Miami Beach Oceanfront Acre Sells For $39 Million

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A Chinese investment group paid $38.5 million for less than 1 acre at 6747 Collins Ave. in Miami Beach.

China City Construction Company Da Tang Development and Management LLC struck the eight-figure deal with the Peebles Corp. for a 0.98-acre oceanfront site approved for high-density multifamily development.

The buyer, part of China City Construction Holding Group, has New York-based operations as well as offices in Miami, Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego. It operates six regional service centers in China, targeting high-profile investors looking to acquire U.S. properties.

China City Construction Co. acquired the site at 6747 Collins Ave. in Miami Beach.

China City Construction Co. acquired the site at 6747 Collins Ave. in Miami Beach.

Its new purchase sits between 67th and 69th Streets with the Deauville Beach Resort to the south and Sterling condominiums to the north.

Approved plans allow a 19-story development with 60 residential units and a 150-room condo hotel with gross building square footage of up to 93,600 square feet. The company appears to be wasting little time moving forward with plans for the site.

Dr. Shan-Jie Li, chief executive officer of American Da Tang Group

Dr. Shan-Jie Li, chief executive officer of American Da Tang Group

Information on its website shows CEO Shanjie Li and general manager Haibo Pan traveled to Miami and Atlantic City between March 31 and April 6 to scout development prospects. While in Miami, they met with real estate developers, architects and lawyers to create a land development plan, according to the site. Their meetings likely included CBRE Inc.‘s Miami-based hotel division since the real estate brokerage house announced Thursday it handled the massive sale.

CBRE executives Robert Taylor and Paul Weimer of the hotels division teamed with Gerard Yetming of the firm’s multifamily arm and Irving Padron of Engel & Volkers to represent Peebles Corp. They marketed the land as one of Miami Beach’s last vacant oceanfront properties.

“This beachfront site is ideally situated in one of the nation’s most sought-after real estate markets, a top-performing hotel market and a place where residential sales top $2,000 per square foot,” CBRE senior vice president Robert Taylor said.

Peebles chairman and CEO Donahue Peebles called the site a “prudent investment with immeasurable potential.”

“As the Peebles Corporation shifts focus to our large-scale projects in the Northeast, we will watch with great enthusiasm as China City Construction Co. brings this exciting development opportunity to life,” Peebles said.

American Da Tang Group and Borda Commercial Real Estate represented the buyers in the transaction.

 

Source: DBR

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Here’s What You Need To Know About Florida’s Solar Amendments

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There’s a fierce battle being waged in Florida over access to one of our state’s greatest resources: the sun.

With the effects of climate change ever more obvious, solar is a scorching-hot policy topic, and we’re seeing a lot of activity around two competing solar ballot initiatives in Florida — one backed by solar advocates and the other by utility companies.

The result? Even for die-hard solar power believers, the fight has gotten beyond confusing. So here’s a breakdown of the green energy tussle:

What’s The Problem With Solar In Florida?

With our bounty of sunshine, the Sunshine State should be a model for solar. But Florida, which ranks third in the nation in rooftop solar energy potential, currently comes in at number 13 in the amount of solar energy generated. We also have some of the lowest solar investment in the country. Instead, consumers rely on Florida’s “dirty” energy mix — natural gas (62 percent), coal (21 percent), and nuclear (12 percent).

Why Are We Lagging So Far Behind?

For a long time, everybody thought solar panels were only for rich people. But that’s not the reality anymore — the equipment is now affordable and accessible. In many states, consumers purchase from among hundreds of companies that install rooftop solar panels at little or no cost. In California, for instance, companies lease rooftop solar equipment to homeowners and bill them monthly for the electricity created, which lets homeowners enter the market for little or no money down and pay as they go.

But in Florida, consumers who want to get solar are forced to rely on big utility companies, like Florida Power & Light, which aren’t making it easy or cheap. In fact, Florida is one of only four states that require solar energy be sold exclusively by utilities. The result is limited options for installing solar and increased upfront financial commitment for consumers, which creates a major obstacle for most people.

What’s The Proposal To Change It?

After it became clear that politicians weren’t going to get it done, some upstart citizen groups decided to take things into their own hands. They created a 2016 ballot initiative, which would open up the state’s solar market, giving consumers a number of options for getting solar panels themselves. Floridians for Solar Choice, the group behind the initiative, is backed by an unlikely alliance — from environmentalists to Tea Party libertarians — who view the lack of consumer choice as both harmful to the environment and an infringement on personal freedom.

If it succeeds, the ballot initiative would let voters decide if they want to change Florida’s constitution to allow businesses other than utilities to sell solar power to consumers. Homeowners would also get the flexibility to enter into contracts with solar companies, also known as Solar Power Purchase Agreements (SPPA). Florida would be the 47th state to allow SPPAs.

What’s The Process To Get This Passed?

Before the amendment can happen, it first has to get on the ballot for voters. To get there, the group must collect signatures from 683,149 Florida voters, or 8 percent of the votes cast in the 2012 presidential election, by February. They also have to raise money to be able to pay county election supervisors 10 cents for each signature submitted. And the ballot language must also get the green light from the Supreme Court (which is likely to happen this week).

Right now, the Solar Choice campaign has about 171,000 verified signatures with another 100,000 awaiting verification. It has raised $1.3 million, most of it from the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. It’s also been endorsed by a slew of environmental groups, both local and national.

So Who’s Against This?

Who do you think? The utility companies, silly. A group called Consumers for Smart Solar is challenging the amendment with its own rival ballot initiative, which seeks to keep the solar market strictly in the hands of the utilities and prevent homeowners or businesses from contracting with solar companies. It was created with cash from utilities like FPL, Gulf Power Co., and Tampa Electric Co. as well as groups tied to the billionaire Koch brothers. (Much of the Kochs’ vast wealth comes from their oil refinery and pipeline business.)

But backers of expanded solar power say the amendment is purposely crafted to mix up voters at the polls. According to the Energy and Policy Institute, “Consumers for Smart Solar is a utility and fossil fuel-funded campaign designed to confuse voters, attack the pro-solar Floridians for Solar Choice Ballot initiative, and protect the monopoly utilities.”

How Do I Sign The Solar Choice Amendment?

Go here, download the petition, and mail it in. You cannot fill it out online.

 

Source: Miami New Times

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FAA Approves Two Miami Towers About 1,000 Feet Tall

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Florida East Coast Realty obtained approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for the height of two planned towers in downtown Miami, both designed to rise about 1,000 feet.

The FAA approved the designed height Florida East Coast’s 1,005-foot One Bayfront Plaza and the company’s 995-foot 1201 Brickell development. In a separate decision, the FAA recently approved the designed height of six Miami condo buildings by Related Group, including two taller than 800 feet.

The FAA had issued  preliminary notices of “presumed hazard” to Florida East Coast because the federal agency was concerned that the height of One Bayfront Plaza and 1201 Brickell could interfere with air traffic.

Florida East Coast designed 1201 Brickell as a twin-tower residential development with 787 units. One Bayfront Plaza is planned at a location on the west side of Biscayne Boulevard between Southeast 1 Street and Southeast 2 Street. The $1.4 billion project would include 768,000 square feet of office space. The mixed-use development also would encompass 643 hotel rooms, 97,000 square feet of retail space and 110,000 square feet of meeting and convention space.

The tallest building in Miami now is the Four Seasons hotel at 1435 Brickell Avenue, which is 789 feet tall. Florida East Coast will top that when it finishes its 822-foot Panorama Tower at 1101 Brickell Avenue, now under construction. Swire Properties eventually may have the tallest tower in town: The developer plans to build a 1,049-foot tower in a future phase of its Brickell City Centre development along South Miami Avenue between 8 Street and 6 Street.

 

Source: The Real Deal

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Green Building Sector Set To Create 3.3 Million Jobs In U.S. By 2018

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According to a USGBC study, green building design is outpacing the growth of conventional construction sector in the US.

GreenJobsPopularity of  green building sector is rapidly increasing and it is set to create more the 2.3 million jobs for Americans, this year – reveals the 2015 Green Building Economic Impact Study report prepared by Booz Allen Hamilton.

Key findings of this study indicate that the contribution of green building industry is estimated to be more than $134.3 billion towards labor income for working Americans. Experts predict that by 2018, green building sector will create more than 3.3 million jobs, and will exceed one third of the total amount of jobs generated by the conventional construction industry in US. This will result in $190.3 billion towards labor earnings.

The study also dwelled into the economic contribution of sustainable buildings to the US economy and also quantified the economic impact of LEED certified green buildings. Today more than 2.3 million US workers are receiving $134 billion annually; this is because businesses, institutions and individual building owners are prioritizing sustainability for design, construction and operation of buildings. Consecutively this has also led to growing demand of green building programs such as LEED.

“Our research shows that green building has created millions of jobs and contributed hundreds of billions of dollars to the U.S. economy, with the construction of LEED-certified buildings accounting for about 40 percent of green construction’s overall contribution to GDP in 2015. This industry is certainly on the rise, and aggressive growth in the green building sector is anticipated over the next four years.” Said David Erne, a Senior Associate at Booz Allen.

GreenJobs2In addition to jobs, GDP and labor earnings, prioritization of green building design will also significantly influence tax contributions of individual states and environmental asset indicators at both national and state levels. It is estimated that construction projects for LEED buildings will generate total earnings that will reach around $8.4 billion till 2018. It is also anticipated that the green building sector will generate 1.26 million jobs from 2015 to 2018, in Texas.

GreenJobs3Compared to conventional buildings, a green building with LEED standards, uses less energy and water, it makes optimized use of natural resources and generates lower utility bills. Green homes generate less waste, and cause minimum impact on the land it is built. Living in a green building is healthier and economical for its occupants. Naturally the demand and popularity of green design has increased. As the sector progresses it will also affect the growth green building materials. A BBC research report has indicated that green builting material market will reach $69 billion by 2019.

GreenJobs4While the USGBC study mainly talks about the growth of green building design in US, the trend is also gaining pace in UK, Australia and Middle East and over 60 other countries.

Earlier there were no clear drivers of green design, however the 2012 survey reported that client and market demand are the key drivers for green building design adoption. This demand has just kept on increasing and there is no looking back – today –

  • Firms are finding business value and immense opportunities from green buildings – this not only includes economic benefits but also an opportunity to contribute towards environmentally responsible building design.
  • Building owners and developers across the globe are prioritizing a sustainable approach towards building design. Becoming self-reliant for energy needs has become a popular trend as the NZEB wave has gripped the industry.
  • Today home owners are also demanding for more than just plush interiors and impressive exteriors, they want lower utility bills without compromising on comfort and aesthetics.

Green building design plays a pivotal role in introducing energy efficiency in buildings and hence lower utility bills and has set a benchmark for design, construction and operation of buildings.

 

Source: Archinect

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Miami CRE: Neighborhoods Emerging, Transforming

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When Avra Jain bought the Vagabond Hotel in Miami’s MiMo district two years ago, she couldn’t capture the interest of traditional real estate investors.

Comparable rates along Biscayne Boulevard were $60 a night — or $20 an hour, she quipped. Now, after redeveloping the property into a boutique hotel with financial backing from friends and family, off-season rates stand at $159 a night, and the coming season will command $229 to $259 per night.

Changes taking place in the commercial real estate market in neighborhoods like MiMo and Wynwood are spurring widespread revitalization in Miami and creating other newly emerging areas, panelists said Friday at the Miami Association of Realtors’ RCA Super Conference, held at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables.

In MiMo, Jain realized that dilapidated motels were hurting the area, so she purchased seven motels along the Biscayne Boulevard strip and shut them down. “And that is when the neighborhood started to change,” she said during a panel, “Emerging Miami: Miami River, Lemon City & Little River.”

Much more change is on the horizon. In a year, the MiMo District “will be lit up with neon and restaurants and will surprise everybody,” she told more than 100 conference attendees. Retail rents are rising rapidly, and now stand at about $50 to $70 per square foot, and $45 for second floor office space, Jain said.

Meanwhile, as Miami’s once gritty Wynwood transforms and rents there rise as well, art galleries, local businesses and creative types are being priced out, and are moving to more affordable and newly emerging — yet historic — areas like Little River and Lemon City, the panelists said. That’s where Thomas Conway’s MADE, a new co-working space for creative entrepreneurs, has recently opened. Creating a sense of place is key, the panelists said.

“We’re basically being the stewards of revitalizing these neighborhoods,” said Tony Cho, founder and CEO of Metro 1.

With investors redeveloping property, Wynwood has quickly become a thriving neighborhood, with a curated collection of new shops, restaurants, bars and breweries that attract a pedestrian crowd at all hours of the night. “It’s remarkable,” Cho said of the transformation. “It has exceeded my original expectations.”

Along with that, commercial rents are now as high as $80 per square foot on Northwest Second Avenue in Wynwood — compared to $10 per square foot 10 years ago, Cho said. In fact, Starbucks and other national retailers are starting to look into the area. That poses a challenge to retaining the neighborhood feel, the panelists said.

“People are fearful that Wynwood will turn into Lincoln Road,” Cho said.

The speed of transformation is accelerating, and with so much commercial activity in Miami, Jain said she does not worry about a downturn similar to what South Florida experienced in the last cycle.

“I don’t think Miami necessarily has to be roller coaster any more,” Jain said, citing commercial markets in Miami that are still underserved and the continuing demand for boutique hotels. “I’m starting to see it differently.”

 

Source: The Real Deal

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Interactive: How Florida Uses Its Water

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Florida is known to be the wettest state in the nation, but a 13-day winter cold front in 2010 sent two Hillsborough towns into a water management crisis.

Excessive groundwater pumping by strawberry farmers spraying to keep their produce alive caused wells to dry up, sinkholes to open and the amount of water available to neighboring households to plummet.

Since then, the Southwest Florida Water Management District, or Swiftmud, has taken a hard look at the cumulative effects of groundwater pumping, said Claire Muirehead, water use permit evaluation manager.

“We need to be able to provide water supply for the people that we have in our state now, but we also need to make sure that there is available water supply for future generations while also protecting the environment,” Muirehead said.

Florida pulls almost 15 billion gallons of water per day from fractures and pores beneath the Earth’s surface and from existing surface water, according to data compiled by AP-APME from the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Water-Use Information Program. About 14 billion gallons are used each day in households and factories and for irrigation, livestock, aquaculture, thermoelectric power plants and mining.

Hillsborough County is the biggest consumer, drawing 1.9 billion gallons per day and using 1.6 billion gallons per day on its power plants.

Sarasota and Manatee, by contrast, are among the counties that pump the least amount of groundwater each day. Public consumption and irrigation are the biggest draws.

Public water use in Sarasota County requires about 31.3 million gallons per day, while irrigation takes 10.3 million gallons, according to the USGS. data. The county is now focusing on preparing for population growth, said Christopher Cole, Sarasota County’s public utilities planning supervisor.

“It’s always been a challenging process,” Cole said. “I have reports that go back to the late ’60s talking about planning for future water supply to meet future demands.”

Manatee County, with a large swath of agriculture remaining, swallows 126.5 million gallons on a daily basis, with 84.9 million gallons going to irrigation. It is the ninth largest user of irrigated water in the state. Palm Beach and Hendry top the list.

THE STATEWIDE PICTURE

Statewide, electric power plants are among the largest users of water.

They boil the precious resource to drive their steam-driven turbine generators, then use it to cool their power producing equipment and the hot water before discharge. They also use water for scrubbing and other forms of pollution abatement.

The counties that pull the most water are the ones fueling and cooling thermoelectric plants. The fact that power plants are such gluttons for water is why they are built along lakes and rivers. But since the 1970s, power plants have relied increasingly on reclaimed water from sewage plants.

“We now have 10 power plants in the district using reclaimed water and we are continuing to encourage anyone who has a power plant to use reclaimed water,” said Anthony Andrade, Swiftmud’s reuse coordinator.

The Big Bend plant in Apollo Beach uses it. So does the City of Tampa‘s waste-to-energy facility on McKay Bay and the Duke Energy plant in Bartow.

“The wonderful thing about Florida is that farms and power plants need that water in different seasons,” Andrade said. “Power plants need it most in the summer when it rains and lot, and farms need it in the winter when it’s dry.”

Florida’s five water management districts have encouraged use of reclaimed water across industries in order to reduce demand for groundwater pumping and promote water conservation.

“We have to balance the water use between the environment and our needs,” Cole said. “We can’t use all the water and not leave any for nature.”

 

Source: Watchdog Sarasota

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Miami-Dade Pursuing Public-Private Partnerships For Major Projects

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A day after Miami-Dade’s cultural affairs director disclosed the county is interested in teaming up with private developers to build high rise towers at the downtown cultural complex that is home to HistoryMiami and the central library, Mayor Carlos Gimenez said there are many more projects that could be open to public-private partnership, or P3s.

“The only way we are going to get any of them done is with P3s,” Gimenez said. “If we have to maintain and operate all these things, we couldn’t do it.”

On Friday, Gimenez participated in a panel discussion about the county’s transportation needs, put on by the P3 Institute at Florida International University’s north campus. A packet prepared by the P3 Insitute listed roughly $7.5 billion in unfounded county projects Miami-Dade officials are considering for possible partnerships with private companies.

Some of the projects include three general maintenance and office facilities that will cost an estimated $120 million to build, a $20 million African Heritage Cultural Arts Center, an expansion and new garage for the Miami-Dade County Auditorium that will cost an estimated $40 million, and four new jail facilities that will cost an estimated $625 million. On Thursday, the county’s cultural affairs director had discussed the future partnership potential of the downtown cultural complex, as reported by the South Florida Business Journal.

Gimenez said the county will also consider public-private partnerships for all future transit projects, including Baylink, a light rail that will connect Miami Beach to Miami via the MacArthur Causeway, and for an east-west transit connection from the airport to Kendall. Gimenez also said he would like to see Baylink’s track expanded in Miami Beach and Miami to include the Julia Tuttle Causeway, so that trains could go through the Design District, Midtown and Mid-Beach.

Neil Sklar, a partner with the law firm Peckar & Abramson and P3 Institute president, told The Real Deal that his organization hosted two-day panels on public-private partnerships to give the county an opportunity to meet with private company executives who are interested in pursuing deals.

“I was surprised to learn the county has many more projects that people don’t know about,” Sklar said.

 

Source: The Real Deal

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Investors Bank On A Renaissance In Working-Class Allapattah

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Roosters crow in trash-strewn lots. Construction crews tear down crumbling foreclosed homes. The din of backhoes, of leaf-blowers, of planes flying overhead never seems to stop.

But in the roughly five-square-mile Allapattah neighborhood of Miami, one of the city’s oldest, home values are rising at a faster clip than the multimillion dollar mansions of Miami Beach.

A house on Northwest 25th Ave in the Allapattah neighborhood of central Miami. Developers and investors are buying properties there because it's close to downtown and on the edge of Wynwood. CHARLES TRAINOR JR MIAMI HERALD STAFF

A house on Northwest 25th Ave in the Allapattah neighborhood of central Miami. Developers and investors are buying properties there because it’s close to downtown and on the edge of Wynwood. CHARLES TRAINOR JR MIAMI HERALD STAFF

In the last year, home values in this working-class community are up nearly 24 percent, according to data collected by online real estate company Zillow. The Miami-Dade County average is 8.6 percent.

The reason for the surprising surge?

A house on Northwest 25th Ave in the Allapattah neighborhood of central Miami. Developers and investors are buying properties there because it's close to downtown and on the edge of Wynwood. CHARLES TRAINOR JR MIAMI HERALD STAFF

A house on Northwest 25th Ave in the Allapattah neighborhood of central Miami. Developers and investors are buying properties there because it’s close to downtown and on the edge of Wynwood. CHARLES TRAINOR JR MIAMI HERALD STAFF

Rock-bottom prices and Allapattah’s proximity to hot-spots like the Design District, Wynwood, the Miami River and the Health District around Jackson Memorial Hospital have investors salivating over the area’s low-end housing stock — and buying up everything they can.

The median value for a single-family home in the area stood at $123,000 in June 2015, the lowest in Miami after Liberty City, Zillow found. For condos and townhomes, values were $103,000.

“There’s so much speculation among investors because the prices are so low,” said Alex Ruiz, a real estate agent at the Keyes Company who grew up in the area in the 1960s and ’70s.

“It was a very booming area when my family was there,” Ruiz said. “There were movie theaters and stores and restaurants all along 36th Street and a Coca Cola Bottling company plant.”

Allapattah, sometimes called Little Santo Domingo because of its large Dominican community, has transformed since its heyday decades ago. Today, most people who live here are low-income renters. Many rely on Section 8 vouchers.

Allapattah9A growing number of homes, all on small lots close together, are being converted for multi-family use. There are few stores beyond pawn shops, car mechanics, corner stores and bare-bones restaurants. Businesses are mainly industrial, with boat yards and drydocks lining the Miami River. Crime is a problem. A shooting left a man dead over a recent weekend.

But Allapattah may again be on the cusp of change.

Investors are snapping up properties with cash, renting them out and waiting for a boom they expect to spread west from the shops and galleries of Midtown and north from the high-rises of the Miami River. It’s hard to find better deals in Miami.

“We can buy a house for $60,000, tear it down for $10,000 and build a duplex for $200,000,” said Jorge Artiles, a realtor and home flipper who works in the neighborhood with bank-owned properties. “Then we can rent it out to two families for $1,700 per month. We are putting the money to work and then we can sell for a profit because the market keeps going up.”

Local realtor and house flipper Jorge Artiles stands outside a property he and business partners recently purchased in Allapattah. CHARLES TRAINOR JR MIAMI HERALD STAFF

Local realtor and house flipper Jorge Artiles stands outside a property he and business partners recently purchased in Allapattah. CHARLES TRAINOR JR MIAMI HERALD STAFF

Artiles said investors are banking on the expectation that in the next 10 to 15 years, Allapattah will be transformed. The area is close to expressways, the airport, downtown and Miami Beach. Along the north bank of the Miami River, young professionals are renting out apartments and condos because of easy access to jobs downtown, Artiles said.

“We’re trying to brand this area as the Miami River District,” Artiles said. “That’s what it is on the south side of the river. But if I say Allapattah, I cannot charge $2,400 for a unit.”

One sign of the area’s potential for developers: A major mixed-use project called River Landing is planned for the river’s north bank near the Health District, although it may be slowed by creditors.

Realtors are seeing interest along Allapattah’s eastern edge, too.

“It’s right next to the Design District and it’s very affordable,” said Paola Chapman, a real estate agent who just took her first Allapattah listing because of rising values.

For homeowners in the area, change cuts both ways. Locals welcome rising real estate values, said Albena Sumner, president of the Allapatah Homeowners’ Association and a resident since 1965. But transient renters bring a different feel to the community.

“Where you used to have a family owning a home, now you’re renting out a duplex,” Sumner said. “It’s gentrification. It’s what happens in poor communities. It happened in Wynwood. Now it’s happening here.”

Background (Source – Zillow):

  • A working-class, industrial neighborhood where home values are rising faster than any other part of Miami or Miami Beach, driven by investors and flippers. The name Allapattah comes from the Seminole word for “alligator.” Its boundaries are State Road 112 and the Miami River to the north and south, and Interstate 95 and Northwest 27th Avenue on the east and west. Allapattah covers several ZIP codes, including 33136, 33125, 33127 and 33142. Crime statistics and Florida Department of Education school ratings vary by location but are generally poor.
  • Median single-family home values: $123,000 in June, up 29 percent since June 2014.
  • Median condo/townhome values: $103,000 in June, up 23 percent since June 2014.

 

Source: Miami Herald

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How Project Sunroof Is Mapping The Planet’s ‘Solar Energy Potential’ One Rooftop At A Time

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The cost of solar power is at a record low.

A typical solar home can save hundreds or even thousands of dollars per year on their electricity bill.

As a volunteer with the Boston-based solar program Solarize Massachusetts and a solar homeowner, Carl Elkin, Engineering Lead for Project Sunroof, has always been surprised at how many people think that “my roof isn’t sunny enough for solar,” or “solar is just too expensive.” Certainly many of them are missing out on a chance to save money and be green.

Enter Project Sunroof, his recent 20% project. Project Sunroof is a new online tool that is being tested to help homeowners explore whether they should go solar. Available in the San Francisco Bay Area, Fresno (in central California), and the Boston area for now, the tool uses high-resolution aerial mapping (the same used by Google Earth) to help calculate a roof’s solar energy potential, without having to climb up any ladders.ProjectSunRoof2

If you’re in one of our test regions, simply enter your address and Project Sunroof will crunch the numbers. It first figures out how much sunlight hits your rooftop throughout the year, taking into account factors like roof orientation, shade from trees and nearby buildings, and local weather patterns. You can also enter your typical electric bill amount to customize the results. The tool then combines all this information to estimate the amount you could potentially save with solar panels, and it can help connect you with local solar providers.

Google has always been a big believer in zero-carbon energy, and solar power has been a central part of that vision — from accelerating the growth of rooftop solar, to helping finance the largest solar farm in Africa, to building one of America’s biggest campus solar arrays in Mountain View. While Project Sunroof is in a pilot phase for now, during the coming months Google will be exploring how to make the tool better and more widely available. If you find that your address isn’t covered by the tool yet, you can leave your email address and you will be notified when Project Sunroof is ready for your rooftop!

View a video on the introduction of “Project Sunroof” below.

 

Source: Google Green Blog

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Middle Eastern Investment To Grow In Miami

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It’s no secret that Miami has become one of the world’s most attractive markets for international investors.

South Americans in particular have had a heavy influence in local real estate as one of the main demographics snapping up properties throughout South Florida.

But data from CBRE, a commercial brokerage that tracks such international trends, indicates that one region of the world is poised to take a much larger role in South Florida’s real estate game and in the United States as a whole: the Middle East.

Miami Beach EDITION hotel

Miami Beach EDITION hotel

So far, buyers from the Middle East have stuck to high-profile properties in Miami. This was made evident in February with the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority’s acquisition of the Miami Beach EDITION hotel for an incredible $230 million. That sale accounted for the majority of the $280 million Middle Easterners have sunk into South Florida real estate during the first half of this year, according to CBRE data.

Plot on Indian Creek Island — the highest price ever recorded for vacant land in the neighborhood

Plot on Indian Creek Island — highest price ever recorded for vacant land in the neighborhood

Also in February, a corporate entity linked to Saudi Royalty paid $23 million for a plot on Indian Creek Island — the highest price ever recorded for vacant land in the neighborhood.

St. Regis Bal Harbour hotel

St. Regis Bal Harbour hotel

Compared to last year, buyers from the Middle East have spent $37 million more on Miami real estate, CBRE data shows. The previous year saw Al Faisal Holding, a private company based out of Qatar, pay $213 million for the St. Regis Bal Harbour hotel, among other smaller transactions. However, in the context of the region’s historically large purchases, that increase does not necessarily translate to a large uptick in activity.

The evidence of this emerging trend instead comes from looking at the huge amount of money that the Middle East is pouring into U.S. real estate.

For the first half of 2015, the region spent $2.7 billion on real estate in the Americas, according to CBRE. That’s a significant chunk of the $11.8 billion total that investors from the Middle East have spent on global real estate during that time period, and CBRE expects that number to grow by another $2.4 billion by the end of the year. Most of that money comes from sovereign wealth funds.

“There’s no question that Miami has arrived as a primary market for investors worldwide, in the same league with other U.S. cities like New York, San Francisco and D.C., as this Middle East investment report suggests,” Quinn Eddins, CBRE’s director of research and analysis for Florida, said in a statement.

“The amount of foreign investment in South Florida office, retail and industrial product during the first half of 2015 alone was over $775 million – more than that of all the previous two years combined. If we factored in apartment, hotel and land sales, that number jumps to more than $1.2 billion. A lot of capital is still coming from Canada, Europe and Latin America, but there’s definitely an uptick in Middle Eastern and Asian investment – it’s an exciting trend that we’re tracking closely.”

South Florida was the fourth hottest market in the U.S. for Middle Eastern investment during the first two quarters of 2015. It stands to supplant the third spot belonging to Washington, D.C., which saw only $1 million more in transactions from the region. Above D.C. is Atlanta with $338 million in purchases so far this year, and New York in the top spot with $1.1 billion, CBRE data shows.

 

Source: The Real Deal

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