The Flagler Street area of Downtown Miami’s Central Business District is likely to see over 30 million square feet in new development, a new study says.

Gridics analyzed development potential in the Downtown Historic Area based on Miami 21 zoning regulations and allowances, in a study prepared for the city to help plan for future infrastructure needs.

Over 26 million square feet in new development is likely along Flagler Street and to the areas north and south, based on zoning regulations and allowances. Another 17 historic sites could see 8 million square feet in additional development.

Gridics says the study will help save the city and utilities companies millions, by helping plan infrastructure needs.  Road improvement projects are already underway that could need to be torn up in the future to meet demand for new utilities without proper planning, the company said.

 

Source: The Next Miami

Brickell City Centre won the initial green light to expand its footprint, creating two new mixed-use towers within a more than 100,000-square-foot annex to the $1.05 billion project.

The Miami City Commission just approved on first reading an amendment to Brickell City Centre’s special area plan that adds 15 properties owned by Colombian businessman Carlos Mattos, who is partnering with Brickell City Centre developer Swire Properties on the 104,287-square-foot expansion.

According to documents submitted to the city, Mattos and Swire want to build a 54-story building that would have 588 residential units, 84,009 square feet of commercial space and 832 parking spaces, as well as a 62-story tower with 384 residential units, 3,275 square feet of commercial space and 399 parking spaces. Among the sites is the former home of Tobacco Road, the famed watering hole that lasted 102 years before a wrecking ball claimed it in 2014.

Akerman attorney Neisen Kasdin, who represents Swire, told city commissioners the project will likely not break ground until the next cycle.

“It is market-dependent of course because there will be for-sale units there,” Kasdin said. “We are probably looking at a two-to-three-year period.”

The proposed Brickell City Centre annex would also have 11,718 square feet of civic space and the joint venture partners have agreed to build a connection to the Miami Riverwalk, add lighting to the South Miami Avenue Bridge. They will also donate $1 million to the city to be used for renovating single-family houses owned by low-income individuals.

The 15 properties run between Southwest 5th and 7th streets along South Miami Avenue and total just over 2 acres. In 2012, Mattos’ Tobacco Road Property Holdings LLC paid a combined $15.44 million for the majority of the assemblage which consists of nine adjacent properties at 11, 21, 31, 37, 45 and 55 Southwest Seventh Street and 622, 626 and 640 South Miami Avenue in 2012. Swire affiliate BCC Road Improvement LLC paid $4.7 million for the roughly 15,000-square-foot corner piece at 602 South Miami Avenue in 2014.

The expansion still requires final approval, which is often likely once it has been approved on first reading. Brickell City Centre’s first phase included two 390-unit condo towers, Reach and Rise; a 500,000-square-foot outdoor mall; an office building and a 40-story hotel, East, Miami.

 

Source: The Real Deal

Over the past five years, major upgrades to quality of life in Aventura have set the stage for another decade of growth in residential and commercial properties, and a population increase as the quality of life rises again.

The city itself has committed to spending millions of dollars over the next five years on improvements. Nearly $3 million is going directly to local parks. Waterways Park, Veterans Park and Founders Park will undergo renovations which include new playground equipment, updated drainage, new turf and more.

Just over $4 million will be used for transportation improvements, such as road resurfacing, new pedestrian walkways and lighting, and improvements to improve traffic flow along major roadways. About 30-plus roads will be addressed, including Aventura Boulevard, Country Club Drive and more.

The city purchased 2 acres from the Gulfstream Park Racing Association last year on which to build the city’s first high school. The charter school of 800 students is scheduled to open in fall 2019 as Soffer Aventura High School.

Retail Expansion

A new three-story wing expansion has opened to the public at Aventura Mall. It adds restaurants, retail stores, art, an outdoor fountain and a 93-foot tall slide among other attractions (PHOTO CREDIT: MATIAS J. OCNER | File, Dec. 18, 2017)

Aventura Mall is creating a more immersive shopping experience. A three-level expansion wing facing the William Lehman Causeway has opened with a two-level Topshop, Zara and restaurants that include CVI.CHE 105 and Genuine Pizza, a casual restaurant by James Beard Award-winner Michael Schwartz. Another 11 stores and restaurants have opened or are coming, including International Smoke by Ayesha Curry and chef Michael Mina, Schutz Shoes, and Diveto Ristorante.

Topping them off is a 93-foot outdoor, spiral slide designed by Belgian artist Carsten Höller. The nine-story ride, which takes only 15 seconds, is free to anyone 50 inches or taller. The mall plans to add more interactive art installations in coming years.

Developer Seritage Growth Properties is building on the former Sears store site at Aventura Mall. The first phase will feature the ground-level development of 215,000 square feet of U.S. and international retailers, entertainment and dining in an open-air setting. An additional 100,000 square feet is planned on the 12.3 acre site that faces William Lehman Causeway and Biscayne Boulevard.

The rich and famous are taking note. NBA stars Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem celebrated the grand opening of the first 800 Degrees Woodfired Kitchen in Florida, in September. The 4,000-square-foot restaurant, which sits on 199th Street, seats 125 people and features a full bar.

Residential Construction

Just to the south, Turnberry Isle Miami kicked off a number of improvements late last year. Plans include a new 16-story luxury building, upgrades to the main lobby and resort facilities. The investment tops $175 million.

Aventura ParkSquare and Prive at Island Estates are bringing a city-within-a-city lifestyle to Aventura. Prive opened on a previously undeveloped island in January. The 150- unit project has 35,000 square feet of amenities between the two towers, plus outdoor amenities.

The 7.4-acre Aventura ParkSquare at the corner of Waterways Boulevard and Northeast 207th Street consists of five buildings. They include a new luxury condominium with 131 residences; 100,000 square feet of Class A office space; 55,000 square feet of ground-level retail and restaurant space; a 45,000-square-foot medical center; a luxury senior living tower; and a 207-room Starwood Aloft Hotel.

Aloft is just one of several new hotels. The 233-room AC Hotel Miami Aventura north of the mall opened in July 2017. The 192-room Aventura Hilton Hotel, just to the south of the mall, will soon break ground.

 

Source: Miami Herald

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

Mayfair Real Estate Advisors and Terra Group have secured an anchor tenant at Mary Street, a mixed-use development taking shape in Miami’s Coconut Grove neighborhood.

Advisory firm Kaufman Rossin agreed to occupy 64,666 square feet at the Class A project. Developers are transforming a former parking garage, with delivery slated for mid-2019. Kaufman Rossin will lease the building’s top two floors and half of the third floor starting June 2020. The firm is currently headquartered at 2699 S. Bayshore Drive, just two blocks away from Mary Street. The lease represents a 10,000-square-foot expansion, with the tenant relocating nearly 300 employees to the new location.

Co-developer Terra will also lease 13,174 square feet at the Touzet Studio-designed property, bringing Mary Street’s office component to full occupancy. Terra’s new corporate space will be on the building’s third floor and mezzanine level. Located at 3310 Mary St., the 78,000-square-foot project will feature five floors of Class A office space, ground-floor retail space and a publicly accessible, 340-space parking garage.

Pent-Up Demand

Upon delivery, Mary Street will mark the first completion of Class A office space in Coconut Grove’s business district in more than two decades. According to a JLL report, vacancy in Coconut Grove is 1.7 percent, the lowest rate in Miami Dade County’s submarkets. Amenities at Mary Street will include 24-hour security, covered drop-off and valet areas, electric car charging stations, bicycle stations and storage. Jaguar Therapeutic, OXXO Cleaners, Elia restaurant, Workout Spot and a private dentistry practice are among the signed retail tenants.

Tom Capocefalo, senior managing director with Savills Studley, represented Kaufman Rossin, while Chris Dekker, vice president with Mayfair Real Estate Advisors, worked on behalf of the development team.

“The move to this expanded, innovative space represents new beginnings for Kaufman Rossin while keeping us true to our roots in Coconut Grove,” said Blain Heckaman, chief executive officer of Kaufman Rossin, in prepared remarks.

“Our team launched Mary Street to complete the vision of a true live-work-play environment in Coconut Grove,” added David Martin, president & co-founder of Terra.

 

Source: Commercial Property Executive

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

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

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.

Construction of Solitair Brickell, a 50-story apartment building, has been completed, adding a new high-rise with an unusual façade to Miami’s skyline.

Global architecture and design firm Stantec created the angular, basket-weave design of Solitair Brickell’s exterior. According to Stantec, the design of the building’s zigzag, serrated balconies was inspired by the texture of the Medjool date palm tree, which many South Florida property owners have included in their landscaping.

Interior marble walls in the building’s lobby incorporate wood elements and concrete panels. The tenth-floor Great Room at Solitair Brickell has similar wood finishes with floor-to-ceiling millwork shelving for décor items and artwork. The Resident Entertainment Lounge across from the Great Room has a communal kitchen and dining area where white brick walls are paired with dark cabinets and counter tops.

Developed by ZOM Living, Solitair Brickell has 438 units including studios, one- and two-bedroom apartments, and two-bedroom penthouse suites. An amenity deck on the 50th floor features a rooftop swimming pool and cabanas, a billiard lounge, wet bar and sectional sofas, plus a business center with conference rooms and catering facilities. Tenants also share a gym, outdoor yoga space, and a spa and sauna room.

Solitair Brickell has 6,200 square feet of ground-floor retail space and 463 parking spaces. Monthly rent starts at $2,193 for available apartments at Solitair Brickell, according to ApartmentList.com.

The new 50-story building is located at 86 Southwest Eighth Street across from the Brickell City Centre shopping, dining and entertainment complex.

 

Source: The Real Deal

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