Zyscovich Architects-Designed Wynwood Quarter Project Revealed Including Micro-Units

Bel-Invest’s Zyscovich Architects-designed Wynwood Quarter project has been revealed as the developer has submitted plans for the first building for review by the Wynwood Design Review Committee. In total the mixed-use project will feature 6 buildings which include 276 residential units, 120 hotel rooms and 51,334 SF of retail. Of the residential component, a selection of units will be micro-units with 400 SF studio apartments. The project is located at 161 NW 28th Street.

Voters Approve David Beckham's $1 Billion Freedom Park By Waiving Competitive Bidding On Election Day

Miami-Dade voters have approved a referendum waiving competitive bidding for the right to redevelop Melreese Country Club into a $1 billion mega-project complete with office, retail and commercial space and a soccer stadium.

The referendum allows the negotiation and execution of a 99-year lease with Miami Freedom Park, LLC. for 73 acres of the Melreese Country Club site at 1400 Northwest 37th Avenue. Miami Freedom Park, LLC. is comprised of David Beckham, Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure, and brothers Jorge and Jose Mas. As per the agreement, the group will pay an annual rent of at least $3.6 million, or fair market value as determined by two independent appraisals, plus $20 million to fund construction of a 58-acre public park, paid in annual installments of $666,667 for 30 years.

The Arquitectonica-designed proposal includes 400K SF of office space and 600K SF of restaurant, retail and entertainment space; along with 750 hotel rooms and a 25,000 seat soccer stadium with only 3,750 parking spaces. The city will be on the hook to redevelop and maintain the remaining land at the site at the expense of tax payers.

Augmented Reality App Launching in Miami to Help Drive Foot Traffic to Brick and Mortar Businesses

ARVISL Future is a Miami based technology startup founded by Krystal Kunyue Zheng, a recent Florida International University graduate. ARVISL Future is based at CIC Miami, the hub of South Florida's startup and technology scene.

This November, ARVISL is launching its first mobile application, SAVR, in Miami. SAVR aims to bring measurable foot traffic to local brick and mortar businesses with technologies like location based service and augmented reality. Zheng describes SAVR as the fusion of Pokemon Go and Groupon.

With location based services, SAVR can reach, measure and engage with local and tourism traffic at any specific location. By combining augmented reality and location based service technology, SAVR also allows businesses to showcase products in real life that are outside of their current geographic location.

Consumers are navigated to a business if they find its AR incentive enticing: complimentary drinks, food or swag items.Zheng has introduced an innovative marketing metric for physical businesses called “cost per traffic™", where brick and mortar businesses will measure how much an individual's foot traffic costs. SAVR provides performanced based service fees to businesses who decide to place AR incentives around the city. Therefore, businesses will only pay for foot traffic brought into their location.

“Instead of driving attention strictly to a web page, we're offering local businesses that aren't able to compete with national online retailers a way to survive in the digital age while maintaining the charm of their physical presence that has such a profound effect on our communities,” said Zheng.

SAVR will welcome Miami users and businesses for a first-hand experience this November. Users can download SAVR on both the iOS App Store and Android Google Play Store and businesses can participate in AR sampling by filing a request on the SAVR website.

Article by: Katya Demina

Words Selected To Fill In Crossword Puzzle Façade On Collins Park Garage

Miami Beach’s Planning & Zoning Department and the Collins Park Neighborhood Association have selected the 28 words which will adorn the façade of the new Collins Park Garage in Miami Beach. The words will form a crossword puzzle with with lighting behind perforated metal to highlight the words. The commission will not have final say as city officials ruled that the words will not be a monument, memorial, super graphic sign or part of Art in Public Places. The garage is designed by Allan Shulman and will feature 513 parking spaces, 15,000 SF of ground retail and a public plaza. Site work on the project began in September 2018 after a demolition permit was issued in mid-August 2018. The original proposed design for the garage was by Zaha Hadid but bids came in around $49 million before the city scrapped the design to find one more suitable for the $25 million budget.

The 28 words selected are as follows:

Architecture/ Art/ Design:

• John Collins

• Russell Pancoast

• Al Vrana

• Barbara Baer Capitman

• Conni Gordon

• Carl Fisher

• Art Deco

• Mediterranean Revival

• Postwar Modern

• Fauna & flora:

• Parrot

• Manatee

• Dolphin

• Avocado

• Mangrove

• Baobab

• Seagrape

• Sea Oats

• Sea Turtle

Territory/ Neighborhoods/Structures:

• Collins Canal

• Lake Pancoast

• Indian Creek

• Cultural District

• Beachwalk

• Garden

• Museum

• Memorial

• Ballet

• Library

Perkins+Will's Opens New Miami Studio Showcasing Award-Winning Design In Coral Gables

The Miami office of global architecture and design firm Perkins+Will has announced the completion of its new Coral Gables studio, showcasing some of the firm’s best-in-class workplace design strategies, including sustainability, biophilia, health and wellness, and integrated technology. Perkins+Will is the creative visionary behind such award-winning projects as the L’Oréal Research & Innovation Center in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the Miami Dade College Academic Support Center, and Princess Nora Bint Abdulrahman University in Saudi Arabia. The new 13,700 SF studio is located at 2800 Ponce De Leon Blvd. in Coral Gables. Designed by Elina Cardet, interior design director of Perkins+Will’s Miami studio, along with her team, the light-filled, open-floor space allows for collaboration among designers of multiple disciplines, while supporting their sense of well-being. The project is targeting LEED v4 Gold Certification and 2 FitWel Stars.

“We reimagined our workplace as a single, integrated creative studio—one that promotes connectivity, encourages creativity, and strengthens our sense of community,” Cardet says. “Our diverse team of designers thrives when they can work together, exchange ideas, test new concepts, and share feedback, so designing a workplace that supports interactivity was a top priority.”

Lawrence Kline, managing director of Perkins+Will’s Miami office, says the new studio is a “living laboratory” that reflects best practices in workplace design while also improving productivity and creative outcomes. “Our new space allows us to innovate, explore, and discover. It inspires and motivates us. All of this ultimately leads to better designs for our clients.”

The studio is designed to highlight the firm’s ability to create spaces that promote health and well-being is the “Studio in a Garden” concept. Wellness is promoted via a tangible and immediate connection to nature, including air-cleaning plants that will grow to create an indoor garden, framing the uninterrupted 360-degree views to city, ocean and sky, allowing for a more stimulating work environment. Active design strategies include sit-to-stand desks and premium ergonomic seating for everyone. Within-office amenities include a wellness room with sink and daybed, a lactation room for nursing mothers and new shower to encourage the team to bike, skate, or walk to work. Throughout the space, the multi-generational team’s needs, such as individual mobility and different work styles, are supported by full wireless connectivity, and movable, reconfigurable furniture.

“Our new workspace exhibits all the transformational and future-ready design attitudes we bring to all our clients and project,” explains Pat Bosch, design director of the Miami office. “We thrive in being able to showcase and share with our clients and our community our vision of a thoughtful, humanistic approach and our attention to high performance. This technique is paramount in our design culture. Our office is an environment that fosters creativity, leadership and ingenuity as well as creates an incubator for leading design that is unique to our city and region.”

“Our own office culture is now supported by a wide-range of choices for collaboration areas, including a relaxed, fun, multipurpose lounge where our famous, daily “cafecito time,” Friday breakfasts, happy hours, our ping pong tournaments and annual holiday feasts take place. With these welcoming places to meet, we will be hosting A&D community leadership events, sponsoring thought-proving panels, symposia and cross-industry multi-disiplinary events,” says Cardet.

Nearly every aspect of the new office is technologically advanced, including acoustically balanced conference rooms and waiting areas. Centrally located within the “Idea Hub” and completely transparent, the “Maker Space,” or model room, will showcase two 3D printers, laser cutter for digitally printed models and prototypes as well as models crafted by hand. Perkins+Will has incorporated Virtual Reality (VR) as part of the design process. The new studio features two spacious VR lounge areas with double display screens, with flexible and re-configurable, modular soft seating, where designers and clients can immerse themselves in a 3D digital environment at the early stages of projects. “I think VR was seen first as a fun technology gadget, but we recognize that it is a powerful tool in our industry, so we wanted to dedicate space and create a showcase for it,” says Kline.

“As a creative lab where our clients are part of the design process, our studio is future-ready with two virtual reality lounge areas, where our digital practice continues to evolve,” says Cardet.

Plans Filed To Bring 72-Key Hotel To 111 Wynwood

There is a new mixed-use hotel coming to Wynwood as 111 Wynwood LLC, an entity led by Eduardo Vargas and Andres Hogg, has filed plans to bring a 72-key hotel to the trendy neighborhood right near Wynwood Walls. The project will rise 5-stories and will offer a total development of 50,000 SF. The hotel will feature ground floor retail and restaurant space, co-working space, a rooftop pool, rooftop bar and restaurant and valet parking. Guests will be treated with smart technology enabled rooms with kitchenettes and available laundry, maid and concierge services. The modern, artsy facade is designed by Richter Dahl Rocha and Alain Bartoli is the architect of record. The construction costs are estimated to be around $8 million. The developers aim to break ground in 2019 and open the hotel in 2020.

River Landing Shops & Residences Unveils Waterfront "Restaurant Row" On The Miami River

The already under-construction River Landing Shops & Restaurants, being developed by River Landing Development including the Coral Gables-based UrbanX Group and Coralee Penabad along with H&R REIT, and Matthews Southwest, have revealed a waterfront “Restaurant Row,” further engaging the Miami River. The project, which is located at 1400 NW River Drive, will offer 25,500 SF of leasable restaurant space to bring 7 restaurants ranging from fine dining, family-style, cafes and fast casual concepts. River Landing Shops & Residences originally broke ground in March 2017 and will bring a total of 2 million SF of total development including 528 market-rate apartments, 2,200 parking spaces and a large retail component featuring a Publix, Chase Bank, TJ Maxx, AT&T, West Marine, Ross Dress For Less, Burlington Stores and a Hobby Lobby. The project will also bring plenty of green space to the area including a 50’ wide linear park with Savino & Miller Design Studio as the landscape architect for the project. River Landing Shops & Residences was originally designed by Jonathan Cardello of Stantec with BC Architects as the architect of record. Completion and opening is expected for early 2020.

Developer Celebrates Plans to Revitalize Coconut Grove with Groundbreaking at Metronomic Place

Miami-based development company Metronomic Inc., led by Ricky Trinidad, broke ground last Thursday for the new, mixed-use office, retail and hotel project on Grand Avenue in Coconut Grove. The groundbreaking ceremony for Metronomic Place was attended by commissioner Xavier Suarez and is set to spearhead the long-awaited revival of this corridor.

The five-story building will have about 5,000 square-feet of Class A office space, 3,200 square-feet of ground floor retail space, and a 44-key boutique hotel. The lobby and hotel interior was developed by local firm One Design Build. Designer Hugo Mijares combined metal, concrete, wood and other raw elements to create a modern industrial design with Old American style. It will also feature an activated “green” rooftop with a pool and garden area that echo the natural aura Coconut Grove in known for. Metronomic Place has an estimated completion date of Winter 2019.

Ricky Trinidad, President of Metronomic, Inc., is a developer and resident himself in West Coconut Grove, and has deep roots to the community. He hopes the project will enhance the vitality of Coconut Grove’s commercial and entertainment core.

He also just closed on a 7,200 square-foot site at 3110 Commodore Plaza called Commodore Place. The boutique hotel will offer loft-style, short-term suites with attractive amenities, a rooftop pool and garden deck area, and a two-story duplexed retail venue on the first floor.

Miguel Pinto of Apex Capital Realty brokered the deal and represented Metronomic Inc. Like Ricky, Miguel is focused on working on projects and deals that enhance communities and positively impact the commercial real estate industry.

As part of Metronomic’s larger plan to revitalize Grand Avenue, they also have over ten new construction projects in the works in Coconut Grove. This includes a large-scale comprehensive development of multiple properties of mixed-income, affordable housing, retail, office, park plazas, and sustainable living concepts.

Article by: Katya Demina

Pitusa Signs a New Lease to Open Their First Flagship Store in Wynwood

Pitusa is a multimillion dollar, Peruvian-inspired clothing company founded in 2010, with the goal of providing high quality, affordable and comfortable beachwear.

The store has signed a lease to launch their first flagship in Wynwood, opening in October. It is located at 2501 Northwest 2nd Avenue across from the Wynwood Walls.

The founder, Clara Lago, started with only a thousand dollars and with zero outside investment, grew Pitusa into a multimillion dollar company that is currently selling in over 300 stores over the world. She wanted to create clothing that empowers women by offering a lighthearted aesthetic that transitions from beach to street.

Ani Sierra of ONE Commercial represented Pitusa in finding the perfect location for their new store which will offer a unique experience, allowing buyers to tailor each piece as “wearable art” from customized color to fabric.

Article by: Stephanie Warren

Avra Jain and Dragonfly Investments Buy Another MiMo Motel

A partnership between Avra Jain and Dragonfly Investments, called Gold Dust 7700 LLC, just purchased a motel in the MiMo District – not far away from the Vagabond Hotel, also owned by Jain. Property records show they paid $6 million for Motel Blu at 7700 Biscayne Boulevard, a two-story, 60-unit building next to the cabaret nightclub Gold Rush. The deal breaks down to $100,000 per room.

Jain wrote that she and Dragonfly planned to enhance and renovate the hotel, and to modernize its name: Gold Dust. The partners financed the acquisition with a $5.5 million dollar loan from Continental Bank. Jain has been credited with leading new investment and preservation in the MiMo District, where she also restored the Vagabond Hotel and South Pacific Motel.

Jain says she was attracted to the aesthetics of the neighborhood and the historical designation many buildings have. Unlike many developers, she considers her local environment thoughtfully when investing to avoid disrupting residents who want to preserve the residential sentiment of their community.  

"Sense of place is created by the people there, not the developers, so it's developers' responsibility to keep the placemakers around. I’m really sensitive to that," she says. Her restoration plans aim to improve existing structures, instead of capitalizing on a higher-density project. Despite the opinion of many residents that the city favors developers, many attempts of going vertical have not approved in MiMo.

MiMo refers to Miami Modern Architecture, a local style of architecture that advanced in South Florida throughout the post-war period. It is known as a playful response to the international architectural movements, that embraced the climate and booming resort industry in Miami at the time. MiMo’s themes of glamour, fun, and material excess can be observed in the Design District, Miami Beach, and Biscayne Boulevard.

Article by: Katya Demina & Stephanie Warren