Gambling giant Genting wins Miami-Dade joint development

Miami-Dade’s County Commission on Tuesday unanimously approved joint development at the Omni bus terminal with access to the Adrienne Arsht Center Metromover station for Resorts World Miami LLC, which is planning a 300-room hotel over the bus terminal. This will include air rights over the property for the Department of Transportation and Public Works. Attorney Albert E. Dotson Jr., representing the developer, said Tuesday this is an atypical deal. “Your staff (including the county attorney’s office, Leland Salomon…

Scarface’s Chainsaw Scene Location on Ocean Drive Is Turning Into a CVS

All the painkillers, Band-Aids, and antibiotics in the world wouldn’t have made much of a difference to Angel Fernandez, the Scarface character whose dismemberment by chainsaw was the 1983 gangster flick’s most infamous scene. But today the building where the grisly attack was set is being converted into a CVS. Renovations have already begun at 728 Ocean Drive in South Beach, with the back portion of the building now demolished. The façade and its iconic porthole windows, one of which served as a backdrop for the…

Martin Pinilla II: Realty investor give urban neighborhoods ‘some love’

Martin Pinilla II is co-founder and co-managing partner of Barlington Group, a Miami-based real estate investment and development company that he said is committed to revitalizing emerging neighborhoods in Miami’s urban core. In 2002, Mr. Pinilla began investing in small-scale residential properties in Little Havana and as a commercial real estate broker. Two years later, he met Bill Fuller, one of the owners of the Ball & Chain, a bar/lounge on Southwest Eighth Street, as each was independent…

Facing Rising Sea Levels And Greater Insurance Risk, Southern Florida Braces For Relocations, New Flood Design Standards

The moon over South Florida looked like a swollen grapefruit in November, its reflection rippling off pools of ocean water that bubbled up through storm drains, crept over seawalls, and swallowed Miami streets. It was a “supermoon,” about 17,000 miles closer to Earth than usual, according to NASA, arriving just in time to supercharge the seasonal high waters known as king tides. The water made an island out of the lifeguards’ shack on Matheson Hammock Park, swept “No Wake” signs from…

PortMiami Traffic With Asia Rises 11% In 2016

According to the port, the growth in the cargo side of the business comes as a result of $1.3 billion in capital infrastructure investments made to handle larger Post-Panamax ships.

Judge issues restraining order to stop Miami from enforcing ban on short-term rentals

A Miami judge issued a temporary restraining order late Wednesday, stopping the city of Miami from enforcing its ban on short-term rentals in residential neighborhoods. The ruling by Judge Beatrice Butchko of Florida’s Eleventh Judicial Circuit came less than a week after Airbnb and five Miami homeowners sued the city to stop Miami officials from enforcing bans on short-term rentals and for targeting Airbnb hosts who publicly identified themselves.

The Nightmare Scenario for Florida’s Coastal Homeowners

On a predictably gorgeous South Florida afternoon, Coral Gables Mayor Jim Cason sat in his office overlooking the white-linen restaurants of this affluent seaside community and wondered when climate change would bring it all to an end. He figured it would involve a boat. When Cason first started worrying about sea-level rise, he asked his staff to count not just how much coastline the city had (47 miles) or value of the property along that coast ($3.5 billion). He also told them to find out how many boats dock inland from the bridges …

Yotel condo-hotel project in downtown Miami gets approval for massive parking reductions

Miami’s Urban Design Review Board approved changes to a proposed condo-hotel in downtown that will reduce parking at the development site by 30 percent and shrink setbacks around the new building. Kuwaiti company AQARAT and Miami-based Aria Development Group are proposing Yotel Hotel, a 45-story tower at 235 Northeast Second Street, which will have some condos on the upper floors, commercial spaces for restaurants and retail and 263 “cabins,” smaller, minimalist…

Video: Development Company CEO Discusses Potential Impact of Trump Policies on the Industrial Market

Larry Callahan, the CEO of Pattillo Industrial Real Estate, joins Michael Bull on an episode of The Commercial Real Estate Show to discuss some of the potential effects the Trump administration might have on industrial real estate.  Potential changes in the tax code, tariffs, and regulation, and how they might affect commercial real estate, in particular industrial property, are discussed.  The post Video: Development Company CEO Discusses Potential Impact of Trump Policies on the Industrial…

Banks Lend Aggressively On CRE Despite Downturn Fears

Banks are aggressively lending on commercial properties even as developers and equity investors are starting to pull back amid fears of a downturn. “It’s tougher right now,” Craig Bender of ING Group’s U.S. real estate lending arm told the Wall Street Journal. “The banks are hungry. The life insurance companies are hungry.” Total U.S. commercial
The post Banks Lend Aggressively On CRE Despite Downturn Fears appeared first on SVN South Commercial Real Estate Advisors.

Four Miami-Dade Industrial Buildings Trade As Part Of $854M Portfolio Deal

The largest local part of this deal was the $28.58 million sale of two Doral buildings that last traded for $19 million in 2011.

Real estate developers set their sights, and wallets, on city of Miami candidates in March

Some of Miami’s biggest developers made donations last month to city of Miami candidates running for commissioner and mayoral seats in the November election. Companies tied to the Related Group, Manuel Grosskopf, Oleta Partners, Tate Management, the Treo Group, Shahab Karmely, Flagstone Island Gardens, Jeff Berkowitz, Adler Group, Craig Robins and Turnberry Development all made donations to the candidates, the Miami Herald reported. The candidates include Miami commissioner Francis Suarez, who’s running…

Whole Foods-anchored retail center coming to U.S. 1 corridor south of Miami

Regency Centers Corporation announced plans to build a 70,000-square-foot retail center just south of Miami anchored by a Whole Foods Market grocery store. Jacksonville-based Regency will build the retail center, called Pinecrest Place, next to an existing 173,000-square-foot Target department store off U.S. 1. Regency expects to complete construction of the $16.4 million Pinecrest Place project in the second quarter of 2018. “Pinecrest Place is an ideal blend of best-in-quality anchors with substantial parking, and visibility…

‘The dominoes are starting to fall’: Retailers are going bankrupt at a staggering rate

Retailers are filing for bankruptcy at an alarming rate that’s quickly approaching recessionary levels. It’s only April, and nine retailers have already filed for bankruptcy since the start of the year — as many as all of last year. “2017 will be the year of retail bankruptcies,” Corali Lopez-Castro, a bankruptcy lawyer, told Business Insider after she attended a recent distressed-investing conference in Palm Beach, Florida. “Retailers are running out of cash, and the dominoes are starting to fall.” Payless ShoeSource, hhgregg, The Limited…

Could Trump’s Trade Policies Ripple Through Miami’s Industrial Real Estate?

President Trump’s intentions to curb America’s trade deficits by beefing up US exports and curbing imports drive could drive policy changes that trickle down to industrial markets around the nation, according to a new Cushman & Wakefield report. “President Trump says he believes in ‘free trade but also fair trade,’ and as policy details emerge, companies will start looking at their supply chain networks to determine the impact on operating costs,” says Jason Tolliver, head of Industrial Research, Americas at CushWake.

Miami rents decreased by 5% in the last year, per report

For one-bedrooms and two-bedrooms Miami, Miami Beach, and Boca Raton are the three most expensive areas to rent in Zumper’s latest Miami metro report, which looked at over 56,000 active listings in March across 18 areas throughout South Florida. There is good news for renters in two of those areas, however. Prices are down in Miami and Miami Beach, by 5.3 percent and 10.5 percent, respectively, year over year for one-bedroom units. While Homestead was the most affordable city to rent in, it…

A new vision for Wynwood will make your eyes pop

Entrepreneur Moishe Mana has unveiled new eye-popping animated renderings of his massive Wynwood redevelopment as he drums up investment and international interest in his plan for a trade center linking Latin America with China and other parts of Asia. The conceptual images, by far the most detailed Mana and his architects have issued, depict a dense cluster of irregularly spaced towers that would house offices, showrooms, hotels and a conference facility on the western portion of his extensive Wynwood holdings.

Airbnb sues the city of Miami for going after hosts, enacting short-term rental rules

After threatening to crack down on Miami Airbnb hosts who spoke up at a city commission meeting, the home-sharing platform is fighting back — with a lawsuit. In a suit filed Friday afternoon in Miami-Dade County circuit court, Airbnb claims the city of Miami is both violating the First Amendment rights of the hosts it is pursuing and flouting a state law that prohibits municipalities from enacting regulations post-2011 to further limit short-term rentals in private homes. On March 23, dozens of Airbnb hosts packed into…

UF/IFAS scientists find Zika RNA in a second mosquito species

A University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences molecular biologist has found Zika RNA in a type of mosquito not often associated with the virus. UF/IFAS entomology associate professor Chelsea Smartt led a research team that found Zika RNA in Aedes albopictus. That’s not the species — known as Aedes aegypti — most often associated with Zika. But scientists have never discounted Aedes albopictus as another possible carrier of the potentially deadly virus. Brazil has the highest number of reported…

Leaked docs show hotel industry’s role in anti-Airbnb laws

Newly leaked documents show how the hotel industry systematically pushed for anti-Airbnb legislation last year and worked to sway public opinion against the short-term room rental website. In early 2016, trade group American Hotel and Lodging Association launched a “multipronged, national campaign approach at the local, state and federal level,” focusing on major cities like New York…

Walnut Street Capital flips commercial property near Miami Design District

Walnut Street Capital just flipped two commercial properties near the Miami Design District for more than double the price the firm paid two years ago, clearing it a cool $1 million.
Fort Lauderdale-based Walnut Street sold the adjacent properties at 185 Northwest 45th Street and 4501 Northwest Second Avenue for $2.05 million, after buying the sites for $800,000 in April 2015. In the interim, the firm paid more than…

Video: United States Restaurant Trends 2017

Robin and Eric Gagnon, Chief Marketing Office and President, respectively, of We Sell Restaurants, join The Commercial Real Estate Show in Studio One to discuss various performance and trends in the United States restaurant sector, which affects retail properties. Highlights include: Escalators in excess of revenue growth can be problematic; Seven in ten restaurants are owned by single unit operators; Minimum wage laws can be a death blow to restaurants owners; Legal environment an issues as…

Video: Managing Director of the Center for Realtor Technology Highlights Building Technology Resources

Chad Curry, Managing Director at the Center for Realtor® Technology, joins The Commercial Real Estate Show to discuss building technology  resources for commercial buildings. Highlights of this video include: The Array of Things, a micro-climate monitoring system out of Chicago; Various online resources for commercial space technology; CRTlabs.org; FastCoDesign.com; FastCoLabs; TheNextWeb; ReadWrite; CityLab. CRT Labs is a research group that is operated by the National Association…

Additional Opportunity for Increased Extension of Building Permits and Development Orders

Interested parties must notify issuing governmental agency by September 7th to receive a new extension. Due to Governor Scott’s recent expansion of the State of Emergency issued for the Zika Virus, holders of permits and development orders have another opportunity to toll the period remaining to exercise rights under the permit or order for nearly 18 months. Section 252.363 of the Florida Statutes permits a tolling of development orders and permits upon the declaration of a state of emergency…

Secretary Ben Carson Kicks Off Public Housing P3

Yesterday, Miami-Dade County hosted Dr. Ben Carson, the Secretary of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, at the Liberty Square public-housing development, one of the oldest in the nation.  The meeting formally commenced an exciting public-private partnership for the complete redevelopment of Liberty Square.  The project will be transformative for the community and a model for new public-housing projects throughout the country, and we have been fortunate to have been …

Miami On The ‘Leading Edge’ Of New Movements In Retail Real Estate

Food halls, entertainment options, going-out-of-business sales are some of the latest developments in South Florida retail real estate.

Check It Out: The View From The Top Of Florida’s Tallest Building

Developer Tibor Hollo’s Florida East Coast Realty is celebrating the topping-off of its 830-foot luxury rental tower at 1101 Brickell Ave.. The ceremony is a customary way for builders to commemorate the completion of the top floor of a new structure. At 85 stories, Panorama Tower will be the tallest building in Florida and the tallest residential building south of Manhattan, according to the developer. The tower will house 821 apartments, ranging in size from one to three bedrooms and starting at 1,135 square feet., along with a sick array…

Airbnb and five homeowners sue city of Miami over vacation rental crackdown

Airbnb is teaming up with five Miami homeowners to take on city government and Mayor Tomas Regalado. The tech company, along with Yamile Bell, Toya Bowles, Gary Levin, Ana Rubio and Kenneth Tobin, sued the city on Friday to stop Miami officials from enforcing bans on short-term rentals and for targeting Airbnb hosts who publicly identified themselves.  An Airbnb spokesperson declined comment and The Real Deal was unable to reach Regalado or Miami City Manager Daniel Alfonso, both of whom were not…

As sea levels rise in Miami Beach, raising homes and buildings may be next

For some property owners in Miami Beach, raising their homes and buildings may be the only solution to dealing with rising seas. Miami Beach officials say that as the city raises its streets, they expect more homeowners and building owners to look seriously at raising their structures – many of which will be lower than streets and sidewalks on their property line. “We have to adapt these buildings before the water gets here, because otherwise it will be too expensive to keep them, so we have to adapt them or let go of them and build…

Allapattah assemblage sells for $3.1 million

An assemblage of four parcels just sold for $3.1 million in Allapattah, as investors continue to target the gritty Miami neighborhood west of Wynwood for redevelopment. The properties include 2140 Northwest 36th Street (aerial), 2135 Northwest 35th Street, 2141 Northwest 35th Street and 2145 Northwest 35th Street. Records show the sites span 48,266 square feet of land with buildings dating back to 1935 and 1947 that house retail shops and restaurants, an auto sales center, two multifamily buildings, a duplex and a vacant lot.

Transit-oriented development in Miami Gardens awaited

With plans on the drawing board to extend Metrorail from the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. station to the Miami-Dade/Broward County line in the median of Northwest 27th Avenue comes a renewed interest in a transit-oriented development in Miami Gardens. A Miami-Dade County request for proposals is in a cone of silence now, so transit officials won’t discuss it. But a September 2011 study hints at what eventually might take shape on the 14-acre parcel of county-owned land on the northwest corner of Northwest 215th Street…

Port of Miami Tunnel developer looks to transit deal too

The chief operating officer of a company that helped to fund, build and operate the Port of Miami Tunnel told a county committee last week how the firm’s aims might mesh with the now-unfunded plan to add six transit legs in Miami-Dade. Thilo Tecklenburg, COO for French group Meridiam, a global investor and asset manager specializing in public and community infrastructure, said his company is looking for early stage procurements and preparations in public/private partnerships (P3s) for transit that will come to a…

Bills That Property Owners And Insurers Should Watch This Legislative Session

Several proposed acts working their way through the Florida House and Senate will impact property owners and professionals working in the real estate industry. The measures fight abuse of the legal and insurance system and protect property owners. Here’s a rundown of the most important bills and where they stood one month before the legislature is scheduled to adjourn: House Bill 483 and Companion Senate Bill 398 To Cap Fees Charged By Community Associations For Estoppel Certificates; Florida…

TA Realty Sells Miami-Dade Portfolio To Brookfield For $60M

TA Realty sold a 45-asset portfolio to Brookfield Asset Management for $854.5 million, including at least five properties in Miami-Dade. Property records show the following just closed in Miami-Dade County, totaling more than 550,000 square feet of office and warehouse space. 8841 Northwest 23rd Street and 2180 Northwest 89th Place in Doral sold for $28.58 million. 10302 Northwest South River Drive in Medley (birdseye aerial) sold for $12.6 million. 6100 Northwest 74th Avenue in Miami sold for $19.58 million

Miami’s The Citadel to further transform Little Haiti

Including a food hall Little Haiti looks to continue its evolution as one of Miami’s fastest-growing neighborhoods with The Citadel expecting to open next Winter. Within the 60,000-square-foot MiMo building at 8300 Northeast 2nd Avenue will be a hub for dining, shopping, and working. A food hall will live on the first floor, with announced tenants including Stanzione (pizza), Bianco Gelato and Smashing Avo’s (specializing in avocado toast). Other components include a service-oriented…

Health officials warn Wynwood property owners and businesses to prepare for Zika

As the summer creeps closer, Wynwood landlords and tenants who want to avoid another round of the Zika virus and its impact on business got a sobering dose of reality on Wednesday. During a regular meeting of the Wynwood Business Improvement District, state health officials and city officials told the board and more than two dozen attendees that the only way to combat the spreading of the mosquito-and-sexually transmitted disease in the coming months is…

High-rise redevelopment of Hallandale golf property still pending as potential buyers emerge

The owners of the Diplomat Golf & Tennis Club in Hallandale Beach are still determining how to redevelop the 127-acre property as they turn away potential buyers. “We have been approached by people that have expressed interest in it. The property is really not for sale,” Louis Birdman, one of the owners, told The Real Deal. “We’re still working on some planning and design-related things. We’re just not ready to announce anything…

Co-Working Space Remains Popular Part Of Miami’s Office Demand

Co-working providers are still bullish on Miami’s office market. How bullish? A phone call a week, said one of the region’s top office brokers. “There’s more and more coming on a daily basis. I think our phone rings once a week with a new co-working operator,” said CBRE first vice president Grant Killingsworth, during Bisnow’s State of the Office event this month. He was part of a panel on the future of the workplace, along with Quest Workspaces CEO Laura Kozelouzek, Brightline senior vice president John Guitar, AEI founder…

Public-private partnerships for transit get rail developer’s input

Public-private partnerships (P3s) for transit should be flexible and competitive, with both parties feeling they come from a position of strength, Michael Reininger, executive director of Florida East Coast Industries, recommends. “There’s a need for motivational balance where both sides should have needs and resources for a partnership, and then you can take advantage of both sides,” he said during County Commission Chair Esteban Bovo Jr.’s Policy Council meeting April 6, explaining that his comments were mostly…

Aimco Acquires Rio Apartments in Miami

Nationwide apartment investor Aimco acquired Rio Apartments at 8855 Fontainebleau Boulevard in Miami from Brisas Del Rio, Inc. for $42 million, or about $143,000 per unit. The five-story, 366,237-square-foot Class C apartment community consists of one- and two-bedroom units in eight buildings. The complex was built in 1971 and is in the Fontainebleau East multifamily submarket. Brokers were not noted in the deal.

Coconut Grove bayfront project gets cost-shaving boost

Miami Parking Authority officials, working with architects and engineers, may have figured out how to shave millions in unexpected costs from a municipal garage planned for the Coconut Grove bayfront. The garage and its ground floor retail are a key part of a public-private partnership among the authority, the City of Miami and Grove Bay Investment Group LLC. The developer has leased about 7 acres from the city as part of an agreement to redevelop the waterfront north of City Hall into The Harbour. Authority CEO…

4 Trends That Will Affect Miami’s Office Market

From capital and tenant office demand to parking and the cool factor, there are many factors shaping the future of Miami offices. Here are the four biggest. Bisnow Cushman & Wakfield’s Brian Gale, The Allen Morris Co. CEO Allen Morris, Banyan Street Capital CEO Rudy Touzet, Crocker Partners’ Angelo Biano and IP Capital Partners’ Josh Procacci 1. Rents Could Pass $50/SF Office rents are hitting the $50/SF mark again, The Allen Morris Co. CEO Allen Morris said. “But it has gone above that in the past,” Morris said.

Developer Proposes 308 Apartments Near US 1 In Miami-Dade

The city will hold a zoning hearing on April 17 to consider the application for the Park View project proposal. A company led by Delray Beach developer Anthony V. Pugliese III wants to build an apartment complex just east of U.S. 1 in Palmetto Bay. The city will hold a zoning hearing on April 17 to consider the application for Park View on the 3.14-acre site at 9420, 9450 and 9500 Southwest 174th Street. The property currently has two single-family homes and a daycare facility separately owned by Jorge L. Morales, Pedro…

Developers And Property Managers Forced To Adjust To Growing Use Of Package Delivery

The front desk managers at Smith’s Landing Apartments at Virginia Tech handle countless packages every day. None left them as perplexed as when a carrier walked in one day dragging a full-sized kayak. Generally, kayaks are anywhere from 9 to 12 feet long, and about two and a half feet wide. Three weeks later, the plastic piece of marine equipment was still sitting in the front office at the Drucker & Falk-managed building, waiting on the student who ordered it and then left for winter break before picking it up.

Commercial Property Lending Slows As High Prices Stall Deals

Traditional lenders like banks and insurance companies have slowed their commercial real estate lending activity, and experts foresee the trend continuing well into 2017. Pexels Lending was down 3% last year from 2015 levels, and lenders closed $491B worth of mortgage loans in 2016, according to new statistics from the Mortgage Bankers Association. The slowdown in lending was spurred by fewer property transactions taking place in need of loans, and the downtrend is expected to continue this year as investors grow…

Miami hospitality market shifts focus from beach to emerging downtown areas: ULI event

Ever since Miami pioneer Julia Tuttle sent Henry Flagler a box of fresh orange blossoms to get him to extend his railroad to Miami from frost-damaged West Palm Beach back in 1896, clever marketers have been trying to get investors to buy into Miami’s hospitality market. Now, instead of orange blossoms, hospitality professionals in the Magic City are promoting hotel investments in some of the city’s newly hip neighborhoods like Wynwood, the Design District and even Little Haiti. Panelists discussing the state of Miami’s…

Pollo Tropical HQ Moving To Airport West Property

A recently updated creative office project in Coral Gables now has a little chicken. Pollo Tropical, the chain restaurant division of Texas-based Fiesta Restaurant Group, has inked a 10k SF deal to move its headquarters, test kitchen and training space to The Landing at MIA, a 50-acre complex that is a mix of office and industrial properties, right at Miami International Airport. The property at 7255 Corporate Center Drive was part of a $17M renovation of the complex. CREC’s Carol Brooks and Katie Fernandez-Espinosa…

Regency Centers Announces the Development of Pinecrest Place in Miami, Florida

Regency Centers Corporation (“Regency” or the “Company”), a national owner, operator, and developer of grocery-anchored shopping centers, has announced the start of a new ground-up development in Miami, Florida. Pinecrest Place, with estimated net development costs of $16.4 million, will be adding 70,000 square-feet of high quality retail to an existing 173,000 square foot Target, anchored by a new, 46,000 square foot flagship Whole Foods Market. Construction completion is expected in the second quarter of 2018.

Sears at Aventura Mall to shutter, be redeveloped into mixed-use project

The Sears at Aventura Mall will close this summer and the site will be developed into a mixed-use project. Sears, at 19505 Biscayne Boulevard, will begin its liquidation sale at the end of April and close by mid-July, the South Florida Business Journal reported. The landlord, Seritage Growth Properties, will break ground on Esplanade at Aventura, with 215,000 square feet of retail, restaurant and entertainment space, later this year. Aventura approved the site plan in December. Seritage purchased 235 Sears and Kmart…

Auberge Miami canceled amid cooling condo market

Previously delayed until 2018 Auberge Miami, originally planned as a 1,400-unit condo development in downtown Miami, has been canceled as deposits have already been returned to buyers, according to multiple reports. Groundbreaking was pegged for early 2017 for a 60-story luxury tower at 1400 Biscayne Boulevard (just north of the Adrienne Arsht Center) but a new timeline emerged last August, pegging construction for the end of 2018 amid stalling sales in an oversaturated market. Miami Condo…

Sign of the times: Related cancels Auberge Miami as condo market fizzles

The Related Group has shut down its Auberge Residences & Spa Miami project and returned buyers’ deposits amid a sluggish condo market, sources told The Real Deal. Related launched the development in February 2016, just as sales were slowing in Miami’s preconstruction condo market. In August, TRD reported that construction of the 290-unit, 60-story tower was on hold until at least year-end 2018. The sales center, at 1440 Biscayne Boulevard, has been closed since December, sources said. The phone number…

South Florida condo developers chopping prices, shifting strategies to close deals

South Florida’s preconstruction condo market is adjusting after a challenging year for developers and brokers. While the slowdown is sticking around, especially in Miami, agents and sellers have shifted their pricing and strategies to close deals. Generally speaking, condos spent more time on the market and sold for reduced prices last year, according to a fourth-quarter Douglas Elliman report. Sellers also had to temper their expectations more than in the past: In the Miami Beach luxury condo market, the difference between…

Triple Five expects to finish N.J. mall while developing American Dream Miami

A lawyer representing Triple Five, the developer of American Dream Miami, said the mega-mall project is advancing while Triple Five tries to resume construction of a New Jersey mall with the same name. Triple Five last year stopped construction of the American Dream Meadowlands in northeastern New Jersey, which could derail plans to open the mall in 2018. But Miguel Diaz de la Portilla, a land use lawyer who represents Triple Five, told the Miami Herald the development of American Dream Miami is moving forward…

Miami to Orlando in 26 minutes: A Hyperloop One finalist

Could planes be a thing of the past? The Hyperloop One could eventually come to Miami, creating a 26-minute route to Orlando, which would be a fraction of the four hours it would take to drive and less than half the hour it’d take to fly. Of the 2,600 submissions in a global challenge from earlier in the year, among the 11 U.S. finalists is the Miami-to-Orlando route, notes The Verge. The process works by using a linear electric motor to move an electromagnetically levitated pod through a tube…

Historic preservation board defers hotel conversion for Miami Beach’s South-of-Fifth

If developers want their projects approved in Miami Beach, they apparently had best not put off meeting with neighbors for nine years.  The Miami Beach Historic Preservation Board on Monday deferred what could otherwise have been a routine request to change a building’s use (250 Collins Avenue) from multi-family residential to suites hotel after it learned the building’s owner had not met with the South-of-Fifth Neighborhood Association to address concerns about how the building…

Lennar restates Q1 earnings to account for potential $140M hit from litigation

Lennar Corp. on Monday restated its first quarter earnings to account for a possible $140 million hit related to litigation. The Miami-based homebuilder said that rather than the $130.8 million, or 56 cents per share first quarter earnings it previously reported, it is now reporting $38.1 million or 16 cents per share. Lennar said that since it released earnings on March 21, the United States Court of Appeals for the…

Video: Chad Curry, Director at the Center for Realtor Technology Labs, Discusses Aquaponics, Responsive Space

Chad Curry, Managing Director at the Center for Realtor® Technology, joins The Commercial Real Estate Show to discuss aquaponics, the use of plants and fish to enhance a work environment, and responsive workspaces.  This is a great video for innovative commercial real estate investors looking for an edge. as it has tips for saving money and enhancing a buildings environment relatively inexpensively, likely leading to more rent and net income. How fish and plants are used together (aquaponics)…

How the JOBS Act Is Affecting Commercial Real Estate Investment

Crowdfunding is the name of the game. Once upon a time, anyone with a commercial real estate (CRE) investment opportunity could only offer it, courtesy of a 1933 law, to a select group of people – only those with whom they had a substantial business relationship. That usually meant friends, family, and business associates. All that changed in 2012, when President Obama signed the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act. One of the key components of the law was opening up that 1933…

Historic Buena Vista Post Office building in Miami’s Design District sells for $8.1 million

The historic Buena Vista Post Office building in Miami’s Design District just sold for $8.125 million, marking a near-record price per square foot in the redeveloping neighborhood, The Real Deal has learned. The 2,287-square foot building at 4000 Northeast Second Avenue, which was the former site of the Billionaire clothing store, sold for $3,553 per square foot to a New York-based investment group that represents foreign investors, Chariff Realty Group President Lyle Chariff told TRD. The buyers are part of the same group…

$400 Million‘The Plaza Coral Gables’ expects to break ground within a year

A massive mixed-use development in Coral Gables has a new name and a scaled-down design in the Plaza Coral Gables, which expects to break ground at Ponce Circle within a year, according to the Miami Herald. Developed by Agave Ponce and formerly titled “Mediterranean Village,” the previous design was approved nearly two years ago. The updated and recently approved version calls for a reduction of max height (from 218 feet to about 190 feet), smaller retail space (from 265,000 square feet to 137,000 square feet), fewer…

CMC nabs $236M construction loan for Brickell Flatiron

Developer Ugo Colombo has secured a $236 million construction loan for Brickell Flatiron, as condo financing continues to dry up in South Florida.  Colombo’s CMC Group closed on the financing on Friday. Bank of the Ozarks and RFR Realty provided the loan. It breaks down to a $138.5 million mortgage and a $97.5 million mezzanine loan, Bilzin Sumberg partner Jay Sakalo said. Jim Shindell, also of Bilzin, worked on the deal. At this stage in the real estate cycle, condo financing is the most difficult to secure, a group of experts…

CMX’s Dine-In Theater Due to Open at Brickell City Centre This Month

To compete with digital downloads and streaming services, theatrical movie presenters have begun to evolve. Old theaters are being retrofitted with fancy reclining seats and are offering moviegoers menu items like chicken wings. Meanwhile, new theaters opening in Miami are upping their games even further, adding chef-designed culinary experiences and unique cocktails by mixologists delivered right to viewers’ seats. Landmark Theatres recently opened its first luxury theater in the Southeast inside Merrick Park…

Tour CityPlace Doral’s retail and residential spaces

CityPlace Doral held their ribbon-cutting ceremony a few weeks ago, opening with 40 tenants in addition to luxury residences. The Arquitectonica-designed development is a collaboration between Shoma Group and The Related Group, encompassing 250,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, along with 700 luxury rental units. Among the entertainment draws are CinéBistro Theatre, Improve Comedy Club, and Kings America, with restaurants including BurgerFi, Gyu-Kaku Japanese BBQ, and IceBox Cafe.

Casino Giant Genting’s plans for 300-room hotel wait

Miami-Dade County commissioners deferred legislation Tuesday to approve a joint development at the county’s Omni Bus terminal and access to the Adrienne Arsht Center Metromover station in which Malaysian casino giant Genting plans a 300-room hotel over the bus terminal. The resolution is to be discussed at the next commission meeting April 18. The development contract would include air rights over the real property for the Department of Transportation and Public Works. Awarding the contract would bring…

The troubles at the American mall are coming to a boil

A fresh round of distress signals sounded in the retail industry this week, as another big-name chain announced hundreds of new store closings and still others moved aggressively to recalibrate their businesses for the online shopping stampede. Payless ShoeSource filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and outlined plans to immediately close nearly 400 of its 4,400 stores globally. Ralph Lauren is shuttering its flagship Polo store, a foot-traffic magnet located on tony 5th Avenue in Manhattan, the latest step in a massive cost-cutting…

Banyan Street, Oaktree Capital cinch $100 million refi for Douglas Entrance in Coral Gables

Banyan Street Capital and a Oaktree Capital Management fund just closed on a $100 million refinance of Douglas Entrance (birdseye aerial view), an office complex in Coral Gables. The floating rate loan was secured on the heels of completing a $7 million renovation to the five-building, Class A office property at 800 South Douglas Road. The Blackstone Group is the lender, according to CBRE. Christian Lee, Amy Julian and José Lobón of CBRE’s South Florida Capital Markets team arranged the financing.

President Trump Floats New Tourism Crackdown That Could Devastate Miami’s Economy

Thanks to President Donald Trump, the nation is already expected to lose $1.6 billion in tourism from Mexican travelers, who are skipping the States and flying to Canada, according to some analysts. On a local level, economic analysts worry that the so-called Trump effect from his xenophobic rhetoric and attempted Muslim bans is also discouraging Latin American tourists from venturing onto U.S. soil. In most U.S. cities, this news would be sad but not crippling. In Miami, where tourism and international investment make up…

Chinese Now The Largest Group Of Foreign Investors In U.S. Commercial Real Estate

Chinese investors were the single largest group of foreign investors in commercial real estate in the U.S. last year, with deal volumes reaching a record high of $19.2 billion, up 10% from $17.3 billion in 2015, according to a new report from Cushman & Wakefield. Chinese investment made up about 29% of total foreign investment in U.S. commercial real estate, ahead of Canada, the second largest foreign investor, which invested $13.1 billion. In a rush to diversify holdings and hedge against a slowing economy and depreciating…

$30 Million Industrial Lease Renewal Secured

The lease renewal at the Medley Logistics Park is one of the largest to occur in South Florida in several years.

Agreement on Airbnb Inc. doesn’t cover regulatory issues

Miami-Dade commissioners on Tuesday approved 10-3 an agreement between the tax collector and Airbnb Inc. for collecting the 2% tourist development room tax, 1% professional sports franchise facility tax and 3% convention development tax and directed the administration to negotiate similar agreements with other short-term room rental services. Tax revenue is estimated to be $6 million to $8 million yearly, according to Mayor Carlos Giménez. “Quality of life is paramount to all of us,” he said Tuesday.

Mana Wynwood’s Americas-Asia Trade Center to create 20,000 jobs

Over 10 million square feet Miami’s mega-development scene continues to roar. Within Mana Group’s enormous Special Area Plan in Wynwood that has been in the works for years is the introduction of the MANA Wynwood Americas-Asia Trade Center & International Financial Center (TCIFC), according to a press release. Encompassing over 10 million square feet, TCIFC would serve as the hub for all trade and business between Asia, Latin America, North America, and the Caribbean. It is expected to create…

Metrics are squeezing Miami-Dade’s hotel industry

Negative totals in three key performance metrics are squeezing Miami-Dade’s hotel industry, the most recent data from STR reveal. The national visitor industry data and analytics company’s most recent monthly data show that as of February, year-to-date occupancy here is down to 80.1%, a 2.7% drop from February year-to-date 2016. The report’s census included 422 hotels and 54,805 rooms in February, up from 404 hotels and 52,203 rooms in February 2016. The occupancy dip has pushed down average daily rates…

Miami’s Jungle Island sells for $60 million, to be renovated

Purchased by ESJ Capital Partners One of Miami’s most popular zoological parks has changed owners, with Jungle Island selling for $60 million to ESJ Capital Partners, a full-service asset management firm in Aventura. The 18-acre park on Watson Island will also undergo a three-phase renovation and expansion, while adding a private beach club. The first part will open this summer and include zip lines, children adventures, water slides, and a crystal lagoon. The banquet facilities and food and…

Here’s what SoFla real estate pros hope the Xi-Trump meeting at Mar-a-Lago will accomplish

In the run-up to his first meeting with Chinese president Xi Jinping at Mar-a-Lago this week, President Trump hinted on Twitter that the two world leaders would engage in some tough discussions. “The meeting next week with China will be a very difficult one in that we can no longer have massive trade deficits and job losses,” the president said in a series of tweets on March 30. “American companies must be prepared to look at other alternatives.

Bell USA Renews 343,000 Square Feet Lease in Medley Logistics Park

Bel USA LLC, a manufacturer, distributer and seller of coffee mugs and t-shirts, has renewed its full-building lease for 342,750 square feet at 12610 NW 115th Avenue in Miami, FL. The single-story, 5-Star distribution center was built in 2008 on 13 acres in the Medley Logistics Park, at the corner of NW 138th St. in Miami/Dade County. It features ESFR sprinkler, four drive-ins, 30-foot clear heights and 52-foot column spacing. David Albert of…

Consentino NA Leases 24,000 SF in Coral Gables

Consentino North America, a producer and distributor of surfaces for design and architecture, leased 23,923 square feet of office space at 355 Alhambra Cir. in Coral Gables, FL. The 224,241-square-foot office building was constructed in 2001 in South Florida’s Coral Gables submarket. Brian Gale, Jeannette Mendoza, Ryan Holtzman and Andrew Trench of Cushman & Wakefield represented the landlord. Justin Schultz of Gadinsky Real Estate represented…

Cleanup of Miami River tributaries to start in May

The long-awaited cleanup of Wagner Creek and Seybold Canal is expected to start next month, says Horacio Stuart Aguirre, Miami River Commission chairman. Cleanup of the long-polluted Miami River tributary comes two years after the city commission approved the Wagner Creek and Seybold Canal Maintenance Dredging and Environmental Cleanup Project. The city has lined up the permits and money for the $23 million dredging and cleanup, but a start has been delayed as the city procurement department wrangled…

Kimley-Horn Leases 16,000 SF in Coral Gables

Kimley-Horn signed a lease for 15,677 square feet in the office building at 355 Alhambra Circle in Coral Gables, Florida. The 16-story, 224,241-square-foot office building was built in 2001 on 1.2 acres in the Coral Gables submarket. Brian Gale, Ryan Holtzman, Andrew Trench and Jeannette Mendoza of Cushman & Wakefield represented the landlord…

Video: Chad Curry of The Center for REALTOR Technology Labs Discusses Emerging Technologies to Enhance the Enviroment of Commercial Properties

Chad Curry, Managing Director at the Center for Realtor® Technology, joins The Commercial Real Estate Show to discuss his organization.  Some highlights of this video include:
What the Center for Realtor® Technology (CRT Labs) does; How the Center for Realtor® Technology got started; The Internet of Things (IoT) and implications for commercial real estate; Air quality tracking devices (nitrous oxide, particular matter, dust); How such technology is evolving…

$30 Million Lease Renewal Speaks To Miami Industrial Trend

Medley Logistics Park just inked a $30 million long-term lease renewal. Industry watchers are calling it a testament to the region’s strong industrial market. The industrial park, a 670,000-square-foot three-building project is located in the Greater Miami area. Newmark Grubb Knight Frank executive managing directors Steven Medwin and Nick Wigoda represented the landlord. The post $30M Lease Renewal Speaks To Miami Industrial Trend appeared first on SVN South Commercial Real Estate…