MIAMI | Development Thread

[QuantumX]

Originally Posted by simms3_redux

I'm not sorry for saying this, but little bits and pieces of infill here and there excite me much more than the constant barrage of these ugly Vegas-style renderings of massive buildings (none of which have actually gotten out of the ground yet).

Originally Posted by Private Dick

Yes.

Don't apologize! To each his own. We'll see what eventually makes it out of the ground and what doesn't before too long. I think the "constant barrage" pretty much assures we'll see continued development here whether anybody likes the buildings or not.

[easy as pie]

someone should do some sort of future skyline rendering the proposed/uc projects downtown, i was clicking around maps and looking at projects on exmiami and ssc and it really is something else, a lot of towers planned, major skyline changes. i'm with simms, where i can't really stand downtown miami because i like a non-autocentric urban form (for me, walking around miami off mb = an unnerving, borderline distopian experience), but that doesn't take away from how impressive the boom seems to be in sheer scale.

[QuantumX]

Originally Posted by easy as pie

someone should do some sort of future skyline rendering the proposed/uc projects downtown, i was clicking around maps and looking at projects on exmiami and ssc and it really is something else, a lot of towers planned, major skyline changes.

I would like to do something like this, but I don't have the capability. It would be interesting to see what all we know is planned would look like as part of the new skyline.

Originally Posted by easy as pie

i'm with simms, where i can't really stand downtown miami because i like a non-autocentric urban form (for me, walking around miami off mb = an unnerving, borderline distopian experience), but that doesn't take away from how impressive the boom seems to be in sheer scale.

This is what we are hoping to change with massive projects like Brickell CityCentre and Miami World Center that will make downtown much more walkable. I like the term distopian you used. Makes me think of the movie Blade Runner. Not really such a bad comparison.

Did you spend any time in Brickell Village while you were here? Brickell Village is quite walkable though small and only a couple of blocks form the financial district. Brickell CityCentre will connect with Brickell Village in such a way to make that whole area much more walkable. We haven't always had the best city planners, but I think things are on the right track now. The city is most definitely changing for the better.

[BrandonJXN]

Originally Posted by simms3_redux

I'm not sorry for saying this, but little bits and pieces of infill here and there excite me much more than the constant barrage of these ugly Vegas-style renderings of massive buildings (none of which have actually gotten out of the ground yet).

I agree with this. Sure Miami might have a million skyscrapers but it would vastly improve Miami's density if we see an increase of buildings in the 8-20 story range.

[QuantumX]

Originally Posted by ThreeHundred

I agree with this. Sure Miami might have a million skyscrapers but it would vastly improve Miami's density if we see an increase of buildings in the 8-20 story range.

You mean like in this photograph? I really like this one. Those buildings look great from I-95 against the taller buildings on Brickell Avenue. As Dave said, wait until Brickell CityCentre gets added to the photo.

from Aerial Photography Inc @exmiami.org

[easy as pie]

Originally Posted by QuantumX

Did you spend any time in Brickell Village while you were here? Brickell Village is quite walkable though small and only a couple of blocks form the financial district. Brickell CityCentre will connect with Brickell Village in such a way to make that whole area much more walkable. We haven't always had the best city planners, but I think things are on the right track now. The city is most definitely changing for the better.

yeah, we cut the day short and just went back to south beach, which i really like and which just seems set to improve with the mega projects in the pipes there. i could imagine some future when the museum buildings, miami world, the herald area that genting owns, metro center/central station and the brickell developments sort of gel into a decent pedestrianish continuum like you find in los angeles, that'd be nice.

[QuantumX]

Originally Posted by easy as pie

yeah, we cut the day short and just went back to south beach, which i really like and which just seems set to improve with the mega projects in the pipes there. i could imagine some future when the museum buildings, miami world, the herald area that genting owns, metro center/central station and the brickell developments sort of gel into a decent pedestrianish continuum like you find in los angeles, that'd be nice.

Oh, things are definitely set to improve. The city is changing radically right before our eyes down here. We can hardly keep up with it all.

The skyscrapers in this photo that I took from the Brickell Village parking garage will all be blocked by Brickell CityCentre skyscrapers in the next few years. The market is still quite strong, and there is no telling what all else we might see.


DSC_0150 by QuantumX, on Flickr

[BrandonJXN]

What's the pretty orange building?

[QuantumX]

Originally Posted by ThreeHundred

What's the pretty orange building?

That's the Brickell Financial Center. It changes colors at night now the way the Miami Tower does.


DSC_0154 by QuantumX, on Flickr


DSC_0321 by QuantumX, on Flickr

[simms3_redux]

Well to clarify, smaller 6-20 floor buildings with appropriate setbacks and streetfront retail are much more human-scaled. Quite honestly, I compare Midtown Atlanta and Brickell a lot - both are elongated, both have replaced adjacent downtowns as premier office submarkets, and both have seen a considerable amount of residential construction over the past 20 years, Miami that much more. While I detest the overall architecture of the resi buildings in Midtown Atlanta and the podium or standalone garages there, I think Midtown Atlanta has promoted a much more pedestrian friendly environment with a better mix of uses and overall better "design" (not better architecture on the resi front). Nothing is larger than life - it's all pretty human-scaled there. I feel like the neighborhood is legitimate, and I never get the sense that anything about Miami is legitimate in anyway whatsoever.

It is my opinion that Genting's proposals, that Miami World, perhaps even Brickell City Centre are just too immense. They are not human-scaled. The podiums I have seen for many of these large-scale master-planned projects are scary large, hulking structures. It's hard for anyone to care one bit about what goes on on the sidewalks in Miami's CBD when the towers are all so tall and there's nothing bringing people down to street level, when the retail is in a way closed in on itself as in many of the proposals, when the podium is its own universe that shuts out the outside world, when every project is designed only to appeal to rich Latins and Europeans and not necessarily the typical "young professional", Creative Class member, working class, or even visitors.

The reason I feel a connection to San Francisco, for instance, is that I feel like "we're all in it together", meaning the homeless, the billionaires, the young professionals, the artists, the construction workers, etc. Everyone is forced to encounter everyone else and we're all better for it. When I go to Miami, the sense I get is that the DT/Brickell/waterfront areas try their best to isolate themselves from anyone who isn't someone who can afford some overpriced high rise condo or waterfront mansion. Mary Brickell Village has some higher priced chains, and all of the hotels exude luxury, all of the shopping east of 95 screams Visa Black cardholders, the middle class seems forgotten and relegated to west of 95 (it's no wonder the whole Sofla market plays keeping up with the Jones).

NYC scares me now how uniformly wealthy it is, but at the same time it's stil bustling with all walks of life, there's still a good "dose of reality" left on every corner and in every submarket (window air conditioners in rich peoples' 1920s coops for instance), grunge and city smells here and there, and of course a diverse and wide range of jobs for just about everyone (there aren't that many "jobs" in Miami's CBD like most cities' CBDs...it's mostly luxury high-priced residential, which just weirds me out).

And then the question I always have is: what the hell is the economic driver besides flight money, trade, real estate (tied to flight money) and tourism? The question of the century that I've heard countless people ask.

[easy as pie]

^ nice diagnosis. it goes back to something of the latin influence on the city and the tendency of wealthy latin americans to abandon high streets for closed commercial areas, often indoor or along a suburban paseo. we'll see what related does with the design district but, generally, most/all developments i've seen in coming up in miami have taken the wrong - or maybe just a perverse - lesson from the glorious success of lincoln road. south beach works for precisely the reasons you're onto above, the pedestrian scale high streets (and commercial strips) are basically shared spaces, rather than private public space, like we so often see in los angeles. i'm fine with the massive block podia, but the horrific thing for me is that they nearly uniformly conceal parking spaces rather than dwelling spaces.

i guess once those mega developments are in, the hope might be that subsequent developments on the peripheries, i guess further into wynwood, would create the more affordable, more classically urban streetscapes. a sort of kickstart to a sort of critical mass of people in the core.

[simms3_redux]

^^^So I ventured over to the Design District recently, which has been an interesting story of a "new frontier" that just happened. I have to say it is indeed an interesting place, but let's take a look at what you'll find in the Design District:

Bobby Berk home (there is one in Atlanta - love the furniture, but $3,000 for a bar stool? one can only imagine how much a dresser is!)
Christian Louboutin
Cartier (loured from the exclusive Bal Harbor Shops in Miami Beach, along with a few other retailers)
Celine
Dior Homme
Sebastien James
Hermes
Prada
Scotch & Soda (ok I love them and this is a better price point and a Euro brand of interest to 25 year old professionals - the district needs more of this stuff if it's going to go the fashion route)
Louis Vuitton
Inglot
Marni
Mad initaly
Ligne Roset (uhh, this is actually one of the cheapest design stores in this Design District if you can even believe it...!!)
Holly Hunt
Janus et Cie
Threadcount
Givenchy
Fendi
Poliform
Armani Casa
Ann Sacks
Jonathan Adler
Luxe Cable/Light

Basically, take an Architectural Digest magazine or a Florida Design, both sold on shelves of every supermarket in the US and made for us to buy one a year and gawk at what we wish we could afford someday, and every ad is for a store in Miami's Design District (and half of the homes are selected from Miami not coincidentally).

My firm has a lot of these retailers in its portfolio of retail real estate, but in areas that seem every bit as organic, but a little less "exclusive" (and I'm talking Georgetown, Back Bay, Union Square, Chelsea, 40s on 5th Ave, etc). I'm not anti-luxury brands, I live in SF and work in the FiDi so I do have some pretty expensive clothing myself as I regard people here to be quite fashionable, but it's hard to find querky organic areas in Miami that aren't serving either tourists (Lincoln Rd at this point) or super wealthy Brazilians who park money in the area (Design District).

For instance the two sort of "design districts" I can think of in the Bay (that part of southern Soma near King and 7th and Fourth Street in Berkeley) are basically just focused on local purveyors of furnishings, antiques and art with maybe a few mid to high end chain outfit/furniture stores (Porcelanosa, Poggen Pohl, Roche Bobois, Restoration Hardware, Room & Board, Design Within Reach, Crate & Barrel). No luxury shops or 5 star restaurants or $10 coffee shops, etc. In the land of coffee drinkers and independent coffee shops, if you ARE paying more than $2.50 for a medium coffee, you're a clueless zombie who doesn't know that the best coffee doesn't need to cost more than that.

It's great that Miami can support such a vast building boom and bring to life whole areas of rundown seediness at the snap of a finger (one year crack den, the next Fendi and Givenchy beneath Porsche Design), but it just feels like the missing element that's present in most other cities in America is the "middle class" or "young professional" feel. I would hate to live in that city and not be trust fund baby, wealthy Latin/Russian/European, celebrity, or the partner of some rich Miami interior designer. The whole freakin city is exclusive, which to me comes through in the design of almost every proposal for DT/Brickell.

[simms3_redux]

Originally Posted by QuantumX

More street level pics please! Love to see the people, the storefronts, interactions between the buildings and the built environment, design context, etc. We don't get to see many such pics of Miami as it's always just of the skyline or of renderings.

[QuantumX]

Originally Posted by simms3_redux

More street level pics please! Love to see the people, the storefronts, interactions between the buildings and the built environment, design context, etc. We don't get to see many such pics of Miami as it's always just of the skyline or of renderings.

Well, since this is a development thread, I suggest you visit the photo thread I just created in the My City Photos section titled Miami 2013. I'll see what else I've taken this year that I can add to it that's along the lines of what you're taking about. Here's a night shot from last year that I think you might like.


DSC_1700 by QuantumX, on Flickr

[QuantumX]

A couple of great photo updates of EnV Brickell by Viper of the SSC Miami forum.

[IMG]
EnV Brickell 1 by viper1165, on Flickr[/IMG]

[IMG]
EnV Brickell 2 by viper1165, on Flickr[/IMG]

[dave8721]

And for the non-Miami residents, that Publix grocery story that enV is being built on top of is open for business with a highrise going up on top of it.

[dave8721]

http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/news/2013/05/23/gables-ponce-apartments-will-have.html

Gables Ponce apartments will have Epicure Gourmet Market

Oscar Pedro Musibay
Reporter-
South Florida Business Journal

In the fall, a 24,000-square foot Epicure Gourmet Market will anchor the ground floor retail of the recently completed Gables Ponce, a luxury rental community in Coral Gables.
Each of the 248 apartments includes custom, espresso-wood cabinetry, granite countertops, and Energy Star, stainless steel appliances.
In all, the 10-story building will have a total of 26,540 square feet of ground floor retail. Epicure Gourmet Market will open in a 24,000-square-foot space, with exclusive resident access and a full-service outdoor café.

[dave8721]

The 38-story Bay House is launching sales in Edgewater



http://www.globest.com/news/12_610/miami...Building-Condos-in-Edgewater-333660.html

Argentina’s Melo Building Condos in Edgewater

MIAMI—Bay House has officially launched. Melo Group’s newest development will rise at 600 NE 27th Street in Miami’s Edgewater East neighborhood. Construction of the 38-story tower is set to begin this fall and be completed in late 2014.

Bay House will offer 164 luxury residences—only five units on each floor. All units offer private or semi-private elevators and large balconies. The building’s unit mix includes two- and three-bedroom condos priced from the $490s to more than $1 million. The average price is $380 per square foot.

“Look at a map of the development activity now underway in Miami, and Edgewater East is at the center of the action,” says Melo Group principal Martin Melo. “Bay House will be the address of choice for residents seeking the conveniences that come with living in a pedestrian-friendly urban neighborhood along with sweeping water views and top-tier, luxury amenities.”

Bay House will sit on a stretch along Biscayne Bay east of Biscayne Boulevard between 17th and 37th streets, just north of the Central Business District and directly west of Miami Beach. The project is close to Miami’s major arts and entertainment venues, public transit connections, and Miami International Airport. The Midtown, Wynwood and Design District neighborhoods are adjacent to Bay House.

Melo Group has been a driving force behind the growth of Edgewater East since 2003. Bay House marks the firm’s 10th residential tower in the neighborhood. The firm has delivered more than 1,700 residential units in Miami and more than 5,000 units throughout the Americas since its 1948 founding in Argentina.

While many Miami developers suspended projects during the recession, Melo Group continued to build. Construction of Edgewater East’s 23 Biscayne Bay began in July 2011 and the 96-unit building was completed and sold-out in less than 10 months. That made it the first Miami condominium tower to be built and fully sold in Miami during the recession. 23 Biscayne Bay attracted foreign buyers that purchased units with at least 50% cash down payments. Other Melo Group developments in the Edgewater East neighborhood include 1800 Biscayne Plaza, 22 Biscayne Bay, 25 Biscayne Park, and Skyview.

[QuantumX]

A note for all concerned, I only came back to this website to photo update this thread and to post pictures as examples wherever I find fit. The Miami forum knows well why I do it. I've said it enough times. It was not to concern myself with the types of discussions that go on here. Having lived here in Miami for 30 years, I've seen the city change for the better over the years. I'm quite happy with what I have to look forward to in the city in which I live. What is happening to the city is not perfect, but then who has the perfect city? Things here are much better than they were 30 years ago, 20 years ago, and even 10 years ago. I'm sorry if it's not changing the way certain people want it even though they don't live here, but I'll take the Miami of today and the one that's coming over the one I've lived with for the past 30 years. Why people have to continuously troll and bash the city is beyond me, except maybe there's not much going on where they are and there is a lot happening here. I've been a skyscraper enthusiast for neary 40 years, and I've lived in San Francisco and Los Angeles and been to a number of other cities. I don't bash them the way people continually do Miami across these boards. To me, whatever city I've been to is what it is. I enjoy it for what's there and whatever it has to offer.

As a skyscraper enthusiast for nearly 40 years, I've followed booms in other American cities for decades and I'm always happy to see any other American city booming for whatever reason. I don't spit venom like a king cobra or pit viper just because it's not happening where I happen to be at the time.


DSC_0319 by QuantumX, on Flickr

[QuantumX]

Originally Posted by QuantumX

DSC_0034 by QuantumX, on Flickr

CSC_0082 by QuantumX, on Flickr