Museum of Ice Cream Set To Open Permanent Location In Miami Worldcenter In Early 2024

Get ready to satisfy your sweet tooth, as Museum of Ice Cream (MOIC), an inclusive and interactive environment dedicated to all things ice cream, is gearing up to open a permanent Miami location in early 2024. Known for its whimsical exhibits that energize the senses, MOIC will return to the Magic City at the new Miami Worldcenter development in the heart of Downtown Miami, located steps from Miami’s Kaseya Center, home of the Miami Heat.

In 2017, MOIC appeared in Miami Beach as a limited-time pop-up that was scheduled to last only two months, but created such high demand that it was extended several times, lasting a total of six months. In November 2022, it returned for one weekend as an ice cream paradise pop-up pool party at the adults-only boutique property, Hotel Greystone.

MOIC’s new 14,000+-square-foot permanent location at Miami Worldcenter will be designed by the MOIC in-house team, along with the use of AI technology, bringing the same sense of child-like joy and wonderment experienced at MOIC’s previous highly successful pop-ups.

The multi-platform, immersive experience will span two floors transporting guests into a world of surprise and delight, fostering human connection through the shared love of ice cream. It will feature 10 unique, interactive installations inspired by the energy and vibrancy of Miami, including the Cream Liner, a luxury airliner experience inspired by the 60s and 70s; Mary-E’s Diner, a retro-futurism inspired hub and gathering place for ice cream-themed drinks and food; and The Hall of Freezers, an exploratory space filled with dozens of mysterious refrigerator doors that are sure to peak curiosity; and of course, MOIC’s iconic sprinkle pool. A feast for all the senses, guests will enjoy unlimited sweet treats from five stations during a 60-90 minute journey, led by talented #TeamMOIC performers.

“We’re thrilled to have a permanent home for Museum of Ice Cream in Miami,” said Museum of Ice Cream Co-Founder and CEO, Maryellis Bunn. “Miami is a vibrant city known for its culture, love of fun, and artistic creativity. We’re excited to join the city’s growing Downtown, surrounded by popular destinations like the Wynwood Arts District, the Design District, and the Brickell Financial District. It is such a natural fit for us as we continue to grow and expand, and we can’t wait to share our playful and interactive exhibits with the local community and visitors from around the world.”

Miami Worldcenter is a new $6 billion mixed-use destination in Downtown Miami. The 27-acre development spans ten city blocks with a diverse mix of residential, commercial, and hospitality uses complemented by an array of retail, restaurant, and entertainment options.

“Such a fun and unique concept like Museum of Ice Cream will without a doubt be a treat for Downtown Miami locals and visitors alike,” said Nitin Motwani, Managing Partner of Miami Worldcenter Associates. “The Museum will not only enhance the city’s status as a global arts and culture destination but will also be a wonderful complement to Miami Worldcenter’s various entertainment options. We are thrilled to become the home of Museum of Ice Cream’s first permanent Miami location.”

“Museum of Ice Cream has set a new standard for creative experiences at a time when people are drawn to places where they can find innovative and memorable activities,” said Shaul Kuba, Co-Founder and Principal, CIM Group, partner in Miami Worldcenter and leader of CIM’s leasing platform. “Through our work with Museum of Ice Cream at other locations, we have seen first-hand the allure of the Museum and its contagious positive energy.”

Slated to open in early 2024, MOIC will debut at Miami Worldcenter at 851 NE 1st Avenue (Unit #134) along the development’s pedestrian promenade between 1st and 2nd Avenues.

Renderings via Museum of Ice Cream and Miami Worldcenter

The Estate Companies Obtains Site Plan Approval For Soleste on the Bay Luxury Waterfront Rental Development

The Estate Companies (EIG) has obtained unanimous site plan approval for Soleste on the Bay, a 759,439 square-foot, 28-story luxury waterfront rental community with 363 units, 17,000 square feet of commercial space and 645 parking spaces at 16375 Biscayne Blvd. in North Miami Beach. The city commission voted unanimously in favor of the project on Aug. 16th. Groundbreaking is slated for Q4 2022. The Estate Companies was represented by Land Use Counsel, Ethan Wasserman, of Greenberg Traurig, LLP.

This is The Estate Companies’ second major investment in North Miami Beach. Located directly next door to Soleste on the Bay, construction is underway on Soleste NoMi Beach, a 23-story rental community with 367 units and 2,708 square feet of ground floor commercial space. The project broke ground in October 2021.

Tenants can select from a variety of studios, one-, two- and three-bedroom units ranging in size from approximately 550-1,250 square feet.

Like all projects within the Soleste Living brand portfolio, Soleste on the Bay will be a highly amenitized development with a vast collection of health and wellness offerings and social components, including a 10th floor amenity deck with two resort-style pools, spacious sundeck, game room, yoga room, spinning room, lounge, state-of-the-art fitness center and cinema.

The 2.15-acre waterfront property is located on the south side of the Royal Glades Canal with water views to the north and east. The site offers easy access to the 163rd Street Causeway, which connects to US-1 and A1A and all major arteries. The project is also in close proximity to Greynolds Park and within minutes to the beach and two of Florida’s premier shopping destinations, the Aventura Mall and legendary Bal Harbour Shops.

The Estate Companies is one of Florida’s largest and most active multifamily development firms with more than 4,000 rental units and 153,000 square feet of commercial space in the pipeline throughout the tri-county region. The firm recently completed and sold Miami’s first large-scale, ground-up opportunity zone development, Soleste Grand Central in Downtown Miami. Development is also nearing completion on Alture Westland, a hotel conversion in Hialeah, and Soleste Spring Gardens in Miami’s historic health district. The Estate Companies recently completed and sold Miami’s first large-scale opportunity zone development, Soleste Grand Central in Downtown Miami. In addition to two projects in North Miami Beach, the firm has projects in various stages of development in Dania Beach, Spring Gardens, Hollywood, Riviera Beach, Lauderhill, Pompano Beach and West Palm Beach, among others.

Artist Julio Larraz is Celebrated at the Coral Gables Museum with a Retrospective Exhibition and Related Events

On Wednesday, December 1st, the Coral Gables Museum opened the exhibition, ‘Julio Larraz: The Kingdom We Carry Inside’ in collaboration with the Julio Larraz Foundation. Taking over the main three temporary galleries of the Museum, the show is the first museum retrospective of Larraz in the United States and will be on view through April 30th, 2022.

On that evening, a special viewing of Larraz’s latest video, Astral Flight (2021) by Ari Larraz, Laura Furcic, and Las Animas Films was held in the Museum’s courtyard.

As part of Art Basel Miami Beach morning schedule of events, the Museum hosted a Brunch and Book Launch of Rizzoli’s retrospective publication ‘Julio Larraz: The Kingdom We Carry Inside’ on Saturday, December 4th. With 200 paintings, 50 works on paper, and 10 sculptures ranging from the 1960s to the present, this is the most comprehensive book on the artist to date.

“As it is customary now, the Museum organizes a brunch on the last day of Art Basel Miami Beach as part of the Fair’s morning schedule of events. For us, this collaboration is very important as it attracts other people than our regular public, and doubles the impact of our show,” said Jose Valdes-Fauli, Coral Gables Museum’s Chairman.

“This exhibition has been much-expected. We have received amazing feedback from the public, and the numbers speak by themselves - even when there was a lot to see in the city during Miami Art Week we had over 500 attendees on those two days alone. We are looking forward to many more successful events in the months to come,” said John R. Allen, Coral Gables Museum’s Executive Director.

The Museum has announced a series of Curator Tours led by Chief Curator Yuni Villalonga that will take place during Gallery Nights (the first Fridays of the month,) starting on January 7th, 2022.

“These tours will offer an additional insight on the artist. Beside interesting anecdotes and stories that couldn’t be captured in the exhibition, we will have available facsimile copies of important catalogues in Larraz’s career that the public will be able to check out during the tours,” says curator Yuni Villalonga and adds, “We will soon announce other upcoming related events.”

Artist Julio Larraz (b. Havana, Cuba, 1944) is one of the most influential figures in Latin American art today. Throughout a career of six decades, institutional recognition has gone hand in hand with the admiration and following of colleagues and many younger painters from all over the world that praise his mastery of technique, color and light, and the poetry and subtlety of his work.

The show gathers works that span from Larraz’s early days in New York, as a caricaturist for major newspapers and magazines such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Vogue, to the drawings, paintings and sculptures realized in New Mexico, Paris and Florence, as well as in Miami, where the artist currently lives and works. Pieces are drawn from private and public collections, as well as from the Larraz family collection and archives, to represent all themes, mediums and key time periods of the artist’s life and oeuvre.

“Among the selection, there are important works in the artist’s life and career, such as his 1969 depictions of spacecraft Apollo 11’s launch from Cape Kennedy, while being one of the few selected artists to witness the moment when humans first landed on the moon; or the painting that represents Larraz in the CINTAS Foundation’s collection after a 1975 Cintas Award,” says curator Yuni Villalonga.

Coral Gables Museum is located at 285 Aragon Avenue, Coral Gables, Florida.

Berkowitz Contemporary Foundation Reveals New Rene Gonzalez-Design Coming To Edgewater

The Berkowitz Contemporary Foundation has revealed new plans for their proposed Edgewater location at 2626 Biscayne Blvd., replacing a previous Arquitectonica-design with one by Rene Gonzalez Architects. The 45,000 SF foundation, which will be open for free public access, will feature its contemporary art collection on display in addition to a selection of sculptures indoors and in the outdoor plaza. The building will be built from cast concrete with a modern, cantilevering design. On display with be Richard Serra’s 180-foot-long “Passage of Time,” which will be placed in the outdoor plaza and will be visible to pedestrians and motorists. The building is also specially designed to house James Turrell’s “Aten Reign” light sculpture with uses a skylight above. The Berkowitz Contemporary Art Foundation is still in talks with the city and plans have not yet been submitted for review following the city’s rejection of the Arquitectonica-design on the grounds it did not adhere to Miami 21 Zoning Codes. A tentative groundbreaking is slated for 2020 with completion in 2023.

“The Berkowitz Contemporary Foundation’s announcement signals Miami’s ongoing evolution into a world-class destination for art and culture,” said Miami Mayor Francis Suarez. “This innovative space will serve as a valued addition to Miami’s rich creative landscape, and make extraordinary works of art accessible to the community.”

Legal Battle Over Gary Nader’s Latin American Art Museum Proposal Continues with Miami Dade College

Gary Nader, a local art collector with a gallery in Wynwood, is not giving up on his battle to build an art museum in downtown Miami to display his personal collection. Nader wants to develop the Latin American Art Museum, which would also house condos upstairs, on prime property at 520 Biscayne Boulevard. His collection features artists like Botero, Matisse, and Picasso.

The land Nader bid on is currently owned by Miami Dade College and is utilized as a parking lot for students. It was valued at $125 million as of three years ago. The college rejected Nader’s proposal for the museum, as well as a competing proposal submitted by Jorge Perez, Chairman and CEO of Related Group. When Nader sued the college for public records violation, a judge ruled that Miami Dade College didn’t violate the law, but still ordered the college to turn over all documents requested by Nader related to the bidding process. Now, the two parties are fighting over $1.7 million accrued in legal fees, which Miami Dade College calls unnecessary and frivolous. The attorney for Miami Dade College told judge Thomas Rebull that those “public funds should have been used for educational purposes—your tax dollars and mine.”

Nader spent $4 million developing his plan in collaboration with Mexican architect Fernando Romero, who designed Mexico City’s Soumaya Museum, which was also funded by a private investor. Still, Nader remains hopeful. Given the prestige and size of his collection with over 150 of Latin America’s most important artists, he thinks, “It would be a project that would be visited by everybody who comes to this city, without a doubt.”

Article By: Katya Demina

The Aranguren + Gallegos Arquitectos-Designed Institute of Contemporary Art Miami Opens In Miami Design District

Miami's brand new Institute of Contemporary Art has officially opened its doors in the Miami Design District right in time for Art Basel. The metal-faced building was designed by Madrid-based architectural firm Aranguren + Gallegos Arquitectos, their first project in the United States. To create the facade the architects used geometric metal panels to create a "magnetic" appeal to attract visitors along with a cove lighting system to illuminate the metal-clad face at night. Each gallery features double-height ceilings and overlook the sculpture garden via floor-to-ceiling glass. The sculpture garden will also be used to host events and talks. The back of the museum features a sculpture garden. The museum has a free-admission policy. ICA Miami previously operated from the historic Moore Building, also located in Miami Design District which is being developed by Craig Robins as a neighborhood that fuses high-end luxury shopping with art, culture and eduction. ICA Miami sits on land donated by Robins adjacent to the De La Cruz Collection on NE 41st Street. Norman Braman, the iconic Miami car dealer, and his wife Irma, who chairs the board of trustees at ICA Miami, provided the funds to cover most of the cost of the museum. The museum will first feature over 100 works by more than 50 artists with a show called "The Everywhere Studio." The institute joins a group of privately-owned museums in Miami including the Margulies Collection at the Warehouse, the Rubell Family Collection, the Cisneros Fontanels Art Foundation and the adjacent De La Cruz Collection. 

Photography is by Iwan Baan.