The Mess At Melreese Golf Club Gets Worse As Miami Freedom Park Gets Delayed Again

There is just no telling where the supposed deal to bring a professional soccer stadium to Miami will end up after Miami city commissioners voted on Tuesday to continue negotiations with the group, led by Jorge Mas of MasTec, in regards to the projected $1 billion mixed-use office and retail project. Although Miami has a state-of-the-art stadium in Hard Rock Stadium, Inter Miami CF has decided that they need a dedicated soccer stadium to accommodate what are expected to be masses of fans, albeit one that is decidedly much smaller than the capacity Hard Rock Stadium could accommodate. It was proposed to voters that they could “vote to bring a soccer stadium to Miami along with a public park” where the public Melreese Golf Course currently operates, which passed in 2018.

Since then plans have changed significantly. The public park portion has been significantly scaled back to being a nearly non-existent part of the planned development. In fact, the 25,000 seat soccer stadium would potentially not even sit on the same lot if built. What is planned, should negotiations work out, is a massive private office park matched with a retail mall and a hotel. Those negotiations though are getting pushback from commissioner Manolo Reyes as well as local opponents such as Bruce Matheson, who claims the redevelopment of the golf course should have gone through a public competitive bidding process and that the city has continuously misled voters through the process. Numerous other opponents argue that there is no reason to get rid of one of the city’s last remaining public golf courses, all of which are heavily used, irreplaceable and support the local youth with programs such as The First Tee, especially with a state-of-the-art Hard Rock Stadium already built.

Reyes worked to force a vote on the proposed agreement before Commissioner Will Gort steps down at the end of the month as he maxes out his term limits but was shot down by majority vote from the commission which claims that the deal is nearly closed and is just pending 3 fair market value appraisals as well as traffic and environmental studies. Already environmental studies have shown the the ground underneath the golf course is full of toxic material and remediation would be in the range of $40 million.

Beckham first moved to have a stadium built at PortMiami in 2014 before the proposal bounced around 4 other sites including county-owned parking lot in Overtown. Inter Miami CF will play at their new Fort Lauderdale Stadium and Training Complex, which is currently under construction. If Miami Freedom Park is ultimately approved the timeframe for development would extend into 2022-2023.

Royal Palm Companies Launches Sales Of Legacy Hotel & Residences At Miami Worldcenter

Miami-based real estate developer Royal Palm Companies (RPC), has officially launched sales for Downtown Miami’s newest mixed-use tower, Legacy Hotel & Residences, the soaring branded mixed-use skyscraper in the heart of mega-project Miami Worldcenter (MWC). On the heels of the successful completion of PARAMOUNT Miami Worldcenter, Downtown Miami’s newest residential condo tower with its famous Sky-Port, developer Dan Kodsi aims to transform Miami’s skyline again, this time in the hospitality and branded residence market. Located at 942 Northeast First Avenue, Legacy is expected to break ground in 2020. OneWorld Properties will be leading marketing and sales where pricing starts at $300,000.

Designed for the innovative and cosmopolitan traveler seeking a home away from home, Legacy Hotel & Residences aims to disrupt the condo space by introducing microLUXE living to Miami. The concept will offer homeowners luxury small living with the flexibility to live in or rent their home without rental restrictions, which will fulfill the demand of a rapidly growing and more international downtown core. Residents will have the option to rent on their own or through the tower’s hotel rental program, offsetting carrying and maintenance costs.

“When travelers come to Miami and stay on the beach, they find themselves inevitably crossing the bridge to the mainland, where all the latest attractions are; from Wynwood, the Miami Design District to the American Airlines Arena and PAMM. We've seen the tourism growth and are filling a void for the leisure traveler who doesn't have a downtown hotel with resort-style amenities in the center of it all,” said Dan Kodsi, Developer at RPC.

Legacy Hotel & Residences will bring international flair to the downtown skyline where the neo-futurism-inspired tower will feature 278 branded residences sitting atop a 255-room hotel. Legacy’s microLUXE residences range from 400 SF to 949 SF with studios and two-bedroom units. RPC takes the micro-living movement to the next level with their microLUXE concept, where each residence will offer the functionality of a micro-style home with the high-quality design and superior finishes of an elite luxury condominium. All residences will be equipped with a full kitchen and washer and dryer combinations. These small ergonomic but bespoke residences by RPC’s in-house design team in collaboration with Kobi Karp Architects and IDDI will offer buyers the freedom to rent their microLUXE residences without any restrictions.

The mixed-use tower will offer a suite of first-of-its-kind amenities, including ground floor retail, a hotel, microLUXE residences. Signature amenities of the tower include a sophisticated members-only international business lounge, dramatic cantilevered, Singapore-inspired pool, downtown’s largest hotel pool deck set on one acre, a first-of-its-kind medical and wellness center, all topped with the project’s signature amenity: the city’s first enclosed rooftop atrium, taking up the top seven floors of the tower.

“With our experience selling Downtown Miami through previous projects during its various real estate cycles, we understand the downtown buyers and their demands,” said Peggy Olin, CEO of OneWorld Properties. “We are bringing our buyers from over 60 countries an alternative pied-à-terre – the piece that was missing— for residents who seek small living and large experiences,” she said.

Legacy Hotel & Residence’s will become an iconic centerpiece of Miami Worldcenter, one of the largest private real estate developments underway in the United States. The ten-block project will include world-class retail, hospitality and residential uses in the center of Miami’s urban core. Providing unmatched accessibility, Legacy Hotel & Residences is conveniently located next to I-95 and I-395, as well as the Virgin MiamiCentral Station, the Metrorail and Metromover stations.

Don Peebles Announces The Relaunch Of The Ultra-Private Membership Only Bath Club Miami Beach

Miami real estate icon Don Peebles has announced the multi-million dollar relaunch of a historic Miami Beach membership club, The Bath Club Miami Beach. Dating back to the Jazz age of the early 1920s, The Bath Club Miami Beach was the first established social club in the Southeast, which flaunted A-list members such as President Herbert Hoover, Pierre Cartier, William Vanderbilt II and William Boeing. During its heyday, the Club’s highly selective membership and privileged beach culture denied access to African Americans and Jewish people. Fast forward to 1999, entrepreneur Don Peebles, the first African American member, goes on to purchase the property, and now announces big plans to open a new, ‘exclusively inclusive’ club with an atmosphere welcoming of all ethnicities, cultures and lifestyles.

The Bath Club of 2020 features a modern approach that advocates diversity and social integration. The multi-million dollar transformation includes Club interiors and exteriors by design team, Antrobus + Ramirez; a sprawling, private beachfront (spanning nearly two football fields); butler services; access to a worldwide concierge; elaborate ballroom for events and special occasions; contemporary beach cabanas and outdoor living rooms; tennis courts and curated wellness programming. Apicii, a leading national hospitality brand, in partnership with a Michelin-Star chef, are developing and operating various dining and bar experiences at the club. 

Membership sales launch this month, with the official reopening slated for early 2020.