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In the future, potential renters may visit available units, apply for leases and execute paperwork without ever seeing a human being.

That’s what PropTech investor John Helm is banking on. Helm is the managing director for Real Estate Technology Ventures (RET Ventures), an industry-backed early stage investor fund. He made his prediction of human-free leasing during a recent panel at the Urban Land Institute Miami fall symposium.

“Cutting leasing staff can significantly trim expenses for an apartment building,” said Helm. “But the savings won’t come from a single app. We tend to follow things and invest in companies that compliment one another.”

His team is investing in artificial intelligence companies that digitize the screening of a would-be renter online and allow that renter to schedule an appointment to tour the unit. RET Ventures is also investing in lock-and-entry technology using facial recognition software to give access to a person to tour an apartment.

“The ability to tour a home solo also correlates with higher closing rates,” said Helm. “Data shows that renters who tour units without human leasing agents are more likely to close.”

Panelist Tigre Wenrich, CEO of Lab Ventures Miami, is focusing on a different real estate sector: construction. Lab Ventures is investing in apps that monitor construction workers to simplify payroll and track progress. In addition, it has invested in Licify, a marketplace for the Latin American commercial construction industry.

LAB Miami Ventures is also investing in a 3D visualization product that will allow a prospective customer to see how an office or residential space might look when customized to the client’s wishes.

 

Source: Miami Herald

Edge, Sushi Samba, River Oyster Bar and Fox Hole Marketplace and Deli —  are just some of the planned new eateries banking on the Miami River.

 New restaurants, retail and increased public access along the Miami River were among the highlights of a development boat tour of the five-mile-long waterfront district on Thursday.

Renderings of River Landing Project

Renderings of River Landing Project

Developers and real estate professionals toured the river as part of an Urban Land Institute and NAIOP partnership. Brett Bibeau, managing director of the Miami River Commission, said that popular restaurants Seaspice (formerly Sea Salt and Pepper), Garcia’s Seafood and Casablanca have brought business to the area.

Among the restaurants awaiting permits or under construction are Sushi Samba, at 40 Southwest North River Drive; Edge at 39 to 55 Southwest Miami Avenue Road; a new location for the River Oyster Bar at 350 Flagler Street, and Fox Hole Marketplace and Deli at Latitude on the River, 615 Southwest Second Avenue.

River Landing rendering and Andrew Hellinger

River Landing rendering and Andrew Hellinger

The Miami River has increasingly drawn interest from developers who are embracing the river lifestyle. “It’s a place that people don’t have to see as up and coming. It exists,” said Andy Hellinger, developer of the River Landing project, a massive nine-acre development that will include apartments, retail and a linear park along the riverwalk.

River Landing’s retail component will include a five-story vertical shopping center, with a different theme for each floor. Among them: restaurants and supermarkets, sporting goods and entertainment. Two acres of the project are dedicated to parks and pathways. Hellinger compared the linear park, with a 50-foot setback, to the Highline in New York.

River Landing recently applied for a seawall permit, and digging for the foundation will be complete in a few weeks, Hellinger told The Real Deal.

Cleaning up the water and building the riverwalk are both key to the area’s success. Bibeau said his organization, the Miami River Commission, sends clean-up crews to pick up trash, pressure clean and paint over graffiti. “If the riverwalk is not maintained,” Bibeau said, “it will not live up to its potential.”

 

Source: The Real Deal