PMG and Miami Parking Authority Announce New Green Initiative for Downtown Miami

Miami-based developer PMG announced a collaboration with the Miami Parking Authority (MPA) to create a new green community initiative in Downtown Miami. The two blocks of green space, located steps away from PMG’s recently launched Waldorf Astoria Residences Miami, will function as a transition from the city hardscape to a lush oasis that will exude nature, warmth and beauty, as well as encourage walkability. PMG and MPA have collaborated with international landscape architecture company Enea to curate the space design. 

“The new Green Initiative is part of PMG’s continued commitment to the city of Miami. We’re creating an inviting sanctuary in the center of this dynamic, energetic downtown,” said Ryan Shear, Managing Partner of PMG and developer of Waldorf Astoria Residences Miami. “The environment will be reflective of the welcoming experience we hope to instill throughout Waldorf Astoria Residences Miami and the surrounding neighborhood.”

Sponsored by PMG, the green space will beautify the centerline of Biscayne Boulevard, where a series of interconnected MPA parking lots currently sit along 3rd and 5th Streets. Aimed at enhancing the well-being of the Downtown community, the green installation will integrate parking with native trees and shrubs, inviting benches, decorative lighting and pavers. The design plans also include an elegant teahouse with beverages, pastries and other prepared food. 

“This project is a quality-of-life enrichment expected to foster a sense of place for the enjoyment of the community,” said Alex Argudin, Chief Executive Officer of the Miami Parking Authority. “We are pleased to collaborate with a world-class design team to create a green-space intervention that will foster social interaction and a healthier lifestyle.”

This announcement follows the commencement of sales of the highly anticipated Waldorf Astoria Residences Miami, which is the brand’s debut in the Miami market. Developed by PMG, Toronto-based private equity firm Greybrook Realty Partners and S2 Development, the hotel and residential tower will rise 1,049 feet as the tallest U.S. residential and hotel tower south of New York City. The property will consist of 360 private residences as well as 205 guestrooms and suites within the five-star hotel and an array of signature spaces and culinary establishments. Waldorf Astoria Residences Miami will be located at 300 Biscayne Boulevard. 

By Katya Demina

New Urban Development Proposes View 29 With Affordable And Workforce Housing In Wynwood

New Urban Development, an affiliate of non-profit organization The Urban League of Greater Miami, has proposed View 29 in Wynwood. The residential project is located at 2901 NW 2nd Ave. and will offer a mix of affordable and workforce housing to help address the shortage of affordable housing in Miami. The 27,717 SF site was deeded by the county to New Urban Development in 2020 in exchange for the development of affordable and workforce housing.

View 29 is designed by MC+G Architecture and will rise 12-stories, offering 116 apartment units, 105 parking spaces and 6,910 SF of ground floor retail. The unit mix is expected to offer 30 studios, 18 one-bedroom units, 58 two-bedroom units and 10 three-bedroom units. Residences would range from 650 SF to 1,200 SF. Amenities will feature a pool, community room, childrens’ room, fitness center, yoga room, business center and a rooftop terrace with a solar panel canopy. The Wynwood Design Review Committee is scheduled to review the proposal on May 12.

Check Out The Newly Revealed Renderings Of Norman Foster-Designed Drivers Club Miami

New renderings have been revealed of Drivers Club Miami, a Norman Foster-designed private driving club with resort on 160-acres in Carol City, a neighborhood of Miami Gardens. The project was approved in 2018 although groundbreaking has been delayed by zoning agreements, environmental testing, design meetings and construction-preventing covenants. The project is being developed by 13 Pista LLC, led by Carlos de Narvaez Steuer and is estimated to cost $100 million.

Drivers Club Miami will feature a race circuit with 2.3 mile track in addition to a luxury resort with hotel, retail and restaurants which will be open to the public. The Miami Drivers club track, clubhouse and vehicle storage and maintenance facilities will be private for members only.

Miami-Dade County signed a $33.4 million, 30 year lease for 140 acres of land below-market rate at 20000 NW 47th Ave. for the project. The lease began on August 1, 2018 and has two 30-year extension options. The county will also provide $2 million to the developer via subsidies in order to help the project create 220 jobs on the property. In exchange for waiving the competitive bidding process, the developer will build public improvements for Miami Gardens including a new public bicycle course and capital contributions to support a new on-site fire station and Florida Memorial University. The entire project is estimated to cost roughly $100 million.

Miami Beach Issues Request For Letters Of Interest For Developers To Develop Lincoln Road City Owned Lots

The City of Miami Beach has issued a request for letters of interest from developers to develop three city-owned lots on the north side of Lincoln Road. Miami Beach is seeking a developer to build class A office buildings with on-site parking garages via a public-private partnership with the city with the goal of creating a business district to help diversify Miami Beach’s economy which is heavily reliant on tourism and hospitality. The properties are currently operated as parking lots located at 1664 Meridian Ave., another between Lenox Avenue and Michigan Avenue, and a lot at the southwest corner of 17th Street and Lenox Avenue. The development sites span a total of 3.35 acres can be combined to develop up to 383,439 square feet of office space. Voters would still have to approve any project on city owned land through a referendum. Developers must submit letters of intent by 3 PM on January 11.

Miami Heat Star Udonis Haslem And Magellan Housing Score Approval To Build Wynwood Works On City Owned Land

A partnership between Haslem Housing Ventures, led by Miami Heat star Udonis Haslem, and the Coral Gables-based Magellan Housing, have received approval from Miami’s Omni Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) to build Wynwood Works, a 12-story mixed-use apartment project in Wynwood. Wynwood Works will be built on city owned land at 2035 North Miami Avenue.

The development partnership will receive a land grant from the CRA valued at $6.5 million at no charge and a contribution of $9.9 million cash grant in exchange for 50 years of income restrictions on the apartments. The total project costs are estimated at $39.9 million and with the grands provided by the CRA the development partnership will not need to seek Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC). In 2018 the Omni CRA committed $100 million to the development of affordable housing. The development partnership will restrict 10% of the units to those earning up to 30% of the area median income (AMI), an additional 10% of units to those earning up to 50% of AMI, another 10% to those earning up to 80% of AMI, 25% up to 120% of AMI and the remaining 45% for those earning up to 140% of AMI. The partnership will also share 45% of the annual rental income from the ground-floor retail.

Wynwood Works will rise 12-stories and will feature 104-units of mixed-income apartments on a 20,238 square foot site. The project is designed by MC+G Architecture and will feature a mural designed in partnership with the Miami Light Project and Bakehouse Art Complex. Wynwood Works will also feature 6,711 square feet of ground-floor retail, 102 parking spaces and a sixth-floor amenity deck which features a fitness room, co-working space, a community room and a garden. Apartments will range from 405 square foot studios to 1,150 square foot 3-bedroom layouts. The unit mix will be broken down by 42 studios, 43 one-bedroom units, 12 two-bedroom units and 7 three-bedroom units.

Amazon To Build Largest Distribution Center in South Florida After Scoring Approval From Miami-Dade County

Miami-Dade commissioners have voted unanimously to sell a vacant lot located at 13200 Southwest 272nd Street near the Homestead Air Reserve Base in South Miami-Dade County to Amazon for $22,056,853, clearing the way for Amazon to build a new distribution center to service South Florida. Amazon will invest $80 million into the property to build out the distribution center which will be a minimum of 1 million square feet and could become the largest in the region. The distribution center would be used to distribute products including food, produce and groceries. The facility is expected to create at lease 325 permanent full-time jobs with an annual salary of $32,000. 25% of the funds paid by Amazon to acquire the site will be dedicated to the Miami-Dade Affordable Housing Trust and the remaining funds will be allocated to the Homestead Air Reserve Base Fund. The South Miami-Dade facility would be the 4th distribution center used by Amazon in the South Florida region.

The Grand Hyatt Selected as Flag for New Miami Beach Convention Center Hotel

The development team behind Miami Beach’s new Convention Center hotel announced today that the 800-room property will be operated by Hyatt under the luxury Grand Hyatt brand, when it opens to guests in 2023. Grand Hyatt Miami Beach will create a new hospitality option for visitors attending events at the adjacent Miami Beach Convention Center, which underwent a $600 million renovation that was completed last year, and will anchor the Convention Center District.

The new hotel will become the second Grand Hyatt property in Florida, joining Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay. Grand Hyatt hotels are designed to connect guests with iconic experiences, landmarks and cultural touchstones in captivating destinations around the world. Hallmarks of the brand include bold and vibrant design and architecture, elevated amenities and welcoming service that creates moments of more.

The hotel development is being led by David Martin of Terra and Jackie Soffer of Turnberry, whose plans for the hotel were overwhelmingly approved by Miami Beach voters in 2018. The 17-story hotel will be situated at the intersection of 17th Street and Convention Center Drive, within walking distance of the beachfront, Lincoln Road Mall, New World Symphony, The Bass Museum and The Fillmore Miami Beach.

“For years, Miami Beach has served as a global destination for arts, culture, shopping, dining and entertainment, but the City has lacked a true headquarters hotel for top-tier conventions and meetings,” said Martin and Soffer. “South Florida’s first Grand Hyatt hotel will maximize Miami Beach’s investment in its re-imagined Convention Center while bridging the physical gap that exists between the Convention Center District and surrounding neighborhoods.”

 Grand Hyatt Miami Beach will be designed by architect Bernardo Fort-Brescia and his firm, Miami-based Arquitectonica. The development team also includes partner Craig Robins of Dacra, who is the visionary behind the Miami Design District and helped revive Miami Beach’s Art Deco District in the 1990s; Stonehill Taylor, which is designing the hotel’s interior lobby and lounges, ballroom and meeting rooms, hotel rooms and all common areas; EOA, which is designing the pool deck hospitality features of the hotel; and Arquitectonica GEO, which is creating lush pedestrian promenades and landscapes.

Hotel features are expected to include 12 floors of guest rooms offering views of Miami Beach, two floors of meeting spaces and ballrooms that will complement the Convention Center, a resort-style pool deck with panoramic views, and limited retail space that will activate the district at street level. An elevated skybridge will enable event attendees to move freely between the hotel and Convention Center in a climate-controlled, art-filled corridor. 

Plans also include landscaped pedestrian promenades on surrounding streets, bike sharing stations, connectivity with public transit routes, dedicated ridesharing pick-up and drop-off zones, and direct access between the Convention Center and Lincoln Road. The project’s resiliency and sustainability measures include storm water management and reuse, flood risk mitigation, and the use of solar power – all of which are designed to ensure operational continuity during weather events.

“The Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau (GMCVB) joins Terra, Turnberry and The City of Miami Beach in welcoming the Grand Hyatt Miami Beach as the newly named brand for the 800-room headquarter hotel connected to the Miami Beach Convention Center,” said William D. Talbert, III, CDME, President of the GMCVB.  “Grand Hyatt Miami Beach makes it possible to better compete for citywide conventions which fuel jobs in our community and generates business for all of Greater Miami’s hotels and merchants. We look forward to the hotel ground-breaking which once completed will finalize the Miami Beach Convention Center District.” 

By Katya Demina

13th Floor Investments & Adler Group Lock Down $99 Million In Construction Financing For 2nd Tower At Link at Douglas

Miami-based real estate developers Adler Group and 13th Floor Investments have finalized a $99 million loan that will open the door to the construction of a second tower at Link at Douglas, a 7-acre master-planned development that will transform Miami-Dade County’s Douglas Road Metrorail Station into a mixed-use transit hub with residential, retail and commercial office uses. The loan, which was issued by Banco Santander and TD Bank, will help fund the construction of the 36-story multifamily building, which will include 421 rental apartments and 17,000 SF of ground-floor retail space.

Situated directly adjacent to the Douglas Road Metrorail Station at 3100 Douglas Road, the Arquitectonica-designed building will also feature a public plaza with connectivity to The Underline, a 10-mile-long linear park being built underneath the Metrorail tracks running from Downtown Miami to South Miami.

Construction of Tower 2 is expected to get underway this month (February 2020) and is expected to be completed in late 2022. Tower 1, a 22-story multifamily building designed by Corwil Architects with 312 rental apartments and 6,000 SF of retail space, broke ground in July 2019 and is slated for completion in 2021.

“The closing of this construction loan is a testament to our strong bank relationships and also signals the continued confidence in our latest transit-oriented development, as well as our ability to execute as a development team,” said Daryl Shevin, CFO of 13th Floor Investments.

“Link at Douglas will set a standard for urban living by catering to Miami-Dade’s evolving residents, who are looking for ways to avoid road congestion through public transit while seeking a more connected lifestyle,” said Jonathan Raiffe, Chief Operating Officer of Adler Group.

Link at Douglas is being developed through a collaboration with Miami-Dade County in which the developers have entered into a ground lease for publicly-owned land that will usher in privately-funded transit and infrastructure upgrades at a critical connection point within the County’s transit system. Link at Douglas’ mobility plan includes connectivity to Metrorail, County buses and municipal trolleys. Additionally, the development will incorporate over $17 million in public infrastructure improvements, including a fully renovated Metrorail station, a public plaza with active retail, and a section of The Underline. Link at Douglas marks the second partnership for 13th Floor Investments and Adler Group. The development team recently completed Motion at Dadeland, a 294-unit transit-oriented rental community adjacent to South Miami’s Dadeland North Metrorail Station, which opened to renters in April 2019.

Australia’s Plenary Group Submits Plans For Miami-Dade CivilCourthouse in Downtown Miami

Plenary Group, a Melbourne, Australian real estate development firm who was awarded the contract to build the new Miami-Dade Civil Courthouse in Downtown Miami, has submitted plans to the FAA for review. The proposal calls for a 435’ tower rising 23-stories and the developer plans to break ground by this May, 2020. In 2019 The Plenary Group was awarded a $267 million contract to design, build and operate Miami-Dade’s Civil Courthouse at 73 West Flagler Street on county owned land, replacing the 1928-era courthouse that was also the location of the infamous Al Capone trial. The courthouse will feature 46 courtrooms and 59 parking spaces.

Miami-Dade County has called the partnership between Miami-Dade County and the Plenary Group to be the first public-private partnership by the County. Plenary Group will use private funds and will both built and operate the facility with a 30-year contract which could be valued at nearly $27 million per year. The annual payments are performance based and Plenary Group must hit hurdles for operational and maintenance standards. Plenary Group will not start receiving payments until the courthouse is open and operational. HOK is the architect for the project and Tutor Perini is the contractor. Completion is expected in 2024.

Vertical Construction Underway At ROVR Development's Grand Station In Downtown Miami

Construction teams have passed the 6th floor of vertical construction at Grand Station Partners’ Grand Station apartment tower, located at 40 Northwest 3rd Street in Downtown Miami, also known as Parcel B. Grand Station Partners is a public-private development partnership led by ROVR Development and its principals Oscar Rodriguez and Ricardo Vadia. When complete Grand Station will rise 30-stories, 322’, and offer 300 rental units within walking distance of MiamiCentral Station, Virgin Trains (Brightline) and Metromover. Units will range in size from 463 SF to 957 SF and will come in studio, 1-bedroom and 2-bedroom floorplans. Grand Station will also offer 350 parking spaces and 5,000 SF of retail space. Amenities will include a pool deck with spa, fitness center, social area and rooftop deck. The building was designed by Zyscovich Architects and Ortega is the general contractor. The construction costs of the project are estimated to be roughly $50 million. Grand Station is expected to be completed in the Spring of 2021. ​​​​​​​