The New Face of Downtown Miami
February 14, 2009 by Lucas Lechuga
New Downtown Miami condo developments 50 Biscayne, Vizcayne, Marina Blue, 900 Biscayne Bay, Ten Museum Park and Marquis can be seen in the pictures above and directly below. The American Airlines Arena, Bayside Marketplace and Bayfront Park appear in the picture above as well.
(Below) A look south down Biscayne Boulevard.
(Below) The view east from a Downtown Miami condo high-rise.
Thank you Lucas. It is beautiful. More pictures from the Bay would be attractive, also PAC has an interesting architecture.
Did it become more pedestrian friendly?
Gorgeous as always! Can’t wait to move down there.
i think the whole city is way overpriced, and it only finished 9 th worst on the forbes list!!
downtown should be fun when unemployment hits 14-15 percent,(next year) the real number….
Funny you would mention that ” the construction cranes are gone” because back in 2005-2006 when I was visiting Miami very often, I was in complete awe from the number of cranes standing in Miami. At that time, visiting from Montreal, Canada and wanting to invest in a commercial space to open a restaurant, I remember thinking to myself, where in the heck (for lack of a better term) will they find people to fill in all these projects. I would ask my nephew to stop the car, who at the time was driving me around town, and just try to count the number of cranes and absorb this incredible sight. Neverthless, I ended up back home without closing on a number of deals but that thought of those number of cranes always remained in my memory.
Hey Lucas,
Has any work started yet on museum park???
The green portion of Museum Park is a ways off towards actual construction but the funding portion was approved as a part of the Mega Plan. About $65 million dollars for the green portion of the park. The Science Museum is also a ways off towards construction with funding about 50% plus in place. The new Miami Art Museum in the park is the furthest along with I believe almost 100% funding in place – a spectacular design by the French/Swiss architects which u can see by going to Miami Art Museums website – with construction to start within 6-9 months.
The architects for Miami art Museum are Herzog/DeMeuron.
Kramer,
Herzog & de Meuron are both Swiss architects.
Lucas,
Great pictures !
Are You also going to shoot some pictures from the Pace park area ?
Miami is Miami. Long term we are strong!
I was always amazed at how many cranes we had in Downtown Miami. A few times I counted about 30 and I’m sure there were a few more hiding behind some of the buildings.
Who cares what you thought Bill? Reality is units will be filled (either rented or purchased by end buyers, at the right price) and the city will have the population needed to support all the commercial projects proposed.
We are here for the long term and like Joe says “Long term we are strong” after this whole mess is over (give it no more that 2 more years to stabilize) where are persons will be willing to go, to a place with brand new infrastructure or not?
Why is Trulia reporting false sales?
Please look at all recent sales in Bay Point, UpperEast side, Miami, FL 33137 (October 2008 – January 2009) as reported on this site and crosscheck them on Miami-dade website.
http://gisims2.miamidade.gov/myhome/propmap.asp
You will find that not single sale has been recorded. What is Trulia’s policy on publishing these sales? Do they allow Realtors to post any information without doing due diligence? Is this information being used to inflate the appraisals?
Gonzalo said: “We are here for the long term and like Joe says “Long term we are strong” after this whole mess is over (give it no more that 2 more years to stabilize) where are persons will be willing to go, to a place with brand new infrastructure or not?”
Particularly interesting is: “(give it no more that 2 more years to stabilize)”. Depends on the definition of “stabilize”.
The CVS / Walgreens on his street corner must have run short of Lithium!!!
I agree with the poster above who thinks things are still overpriced but at least prices are a lot more palatable than they were a year ago. The city is really starting to come together. I fly often and love coming in from the east over Brickell. Really shows how much change has happened in the last 3 years. I also think Brickell/Downtown is unique that it is the only place where you can live and work without needing auto transportation. Pretty cool.
un-related:
By stabilize I mean units finding their true occupants.
I stated above: “Particularly interesting is: “(give it no more that 2 more years to stabilize)”. Depends on the definition of “stabilize”.”
Maybe? Could be? Should be? 2009? 2010? 2011? 2015? 2020?
STABILIZE THIS:
http://southflorida.bizjournals.com/southflorida/stories/2009/02/09/daily76.html?ana=e_du_pap
Modified: Monday, February 16, 2009
Foreclosure lawsuit strikes project across from American Airlines Arena
South Florida Business Journal – by Brian Bandell
A Kansas bank that ventured into condo lending has filed a foreclosure lawsuit, seeking to seize a site across from American Airlines Arena in downtown Miami.
At one point, Boca Raton-based RPC Diversified Holdings planned to build Paramount Park, a mixed-use development of 300 condo units, 286 hotel rooms and 10,000 square feet of retail space, according to its web site. Subsequently, an office and hotel project was planned, said RPC Principal and CEO Daniel Kodsi.
Changing residential projects to office and hotel use has been a common strategy in South Florida as the residential boom faded.
Kodsi said the site has flexible zoning.
He said the foreclosure filing is part of the negotiation process, and that he is talking with a buyer for the site.
This is the third foreclosure lawsuit pending against a project involving Kodsi.
Royal Palm 700 Biscayne, an affiliate of RPC, bought the 1.66 acres at 700 Biscayne Blvd. for $11.7 million in 2005, according to Miami-Dade County Circuit Court records. It obtained an $18 million mortgage from Overland Park, Kan.-based Hillcrest Bank in 2006, and got a $4 million advance on top of that the following year. The loan was scheduled to mature on Dec. 31.
Development never got under way, however, and the site remains a parking lot across from the arena where the Miami Heat plays.
On Feb. 3, Hillcrest Bank filed a notice of foreclosure against Royal Palm 700 Biscayne, Kodsi and RPC Diversified Holdings. Miami-based attorney Gary Lehman, who represents Hillcrest Bank, said the lawsuit seeks the $21.2 million remaining on the mortgage, plus interest and attorney fees.
Condo Vultures Realty CEO Peter Zalewski noted that the mortgage balance values the property at about $309 a square foot. Based on that land cost, which is usually 25 percent of the total project cost, a condo project on that property would have to sell units at about $1,200 a square foot, he said. That’s much more than what nearby units are currently going for, Zalewski said.
Even though he called it an “A-minus” site, Zalewski said the property would probably sell for between $100 and $200 a square foot. It needs to sit for at least five years before development demand rebounds, he said.
“The lender is looking at, at least, 30 percent off its loan, and will probably write down half of it,” Zalewski said. “We’re not in Kansas anymore.”
An affiliate of RPC is facing a foreclosure lawsuit on a $32.2 million loan from iStar Financial for the Sunny Isles Beach site where it planned to build the Paramount Beach condo.
In a previous interview with the South Florida Business Journal, Kodsi said he was contesting that lawsuit and keeping control of the beachfront site.
In Broward County, Carolina First Bank has a foreclosure lawsuit on an $8 million mortgage against a company that includes Kodsi as an investor and owns an undeveloped site in Hallandale Beach.
The Paramount Bay condo, which is another RPC project in downtown Miami, is not facing foreclosure.