Giant Battery, Solar Panels To Power Apartment & Retail Complex At Coconut Grove Metrorail Station

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A developer is planning to rebuild the Coconut Grove Metrorail station into a self-powered apartment and retail complex.

Grove Central will include a 330-unit apartment tower, along with retail space, parking and a bus station, according to the Miami Herald. Total cost is expected to be $200 million.

Solar panels are planned to cover the buildings, producing two megawatts of power. Underneath, massive batteries that are the size of six shipping containers will store 20-megawatts per hour of electricity.

Air condition for the building would come from a geothermal system using cold water pumped from underground. Groundwater and rainwater will also be used to provide cooling mist and for landscape irrigation.

Enough power could be generated and stored to make the building self-powered, while also powering Metrorail as it departs the station, planners say. The solar array and battery is known as an urban microgrid, and is the first of its kind in Florida.

A waste-to-energy plant that would convert sewage into power, compost and water is also in negotiations.

The developers are awaiting final approval from county transportation officials, with completion expected in 2021. Five other Metrorail stations, as well as 10.7-acres of land next to Miami Central Station by the airport, are now in planning or negotiations for similar sustainable projects.

Terra Group and Grass River Property are the developers of Grove Central, with Touzet Studio the architect. The solar project is also a pilot program for Florida Power & Light.

 

Source: The Next Miami

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Miami’s Three ‘Hottest’ Neighborhoods

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Those looking for new digs in South Florida would be wise to check out one of these areas.

Here’s where luxury home buyers are parking their money.

Coconut Grove

Coconut Grove is on the tip of many Miami real estate experts’ tongues, all of whom cite a sort of rebirth in an already prestigious area.

“The city is doing a lot to revamp the area in terms of parks and restaurants, and it has more of a community feel,” says Chad Carroll of the Carroll Group at Douglas Elliman.

One reason for that is an influx of office space, which has helped make the “live-work-play” lifestyle a possibility in Coconut Grove, says Karen Elmir, president of the Elmir Group with Cervera Real Estate. New stores have also come in, and CocoWalk announced in the spring that it would be adding an open-air plaza as well as new stores and restaurants to the long-established shopping and dining center. Plus, there are plenty of new places to call home.

“There are many new high-end buildings with top-of-the-line amenities,” says Ms. Elmir, who specializes in sales in the area and has shown homes there to celebrities like models Elle Macpherson and Hannah Jeter and basketball player Hassan Whiteside.

Ms. Elmir says prices have gone up in recent years, citing sales at the Bjarke Ingels–designed Grove at Grand Bay. In 2012, she was selling residences at about $800 a square foot. Now, they’re more like $1,100 to $1,200 per square foot, she says.

“It’s one of the hottest areas in all of Miami,” says Daniel de la Vega, president of ONE Sotheby’s International Realty.

He is handling sales at the not-yet-opened Fairchild Coconut Grove, where 26 luxury condominiums range from $1.4 million to $4.6 million.

East Edgewater

East Edgewater is also making waves.

“It’s minutes away from the new Design District,” Ms. Elmir says. “It’s minutes away from Miami Beach.”

Not that one would necessarily want to leave. The area is home to several new retail options—think high-end shops and gourmet restaurant—and has sweeping views of Biscayne Bay.

“Beyond emerging, it’s developing,” says Beth Butler, president of Florida Compass. “There’s been more retail and residential action.…It’s a hot neighborhood.”

She says the condo market is especially strong. The neighborhood has single-family homes lining the side streets, as well. New residential developments include Aria on the Bay, in which Grammy Award–winning producer Timbaland bought a home. A three-story penthouse is for sale for just under $13 million.

There’s also the Biscayne Beach Residences, where Ms. Elmir is showing a $10.5 million penthouse. Paraiso, a project from Related Cos., is bringing 1,400 new condos in four towers, as well as retail options, to service the new spike in population. A new beach club and restaurant are part of the mix.

Downtown Miami

Walkability is one of the main draws of Downtown Miami, according to Jill Eber of the Miami Beach–based real estate team The Jills.

“Everything is superclose,” Jill Eber says. “It’s like a city within a city.…It’s like a little New York there.” That includes the American Airlines Arena, home to the Miami Heat basketball team, cultural centers, and plenty of shops and restaurants.

Ms. Eber says the number of baby carriages in the neighborhood has increased in recent years.

The Brightline train is now connecting passengers from downtown to West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale, and developers are looking to the area as another “live-work-play” location.

“Downtown shares its southern border with Brickell,” Ms. Eber says. “The whole area is seeing a lot of interest. Before, it was just a bunch of parking lots.”

The Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science, which opened in 2017, and the Perez Art Museum Miami, which features modern work, are highlights of the area.

“A renewed sense of community has spurred new events and projects,” Ms. Butler says. “One new project is Canvas, a 37-story tower offering 513 fully finished apartments.”

 

Source: Mansion Global

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3,100 SF Of Meticulously Designed Grandeur The Gables Club

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This glorious 3BR/3.5 BA residence located at 60 Edgewater Drive in Coral Gables is elegance and ease personified.

From the stately lobby, private elevator foyer, 10’ ceilings and two spacious terraces with awe-inspiring Bay and skyline views, to countless bespoke elements including designer moldings and cooks island, no detail has been overlooked. Elegant finishes, executed in granite, marble and the finest Brazilian Ipe abound. The eat-in brunch/breakfast nook plus the grand master suite and its luxurious marble bath and dressing closet complete an incomparable lifestyle. Love entertaining? It’s effortless here with the configured prep-kitchen coupled with two distinct living room conversation areas and sit-down dining for 12 or more.

 

 

If it’s this grand now, what magic would your own personal imprint create? 

Call Andrew Kruss at 305-496-2950 to set up a showing!

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70-Story Okan Tower Files For Construction Permit

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Okan Tower is one step closer to beginning construction.

On September 1, contractors filed a dry run permit to begin building a 70-story tower, city records show.

Next week, a phased Class II foundation permit will be filed, along with a master building permit, a consultant working for the developer said.

The filing last week included:

  • 500 sheets for review by city officials
  • $457,707.60 upfront permit fee
  • $163,466,625 total cost of construction
  • 318,090 square feet of hotel, with 294 rooms on 19 floors
  • 512,080 square feet of condo, with 398 rooms on 33 floors
  • 66,920 square feet of office, on 4 floors
  • 37,005 square feet of retail on 1 floor
  • 934,095 total square feet to be built

The hotel will be known as the Hilton Bayfront.

Okan representatives previously told The Next Miami that the tower will top of at 890 feet.

 

Source: The Next Miami

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Miami Chamber CEO Has Unusual Concern: Too Much Building

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The CEO of the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce has a worry that many civic leaders in smaller and less prosperous areas would like to share: development is plunging ahead at breakneck speeds.

“There’s been so much commercial development in Miami and Dade County, that’s one reason why we made the top 20 list for Amazon,” Alfred Sanchez tells Globe.St. com.

He was referring to Miami earlier this year being named in the final 20 cities for Amazon’s new second headquarters in North America, what they’ve dubbed HQ2. The online giant started out with more than 320 locations and whittled it down dramatically.

“What I really worry about is that development is happening so quickly with such a large volume of stuff that’s going to happen that we get ahead of planned development,” Sanchez says.

Traffic is Growing Issue

One particular concern: congested traffic.

“That’s our number one issue, so that when you live here, you’re not stuck in traffic all day long in the downtown area,” Sanchez says.

He cites promising new commercial developments moving the area forward such as the Chinatown project in North Miami. It was recently in the news as requests were made for proposals from architectural firms.

The Chinatown Cultural Arts & Innovation District is to be comprised of 16 blocks of commercially zoned land along Northwest Seventh Avenue between 119th and 135th streets. The area is to be complete with parks, green space, bike lanes and rooftop gardens, along with pagodas, canals and an entrance inspired by the Ming Dynasty.

Many Major Projects Planned

Another promising project he mentioned: Developer Moishe Mana recently secured a $20.13 million construction loan to build Mana Wynwood Americas-Asia Trade Center & International Financial Center. Mana plans to build a center which will feature 10 million SF of commercial space as a trade hub to encourage and facilitate trade between China, Asia, Latin America, North America and the Caribbean. The project will be built in multiple phases with phase 1 including the development of 8.5 acres of Wynwood with 4.68 million SF of Class A office space, showrooms, retail, hotels and other development.

As for infrastructure keeping up with development, Sanchez cites work by the New World Center committee originally formed by the chamber in 1976. Their goal is to “have a catalytic influence on downtown projects in respect of the public and private sectors.”

An area the chamber is looking at as a priority is traffic.

“You need a master plan and the chamber plays a big part in it. We’re trying to develop transit solutions,” Sanchez says.

 

Source: GlobeSt.

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