13th Floor and Adler Group Complete Phase 1 of Miami's Link at Douglas Transit-Oriented Development Where Coral Gables Meets Coconut Grove

A joint venture between Miami-based real estate developers 13th Floor Investments and Adler Group has completed the first phase of Link at Douglas, a 7-acre master planned development that has transformed Miami-Dade County’s Douglas Road Metrorail Station into a mixed-use transit hub at the confluence of Miami’s Coral Gables and Coconut Grove neighborhoods. Now complete and open to the public, the project’s first phase encompasses two residential towers with a total of 733 apartment units – the 312-unit CORE and the 421-unit CASCADE buildings – and more than 30,000 square feet of Milam’s Market-anchored retail space. The developers are also completing more than $17 million in public infrastructure improvements, including a fully renovated Metrorail station, and the development of a public plaza that connects with a section of The Underline linear park.

13th Floor Investments is now moving forward with plans for Link at Douglas’ second and final phase, which will encompass an additional two residential towers with approximately 850 multifamily units. Construction of Phase Two is estimated to get underway in late 2023.

Link at Douglas is the latest example of a successful public-private collaboration with Miami-Dade County in which the developers have entered into a ground lease for publicly-owned land in exchange for 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. All told, Link at Douglas is expected to generate $800 million in new revenue for Miami-Dade County over the life of the lease.

“As Miami-Dade County’s population continues to experience rapid growth, we need to come up with forward thinking ways to reduce road congestion and that begins with connecting people with alternative forms of transit,” said Arnaud Karsenti, Managing Principal of 13th Floor Investments. “We’re extremely proud of our partnership with the County with Link at Douglas, which is setting a new standard for urban living in Miami, improving access to jobs, attainable housing opportunities, everyday amenities, and lifestyle-oriented retail for our residents and neighbors.”

The completion of Link at Douglas’ first phase was commemorated at a celebratory event on Monday, February 27, 2023. The ceremony was led by Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Cava, Director of Public Works Eulois Cleckley, Commissioner Raquel Regalado, and principals from the project’s development team.

“Link at Douglas is a model for the future of development and mobility in Miami-Dade County. The project will enable more residents to live, work and play without having to worry about traffic or parking, while helping to offset expenses, reduce emissions and promote increased ridership on our Metrorail system,” said Eulois Cleckley, Director and CEO of the Department of Transportation and Public Works for Miami-Dade County.

Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office Leases 50K SF Of Office Space In River Landing Shops & Residences

Miami-Dade County on behalf of the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office has leased nearly 50,000 SF in Urban-X Group’s recently delivered River Landing Shops & Residences. The Offices of State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle have entered a 20-year lease to occupy an entire floor, 49,379 SF. The lease will consume nearly one-third of the 135,000 SF of Class-A office space at the Offices at River Landing which is located at 1400 NW North River Drive, on the Miami River just west of Downtown Miami.

The demand for office space in an environment where people can live, work, shop, enjoy world-class dining experiences and arrive to work by boat has fueled leasing activity in River Landing in recent months. Recently, River Landing signed a 2,100 SF lease with David Sutta Photography and Clutch Video.

“We are beginning to see a demand for office space that goes beyond our supply,” said Andrew Hellinger, co-principal with Urban-X Group, the developer of River Landing. “We are very grateful to our elected officials because they are working hard to attract companies to Miami and create demand for office space. We all benefit from public policies that fuel job growth and boost our local economy.”

The office tower at River Landing is a LEED certified office building and, in case of an emergency, it will provide a full-service commercial generator to keep the building operating without interruption. Office tenants have access to a private 17,000 SF outdoor plaza that can serve as a central gathering place as well as an array of national and local retail shops and chef-driven, fast casual and upscale restaurants, an 850’ waterfront linear park, and green space to enjoy.

The State Attorney’s Office, which will be relocating from Civic Park Plaza at 1469 NW 13th Terrace, serves and protects Miami-Dade residents by prosecuting felony and misdemeanor crimes that occur within its jurisdiction. It is the largest prosecutor’s office in Florida and the fourth largest in the United States with 1,200 employees.

“This was the culmination of many years of hard work by the County Mayor’s Office, County Commission, and the County's Internal Services Department,” Hellinger added. “They assisted the state attorney in finding suitable office space while staying within the courthouse district. Retaining the law firm in the district highlights River Landing’s economic impact on the area.”

River Landing is an 8.14-acre mixed-use development along the vibrant Miami River. The 2.5 million SF River Landing consists of approximately 360,000 SF feet of retail/commercial space, 135,000 SF of office, 528 market-rate apartments, more than 2,000 parking spaces and a landscaped Riverwalk.

River Landing is home to national and regional retailers and restaurants including Publix Supermarkets, Ross Dress For Less, Burlington Stores, Hobby Lobby, Five Below, Chase Bank, AT&T, Planet Fitness, Old Navy, Ulta Beauty, Sapphire Prive Med Spa, Pediatric Dental Center, Aspen Dental, Chick-fil-A, Lime Fresh Mexican Grill, Ficelle Boulangerie & Pâtisserie, Tanuki, and more.

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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-Dade County And Related Urban Development Group Break Ground on Three Round Towers

Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez,  Chairwoman Audrey M. Edmonson and Related Urban Development Group (RUDG) have celebrated the ground-breaking of Three Round Towers B&C and Brisas del Este, an affordable housing development encompassing three buildings for a combined total of 383 units in the Allapattah area of Miami-Dade County. They were joined by a special guest on this occasion, the Honorable Dr. Benjamin S. Carson, Secretary for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The Three Round Towers development was originally built in 1970 on approximately 6.98 acres and included three towers (Towers A, B and C), a Community Center and parking for residents. Tower A was substantially renovated in 2018 by Related Urban. The current renovations are focused on the major rehabilitation of Towers B and C along with the construction of Brisas del Este, a new 120-unit affordable housing project. RUDG, the affordable housing arm of prolific developer Related Group, will serve as Miami-Dade County’s developer partner. 

The rehabilitation of the two existing towers and the new construction of Brisas Del Este will result in stylish, well-appointed residences tailor made to serve a primarily senior population through elevated accessibility options. The projects will serve residents from 30% area median income (AMI) up to 80% AMI and will be completed in the beginning of 2022.

“By fully leveraging multiple financing sources, our County is paving the way more for smart projects that create vital affordable housing for our residents,” said Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez. “Miami-Dade’s public-private partnership with Related Urban Development Group has been a key component leading to the success of this particular project, and I look forward to the County’s continuing wise use of P3’s moving forward.”

The total development cost for the three buildings is more than $106 million. The layering of financing makes this development the largest of its kind in the nation  utilizing Opportunity Zone Funds ($24 million) in combination with other federal and HUD resources, such as Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC), Rental Assistance Demonstration funding (RAD), Home Investment Partnerships (HOME) from the City of Miami, and a Purchase Money Mortgage (PMM) of $18 million from Miami-Dade County to the developer. County and State surtax funds are also being invested in the project. More importantly, the Opportunity Zone investment of $24 million was made by personally by Related Group CEO Jorge M. Peréz.

“The redevelopment of Three Round Towers and the addition of Brisas Del Este leverages the widest range of financing available in affordable housing development,” said Albert Milo, Jr President of RUDG. “It is truly a first-of-its-kind project made possible by our partners at the County, who we have worked with over a dozen times to create transformative affordable housing solutions across Miami-Dade. Through collaborations like this, we are able to continue making a real difference for the residents of the communities we build in.”

“With this project we are proving that Opportunity Zone funding is scalable for major affordable housing developments,” said Michael Liu, Director for Miami-Dade Public Housing and Community Development (PHCD). Liu continued, “With a visionary like Jorge Perez and extraordinary builder in Albert Milo, our plan to transform all of our public housing with private sector partners will succeed.” 

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.

Douglas Elliman Releases June 2020 New Signed Contracts Report for Florida

Douglas Elliman in conjunction with Miller Samuel, a leading independent appraisal firm, has released its second monthly recurring report for June 2020. The report focuses on the new contracts signed and new listings that entered the rapidly changing market in Douglas Elliman’s Florida regions of Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Pinellas, and Hillsborough. Overall, there was a surge in new signed contracts far exceeding year-ago levels, with excess demand coming from the Northeast. However, new inventory level gains have not kept pace with the growth in new contracts.

New contracts and new listings for each property type have been broken out by eight price tranches depending on regional pricing, on a year to year basis. Douglas Elliman will release a similar report to this one once again during the first week of August to disclose data regarding the number of new contracts signed and new listings during the month of July.

Palm Beach County

Key Trend Metrics (Year to Year)

Single Family:

• Number of new signed contracts soared 71.3% to 4,261 contracts

• Listing inventory dropped 19.9% to 1,604 units

• 642 single family homes priced above $1M went into contract, a 114.7% increase from last year

Condo:

• Number of new signed contracts jumped 76.0% to 2,626 contracts

• Listing inventory surged 4.2% to 1,175 units

• Condos priced between $200K and $299K saw a 107.6% incline in the number of signed contracts for a total of 467 

Broward County

Key Trend Metrics (Year to Year)

Single Family:

• Number of new signed contracts rose 76.1% to 4,336 contracts

• Listing inventory decreased by 27.0% to 1,622 units

• There was a 123.2% increase in the number of signed contracts for homes priced between $600K and $799K 

Condo:

• Number of new signed contracts surged 61.4% to 3,154 contracts

• Listing inventory fell 14.2% to 1,403 units

• 78 condos priced between $500K and $599K went into contract, a 116.7% jump from last year

Miami-Dade County

Key Trend Metrics (Year to Year)

Single Family:

• Number of new signed contracts edged up 74.3% to 3,955 contracts

• Listing inventory dropped 25.0% to 1,426 units

• There were 172 homes priced between $800K and $99K that went into contract, a 123.4% increase from last year for similarly priced homes

Condo:

• Number of new signed contracts climbed 54.6% to 4,093 contracts

• Listing inventory slipped 4.0% to 1,918 units

• 643 condos priced between $200K and $299K went into contract compared to last year’s 344

Pinellas County

Key Trend Metrics (Year to Year)

Single Family:

• Number of new signed contracts surged 95.9% to 2,897 contracts

•  Listing inventory decreased by 26.9% to 1,031 units

• There was a 148.8% rise in homes priced between $500K and $599K that went into contract

Condo:

• Number of new signed contracts increased by 93.4% to 1,408 contracts

• Listing inventory fell 12.0% to 512 units

• 28 condos priced between $800K and $999K went into contract, a 250.0% surge from last year’s 8

Hillsborough County

Key Trend Metrics (Year to Year)

Single Family: 

• Number of new signed contracts rose 98.2% to 4,524 contracts

• Listing inventory declined 32.1% to 1,550 units

• There was a 223.9% jump in the number of new signed contracts for homes priced at or above $1M

Condo:

• Number of new signed contracts grew 124.0% to 616 contracts

• Listing inventory declined 18.9% to 223 units

• Condos priced at or above $1M saw a drastic increase of 1633.3% in the number of new signed contracts for a total of 52

by Isabella Zimmermann

Douglas Elliman Releases May 2020 New Signed Contracts Report for Florida

Douglas Elliman in conjunction with Miller Samuel, a leading independent appraisal firm, has just released its May 2020 New Signed Contracts Report, which reveals that the number of newly signed contracts across property types in Florida was at a high last month, despite there being lower levels of new listing inventory coming online. The Florida report includes the five counties of Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Pinellas, and Hillsborough, focusing on the new contracts signed and new listings that entered the Florida Market during the entire month. The regions are broken up by two property types: single family and condo, as well as county, borough, or area. New contracts and new listings for each property type have been broken out by eight price tranches depending on regional pricing, on a year to year basis. Douglas Elliman will be producing a monthly recurring report similar to this one during the first week of each month to cover the prior month’s number of new contracts signed and new listings to provide a data-driven picture of the rapidly changing market.

Palm Beach County

Overview:

• Despite lower levels of new listing inventory coming online, the number of new signed contracts across property types pressed higher

Key Trend Metrics (Year to Year)

Single Family:

• Number of new signed contracts for homes jumped 27.7% to 3,444 contracts 

• Listing inventory dropped 37.9% to 1,381 units

• There was a 49.3% decline in the number of new listings for homes priced below $200K

Condo: 

• Number of new signed contracts for condos increased by 16.6% to 2,033 contracts

• Listing inventory declined 28.7% to 906 units

• 111 condos priced above $1M went into contract, a 40.5% increase from the number of condos that went into contract in May 2019

Broward County

Overview: 

• There was a larger rise in overall single family new signed contracts than for overall condo new signed contracts

Key Trend Metrics (Year to Year)

Single Family:

• Number of new signed contracts rose 33.4% to 3,499 contracts

• Listing inventory slipped 42.3% to 1,389 units

• Listing inventory dropped by 66.4% for homes priced below $200K to 48 units

Condo:

• Number of new signed contracts increased by 19.2% to 2,491 contracts

• Listing inventory dropped 35.1% to 1,108 units 

• 89 condos priced at or above $1M went into contract, a 50.8% increase from last year  

Miami-Dade County

Overview:

• Despite the significant drop in single family and condo new listings during the spring, a noticeable uptick began in May

Key Trend Metrics (Year to Year)

Single Family:

• Number of new signed contracts rose 36.2% to 3,284 contracts

• Listing inventory declined 40.7% to 1,232 units

• Listing inventory for homes priced below $200K saw a 60.6% decline

Condo:

• Number of new signed contracts edged up 4.1% to 3,058 contracts

• Listing inventory dropped 42.6% to 1,386 units

• There were 91 new listings for condos priced between $600K to $799K, a 52.4% drop from last year’s 191 new listings for similarly priced condos  

Pinellas County

Overview:

• Along with the atypical drop in new listings introduced to the market this spring, new contract signings surged for both single families and condos

Key Trend Metrics (Year to Year)

Single Family:

• Number of new signed contracts surged 45.3% to 2,519 contracts

• Listing inventory decreased by 33.4% to 974 units

• Homes priced at or above $1M saw a 100.0% surge in the number of new signed contracts for a total of 132

Condo:

• Number of new signed contracts rose 32.3% to 1,143 contracts

• Listing inventory fell 34.9% to 443 units

• 25 condos priced between $800K to $999K went into contract, a 108.3% increase from last year

Hillsborough County

Overview:

• There was a significant surge in new signed contracts for both single family and condo properties as listing inventory remained slow to enter the spring market

Key Metrics (Year to Year)

Single Family:

• Number of new signed contracts increased by 66.6% to 4,266 contracts

• Listing inventory slipped 37.5% to 1,594 units 

• 200 homes priced between $600K to $799K went into contract, a jump of 124.7% from last year 

Condo: 

• Number of new signed contracts rose 53.2% to 521 contracts

• Listing inventory fell 25.0% to 216 units

• There was a 425.0% rise in homes priced at or above $1M that went into contract

By Isabella Zimmermann

Malls Across Miami Are Reopening Today As Miami Enters Phase 1 Of Reopening From The COVID-19 Shutdown

“Although we live in a city without seasons, this feels like Spring,” said Miami Design District visionary Craig Robins as Miami enters Phase 1 of its reopening plan. As per approval by Governor Ron DeSantis, Miami-Dade and Broward County can begin to reopen as of today, May 18, 2020, following the COVID-19 lockdown that has marred the United States since early March. Golf courses and marinas opened several weeks ago with restrictions, and now retail, restaurants, barbershops and salons may open - with restrictions. Bars, nightclubs, movie theaters and beaches are not part of the Phase 1 reopening plan and have no set reopen date.

Following the opening of Palm Beach County over the past several weeks, malls in Miami are welcoming back patrons in Miami Design District, Brickell City Centre, Bal Harbour Shops and Aventura Mall, in addition to Broward County’s Sawgrass Mills mall leading the charge. While the malls may be open, individual businesses within them are making their own decisions as to which day and how they will relaunch operations. Robins indicated that Miami Design District will see most of their tenants open by Wednesday, May 20 along with parking, public art and centralized services. Shoppers will also be able to pick up a mask at any MDD information desk. Bal Harbour Shops and Brickell City Centre opened May 18.

Restaurant openings have been a hot topic of discussion as they begin opening their dine-in services back up at 50% capacity and with six foot social distancing between parties. Bar counters are closed to seating and a maximum of four people can be seated at a table unless they are members of the same household, which are capped at six. Patrons must wear face masks when they are not at their table and employees must wear masks at all times. All menus must be single use and restrooms must limit their capacity to one person at a time. Retail has similar restrictions limiting capacity to 50% and requiring all customers and employees to wear a mask at all times.

Authorities will monitor and assess how Phase 1 of reopening progresses over the next several weeks before approving a move to Phase 2 or instituting new restrictions to help stop the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Residents at Icon Brickell Host Parties As David Guetta Plays "United At Home" Set On Pool Deck Despite COVID-19 Social Gathering LIMits

In what was supposed to be an evening of fundraising and hope, a backlash has now swept through the Miami community. On April 18 David Guetta teamed up with the Miami Downtown Development Authority to host a 2 hour “United at Home” fundraising concert on the pool deck of Icon Brickell. The event raised over $6 million with over 30,000 listeners on instagram and in many ways was a huge success. Unfortunately many residents hosted parties in violation of Miami-Dade’s 10 person social gathering limit, issued by County Mayor Carlos Gimenez to help stop the spread of COVID-19, the effects of which have wreaked havoc on Florida’s economy. In one example videos have emerged with the help of the popular instagram account @OnlyInDade of a Miami entrepreneur hosting a large party on his balcony with guests not practicing social distancing and most wearing no masks and no gloves. The backlash in the comments on the instagram post has continued to grow as Brickell and Downtown Miami residents are enraged that they are now exposed to the dangers of the virus continuing to spread in their community. In March, hotels, restaurants, bars and nightclubs were ordered shut down in an effort to stop Florida from growing into a hotbed of infection. Parties have been identified as one of the major ways that COVID-19 has spread rapidly across the United States, at least 2 deaths have been reported from attendees who contracted the virus at the Winter Party Festival in Miami Beach in March.

The State of Florida is working hard to open up the states economy and get residents back to work. On Friday April 17 governor Ron Desantis gave the green light for some beaches and parks to reopen including in Jacksonville, but not Miami-Dade, which is one of the most populated regions in the state. The beaches which have opened allow walking, biking, hiking, fishing, running, swimming and surfing. They are only open from 6 AM to 11 AM and 5 PM to 8 PM. with gatherings of 50 people still prohibited state wide and proper social distancing practiced. Florida has over 23,300+ diagnosed cases of COVID-19 including 7,459+ in Miami-Dade, 3,177+ in Broward County and 1,704+ in Palm Beach County.

Miami-Dade Orders All Hotels And Short-Term Rentals To Shut Down Due To COVID-19

Miami-Dade County and the City of Miami Beach have ordered all hotels, motels and short-term rentals to begin immediately shutting down and vacate their guests, with full-closure by 11:59 PM on Monday, March 23. The announcement comes as Miami’s next step in curbing the spread of COVID-19 which has now surpassed 560 cases in Florida and over 123 in Miami-Dade. The move also comes to help dissipate the spring break crowds, many of whom have written off any care of the virus and are in Miami “to party.”

“Our hotels have always been the lifeblood of our economy, so shuttering them is not something to do impulsively. But right now, as painful as it may be, the reality is we just cannot be a tourist destination,” said Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber. “Attracting visitors and tourists is just utterly incompatible with social distancing. For the many amazing operators and employees who are impacted, and the families that rely upon them, we are so sorry that you will feel this most acutely and we will advocate for whatever relief will be available at the state and federal level. These decisions were made collaboratively with County Mayor Gimenez, our City Manager Jimmy Morales and after input from all of our Miami Beach City Commissioners.”

The closures will apply to all hotels, motels, apartment-hotels, hostels, dormitories, and vacation and short-term rentals in Miami-Dade County. Miami Beach will also enforce a curfew from 12 A.M. to 5 A.M. Acqualina Resort in Sunny Isles Beach and Coral Gables’ historic Biltmore Hotel both closed in advance of the announcement as reports of layoffs in the hotel and hospitality industry continue to grow. Last week Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez issued an executive order to shut down all non-essential business’ including restaurants, retail stores, nightclubs, casinos, gyms, public parks and beaches.