDadeCommunitiesBalHarbourBal Harbour

Bal Harbour in Miami-Dade finished second mostly because of its speedy residential sales, NerdWallet said. According to NerdWallet’s 0-10 scale for speed of sale, Bal Harbour scored 8.66. Bal Harbour’s percentage of housing value has increased 62.06 percent in the past 10 years, according to NerdWallet.

MiamiDadeCommunitiesHomesteadHomestead

Homestead in Miami-Dade is the third-best place to invest in real estate in Florida, NerdWallet said. About 56 percent of Homestead’s homes have increased in value over the past 10 years. Homestead prices averaged $79.42 per square foot, the most affordable in NerdWallet’s study.

MiamiDadeCommunitiesMiamiLakesMiami Lakes

Miami Lakes was named the fourth-best place to invest in Florida because of it price appreciation the past 10 years, NerdWallet said. About 57 percent of the city’s homes have increased in value the last decade while vacancies have dropped by 3.6 percent. Buyers are paying an average of $152 per square foot for a Miami Lakes home.

NerdWallet’s Florida Rankings:

1. Doral, 2. Bal Harbour, 3. Homestead, 4. Miami Lakes, 5. Marianna, 6. Hialeah Gardens, 7. Aventura, 8. Pinecrest, 9. Cape Coral, 10. Winter Garden, 11. Cooper City, 12. Callahan, 13. Miramar, 14. Key Biscayne, 15. Hialeah, 16. Cutler Bay, 17. Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, 18. Surfside, 19. Freeport, 20. Wellington, 21. Weston, 22. Coral Gables, 23. Palm Springs, 24. Parkland, 25. North Miami Beach.

 

Source: Brickell Community Newspaper

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Facebook’s New HQ Has A Massive 9-Acre Garden On The Roof

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When Facebook approached famed Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry to design their new headquarters in Menlo Park, California, they asked for a simple building without a heavy design.

And while the building might look pretty conventional from down below, 70-feet up on the roof is something light on the environment and the spirits: a gigantic 9-acre garden.

The building, called MPK 20, is topped by a parkland with verdant green fields of grass, over 400 trees, and a lot of trails. “It’s a half mile loop,” says Lori Goler, head of human resources and recruiting. “It gives space to think.”

Like any new garden, the plants here have yet to fill out. But in coming years we can expect to see a lush green environment sitting atop the 430,000 square foot open-plan building.

From top to bottom, this place is designed to encourage collaboration and the free exchange of ideas. It sounds like a perfect fit for Silicon Valley.

From below, the building is decidedly understated. (Matt Harnack/Facebook)

From below, the building is decidedly understated.
(Matt Harnack/Facebook)

But up above the entire 9-acre roof is criss-crossed with trails and unique areas to get some fresh air. (Gehry Partners)

But up above the entire 9-acre roof is criss-crossed with trails and unique areas to get some fresh air. (Gehry Partners)

On top you almost wouldn’t know you were 70-feet in the air. (WIRED)

On top you almost wouldn’t know you were 70-feet in the air.
(WIRED)

 

Visual News

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A Peek At Downtown Miami’s Future Skyline

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Miami’s Downtown Development Authority has released a video that provides a glimpse of what the skyline will look like when the current crop of construction projects have been completed.

The video helps to visualize the massing of Miami’s evolving skyline by showing buildings that are both proposed and under construction. Buildings where construction is underway are represented in blue, while planned and proposed towers are represented in green and purple, respectively.

It doesn’t include every project, and isn’t exact about height. Fast-rising Edgewater is mostly ignored. It also doesn’t show detailed renderings, as Brickell Magazine did last year.

Below is the Miami DDA video rendering:

 

 

Source: The Next Miami

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HEAT, Broward County Schools ‘Seeing Green’

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For the second consecutive year, the Miami HEAT has challenged Broward County Public Schools (BCPS) to find innovative ways to reduce energy consumption at each campus.

Through the greening initiative titled “How Low Can You Go?” the team is enticing the schools to raise environmental awareness of CO2 emissions and educate the facilities about potential financial savings through responsible energy consumption. As an industry leader in greening efforts, the HEAT will reward the winning school with on-court recognition during Sunday’s Detroit Pistons versus HEAT game. Second and Third Place schools will also receive honorable mentions during the game.

Out of the 82 BCPS that registered for the “How Low Can You Go?” challenge, 63 schools reduced their kilowatt consumption by a total of 1,501,957 kilowatt hours resulting in a savings of $143,587. The “How Low Can You Go?” challenge was spearheaded by BCPS physical education teacher, Linda Gancitano. Gancitano was recently named a White House Climate Education on Literacy “Champion of Change” for enhancing climate education at Driftwood Middle School Academy of Health and Wellness and throughout the BCPS district.

This collaboration is part of NBA Green Week 2015, which takes place from March 22nd through March 29thand leverages the combined weight of the league, teams, players and partners to generate awareness and raise funds in support of environmental protect

The HEAT and AmericanAirlines Arena continue to blaze a trail for best greening practices and industry firsts. In November 2014, the Arena was awarded LEED Gold Recertification by the U.S. Green Building Council—the first sports and entertainment arena in the world to receive the prestigious honor. AmericanAirlines Arena’s green features include solar reflective roofing materials, reduced energy consumption, water efficient landscaping as well as paper and plastic bottle recycling among others.

In November 2015, AmericanAirlines Arena will unveil an elegant, energy efficient solar pavilion as part of a multi-year clean energy partnership with NRG. The solar pavilion will transform the Arena’s East Plaza, an uncovered and under-utilized outdoor space, bringing the in-arena experience outside where the views of Biscayne Bay and the Port of Miami are absolutely stunning.

Other green initiatives in which the HEAT has participated include HEAT Beach Sweep, an annual effort to help preserve South Florida’s environment and Re-HEAT, where unused food from all Miami HEAT home games is redistributed to local homeless assistance programs. HEAT Beach Sweep, now in its sixth year, is presented by PricewaterhouseCoopers and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Miami and Re-HEAT, in its seventh season, has donated more than 33,000 pounds of food to the Miami Rescue Mission and the Chapman Partnership with the assistance of presenting partner, C1 Bank and supporting partner, Levy Cares.

 

Source: NBA.com

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