There is evidence that electric vehicles and EV charging stations are significantly impacting real estate in terms of property values, spurring higher rental and resale values.
The project is currently the largest privately owned solar project in Florida and is capable of offsetting approximately 80% of the facilities electricity consumption.
The area is among the most sensitive, long seen as a key link to restoring the Everglades and fending off sea rise.
Construction is expected to begin as soon as city approvals and permits are obtained, with delivery one year later.
The electric vehicles running in the tunnels are anticipated to be electric seven person vehicles, or potentially electric twelve person passenger vans.
As more frequent and more intense storms bring destruction, they also present us with a chance to modernize.
OKO Group, the US-based development company founded by international real estate and hotel magnate Vladislav Doronin, and Cain International, a privately held real estate investment firm, have revealed plans for 830 Brickell, the first new office tower to launch in Miami in nearly a decade.
The soaring 57-story, 724-foot-tall skyscraper designed by one of the world’s leading architecture firms will introduce a premium commercial offering to the city’s booming financial district and will reinvent the workplace lifestyle for the highest-caliber of global workforce. Cushman & Wakefield’s leasing team is launching the marketing of the building to prospects now, ahead of 830 Brickell’s completion in 2022.
At the core of 830 Brickell’s innovative approach to office space is its stunning design by Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture (AS+GG), the internationally acclaimed firm responsible for the world’s tallest buildings, including the Burj Khalifa, Jeddah Tower and the tallest residential building in the U.S., New York’s Central Park Tower.
The tower will feature spectacular only-in-Miami panoramic ocean and city views, floor-to-ceiling windows, column-free spans, state-of-the-art digital infrastructure with Wired certification and a LEED Silver certification due to its progressive environmentally efficient design. It will be Miami’s most contemporary office tower, befitting the city’s growth into an international capital of business.
Set within the urban destination of Miami’s Brickell neighborhood, 830 Brickell is at the center of the city’s most exciting cultural, culinary and retail experiences. Tenants will have direct, walkable access to Brickell City Center, Mary Brickell Village, Downtown Miami offering a suite of upscale hotels and restaurants. Known as the city’s financial district and the Wall Street of Latin America, Brickell is a rapidly transforming neighborhood for residents, tourists and businesspeople alike. The location is also convenient to Miami International Airport as well as the Port of Miami.
830 Brickell will also be differentiated by its unprecedented lifestyle offerings for a commercial tower, which will promote out-of-the-box collaboration, work-life balance and wellness. Aimed at attracting the world’s largest companies and progressive visionaries, the project touts an elite roster of first-rate amenities – including an upscale rooftop restaurant and bar on the 56th and 57th floors, a 30th floor sky lobby with a nearly 2,500-square-foot health and wellness center and first-class conference facility, a 14th floor outdoor terrace designed by Enea Landscape Architecture, valet parking and electric vehicle charging stations, cafés and shopping.
Offering white-glove customer service, the tower also boasts a forward-thinking culture of seamlessness, highlighted by a 24-hour concierge responsible for event planning and coordination, booking restaurant reservations, sending out dry cleaning, organizing deliveries and more. Additional services will include bicycle storage, a shoe shining stations and much more.
This project is innovative through its use of programming outdoor spaces that serve as amenities for the tenants, both at the podium level and at the skyline level. The rooftop restaurant and bar are outstanding amenities, affording sweeping views of downtown that will energize the building at night. Additional roof terraces will allow tenants to enjoy the Miami weather without being on the street level. The 30th floor sky lobby with café and fitness center offers more advantageous views to all tenants.
This commercial tower will set the new gold standard in Miami and will be the catalyst for additional high-end development in the area. The design of 830 Brickell was influenced and inspired by the world-class-quality of art infused in the city since the introduction of the Art Basel Miami Beach fair in 2002. AS+GG’s aim was to elevate the architectural expression of the building to the level of museum-quality art.
Source: The Real Deal
Frank Cestero is in a sweet spot. The Puerto Rican gets to enjoy the warm, tropical weather of Palm Beach County in the US state of Florida, while the small company he works for is booming thanks to robust growth in the global renewable energy sector.
Cestero is the chief financial officer (CFO) of SolarTech Universal, headquartered in the coastal city of Riviera Beach. Founded in 2012, SolarTech‘s panels are made using advanced robotics and solar cell technology designed by the company’s European partner, Meyer Burger, a Swiss firm operating in Germany and Singapore.
Its cutting-edge equipment allows the green energy company to focus on the premium end of the market. That seems to be working out. SolarTech will be adding a second production line by the end of the year, creating an expected 70 new jobs in the process.
“Demand is robust,” said Cestero. “We’re very bullish over the next 24 months.”
Favorable Business Climate
Governments and businesses have increasingly set their sights on harnessing the power of the sun to meet their energy needs. Furthermore, government policy changes in response to climate change have created incentives and mandates at the local, state and national levels.
Technological improvements, meanwhile, have slashed solar power production costs, making it more accessible to commercial and residential customers. Demand for clean power has also been on the rise over the past several years, with consumers seeing the benefits of shifting to clean sources of energy and decentralized power distribution.
Against this backdrop, companies big and small are optimistic about the future. Market players like CED Greentech, a large US solar panel distributor and SolarTech customer, have increased their investments over the past couple of months.
“The market is pretty dynamic,” said Tristan Tedford, a CED Greentech account manager setting up shop in Pompano Beach, a city just north of Fort Lauderdale. “Module prices have dropped and you have an emerging electric vehicle market coming.”
The Trump Tariffs
The industry’s growth and increasing strategic significance, coupled with complaints from American solar manufacturers about unfair trade competition, were all a part of the reason why US President Donald Trump zeroed in on solar panels, among other products, for tariffs in early 2018.
“The tariff narrowed the price gap between the Chinese product and US product and by highlighting the US product, it has increased awareness of US-made products among end-users and middle-market buyers,” Cestero said.
He claims that by the end of this year SolarTech will be the only domestic manufacturer of exclusively US-made panels, with over 70 percent of its inputs sourced domestically. This is significant because it gives a niche player like SolarTech access to the lucrative public sector, as state and local governments strive to meet CO2-reduction targets by increasing public investment in green energy.
Industry Backlash
But some in the US solar industry have aggressively pushed back against Trump‘s tariffs. One example is SunPower, which is majority-owned by French oil giant Total. The San Jose-based company threatened to curtail its new capital investments and slash jobs if it didn’t receive an exemption from Trump‘s tariffs.
The company builds most of its solar products in Mexico and the Philippines and has argued that the millions of dollars it would pay in import duties threatened its growth plans. After months of lobbying the Trump administration, SunPower received an exemption from the tariffs, boosting the firm’s stock price.
A Solar Slowdown?
The latest industry figures value the US solar sector at $28 billion (€24.13 billion). The industry employs more than 250,000 Americans, with about 40 percent of those working in installation and 20 percent in manufacturing. Five years ago, the sector was installing 3,000 megawatts of solar capacity annually. In 2017, the market grew by as much as 10,000 megawatts.
But experts fear this kind of growth will soon be a thing of the past. Dan Whitten, a spokesman for the US Solar Energy Industries Association, said that since January, more than $2.5 billion in solar projects have been canceled and roughly 9,000 American jobs have either been lost or have not been created as a result of the tariffs.
“If demand drops because products are artificially made too expensive for consumers, nobody wins. It’s unlikely that US manufacturing will expand enough to satisfy burgeoning demand,” Whitten told DW. “While we support new US manufacturing, companies are still going to have a hard time competing with products from overseas in the years ahead.”
Made In Jacksonville
China‘s decision to cut back installed solar capacity this year by reducing subsidies has severely affected the global market for solar panels. While surging capacity had left the country struggling to build sufficient national electrical infrastructure, cuts have forced Chinese panel makers to find new buyers overseas.
In March, Florida‘s largest utility NextEra Energy agreed to buy 7 million solar panels from China‘s leading solar maker JinkoSolar Holding. Alongside that agreement, JinkoSolar is building its first US solar panel factory in Jacksonville — Florida‘s most populous city.
Once the factory reaches full production after November, JinkoSolar expects it to churn out more than 1 million panels a year for the US market.
While JinkoSolar‘s new plant will boost overall US production, modern solar panel factories are increasingly automated, and profits will likely flow offshore.
Still, city officials in Jacksonville see the new Chinese investment as a major win for local businesses, particularly in services and logistics. The adjacent port expects to handle cargo shipments of raw materials and solar panel components needed for the new plant’s operations.
“In addition to creating 250 new jobs, we expect that JinkoSolar will expand its economic impact in the Jacksonville area as the demand for solar panels in the US grows,” said Tia Ford, a city spokeswoman.
Source: DW
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
Bjarke Ingels Group has unveiled designs for a massive mixed-use development that is elevated into the air on thin stilts.
Located in the central Miami neighborhood of Allapattah, an industrial, working-class district mainly comprised of produce suppliers, the major complex will serve as a new landmark destination in the city.
Dubbed Miami Produce, the project will activate the site with urban farming, restaurants, storefronts, co-working offices, co-living apartments and educational programming.
Click here to view inhabitat‘s rendering slideshow of BIG’s Miami Produce project
Source: inhabitat