BOMA Forecasts Sunny Outlook For Miami-Dade’s CRE Industry

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The commercial real estate market outlook for Miami-Dade: Sunny, as long as more mass transit is on the horizon, said industry experts at the Building Owners and Managers Association of Miami-Dade’s 2017 Commercial Real Estate Outlook event.

In the office market, rents are at an all-time high in certain sub-markets, said Brian Gale, Cushman & Wakefield’s vice chairman of Brokerage Services who represents nearly 5 million square feet of office space in South Florida.

On Brickell, office space is hitting around $60 a square foot for Class A space; back in 2008 the high was in the upper $40s, said Gale, during the panel discussion at the East Miami in Brickell. Downtown Miami is just behind it, and Aventura and Airport West have also hit all-time highs, too, he said. Coral Gables presents a different story, he said. In 2007-08, rent in the trophy buildings was $46-$48 a square foot; today it’s the low $40s.

“For many years, Coral Gables was the darling of the office market. I would say it has a temporary black eye with less demand and blocks of spaces still existing. But Coral Gables also has the most to gain,” Gale said.

Gale sees the South Miami market as vaulting too, once new mass transit options fully kick in for the area.

“The traffic on Useless 1 is not getting any better. … Miami Beach needs to figure out a way to get light rail over there.” Gale said. “Rental rates will continue to increase in 2017. Looking further out, being a gateway city … there is no reason to believe we couldn’t be a $70 rental market in 2022.”

Growth in shared office spaces has exploded — for instance, WeWork recently leased 65,000 feet at Brickell City Centre and there are now more than 20 shared workspace centers in downtown Miami alone. Sometimes these shared office centers can act as an incubator for a building; when the companies grow out of the co-working space they take space on other floors, Gale said. In the broader office market, expect more smaller offices, with more open spaces and cubicle areas on the outside of the floor with the glass-walled offices in the center, he added.

In the industrial sector, with job growth projected to slow in 2017 and 2018, is that a concern with 1.8 million square feet coming online in 2017 and 1.4 million in 2018?

“That’s actually less than half of what we have seen in 2015 and 2016.” said JLL Managing Director Brian Smith, who led the team representing NBC Universal/Telemundo Enterprises in the record breaking lease of over 550,000 square feet for a world headquarters broadcast center in western Miami-Dade.

He said he looks more closely at population growth. In both the office and industrial markets, new-to-market tenants are pushing the records. The last three years have brought more than 700,000 square feet of new-to-market office tenants. But that’s more than the previous 15 years combined, Gale said.

The last two years saw 300,00 square feet of new-to-market industrial tenants, but this year it will be 2 million and perhaps 3 million square feet.

“John Deere, new names. We have quickly become one of the most important industrial markets on the globe,” said Smith. “Three large deals in the works may be the biggest ever, in addition to the NBCUniversal deal.”

To be sure, urbanization has transformed the retail landscape, with Miami’s downtown population now approaching 90,0000 people, a 30 percent increase since 2010, with an incredibly affluent demographic, said David Moret, president of Highline Real Estate Capital, which acquires and redevelops office and retail properties with capital partners.

Retail rents are in the stratosphere on Lincoln Road, surpassing $300 a square foot. They are hitting $200 in the Design District and Coconut Grove and Wynwood are flirting with $100 a foot, Moret said. How far will they go?

“I think we have gotten ahead of ourselves,” Moret said. “ I think there will be a reset. … We are already seeing resistance. We are seeing leasing volume way down on Lincoln Road.”

He sees the biggest impact coming from millennials, a group that will have the most spending power by 2017. This means tenant mix is more important than ever.

“Successful centers are going to be about creating experiences, to give people a reason to go there instead of click on their phone,” said Moret.

 

Source: Miami Herald

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Florida Primary Voters Give Green Light To Solar Tax Break

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Primary-election voters approved the expansion of a renewable-energy tax break that backers say will help businesses and spark the expanded use of solar energy in Florida.

But while the measure had support from an array of groups, they are divided on an unrelated solar amendment on the November general-election ballot that could lead to a major political fight.

The proposed constitutional amendment approved Tuesday was known as Amendment 4 and was placed on the ballot by the Legislature. It is designed to extend a residential renewable-energy tax break to commercial and industrial properties.

Shortly after the polls closed, the measure was more than 10 percentage points above the required 60 percent threshold needed for approval of constitutional amendments. The preliminary results indicated that the measure, which backers say will spur growth in solar and renewable energy, was supported in almost every county.

“The strong showing of support for Amendment 4 sends a clear message to elected officials at all levels of government that Florida voters want more diversity in our energy market,” said Sen. Jeff Brandes, a St. Petersburg Republican who sponsored the proposal during the 2016 legislative session.

Though approved by voters, the measure still needs the Legislature to enact the changes. The measure, sponsored in the House by Rep. Ray Rodrigues, R-Estero, and Rep. Lori Berman, D-Lantana, will exempt for 20 years the assessed value of solar and renewable-energy devices installed on businesses and industrial properties.

“Eliminating high tax barriers will unleash the potential of the ‘Sunshine State’ to become a leader in solar energy production,” Rodrigues said in a statement.

“The election results allow Florida to enter a new era where renewable energy can be accessible for all, and clean energy jobs can be at the forefront of Florida’s economy,” Berman said.

Voters approved a similar exemption for residential property owners in 2008, with the measure taking effect in 2014.

The new proposal also has an element to help residential property owners, as it would exempt all renewable-energy equipment from state tangible personal property taxes.

Support for the measure came from a wide range of organizations such as the Florida Retail Federation, the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association, the Florida Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association, the Florida AFL-CIO, the Nature Conservancy, the Sierra Club of Florida and Surfrider Foundation.

A poll released last week by the Florida Chamber of Commerce showed 70 percent of Floridians supported the proposal, with 14 percent opposed. Yet on Friday Mason-Dixon Polling & Research released findings that indicated the measure was having serious trouble with Republicans and independent voters.

Some late opposition to the measure came from groups such as the Orlando-based political action committees Stop Playing Favorites and the Advocacy, Action & Accountability Alliance, which claimed the amendment would provide “millions in tax breaks to big corporations” at the expense of money that would otherwise flow into minority communities.

Backers of the measure also had to overcome some confusion that the proposal was linked to a separate utility-backed solar proposal on the November ballot.

With Tuesday’s victory, supporters of Amendment 4 are now expected to divide up on what is known as Amendment 1 in November.

Stephen Smith, executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, said his group is ready to immediately “pivot” from having supported Amendment 4 to vocally opposing Amendment 1.

“What Amendment 1 does not have is the support of a broad, very diverse, grassroots coalition,” Smith said. “It is exactly what it is, a utility-backed, utility-funded, self-promoting approach to try to keep a monopoly control on their terms.”

The November “Consumers for Smart Solar” initiative would generally maintain the status quo in allowing Floridians with solar equipment on their property to sell energy to power companies.

More than $15 million has already been spent promoting the November amendment.

 

Source: Daily Business Review

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WeWork To Lease Roughly 65,000 Square Feet At Brickell City Centre

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Coworking giant WeWork has signed a deal to lease nearly 65,000 square feet of uncompleted office space at Swire Properties’ Brickell City Centre project, sources told The Real Deal.

A source with knowledge of the lease told The Real Deal that WeWork will occupy space at Two Brickell City Centre, the second of two Class A mid-rise office buildings at the project.

A rendering of Two Brickell City Centre and WeWork’s Miguel McKelvey and Adam Neumann

A rendering of Two Brickell City Centre and WeWork’s Miguel McKelvey and Adam Neumann

The lease includes “nearly half” of the 132,280-square-foot building’s total space, though an exact size was not given. According to data from the CoStar Group, asking rents at the building average $53 per square foot, annually. That means the lease is likely worth millions of dollars.

Swire Properties has yet to complete the building, though its twin Three Brickell City Centre received its certificate of occupancy earlier this year.

This deal marks one of the largest expansions for WeWork in Miami, mirroring the shared office space provider’s explosive — and at times controversial — growth both in New York and throughout the country.

WeWork landed in South Florida in summer 2015 with its launch of an outpost on Lincoln Road, and the workspace provider jumped to a second 850-desk location at 429 Lenox Avenue in Miami Beach earlier this year.

In its biggest move so far, the company signed a lease for the entirety of downtown Miami’s 16-story Security Building, totaling about 96,000 square feet. WeWork has yet to open that space.

The company has battled both data leaks and challenges to its $16 billion valuation, all while working to aggressively expand in the hot co-working industry.

 

Source: The Real Deal

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Related Group And Allen Morris Propose Coral Gables City Center

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Related Group and The Allen Morris Company are proposing a $250 million project to replace city-owned parking garages at 245 and 345 Andalusia Avenue in Coral Gables.

The project, called Coral Gables City Center, would have two 16-story towers and could be built in phases.

TOWER 1:

  • 140,000 square feet of office space
  • 11,871 square feet of ground-floor retail
  • 770 parking spaces

TOWER 2:

  • 270 residential units (either rental or condo)
  • 16,878 square feet of ground-floor retail
  • 799 parking spaces

Zyscovich is the architect. Related and Allen Morris are competing against another bid from ZOM and Terranova. Both were the finalists selected out of five bidders for the property, and the city commission will vote later this month.

 

Source: The Next Miami

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Investors Want $20 Million For Miami Today HQ Building In Coconut Grove

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The Coconut Grove office building that houses Miami Today’s headquarters is officially up for grabs at $20 million.

2000 South Dixie Highway Coconut GroveLocated at 2000 South Dixie Highway, the building is fully occupied, including a handful of notable tenants like Miami Today, one of the city’s longest-running business publications, and Tinsley Advertising, a storied ad agency that’s worked with brands like Airbus and Paramount Pictures.

The building is owned by a limited liability company named after its address. State corporate records show the entity’s registered agent is Jose Pita, head of a company called Sunrise Grove Management that manages properties for investors.

After purchasing the property, built in 1972, for $4.925 million in 2010, the current owners started a major renovation program. New impact-resistant windows were installed, the interiors were modernized, and the building’s two-story atrium was redone. At 53,074 square feet, the building’s asking price breaks down to just under $377 per square foot.

Listing agent Scott Sime of Sime Realty told The Real Deal that the owners sensed it was a good time to sell now that the office market has matured.

The current tenants are paying roughly $28 per square foot, triple-net, according to data from the CoStar Group. And Sime said as those leases expire, a new owner could potentially bring those rents higher. A second-quarter report from commercial brokerage CBRE shows asking rents in the neighborhood now hover at about $34 per square foot for Class A space, and $31.64 for Class B space.

2000-South-Dixie-HighwayAs for whether developers could be potential buyers because of the property’s 90,000 square feet of land, Sime said “That is certainly a possibility. But this property functions very well in its current state as an income producing property.”

 

Source: The Real Deal

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Miami Is Now A Buyers’ Market For Luxury Properties

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Slower sales and a glut of inventory has led to a buyers’ market for South Florida luxury properties, according to Miami Beach real estate agent Jill Eber.

“For almost five years we were just on an upward spiral,” Eber, of Coldwell Banker’s the Jills, told a gathering of real estate professionals Wednesday evening. “But, right now, it has adjusted and it has become more of a buyers’ market. As a result, developers are adjusting their pricing and increasing broker commissions to move units. In no way is this like 2008, 2009, and 2010. The market has been steady.”

Eber participated on a panel hosted by the Miami chapter of the Asian Real Estate Association of America at Brickell City Centre’s East, Miami hotel. The discussion was moderated by Coldwell Banker luxury real estate Vice President Craig Hogan and featured Debora Overholt, Brickell City Centre’s vice-president for retail, Swire Properties Vice President Maile Aguila, Eber, Miami Association of Realtors President Teresa Kinney and Ramona Messore, vice-president of Saks Fifth Avenue at Brickell City Centre.

Overholt and Aguila offered their insights into Swire’s ability to finish massive developments like Brickell City Centre. Overholt noted that the $1 billion nine-acre mixed use project is modeled after Pacific Place, a complex of office towers, hotels and a shopping centre the company built in Hong Kong 27 years ago.

“If you are familiar with Pacific Place, what we are developing is very similar to that,” Overholt said. “We are very excited to bring something fairly new to U.S. retailers, but something we already do well.”

Since opening in 1989, the four-floor mall at Pacific Place has more than 711,000-square-feet of retail space that houses a Harvey Nichols department store and 140 luxury brand shops and boutiques. Similar to Brickell City Centre, the mall is integrated into three Class A office towers, four five-star hotels, and a condominium. Swire spent $2.1 billion in 2011 on a redesign project led by Thomas Heatherwick.

Aguila told the audience Swire’s success with Pacific Place proves the company has the strength and wherewithal to deliver every phase of Brickell City Centre.

“When we do things, we do things long-range and take a long time,” Aguila said. “I remember when we were developing Brickell Key, we were all looking forward to a retail component and food and beverage component that just never happened. We saw that need. We had the vision to come into the area at the right time and the right place.”

 

Source: The Real Deal

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City To Consider New Designs For 5 Big Miami Projects, Including Miami Worldcenter

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MiamiWorldcenter_6

Miami officials will consider the design plans of five new projects in the booming city, including the redesigned Miami Worldcenter, an apartment tower with no parking by a prominent developer and a mixed-use building in Midtown.

All five items will go before the city’s Urban Design Review Board on July 25.

The 27-acre Miami Worldcenter is a major mixed-use project that would reshape the north side of downtown. Construction has already started on its first phase, although it hasn’t gone vertical yet. The master developer is Miami Worldcenter Associates, led by Art Falcone and Nitin Motwani, with Los Angeles-based CIM Group as an equity partner.

The main public plaza at Miami Worldcenter

The main public plaza at Miami Worldcenter

The new design reflects Miami Worldcenter’s transformation from big-box, enclosed retail to “high street” retail that is integrated with the urban street grid and incorporates public space and art.

Other major projects proposed or under construction in downtown Miami and Brickell can be found on the Business Journal‘s interactive Crane Watch map.

The new Miami Worldcenter design was partially inspired by Dacra’s work in the Miami Design District, as its presentation includes numerous photos from that upscale retail district to the north. Miami Worldcenter would have a long paseo that crosses several streets, capped with public plazas at both ends – similar to the Paseo Ponti/Palm Court Plaza/Paradise Plaza stretch of the Miami Design District.

The Miami Worldcenter paseo would start around Northeast 1st Avenue and stretch from Northeast 7th Street to Northeast 10th Street. It would have a 25,000-square-foot main plaza of public space on the south side and a 14,000-square-foot plaza on the north side. Those plazas could be used for special events and performances, the application said. The public spaces would be lined with trees, water features and art. There would be a vehicle drop off circle at Northeast 2nd Avenue.

Miami Worldcenter was designed by Elkus Manfredi Architects and ADD, with Kimley Horn as the landscape architect. Greenberg Traurig attorney Ryan Bailine represents the developer in the application.

The lot coverage of Miami Worldcenter’s first phase, encompassing about 10 acres, would be reduced from 88 percent to 81.5 percent. The density would decrease.

The first phase would total 3.91 million square feet, down from 4.73 million square feet in the previously-approved design. That reduction would mostly come on the commercial/retail side, with 338,036 square feet planned instead of 1.09 million square feet. Most of the retail would be on the ground floor, with some extending to a second floor. The retail buildings would have parking on the upper floors, and in most cases restaurants or amenities on the rooftops.

The residential unit count in Miami Worldcenter phase one would increase to 1,011, from 914, and the parking spaces would increase to 3,998 from 3,901. The 58-story Paramount Miami Worldcenter condominium could have up to 577 units in 1.34 million square feet, instead of 485 units, and the 44-story Luma apartment tower would have 434 units in 545,762 square feet, instead of 429 units. Luma would be developed in partnership with Orlando-based ZOM.

Paramount would rise atop a podium filled with amenities and it would be connected via an elevated bridge to a parking structure with even more amenities atop it. Luma would also have an amenity deck. The features would include multiple pools, a soccer field, two tennis courts, a half-court basketball room, two racquetball rooms and fitness areas. The condo tower would also have a yacht-shaped amenity deck on its top floor.

The application notes that up to 8.24 million square feet could be developed in the future phases of Miami Worldcenter. The next phases of the project would include a 386-unit apartment tower along Northeast 7th Street, a mixed-use tower in partnership with Newgard Development and the Marriott Marquis Hotel and convention center in partnership with MDM Group. Representatives of Miami Worldcenter couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.

Moishe Mana Proposes Apartments Without Parking

New York developer Moishe Mana wants to build 328 apartments with no parking in downtown Miami.

49-story apartment tower rendering

49-story apartment tower rendering

The 49-story would total 322,355 square feet at 200, 218 and 222 N. Miami Ave. Not counting the amenities and common areas, it would have 277,536 square feet of residential space, so that averages 846 per unit.

Downtown Miami allows developers to forgo parking requirements within close proximity of public transit. This property is near the Government Center Metrorail Station and a public parking garage. That garage is slated to be redeveloped with an apartment building incorporated into it.

Mana’s North Miami Avenue Realty LLC acquired the 14,325-square-foot site in 2014 for $4.2 million. It currently has some small retail buildings constructed from 1922 to 1925. They would be demolished to make way for the apartment tower.

Zyscovich Architects designed Mana’s project, which would feature a rooftop pool deck, a gym, a social room, an exterior courtyard on the 15th floor and micro amenity spaces of around 900 square feet on some residential floors. Mana is one of the largest landowners along Flagler Street in downtown Miami and has proposed a massive redevelopment in the Wynwood neighborhood.

Mixed-Use Project Could Rise In Midtown

Midtown 8 rendering

Midtown 8 rendering

A 28-story building in Midtown Miami would combine residential and retail space. Midtown 8 would total 389,989 square feet on the two-acre site at 2901 and 2951 N.E. 1st Ave. That would break down to 387 apartments, 29,549 square feet of ground-floor retail and 519 parking spaces.

The project would have an amenity deck featuring a pool on top of the eight-story parking garage, which would be connected to the apartment building by a series of elevated bridges. There would be an open-air driveway through the center of the project and a linear park with an art along the FECI rail line behind the building.

The property is owned by Midtown Opportunities VIB, but it’s under contract to developer Wood Partners, with offices in Atlanta and West Palm Beach. Midtown 8 was designed by Stantec. Greenberg Traurig attorney Ryan Bailine said his client hopes to apply for building permits for Midtown 8 in August or September and obtain them before the end of the year.

Wynwood Attracting Major Projects

Wynwood 26 rendering

Wynwood 26 rendering

The UDRB will also consider two new proposals in Wynwood, which has attracted many development applications after the neighborhood was rezoned. The Wynwood 26 apartment/retail building by the Related Group was previously covered by the Business Journal when the plan went before the Wynwood Design Review Committee.

Wynwood 25 rendering

Wynwood 25 rendering

East End Capital‘s Wywnood 25 with apartments and retail was also considered by the WDRC shortly after it was announced.

 

 

For a slideshow for the new renderings of Miami Worldcenter, plus the other projects, that will be presented to the UDRB, click here.

 

Source: SFBJ

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Sleek New Wynwood Rental Complex Designed For Millennial Appeal

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A new urban living complex is slated for once-gritty Wynwood.

East End Capital has filed plans with the City of Miami for Wynwood 25, a mixed-use development that would feature 289 rental apartments, collaborative work spaces, bike storage, dog-washing facilties and a rooftop pool terrace, plus retail space, according to a release. The 400,000-square-foot project is located between NW 24th and 25th Streets immediately west of Northwest Second Avenue.

wynwood-25-rendering-2

The apartments — mostly studios and one bedrooms — are designed to appeal to cost-sensitive millennials. About 80 percent are expected to rent for less than $2,000 per month, according to the developer. The project was designed by Miami architect Kobi Karp to reflect the neighborhood’s industrial history. A pedestrian walk between 24th and 25th streets will include interactive art.

The project includes 340 parking spaces in the parking-challenged neighborhood.

“Wynwood is known for its cutting-edge art, world-class restaurants, creative office and hip retailers,” said Jonathon Yormak, managing principal of East End Capital, via a release. “Wynwood 25 marks the neighborhood’s next phase — an architecturally significant building that brings reasonably priced rental housing to people who appreciate Wynwood’s unique character and want to be a part of the community.”

Plans now must go before the Wynwood Design Review Board and the City of Miami’s Urban Design Review Board. East End hopes to break ground in the first quarter of 2017.

 

Source: Miami Herald

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Commissioners Give Initial OK To Massive Wynwood Project

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The largest zoning code overhaul in Miami history was given a preliminary green light.

Moishe Mana‘s massive special area plan, a mechanism used for projects of more than 9 acres that permits a developer to mold zoning within existing regulations, nabbed a unanimous OK from city commissioners Thursday evening.

The New York developer is pursuing a sprawling, multi-phase project in Miami‘s once crime-laden industrial neighborhood now known as the Wynwood arts district. The 20-plus acre development requires an overhaul of regulations in the city’s recently established Neighborhood Revitalization District, a zoning code specific to Wynwood intended to keep its arts-oriented environment intact and luxe high-rises out.

Rendering of the Mana Wynwood Special Area Plan proposed by Moishe Mana.

Rendering of the Mana Wynwood Special Area Plan proposed by Moishe Mana.

Labeled Mana Wynwood, the special area plan would be the largest-ever in Miami. It’s with this mechanism that the mega-developers behind Brickell City Centre and Miami’s Design District were able to build, said Iris Escarra, a Miami-based shareholder with Greenberg Traurig. The land use attorney is representing Mana‘s team along with Greenberg shareholder Carlos Lago in Miami.

“We’re taking it to the next level,” Escarra said of the current zoning.

Mana‘s team is planning a major commercial venue centered on arts and culture, with some added residential components.

The anchor attraction will be Mana Contemporary, a museum modeled after the developer’s 300,000-square-foot entertainment venue in New Jersey. A quarter of the land will be kept as open space. Mana Commons, a proposed 2.5-acre park, was likened to Millennium Park in Chicago during Thursday’s meeting.

“This is truly a transformational project,” said Bernard Zyscovich, founder of Zyscovich Architects, the firm designing the venue. “It’s unusual because unlike most of the clients that walk into my office, this is not a project driven by residential development.”

The architect touted the Mana‘s vision in creating jobs via mixed-use commercial space catered to the arts and cultural education.

“Once completed, Mana Wynwood would result in 22,000 direct and indirect full-time jobs,” Zyscovich said.

City commissioners asked the team to include benefits and job opportunities for Overtown residents before bringing the plan for its second reading in late July.

The Wynwood Business Improvement District has worked feverishly with Mana‘s team over the past year to ensure the mega-development is compatible with Wynwood‘s unique character and the most recent zoning.

David Polinsky, a member of the BID‘s board, said the group will back the development subject to three major conditions: The Mana team should support the expansion of the BID to include the western area of the plan; Mana properties bordering Northwest 22nd Avenue, or the “Calle Ocho” of Wynwood, should follow the neighborhood’s current zoning; and the area’s temporary uses should be restricted, including the special events Mana can host, until shovels hit the ground.

 

Source: DBR

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Ten Miami Neighborhoods That Have Changed The Most In The Past Decade

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Miami is a city that seems to reinvent itself every ten years or so.

Change is a constant. Neighborhoods are always reinventing themselves. Cranes and jackhammers are always busy erecting new buildings.  We’re so used to it, sometimes we don’t even notice when it happens.

In fact, looking back just 10 years ago, some areas of the city are nearly unrecognizable. So Miami New Times decided to take a tour back in time thanks to Google Map’s street views and compared ten neighborhoods to what they looked like less than a decade ago.

WYNWOOD

Then: A warehouse district that had a couple of art galleries moving in.

 Now: A pedestrian-friendly, “art-themed” tourist destination and creative business district with a few art galleries still hanging around.

Ten years ago artists space and galleries had already started moving into the neighborhood, but the only time people actually went was during the Second Saturday art walk. (Of course, at that time you could actually see lots of good art  —and drink lots of free booze.) Now, many of the galleries have moved out. The best art is painted on the buildings, and the former warehouse spaces are now lined with boutiques, cafés, and office space

27th Street

27th Street

27th Street

27th Street

Wynwood Building Before and After

Wynwood Building

N.W. 2nd Avenue

N.W. 2nd Avenue

N.W. 2nd Avenue

N.W. 2nd Avenue

N.W. 2nd Avenue

N.W. 2nd Avenue

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DESIGN DISTRICT

Then: A shopping district focused on all your interior design needs.

Now: A shopping district focused on all your designer clothing needs.

The Design District pulled off a neat trick in which it completely changed what it is without having to change its very specific name. A decade ago the area was where rich people sent their interior designer to shop for furniture. Then developer Craig Robins came in and turned it into an area where rich people shop for clothes.

N.E. 39th Street

N.E. 39th Street

N.E. 39th Street

N.E. 39th Street

N.E. 39th Street

N.E. 39th Street

 

 

 

 

 

 

SUNSET HARBOUR

Then: A place tourists only went because their car was towed.

Now: A place tourists go because they read about a cute café on Yelp.

Sunset Harbour used to be where South Beach hid its blight. Now the area is home to some of Miami Beach’s best restaurants, two brand new grocery stores, and more construction to come.

Bay Road

Bay Road

Bay Road

Bay Road

 

 

 

 

 

 

COCONUT GROVE

Then: Losing its soul.

Now: Finding a new soul.

Once Miami’s “hippie” neighborhood back in the day, Coconut Grove served as a warning of what can happen to a neighborhood when it allows chain stores and restaurants to come in and take over. At least ten years ago, Coconut Grove still had its reputation as college kid’s go-to drinking spot, but a 2008 ordinance pushedlast call up to 3 a.m., taking much of the remaining fun out of the area.

Now Coconut Grove is finally trying to get its groove back.

Main Highway

Main Highway

Main Highway

Main Highway

 

 

 

 

 

 

EDGEWATER

Then: Cheap neighborhood with old homes in a good location.

Now: Expensive neighborhood with new luxury high-rises in a good location.

It seems one Russian billionaire or another buys up a plot of land with plans to turn it into an exclusive luxury high-rise in this neighborhood every other week.

N.E. 28th Street

N.E. 28th Street

NE 28th Street

NE 28th Street

 

 

 

 

 

 

BRICKELL

Then: High-rises

Now: Lots, lots, and lots more high-rises.

Brickell’s character hasn’t actually changed that much, there’s just a lot, lot more of it nowadays.

U.S. 41

U.S. 41

S. Miami Avenue

S. Miami Avenue

 

 

 

 

 

 

LINCOLN ROAD

Then: Quirky shopping district

Now: Miami’s fast-fashion capital

Lincoln Road’s renaissance began in the late ’80s, and by the 2000s the pedestrian mall had taken on a unique, quirky flavor. Sure, there was a Gap and Johnny Rockets, but there were also theaters, gay clubs, jazz hangouts, and New Age crystal shops. Now it’s completed its metamorphosis into a home for shopping mall stores like H&M, Forever 21, and Lululemon. At least there’s a really cool parking garage now.

Lincoln Road

Lincoln Road

Lincoln Road

Lincoln Road

Lincoln Theater

Lincoln Theater

 

 

 

 

 

 

UPPER EASTSIDE

Then: Abandoned motels and blight

Now: Boutique motels and charm

The Upper Eastside’s MiMo architecture was always charming, but locals seemed to have forgotten for a while. Now, developers have restored some of those old motels, and with them, the character of the neighborhood.

73rd Street

73rd Street

MiamiNeighhoods- Upper Eastside - ne_73rd_st_- 2

73rd Street

 

 

 

 

 

 

SOUTH OF FIFTH (SoFi)

Then: South Beach’s quiet neighborhood

Now: South Beach’s neighborhood full of jackhammer noise.

With the revitalization of South Pointe Park, scores of new nightclubs and restaurants, and new construction, the South of Fifth area isn’t quite as quiet as it used to be.

Ocean Drive

Ocean Drive

Ocean Drive

Ocean Drive

 

 

 

 

 

 

MID-BEACH

Then: Destination for New York grandmothers

Now: Destination for New York hipsters

Ten years ago, the area was the beach’s forgotten district. Now it’s booming with boutique hotels, craft cocktails bars, private clubs, and some of the city’s hottest night spots.

Collins Avenue

Collins Avenue

Collins Avenue

Collins Avenue

 

 

 

 

 

 

Source: Miami New Times

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