As the exodus from the new ghettos of suburbia continues, downtown is filling at a wild rate. According to a new report by Condo Vultures, of the 21,000 units that have come online in the past five years, a mere 800 remain empty and available for rent, yielding a 97% occupancy rate. Pretty impressive for an area that most people felt would immediately melt down into Terminator 2-style ruins.
Miami Skyscraper City user Dave8721 presents the Brickell version of being pedestrian friendly: 20 stories of blank concrete wall. Congrats on a job well done guys! You might as well just build a pit and fill it with sharpened sticks.
Talk about mixed blessings. A Walmart one block from an opera house, in a building by Arquitectonica? Yet another ridiculous contrast in the developing history of downtown Miami.
Discount retailer Wal-Mart is negotiating to open a store in a planned retail complex that would be built next to the Miami Herald building and steps way from Miami-Dade’s new performing arts center.
Developer Mark Siffin is finalizing a deal with Wal-Mart to anchor his proposed five-story retail center known as City Square, according to several sources familiar with the negotiations. The project would include more than 25 tenants, with restaurants on the ground floor and big box retailers to fill the 675,000-square-foot mid-rise designed by the world-renowned, Miami-based firm Arquitectonica.
Read the full article (registration required) for more. I'm kind of undecided; I absolutely hate what Walmart represents, but those starving Chinese children sure do make cheap wooden coat hangers. How do you feel about a LOLmart in downtown Miami? And what the hell is going with Bayview Marketplace, where this retailer should go?
We've covered the idiocy of Omni Mall's ownership in the past when they planned to build four high rise condominiums on the site, but it looks like they've finally done something right. The newly-unveiled Omni Offices site plans show much of the north and west side of the building being used as retail, along with office space around the south side where the Art Institute of Miami currently resides. What an amazing, ground breaking concept: using a mall as a mall in an area with few malls. The exterior looks incredible too, and I think the added parking will nicely complement the nearby Performing Arts Center. I'm personally tumescent about this because it means more retail within walking distance of my cavern. Bring it!
Apparently there has been a crane accident at the site of Quantum on The Bay, at 1900 N. Bayshore Drive. 2 dead, 4 hurt so far. More details as they arrive.
Update: Photos here. Looks like the Something About Mary house is dead dead dead.
From the shooting yourself in the foot department: Jorge Perez, who has brought some of Miami's most visionary recent properties to the market through his firm Related Group, has started a $1 billion vulture fund to snap up the excess inventory created during our prolific real estate boom. Perez is a major supporter of the east side renaissance, and responsible for Lofts 1, 2, and 3 downtown, 50 Biscayne, and Icon Brickell (being completed now), so I'm curious why he would associate himself with a company whose sole reason for being is the real estate apocalypse. I guess you can never underestimate a person's desire to make a quick buck.
In other real estate implosion news:
- Some high rises are still trying to get approval, including the enormous Empire World Towers. I believe it was rejected at the last commission meeting, but it's still interesting to see people trying to get stuff built despite the downturn. On the other hand, empty plots are worth a lot more with plans and zoning approval in place.
- Pedro Martin of Terra Group says his Quantum on the Bay project is suffering from only a 4% walk away rate during closings. This is great news: as people begin to fill up the neighborhood with noncrackheads and cute girls walking little dogs (like me), all the buildings in the neighborhood improve as a result.
The Herald has one of their typical anti-development, one-sided articles about the troubles facing poor Wynwood residents who are faced with rising rents as a result of gentrification. Property values have skyrocketed in the past four years as art galleries have streamed in to fill the numerous raw industrial spaces found in this cool neighb. Midtown Miami's development hasn't helped either.
Read on for more savage, uncaring, free-market ranting.
Update: See how they do it in Brooklyn, where condo buyers have banded together to exert pressure on real estate developers.
Having studied libel and slander in my journalism ethics class in college I know there are certain things I can and will get sued for if I ever decide to blog about. Unfortunately, the blogger at Miami Condo Investments, Lucas Lechuga wasn't as careful and was slapped with $25 million defamation lawsuit after he wrote about developer Tibor Hollo. Apparently Lechuga wrote that Hollo filed for bankruptcy in the 1980s and warned investors that his Opera Tower project could meet a similar fate. Turned out that Hollo never filled for bankruptcy and he is none to pleased that Lechuga is telling investors to steer clear of his development.
Of course the smart guy that Hollo is he is not only suing Lechuga but the brokerage company EWM he was a contracted agent for. He alleges Lechuga is doing a smear campaign against him. Come on Hollo, isn't that a little far fetched? So he erroneously wrote about your past finances, that's understandably upsetting, but that definitely isn't worth $25 million. All Lechuga wanted to do was to give sound advice to investors during what I personally consider bad times. It's refreshing to see that there is at least one honest real estate agent out there not looking to make a big commission but instead to insure his clients make the right decision.
I personally hope all goes well for Lechuga, and I support him 100 percent in the work he does through his blog, even if EWM thinks its best to keep things "positive" (read: don't make the crashed market sound so bad).
[via Critical Miami]
Today a deputy clerk for Dade County served my ass with papers summoning my landlord. Aparently, my roommate and I paying her $2,000 a month wasn't enough to keep her ass out of trouble. She has defaulted on her $398,400 loan, which she only had to pay $2,356 a month. Bitch is stupid, maybe I don't know the whole story but I'm sort of pissed. Luckily the clerk said that a foreclosure takes about six months and my lease is up in March. I hope I get my deposit back, if not that bitch is going to have another lawsuit on her hands.
Anyway, if anyone wants a deal on a three-story townhouse in Coconut Grove, I let you know the address after I move out -- I don't want anyone stalking my ass.
This is the reason I'm excited my lease on my $2,000 per month townhouse in the Coconut Grove is up in February. I'll probably be paying less than $1,000 to live in Brickell, Downtown or Midtown. I love taking advantage of other people's misfortunes. Yea, I could probably move to the Beach for even less, but I hate Midwesterns so fucking much.
Oh, and before you think I'm rich beyond belief (I'm a writer, remember?) for affording a $2,000 rent, I have a roommate.
For every 37 depressing things I hear about the Miami condo glut, I hear one positive item. This one is a press release, which means it's full of lies, but still has some interesting data about the beautiful, dynamic 50 Biscayne and the predictable, affordable Loft 2.
RCRS closes over 500 units in Downtown Miami since Oct.
Miami-based RCRS, having sold hundreds of residential units and seeing them through to closing, is the catalyst for a vibrant new downtown. More than 550 of those units have closed in the last two months alone. Residents are steadily moving into 50 Biscayne and Loft 2, two luxury condominium projects by The Related Group, for which RCRS was the exclusive sales agent. ...
Read on for more..
Duran and I were having a discussion (instead of fighting, for once) while idly floating around downtown on the Metromover today. What are your favorite buildings in South Florida, aesthetically speaking? Be sure to explain why. Here are my top three:
- Espirito Santo, Brickell. Not particularly subtle and perhaps even a bit gaudy, I love the imposing impact this massive structure makes on the skyline. Click here for photo.
- 50 Biscayne, CBD. Some may criticize this building of being too stark and monolithic. I say needless ornamentation can eat my ass: the building is perfect for the site, impressive and large without being overbearing, and full of interesting details to take in up close, like the decorative paint and unusual, misshapen columns. Plus, when occupied, this building will add a refreshing dose of residentialism to the commerce-crazy atmosphere of downtown Miami. Click here for photo.
- Ten Museum Park, Park West. Formerly my favorite building in all of Miami, the endless expanses of white and blue glass have gradually worn me out -- no doubt in part because there are so many other buildings going up with a similar look (Everglades, Lofts 1 - 82, Wind, Ivy, Epic, etc). I still respect the narrow site layout, careful details (uneven floor profile), discrete minimalism and delicate profile: Chad Oppenheim exhibited a lot of restraint when planning this sexy lady. Click here for photo.
Your turn.
Ten Museum Park was for some time my favorite building in Miami. Over on MiamiUrbanLife's Ten Museum Park residents forum, nightmares are being told about the building's launch as residents begin to close on their units and move in.
Alex, Ten Musuem Park had its first closings in mid to late June. In the four and half months since approximately 20 or so units are occupied. I cannot speak of the valet parking because it has not be fully implemented. There is no gym or spa and the spaces for them are still in rough un-built out condition. The pool deck is already suffering from poor maintenance and the landscaping is dying or dead. The lobby is functional but has yet not been fully furnished or decorated. As for the other parts of the building, the restaurant and office spaces have yet to be improved. The building has a long way to go to be fully operational and in the mean time the residents must wait and wait. On the plus side, the exterior is very beautiful and the views are great. As with other residents, I am keeping my fingers crossed that the developer and builder can pull it all together by the holidays.What a nightmare. For all the things I hate about Parc Lofts, I'm glad I didn't pay more and get treatment like that.
This may not be much of a surprise, but it seems our overamped condo market is rife with mortgage fraud along with everything else. Reuters has all the details:
The Club at Brickell has the highest current number of foreclosure proceedings involving any single south Florida property...Wait, did Reuters just use the word "shady"? How Miami of them!
Doug Dewitt, a real estate broker contracted to work with several lenders on the valuation and disposal of foreclosed properties, said nearly 70 percent of the sales or closings at the Club over the last 18 months were questionable. That works out to more than 200 possibly shady deals in a single building, he said.
The dubious transactions all fit a pattern that Theobald said should trigger "bells and whistles" for law enforcement anywhere -- time and time again properties that failed to sell for months when listed at around $450,000 were pulled from the market and then suddenly sold for more than $800,000.
I'm giddy. Two developers from -- vomit -- Boca have been quietly buying up 20 acres of property in Park West and are now setting upon building their massive vision of a high-density, medium-height office, shopping, entertainment and middle-class residential district. The plan perfectly fills in the holes between and to the west of the "Biscayne Wall" (Ten Museum Park, Marquis, 900 Biscayne and Marina Blue) and downtown's northern fringe surrounding MDC. This is exactly what Miami needs to fill out the communities around the the baller-status skyscrapers that are going up now. Score!
Learn more at The Herald or join the discussion on Skyscraper City
The endless churn of city stadium projects continues apace. The latest news? The Miami Orange Bowl in Little Havana may be torn down. Apparently the University of Miami Hurricanes leaving that crumbling shithole was the final straw and there is no way for the stadium to remain in business any longer. I'm sure a $500M bond will be the result of this so we can build a super great stadium in Allapattah which will host 10 events a year and totally change the community though not really.
Also, for a laugh, check out their unusually minimal website.
The excellent Miami Condo Investments blog has an interesting summary of the recent condo auction held by the developers of Platinum on Biscayne and 30th. Some excerpts of the article and fascinating comments:
My prediction is that the Miami condo market will have a holiday close-out sale in the winter months. It will “coincidentally” coincide with our peak-season when thousands of snow birds will flock to our tropical climes. More demand, but also extra inventory.Read the article for more. Are these the end days?
"Crazy - but Lucas $170 per square foot. That’s 2nd/3rd tier emerging markets price! I guess we should all do a present value of 2.5% property tax and add that to the quoted price per square foot to make it comparable..."
"SBKI, Unit 301 [2254 sqft, went for merely $320k] was a 3/3, but it had almost no view and the bedrooms could fit a twin, maybe a full bed. The balcony was directly over the valet and had no breeze unlike the other 01 units..."
Ahh the retail infill of downtown midtown Miami continues! On Friday ground will be broken to begin the construction of Miami's first green building, a Staples office supplies store located at 2121 Biscayne Blvd. This is exciting! I know you indie kids are fantasizing about the rows of Bic pen caps, but I suggest you fantasize about getting a minimum wage job instead.
From an article in the Miami Hurled the news hasn't changed much for South Florida home owners and buyers. The month of July showed no change in the current trend of the rising inventory of unsold homes and homeowners unwilling to lower the prices of their investments. Not to mention the fact that the crazy mortgage industry and all it's uncertainty (Sorry Aldo!!) doesn't help the situation most flippers have dug themselves into. Foreclosures here, sub-prime loan defaults there, auctions right there. It's just one giant cluster fuck in SoFla if you ask me. There is a positive note however. I don't own or plan on owning for a while so with prices bottoming out and rats jumping ship things are looking good for the prospective owner who can wait out the crisis and capitalize on the lower prices and hopefully the market turnaround.
I personally have no sympathy whatsoever for those people who are stuck and are sinking with the ship. Greed had something to do with their demise and the faster those suckers go under the better my chance to get a great deal and a sweat mortgage. And now you have the CEO of the largest mortgage lender in the nation, Countrywide, claiming that the current credit crunch could possibly lead the nation into a recession. Now I personally don't believe things are that grave at the moment, but I'm no economist or the CEO of a major financial institution (I'm just a drunk bastard that peruses the nightlife). Anyhow the point of this post is to say, you flippers are screwed and I'm gonna take advantage of your greed when your credit and mortgage comes crashing through the ceiling.
Update:
Article on MSNBC showing things aren't going to get any better any time soon.
