Miami=South Beach Art Deco District

[Rx727sfl2002]

Wanted To Start A Thread On SOBE Art Deco District And All The Projects There Hope Everyone Cooperates And Posts Pictures and Renderings On Buildings.

Please Revisit This Thread And Post New Information.

[streetscapeer]

A good map for this thread

http://miamirealestatetrends.com/Images/StarterImages/MiamiBeach.jpg





http://miamirealestatetrends.com/Images/StarterImages/South-Beach.jpg

[streetscapeer]

The 2nd map shows the Tremendous reformation of the SoFi (South of Fifth) district of South Beach (most of these are already built)


The Cosmopolitan is really nice...further urbanizng SoFi

http://miamirealestatetrends.com/Images/StarterImages/cosmo2.jpg


Does anyone have info on the Alaska Project (lol...it's weird saying that) and continuum 2

[streetscapeer]

Here's a Continuum 2 rendering


http://miamirealestatetrends.com/Images/StarterImages/Continuum-Model-Pic2.jpg

[streetscapeer]

http://miamirealestatetrends.com/Images/StarterImages/North-Bay-Village.jpg



360 degrees

http://miamirealestatetrends.com/Images/StarterImages/360mainpic.jpg


the Bridge water

http://miamirealestatetrends.com/Images/StarterImages/The-BridgewaterMainPic.jpg


Seebreeze (5 stories)

http://miamirealestatetrends.com/images/StarterImages/breeze.jpg


Bayview Terraces

http://miamirealestatetrends.com/Images/StarterImages/BayviewTerrace_MainPic.jpg


Blue Bay (16 stories)

http://miamirealestatetrends.com/Images/StarterImages/bbtower.jpg


The Lexi

http://miamirealestatetrends.com/Images/StarterImages/LexiMain.jpg


Prisma lofts

http://miamirealestatetrends.com/Images/StarterImages/Prisma.jpg



Space 01

http://miamirealestatetrends.com/Images/StarterImages/space01pic.jpg



Skylofts

http://miamirealestatetrends.com/Images/StarterImages/SkyMainPic.jpg

[streetscapeer]

http://miamirealestatetrends.com/Images/StarterImages/MiamiBeach.jpg



6000 Indian Creek

http://miamirealestatetrends.com/Images/StarterImages/6000_indian_creek_pic.jpg



Akoya ( I think this one was just finshed)

http://miamirealestatetrends.com/Images/StarterImages/Akoya.jpg



The Bath Club

http://miamirealestatetrends.com/Images/StarterImages/Bath_Club_pic.jpg



Bel Aire

http://miamirealestatetrends.com/Images/StarterImages/BelAire_MainPic.jpg



Canyon Ranch

http://miamirealestatetrends.com/Images/StarterImages/Canyon-Ranch-Pic.jpg



Fontainbleau II

http://miamirealestatetrends.com/Images/StarterImages/fontainebleau_II.jpg

this shows Fontainbleau II and III together

http://miamirealestatetrends.com/images/StarterImages/Fontainebleau3.jpg



Nautica Condos

http://miamirealestatetrends.com/Images/StarterImages/Nautica.jpg



Terra Bayside lofts

http://miamirealestatetrends.com/Images/StarterImages/TerraBaysideVillas.jpg



Vilamur

http://miamirealestatetrends.com/images/StarterImages/villamourpic.jpg



Vilasol

http://miamirealestatetrends.com/Images/StarterImages/VliaSolePic_MainPic,Miami_Beach.jpg

[streetscapeer]

here are before & after pics from a "Then and Now" on Miami


Looking north on Washington Ave on Miami Beach in the early 1900s

http://gallery.photo.net/photo/2533066-md.jpg



This is what it looks like as of a few years ago (sorry for the blandness and false colors...miami beach's colors are Really vibrant)

Density as far as the eye can see!!


http://gallery.photo.net/photo/2533070-md.jpg

[tonyff67]

I have a question for the Miami forumers.

Why, do you guys think, Miami Beach has lost population?

From where I sit Miami beach is the most ideal place to live in the U.S. It has beautiful beaches, gorgeous water, very urban and of course great weather. Yet, I believe it has lost population over the last two decades.

It makes No sense to me, so that is why I am asking people that live closer and may have a better insight as to what is happening to Miami Beach

[Rx727sfl2002]

miami beach has always been a place of change

before it was the elderly and jew community that dominated the beach population

then the gay community was the dominating one but now that theres more hip hop and alot of gay bashing due to the fact that the people going down to the beach are imature the gay community has packed up and left and moved to wilton manors and now biscayne blvd and they have had alot of effect on communities. wilton manors is what it is becuase of the migration of the gay community.

the straight or heterosexual community has moved out becuase of the large number of homeless people and also the noise of the clubs.

i hope that answers your question....

[tonyff67]

^ That helps, thanks you!
Damn shame though!!

Personally, none of that stuff would run me off, but that is just me. I have lived in nieghborhoods with all those same problems and the alternative lifestyles, I believe it gives a nieghborhood character.

[mileageman]

The Alaska parcel is being done by Related Group, it will be called Apogee:

http://www.apogeesouthbeach.com/

[Rx727sfl2002]

frankly if someone was mugged, beaten, spit on and called derogatory names while infront of the police and nothing was done then im sure you would pack up and leave...

i personally havent confronted such abuse and wouldnt stand for it, but others have gone through this and no suffer PTSD from that experiece and are not the same so they have packed up and moved to safer locations.

its horrible but its a reality of life. and it happens to be southbeach cops could care less.

[streetscapeer]

Cabana on the Beach

http://preconstruccion.com/images/cabana_on_the_beach.jpg

http://preconstruccion.com/images/cabana_on_the_beach_back.jpg

http://preconstruccion.com/images/cabana_on_the_beach_miami_beach.jpg

http://preconstruccion.com/images/cabana_on_the_beach_pool.jpg

http://preconstruccion.com/images/cabana_on_the_beach_pool_1.jpg

Does anyone have anymore info?

[Nicrothstein]

Cabana on the Beach

http://preconstruccion.com/images/cabana_on_the_beach.jpg

http://preconstruccion.com/images/cabana_on_the_beach_back.jpg

http://preconstruccion.com/images/cabana_on_the_beach_miami_beach.jpg

http://preconstruccion.com/images/cabana_on_the_beach_pool.jpg

http://preconstruccion.com/images/cabana_on_the_beach_pool_1.jpg

Does anyone have anymore info?

Charles Sieger architect and Greenberg/Trauig attorney

[FerrariEnzo]

The should build more of those islands in key biscane. Those make for a very intresting urban fabric. Imagine, a city of islands.

[streetscapeer]

The should build more of those islands in key biscane. Those make for a very intresting urban fabric. Imagine, a city of islands.

huh??.....I don't understand what you mean...please clarify.

[streetscapeer]

oh yeah and 6000 Indian Creek is already rising

http://miamirealestatetrends.com/Images/StarterImages/6000_indian_creek_pic.jpg

[Nicrothstein]

oh yeah and 6000 Indian Creek is already rising

http://miamirealestatetrends.com/Images/StarterImages/6000_indian_creek_pic.jpg
you go it

[renner01]

WCI Communities Breaks Ground on $120M Condo Project
By Melissa Bogdany
Last updated: Tuesday, August 24, 2004 03:40pm

MIAMI-WCI Communities Inc., based in Bonita Springs, broke ground on a $120-million, 20-story, oceanfront boutique condominium project in Miami Beach. Mosaic on Miami Beach, an 84-unit project, will rise on nearly1.7 acres at 3801 Collins Ave. It is the only new residential development in Miami Beach’s historic district.

The two- and three-bedroom units will range in size from 1,354 sf to 3,449 sf; the residences are priced between $875,000 and $3.9 million. WCI Realty Inc. is handling sales for the project. Fullerton Diaz is the project architect, and Interiors by Steven G. is the interior designer. Coastal Construction is the builder.

“We’ve always modeled ourselves as a high-end developer,” says Enrique de la Pezuela, the project manager for Mosaic. “We strive for the best.”

He says he feels the high-end project will be successful due to its location. “I feel that area needs a high-quality condominium,” he says. “The location is ideal. It is located where you’re five minutes from South Beach and five minutes from the airport.” In addition, he notes, there are three ways out, so getting stuck in traffic won’t be a problem for residents. “It’s a very accessible location.”

The area also has a demand for an upscale project, he says. “Doctors at Mount Sinai, record executives from Sony--there’s a million people in that area that this” would be suitable for as a second home or other residence, he adds.

Model units are expected to be completed in January, and the entire project has a planned completion date of July 2006. The building is designed with an arts theme and will use a wide range of fine art, unique design features as well as other architectural elements.
http://www.globest.com/news/101_101/miami/125834-1.html

http://www.globest.com/newspics/mia_mosaic.jpg

[Rx727sfl2002]

visit www.indexstock.com for miami pictures of southbeach
they also have alot of nice downtown miami skyline pics

[MIAballinboi]

great search site nice pics :cheers:

[havok100]

Pictures of Miami Beach's Density taken last week from Yatch Club at Portofino 18th floor
http://skyscraperpage.com/gallery/data/643/848dsc00789.jpg
http://skyscraperpage.com/gallery/data/643/848dsc00785.jpg
http://skyscraperpage.com/gallery/data/643/848dsc00787.jpg

[streetscapeer]

LOVELY (does anyone know of an image host that doesn't downsize so much)..this pic is amaziing)


http://img95.exs.cx/img95/9803/southbeach2.jpg

[Bobdreamz]

great pics Havok....South Beach truly is an urban paradise.

[streetscapeer]

IS TERRA a "GO"?....It's like a new concept of "Living"...anyway I think this one got the greenlight and is on it's way to reality. I could be wrong!


http://www.preconstruccion.com/images/terra_south.jpg


http://www.preconstruccion.com/images/terra_north.jpg


http://www.preconstruccion.com/images/terra_south_view.jpg


http://www.preconstruccion.com/images/terra_north_view.jpg


http://www.preconstruccion.com/images/terra_images.jpg

[SkyDiveJunkee]

where is terra?

[ChuckScraperMiami#1]

where is terra?
YES, YES, SKY and STREET :) , TERRA CONDOS have Broken GROUND, accross from the BATH CLUB CONDOS on COLLINS AVE. and 60 th STREET. THese Condos are in the MIDDLE of SPLIT COLLINS AVE going NORTH. The TERRA Condos are going to be GREAT and nice in Style with the North Area of MIAMI BEACH Coming ALIVE. SO Much is Happening here in NORTH BEACH, THE CANYONS CONDOS will DOMINATE THE OCEAN here at around 67th Street, ITS Changing here everyday. The Akoya Tower started it all , then with the AQUA ISLAND CONDOS, its even Better to live in NORTH BEACH of Miami Beach, its exciting, believe me. :cheers:

[renner01]

chuckscraper:

What is going on with the canyon ranch projects. Who is doing the construction and when do they start?

[ChuckScraperMiami#1]

chuckscraper:

What is going on with the canyon ranch projects. Who is doing the construction and when do they start?
Yes RENNER, :) This 3 - PHASE, 4 Tower Condo-Hotel PROJECT Will be BUILT. Its the LAST HIGH-RISE Tower Project GRANDFATHERED by the CITY of MIAMI BEACH APPROVED, But it has to be done within the next 4 Years or THEY lose the PERMITS. One other HIGH RISE tower is also Grandfathered in , ITS Continuum 2, THE 40 Story NORTH Tower in SOUTH BEACH on collins and biscayne drive next to PENRODS. These Towers have a TARGET DATE to be Done with the City Of Miami Beach , or they LOSE those High=Rise rights. Check out their website at www.canyonranchliving.com ITS REALLY a Great SITE. and GUESS who did the Architecture ?, Thats Right ! www.Arquitectonica.com WOW, this will be nice, I'm going by the sales center this week . ALSO check out www.terra6000collins.com ITS the Terra Condo Project in North Beach. :cheers:

[streetscapeer]

Miami Beach, FL – The City of Miami Beach is about to undertake one of its largest street improvement projects to date at one of the City’s most popular destinations – Washington Avenue; as part of its “Planned Progress.” The approximately $12 million project will enhance both the vehicular and pedestrian experience on this important corridor from 16 to 5 streets. Project plans include significant drainage improvements, roadway resurfacing, new curbs, sidewalks, trees, and pedestrian scale street lights. Work is expected to begin the summer of 2004 and conclude in 2006.

“We recognize that construction can be difficult and disruptive. So as we prepare to make the plans to improve this area, we’re also making plans to make sure that the area’s businesses can stay open to welcome customers and visitors,” said City Manager Jorge M. Gonzalez. “The “Business as Usual” campaign will educate the public using banners, signs and brochures that businesses will remain open during construction.”

[SkyDiveJunkee]

haha..the "business as usual" signs have been around Boston for the Big Dig for about ten years now..I think most of those businesses relocated..lol

[south florida dave]

LOVELY (does anyone know of an image host that doesn't downsize so much)..this pic is amaziing)

street, try using image shack (http://www.imageshack.us). the only restriction is that each pic you upload can't be bigger than a meg. other than that, there's no limit to how many pics you can upload & it's completely free. ya gotta love sites like this!

[streetscapeer]

This is the question as it well appear on the Miami Beach ballot for the Election on Nov 2

Bay Link Streetcar Rail System. Should Miami Beach approve the construction of an electrically operated streetcar transportation system commonly known as "Bay Link," running on tracks and connecting a loop around South beach via a dedicated lane added to the MacArthur Causeway, provided that no concurrency or devlopment credits are granted by Miami Beach for the transportation system and provided further that all construction costs are paid entirely from federa, state, county funds?









Baylink would be a magnificent urban addition to the lifestyle of Miami Beach and (soon the Miami core)

http://downtownmiami.photomachine.net/tour/albums/DDA/aaa.jpg


http://www.miamidade.gov/mpo/images/mpo6-baylink-maps-lpa.gif

[SkyDiveJunkee]

This is just on the MIami Beach ballot, not the whole city?

I doubt they will approve it then.

[streetscapeer]

I know...I'm apprehensive too. I found the proposal on the Miami Beach website...but my intuition would be lead me to believe that that the city of Miami must have a similar proposal to be voted on by Miami residents (especially since the proposed routes are no less extensive in Miami as they are in Miami Beach). But still, one would assume that both cities would have to approve the project for it to be kicked into high gear. I can see Miami doing so, but Miami Beach is a world apart! We'll see....maybe I'm postulating too much and Miami Beach residents we'll recognize the necessity of this project (esp. with all the traffic concerns). This project woul surely enhance Miami Beach's quality of life!

[streetscapeer]

oh yeah...here's the enlarged pic


http://img95.exs.cx/img95/9803/southbeach2.jpg

[ChuckScraperMiami#1]

GREAT Pics of SOUTH BEACH there Street, :) AGAIN, Really GREAT, I hope that BAY LINK gets the GO AHEAD in the election Coming up, November, 2004I think it will work out , Great. The Cost sounds alot, But I hope it passes. :cheers:

[Rx727sfl2002]

Greenwich Group, BF Capital To Finance Nearly 2M-SF Project
By Melissa Bogdany
Last updated: Monday, October 18, 2004 06:19am

MIAMI-The developers of Island Gardens, a 1.6-million-sf, mixed-use project proposed for Watson Island, have retained Greenwich Group International LLC and BF Capital Partners LLC, both based in New York, to provide equity, mezzanine and debt financing to develop the more than $450-million project.


The firms are financing 65% of the project cost, or an estimated $294 million, through construction debt. The other 35%, or about $158 million, is to be funded with equity. Flagstone Property Group LLC; its managing partner, Flagstone Development Corp., and its project subsidiary, Flagstone Island Gardens LLC are developing the project. The financing terms are to be negotiated.


Flagstone has committed to contributing equity of at least $22 million to the project capitalization, or nearly 14% of the planned equity. Through Sept. 30, the company already had invested and committed about $12 million of the committed equity capital to fund expenses, a figure expected to grow to $14 million by the end of the year. Flagstone is looking to raise about $136 million in equity from investors for the capitalization.


The waterfront development will consist of a 345-key, four-star business/resort hotel; a 135-key, five-star luxury hotel that also will provide services to the fractional residences above the hotel floors; 105 units of luxury fractional ownership, with seven fractions each unit; 221,000 rentable sf of high-end retail and dining space; a 43-slip deepwater mega-yacht marina; a 30,000-sf, upscale, holistic spa; and a five-level parking garage for more than 1,600 cars. In addition, public spaces and amenities will include gardens, a promenade, an expanded and enhanced fresh fish market, and water taxi service to Downtown and cruise ship terminals.


“In today’s marketplace, this is probably the most unique property in the country,” says Thomas P. Kennedy, managing director of the Greenwich Group International. The project site is on 10.8 acres of uplands and 13.5 acres of submerged land.


“In most real estate projects, location, location, location” are what make them successful, Kennedy says. “It’s a unique opportunity to create a landmark project. You don’t have a lot of opportunities” like that. "It’s on an island between the City of Miami and South Beach, directly across from where the cruise ships come in.”


Currently, the land houses a children’s museum and a bird zoo, which will stay, according to Kennedy. Infrastructure work has begun on the new project, and it has an anticipated completion of September 2007.

[ChuckScraperMiami#1]

WOW RX :) , This is really Good News, and ITS APPROVED by the City of MIAMI, they even got the permits already, its going up 53 stories accross from the PARROT JUNGLE, Awesome, I can't wait till 2007, MIAMI the 10th Wonder of the World, lol!!! :cheers:

[streetscapeer]

Posted on Tue, Oct. 26, 2004

REAL ESTATE

Beach's South Pointe nears point of build-out

After much debate as to how best to build up South Pointe, developers are planning the final two condo towers in the once-blighted Miami Beach neighborhood.

BY MATTHEW HAGGMAN

mhaggman@herald.com

After years of false starts and fierce fights about how the southern tip of Miami Beach should be developed, a decade of high-rise condominium construction on South Pointe is set to culminate with two final towers.

Before the end of the year, the New York developer Ian Bruce Eichner plans to break ground on the 38-story Continuum North Tower and Jorge Perez's Related Group will begin marketing its planned luxury condo, Apogee.

Construction of the two buildings effectively ends years of debate about how the Miami Beach neighborhood south of Fifth Street should be developed.

The two new towers will leave nine high-rise condos dotting a South Pointe waterfront that had virtually no tall buildings 10 years ago.

Zoning restrictions snuff out any more high-rise development in the neighborhood, which, before the recent spate of development, was known for its crime rate and as home to Joe's Stone Crab restaurant.

City leaders, meanwhile, are finishing plans to redevelop South Pointe Park, a 17-acre green space overlooking Government Cut that is slated to grow by two acres under a recent deal with Perez's Related Group.

On Friday, a city selection committee is expected to recommend a designer for the park. The City Commission is to decide on Nov. 10 what course to take.

NOT ALL ARE HAPPY

Despite South Pointe's emergence in the past decade, not everyone is happy about its sky-scraping evolution.

''We have ended up with a concrete jungle on South Pointe,'' said Dan Paul, a longtime Miami lawyer and activist, ``a high-rise, concrete jungle.''

But the once-impoverished neighborhood, where some Miami Beach residents once feared driving, now bids to be home for the super rich. When Apogee units go on sale next month, the starting price will be a cool $2.5 million.

A penthouse in the building -- where both Perez and business partner Tom Daly plan to make their new homes -- will cost $15 million. By comparison, the neighborhood's median household income as recently as in 1990 was just $7,780.

Rising 22 stories, Apogee will have 67 units ranging from 3,100 to 6,900 square feet in space. Ceilings will run 10 feet high. Balconies will extend 11 feet, complete with a built-in outdoor grill.

CUBAN ARTIST

Each owner will have a private two-car enclosed space within the main garage for the condos at 800 South Pointe Dr. The Cuban artist José Bedia has been commissioned to do three paintings for the building.

''It is far and away the most expensive building we have constructed,'' said Perez, who plans to complete the building in late 2006. ``This will be the last of the high-rises in this area.''

Continuum North Tower, at the eastern end of South Pointe Drive, is also promising to deliver luxury condos, la its first tower. It is to have 199 units, seven town houses and seven lofts ranging from 1,500 to 4,000 square feet. Penthouses will be 7,000 square feet. It is also set to be finished in late 2006.

In February, The New York Times wrote about how a 270-square-foot beachfront cabana at the already built Continuum South Tower sold for $850,000.

''That's $3,148 a square foot -- four and a half times the average for Manhattan apartments,'' The Times marveled.

Three decades ago, South Pointe had fallen to such depths that city leaders declared it a redevelopment zone. An idea was hatched in 1973 to dig canals throughout the neighborhood to create a modern-day Venice.

A range of proposals was presented subsequently, including building a giant Marriott Hotel on the southeastern corner of Miami Beach. But little happened.

Then, in 1992, the German investor Thomas Kramer blew into town and snapped up 35 acres of waterfront property in South Pointe.

The next year, he convened some of the world's best-known architects at Joe's Stone Crab to propose ideas. The group included the likes of Michael Graves, Robert A.M. Stern and Miami's Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk.

GOODWILL GONE

But any goodwill evaporated into lawsuits and stiff political fighting over how high Kramer could build a condo tower and whether density limits could be transferred from one property to another. Perez, represented by Matthew Gorson of Greenberg Traurig, and Eichner eventually bought Kramer's property, and the legal battles were resolved.

With two high-rises left to be built, South Pointe still causes divisions. The height of the condo towers rankles critics. But they admit that South Pointe has turned into a pedestrian-friendly neighborhood with restaurants and retail areas.

''It is reasonable to expect high-rise development in waterfront property, perhaps not as big as the buildings there,'' former Miami Beach Mayor Neisen Kasdin said, reflecting the ambivalence.

''There are some victories and some losses,'' said Plater-Zyberk, dean of the University of Miami School of Architecture. ``The high-rises in front of the marina have gone with town houses on the street, which is successful.''

POSITIVE EXTENSION

She said it was important to have doors and windows at street level, not large driveways or garages. PlaterZyberk, who declined to elaborate on any ''losses,'' deemed the extension of Washington Avenue to the waterfront as positive.

Even David Dermer, who entered politics fighting large-scale development, isn't criticizing South Pointe's high-rise evolution.

''I would prefer less density, obviously,'' the current Miami Beach mayor said. ``But it is hard for any mayor to claim that these $1 million and $2 million condos are bad things.

''The streetscape is beautified,'' he said. ``It is extraordinarily pretty down there below Fifth Street.''

[streetscapeer]

Everyone, this is a MUST-SEE!!

I've come across a SPECTACULAR video online about the proposed Baylink proposal, it has aerials of Miami and Miami Beach showing very dense cities, and how we really need this rapid transit service! Watch both Videos (the historic one is very heartfelt!)


http://www.protransit.org/transport_6.htm#

[mileageman]

I will be voting against baylink. Who wants the noise, ugly wires and tracks, and construction for years for something that isn't even supposed to relieve traffic!

[streetscapeer]

well...I can understand your opposition to the construction, but there actually won't be any overhead wires, there probably won't be as much noise as you think, it's not a train for god's sakes, and HOW COULD YOU say it won't relieve traffic...with Baylink, tourists and residents visiting the South Beach (hundreds of thousands of people everyday are more likely to aprk somewhere in Miami and take Baylink to the beach!...I know that's what I'd do!


You sound like a nimby...how do you expect Miami to progress in its urbanity?

[south florida dave]

I will be voting against baylink. Who wants the noise, ugly wires and tracks, and construction for years for something that isn't even supposed to relieve traffic!

i do! god forbid people who live in a dense, urban city should be put out by a bit of construction for a few years that will help the city tremendously. i've never understood why people put up such a fight against something that helps long term (even if it doesn't produce immediate results) & use "construction nightmares" as the reason it should not be done. what if new york or chicago hadn't built their mass transit systems because people complained that the construction of it interfered with their everyday lives?

i realize that miami & miami beach aren't new york or chicago, but you gotta start somewhere. you gotta think about the big picture with mass transit.

btw, where'd you get the idea that it "isn't even supposed to relieve traffic?"

[nimbyhater]

isnt supposed to relieve traffic?!!!! i guess the expected 20,000 riders a day and almost 6 million a year, that wont do anything for traffic rite? i guess gettin 400 buses off the streets every day wont do anything for traffic? i guess the fact that it has been proven in cities where these have been built that traffic on streets with these steetcars has actually been improved...

thats all crap, it wont help traffic at all, and have u seen the rendering for it, oh ya, its gonna b really ugly luk at this video http://www.protransit.org/transport_6.htm# if u think thats ugly, then im sry, but cities arent supermodels, wait, did that make sense? shut up, u no wat i meant!

stupid nimby, get outta our forum!

[mileageman]

If it made sense, I would be all for it, but it simply doesn't. Even the consultant (who is being paid huge money for this to promote it) admitted in front of the city commision that it will not relieve traffic congestion at all, so what is the point of wasting all that money, and ruining the historic feel of South Beach with ugly (dangerous) cables and tracks? Everyone that I know who lives here on Miami Beach is against it, here is a good summary:

http://www.miamisunpost.com/archives/2004/10-07-04/acpolitics.htm

excerpts:

And while light rail and other track systems may work as a mode for limited routing and a necessary tool for development concurrency credits in other areas of the country, Miami Beach is a narrow and fragile barrier island, where it does not belong nor make any sense to be.

How did this Bay Link rail construction project even get to this point? It’s all about the money. The cost of multiyear street construction, laying of rail and the stretching of overhead power lines to just 17th Street, has now been price-tagged at nearly $500 million. That of course, is in 2004 dollars.

[SkyDiveJunkee]

whether or not it relieves traffic really doesn't matter, because traffic is just getting worse and worse, so any worldclass city provides alternatives for those who would rather use the advantages of public transportation. Think of Friday and Saturday nights trying to get down into South Beach off the bridge and it takes literally 45 minutes. Wouldn't it be great to take the train in?

Also its not going to ruin the historic feel of South Beach. I've never seen a mass transit system (consider Europe for example) degrade the infrustructure surrounding it. Furthermore, Miami is a hip modern, progressive city that really lacks in this department. Just think of people's perceptions of a city with masstransit as opposed to those without.

As for construction nightmares, I've lived in Boston (for school) for 3 years and the bigdig has ripped up everything, yet people have an understanding of its effects, and now that most of the project is completed, people are happy for it.

[MIAballinboi]

^^ lol nimbyhater, you're screen name is kicking in here lool

go baylink! great cruising into south beach on a trian

[mileageman]

Well, I would be against my tax money being wasted no matter what city it was being built in. Perhaps the younger members of this forum will understand this when they start being taxed 1/3+ of their income to the government for all these wasteful projects with their cost overruns.

By the way, there is another important question on the Miami Beach ballot:

Annual Limit On Large Projects

Should the Miami Beach Comprehensive Plan be amended to establish annual limits where appropriate on
the construction of new buildings that are larger than 50,000 square feet?

Which I will be voting against.

[south florida dave]

Perhaps the younger members of this forum will understand this when they start being taxed 1/3+ of their income to the government for all these wasteful projects with their cost overruns.

wasteful in what way? because you won't be riding it?

look, it takes tax money to provide services to the populace of any city. these things don't fund themselves. and although it may not benefit you personally, it will benefit a lot of other people. i love the idea of ditching my car to take the train to the beach. in fact, i rarely go to the beach anymore because of the damn traffic. i think other people feel the same way.

but, really, that's besides the point. public transportation is a must for any growing city, & miami & miami beach are growing big time. these projects have to happen sooner or later for the future of the city's sake, so why not start now? hell, i wish they would've done this years ago.

[south florida dave]

btw, how exactly are you being taxed 1/3 of your income?

[miami1]

Baylink should happen! Not just the proposed route, but all over miami-dade county, I think its better than metrorail, I am in favor of the metrorail extension don't get me wrong...well go Baylink!!!

[mileageman]

It is wasteful to spend $500 million (it will be double that by the time it gets built) on something that will not relieve traffic, just because it is something that a "world class city" has. A world class city also has decent schools, which cannot be said for Miami. As for 1/3 of income - income tax can be up to 3x%, plus you then pay sales tax, real estate tax, etc. (which goes to have chuckscraper drive a pickup truck around in circles).

[mileageman]

I am curious if anyone on this board thinks that we got our moneys worth with metrorail. The question is, how much more improved do you think life in Miami would be if that money had been spent on roads which could have signifcantly reduced or even eliminated the traffic jams that we all sit in every day?

[Roark]

I am curious if anyone on this board thinks that we got our moneys worth with metrorail. The question is, how much more improved do you think life in Miami would be if that money had been spent on roads which could have significantly reduced or even eliminated the traffic jams that we all sit in every day?
If you are taking a poll...count me as a Yes, the Metro transportation system to, from, and around downtown is money well spent. (Let's pretend that I was here when it was built).
Compactness in a city brings bright minds together in one place to produce more intellectual product. Manhattan is very dense. The highest paying jobs in the US can be found in Manhattan, and in other densely populated places. The more brains per square foot you can pack into a Central Business District the better, and to get those brains to bed at night and back to the office in the morning you need effective transportation. ( a cheap lift to the Heat game is a nice benefit as well).
Although, I don't really ride the MetroRail, the MetroMover is a Godsend. If you take it from my office in the Financial district and ride it to the Omni, you can see dozens of lots all right next to the MetroMover.
Those lots bring in about 2.75% of their value in property taxes. The value of an age old empty lot is negligible compared to the value of that same lot with 500 apartments in a tall building.
(Example: 1040 Biscayne Blvd was assessed at $2.5 million and paid apprx. $71,000 in taxes to the people. When that address closes as 10 Museum Park, there will be 200 apartments and my guess is that the avg value will be $550,000 :) per apt. or $110,000,000 x's 2% or $2.2 million per year every year with increases each year).
As everyone in the forum knows, nearly every single one of those lots are going to be tall buildings.
It is no coincidence that 100's of thousands of taxable square footage is being constructed within 1 block of the MetroMover. Within ONE BLOCK!!!
CHUCK could give you a more accurate account, but here's my best...start at Brickell and 14th Street MetroMover stop...
Sail, Emerald, 1390 Brickell Bay, Espirito Santo, Four Seasons, Park Place, Axis, Mary Brickell Village, Avenue, Beacon, Plaza, Brickell on the River, Ivy, Met, DuPont Plaza, One Miami, Everglades, Loft, Loft 2, Marina Blue, 900 Biscayne, 10 Museum Park, ?Howard Johnson?, and Opera Tower.
There are another few thousand apartments within 2 blocks, but why go "so far" just to prove a point!
True, the MetroMover was built quite some time ago and nothing happened, but at least dollars were cheaper then. Now before we really need it, the transportation is scalable and in place in the Downtown Development Authority boundaries (that is probably no coincidence either).
Back when the system was built I was busy funding the Detroit PeopleMover, now that may well be a waste.

This long diatribe is meant just to answer your question about the investment in transportation in Miami directly, mileage man (or is it millage man :) ). The question of whether the people of Miami Beach need/want better access to those that don't live there is an entirely different question.

[ChuckScraperMiami#1]

TRUE ROARK, and Don't forget INFINITY at Brickell, THE LADITUDE on the River CONDO and OFFICE Tower ( 2 buildings ), NEO VERTIKA Condo, AND True with the other 10,000 UNITS TO THE NORTH, LOL. So many to mention, LOL, Especially the OPERA Tower, 1800 Club, and the QUANTUM Towers, and of course if OPUS 1 and 2 get started, ITS going to be a population Explosion here in 10 Years, WE need Mass Transportation to IMPROVE NOW !!! :cheers:

[SkyDiveJunkee]

This long diatribe is meant just to answer your question about the investment in transportation in Miami directly, mileage man (or is it millage man :) ). The question of whether the people of Miami Beach need/want better access to those that don't live there is an entirely different question.

I read an article at some point about this exact thing, the fact that Miami Beach residents want their "exclusivity"...if they want that, move to freakin' Palm Beach, but South Beach is what it is because of both its residents and nonresidents, and the economy of South Beach relies heavily on those nonresidents. They need to start realizing this.

[Bobdreamz]

I am curious if anyone on this board thinks that we got our moneys worth with metrorail. The question is, how much more improved do you think life in Miami would be if that money had been spent on roads which could have signifcantly reduced or even eliminated the traffic jams that we all sit in every day?

of course we did, try building the same 22 mile system we have today for 1 billion dollars...impossible. I know Reagan called it a "white elephant" at the time but in hindsight I believe we did get a bargain for the systems (Metromover included) we currently have in place. Also if I remember correctly the Federal government paid 80% of the funding with the state kicking in 10% and the county another 10%. Federal allocations for new transit systems are now at 50%
and that is why you have so many cities vying for light rail instead of heavy rail because the start up costs are so exhorbitant.
Metrorail should have kept expanding throughout the late 80's & early 90's but the lack of a local source of funding killed any hopes of expansion.

As for the roads issue i seriously doubt you could build enough highways to accomodate the amount of traffic we currently have and where would the space to build new highways come from? Except for the outlying areas most of greater Miami is already built out.

One last final thought...you complain about the amount Baylink will cost but are you aware that you already are paying for it through the 1/2 cent sales tax for transit that was passed in November 2002? What is ironic is that the the majority of voters from Miami Beach voted for the transit tax! Baylink was included in the transportation plan anyways.Remember tourists also pay sales tax as well so the burden isn't completely on us.Either way Miami Beach has to be connected to the rest of the transit system one way or another and it would be a shame if beach residents didn't take advantage of what is being offered.

[ChuckScraperMiami#1]

EVERYONE :) , All's I know is With Another Condo Tower getting started at the Continnum and Another Hotel going up in the Deco Arts District, ITS A MUST for a BAYLINK Project to START Soon, and the Traffic is Only going to get WORST :bash: way before the BAYLINK is finished in 7 -10 years from now. :cheers:

[Don Pacho]

http://miamirealestatetrends.com/images/StarterImages/Fontainebleau3.jpg

This is the model of the big canopy or new port pochere now being built at the Fontainebleau Hilton that will connect the whole resort, the new tower Fontainebleau II with the old chateau.

http://home.comcast.net/~fpenagos/wsb/media/689008/site1009.jpg

These are some renderings of this canopy.

http://home.comcast.net/~fpenagos/wsb/media/689008/site1010.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~fpenagos/wsb/media/689008/site1011.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~fpenagos/wsb/media/689008/site1012.jpg

[streetscapeer]

Nice!!

[gsap222]

I will be voting against baylink. Who wants the noise, ugly wires and tracks, and construction for years for something that isn't even supposed to relieve traffic!

the reliance on automobiles is the single most debilitating and blighting force in the developments of cities in the united states.

[gsap222]

I will be voting against baylink. Who wants the noise, ugly wires and tracks, and construction for years for something that isn't even supposed to relieve traffic!

you have obviously not visited amsterdam, munich, san francisco, antwerp where this type of transportation plays a major role in the life of the city. consider the reduction in pollution, lightening of traffic, alleviating parking space, and the potential reductino in drunk driving deaths from people returning from south beach. read, observe, get educated, THEN you will be able to make the proper decision.

[mileageman]

If you can convince me why these trains are any better than the much cheaper buses or trolleys, the I will vote for it, but I doubt you can (and don't tell me that you won't lower yourself to riding a bus - if you have psychologcal issues with a bus, that is your problem). By the way, I have visited two of four of the above cities, and used the public transportation there.

This is the mayor's opinion:
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/local/states/florida/counties/miami-dade/cities_neighborhoods/beaches/10054319.htm

[mileageman]

consider the reduction in pollution, lightening of traffic, alleviating parking space, and the potential reductino in drunk driving deaths from people returning from south beach.

1. reduction in pollution: There is no serious pollution problem here, and if there was, a bus (hybrid or otherwise) would be just as effective.

2. reduction of traffic: no real advantage to a train over a bus/trolley

3. alleviating parking space: no real advantage to a train over a bus/trolley

4. potential reduction in drunk driving deaths: no real advantage to a train over a bus/trolley

[CityBoiFlorida]

Miami Beach needs some kind of rail system that connects to downtown. There are too many people per square mile that work and live there that would use it and the area is overcrowed with cars. I've lived in cities with rail systems and without. I've also lived in one city that took forever to get it up and running (Dallas), but when it did get up and running, and after just a few years, they were very glad it was in place. The pros for rail go on and on, but the older politicians, quite a few suburbanites, and people who have never rode rail (mainly because they won't get out of their cars and the illusion that they will be a victim of crime) will only show the negatives. One negative that is always brought up is initial cost and ongoing cost - have you seen a road yet pay for itself? Rail is not designed to pay for itself, but provide quick, clean (electric light rail), efficient, ontime service from one location to another. Many people in Miami rely on this form of transportation already and the service workers who can't afford to live on Miami Beach will benefit from this as will as the tourists and downtown office workers. This is Miami Beach's chance to get something up and running in the next decade. Roads will only get more crowded in the future so it only makes sense to get some kind of rail system going between Miami and Miami Beach.

[The Mad Hatter!!]

true but i think baylink should be undrground because land is expense in the beach and it'll also make m.beach look ugly

[nimbyhater]

consider the reduction in pollution, lightening of traffic, alleviating parking space, and the potential reductino in drunk driving deaths from people returning from south beach.

1. reduction in pollution: There is no serious pollution problem here, and if there was, a bus (hybrid or otherwise) would be just as effective.

2. reduction of traffic: no real advantage to a train over a bus/trolley

3. alleviating parking space: no real advantage to a train over a bus/trolley

4. potential reduction in drunk driving deaths: no real advantage to a train over a bus/trolley

say wat u want, but i take the bus frequently, and no1 wants to take the bus... its just a metla thing, as stupid as it is, 8 times as many people will aite, maybe not 8 thats exagerated as hell) take a train over a bus, and will stay stuck in traffic for horus b4 takin a bus.. theyve dont studies, its been proven, stupid mental attitude, but thats just the truth, u cant have a city without public transportation, give me one major urban city that just has buses, name me one urbanized city and ill b content

[Don Pacho]

The spine connector now under construction at the Fontainebleau Hilton Resort will connect the nearly finished Fontainebleau II tower and the future tower III with the old chateau.

http://home.comcast.net/~fpenagos/wsb/media/689008/site1021.jpg

The Big Canopy or new port cochere is the center piece of these connectors.

http://home.comcast.net/~fpenagos/wsb/media/689008/site1019.jpg

The Spine Connector is two storey high, the lower level is the service corridor and retail areas. The upper level is the main guest corridor. While walking thru these "connectors", guests can enjoy the view of the resort's swimming pools and beach.

http://home.comcast.net/~fpenagos/wsb/media/689008/site1020.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~fpenagos/wsb/media/689008/site1022.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~fpenagos/wsb/media/689008/site1023.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~fpenagos/wsb/media/689008/site1024.jpg

[MIAballinboi]

nice designs!

[ChuckScraperMiami#1]

DON PACHO :) Awesome PICS of Fontainebleau HOTEL-CONDO Phase II, I can't wait for Renderings of Fontainebleau Hilton III, Any Pics of that one YET, Anyone ? :cheers:

[The Mad Hatter!!]

ok although i like baylink it doesn't stop at the airport which is the main reason for building it.if it doesn't stop at the airport not many people will ride it,the other day i was riding the j beach to 71st bus which goes from the airport to the beach and that bus had at least 7 tourist in it,the tourist are the ones who will ride it (mostly).

for example a guy who has a car isn't going to take baylink to south beach to pick up girls,he'll wanna ride in his escalade. which i find stupid because he'll probably save like 10 bucks if he would ride baylink and also save about half an hour
if you think that miami is like newyork forget about it no one likes to use public transportation although its cheap and fast ,except the buses,THE REASON FOR THIS IS THAT THESE PEOPLE WANT TO BE COOL.

I'M NOT ASHAMED TO SAY I TAKE THE METRORAIL EVERY SINGLE DAY TO AND FROM SCHOOL AND I HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH IT,if i wanted my parents would buy me a car but they said i would need to pay for gas,insurance,tickets,mechanic.while on the metrorail i can't crash with the terrible miami drivers,im usually their in 10 mins,and only pay 1.25 a day.so why risk my life driving,get to school late every morning and deal with those crooked cops.

Theirs only one thing wrong about the metrorail the fact that it doesn't go everywhere you want,and trust me their has never been any violence on the metrorail. so what i think should be done is to expand the metrorail expand to the west to doral and the airport, add stops to the east in the d.district,pac,uptown. ALSO 2 in miami beachwhy just 2 because we don't need that many stops in miami beach,south to kendall,and north to aventura. INSTEAD OF SPENDING MONEY ON BAYLINK EXPAND THE METRORAIL.

[Don Pacho]

DON PACHO :) Awesome PICS of Fontainebleau HOTEL-CONDO Phase II, I can't wait for Renderings of Fontainebleau Hilton III, Any Pics of that one YET, Anyone ? :cheers:

The only one I know of, is the one shown at the FB 3 website

http://fontainebleau3.com/

The website does not show much. The design is preliminary and could change. Phase III breaks ground early 2005 :)

[nimbyhater]

uptown, takin the bus and takin the metrorail are very different things, and i no exactly wat ur talkin about, i also think they should expand the metro to the beach, but theyre just not way to get a heavy rail train to miami beach, thats just not gonna happen, and subway isnt geologically possible in miami, so baylink is just gonna have to do, though expansion all over dade county, especially places of interest like the airport, uptown/midtown/design/performing arts district, all that good stuff, itll happen eventually, just the longer we wait, the harder its gonna b

[The Mad Hatter!!]

ok then why not expand metromover


or even better we do what i've been saying all along build a bridge, cars pass on top and on the bottom we put a train. a bridge would be great,bridges sometimes are more important than buildings. look at san fransico its more known for the golden gate bridge than the transamerica pyramid.

[ChuckScraperMiami#1]

Everyone :) , I Hate to say This, BUT 5 Years from NOW in 2009, We'll Probably still be Hoping for A BAYLINK or a METROMOVER or METRORAIL Expansion or EVEN a BULLET Train from heere to Orlando, But By then, Nothing HAS Changed, But Then Again I could Be wrong. :)
To Tell you the Truth MEN and Any Women Here :) , THE TRAFFIC Will Still be here and WORST in 2009, But thats my opinion, and sometimes I'm Wrong. :cheers:

[nimbyhater]

baylink isnt supposed to be done till 2020 and thats if its on time, and metro expansion till 2035... again, if its on time, which it wont be... were gonna be waiting for these for a long ass time

as great as an iconic bridge would b, where the hell would it go, we have the causeways to connect across the bay, and thats it, theyres just no need for a bridge anywhere

i think that the idea of expanding metro mover is the best ive heard in a while, takes the best of neavy rail, but nowhere near the price and uglyness and better than streetlevel light rail, i think that expanding metromover across the county would be our best bet, but then again, cant carry anywhere near as many people, well, i guess u can hook two or three of those cars together, and have em come qutie frequently

[The Mad Hatter!!]

screw the causeways blow them up, build the beachway bridge and put the metromover on the bottom

[streetscapeer]

wtf are u talking about?...r u mentally unstable or r u just making a stupid joke?!

[The Mad Hatter!!]

how im i mentally unstable because i said to build a bridge with the metromover under,so whos the stupid one me or you

[nimbyhater]

why are you alway so hostile uptown, calm down... the causeawyas are the arteries that connect millions of people to each other... no way u could ever blow those up, wats the point of spending billions of dollars and destroying perfectly good infrastrcture, not to mention hugely adversely affect the economy of the region just to build a bridge thats prettier? u can build metro mover on the side of the causeway and itd work just as well

[The Mad Hatter!!]

well if we blow up one causeway and build a bridge we can charge like 20 bucks on the toll

[nimbyhater]

im pretty sure thats not the motive, to build something bigger so u can charge more on tolls, the causeways r fine, tho not the prettiest things in the world, when compared to golden gate, or brooklyn, they get it done, and the span is just to big for a typical bridge, plus the bridge to the port of miami is amazing wit the lights

[The Mad Hatter!!]

true,but were gunna build a tunnel so why not a bridge,ok last time i'll say it
lets build a bridge.

[nimbyhater]

were gonna build a tunnel under government cut, cause 20 story high cruise ships need to pass through, u wanna build a bridge that high to transverse about 200 yrds of water, with two skinny little islands on each side? come on man

[The Mad Hatter!!]

ok

[Roark]

i think that the idea of expanding metro mover is the best ive heard in a while, takes the best of neavy rail, but nowhere near the price and uglyness and better than streetlevel light rail, i think that expanding metromover across the county would be our best bet, but then again, cant carry anywhere near as many people, well, i guess u can hook two or three of those cars together, and have em come qutie frequently
Remember that the MetroMover is the little electric gizmo that can link about 2-3 cars together. MetroRail is the multiple car rail system that goes almost to the airport. As someone has posted I'm sure, the Miami Intermodal Center is funded and will have connectivity to the rail system.

And by the way, did Chuck steal all of your capital letters?

[nimbyhater]

i no roark, thats wat i meant, i no the difference trust me, being a frequent user of the two of them

damn u chuck u took all my capitals! i am a capital-less ignormus because of u no, damn u! lol, jp... proper grammar is over-rated

[Don Pacho]

I took the following pictures last friday morning from the penthouse floor, 37th level of the Fontainebleau II tower that are just appropiate for the South Beach Art Deco District thread.

Looking towards the North. The nearest and tallest tower is the Blue & Green Diamonds, the farthest and tallest, I believe is the Akoya.

http://home.comcast.net/~fpenagos/wsb/media/689008/site1037.jpg

The South View. The nearest / tallest tower is La Tour, farthest and tallest by the beach, the Continuum.

http://home.comcast.net/~fpenagos/wsb/media/689008/site1038.jpg

...and finally our growing Miami skyline from the beach...I hope you like the pictures.

http://home.comcast.net/~fpenagos/wsb/media/689008/site1039.jpg

[nimbyhater]

those are amazing, man this city is great

[SkyDiveJunkee]

Whats under construction in the foreground of the second to last picture?

[renner01]

Related Group moves upscale

by Robyn Friedman, Special to the Sun-Sentinel
Posted November 8 2004

Email story
Print story
Condo buyers in South Florida are no doubt familiar with The Related Group of Florida Inc., a prolific Miami-based multifamily developer. Now, however, affluent buyers from around the world will soon know of the company as well.

Related has just announced plans to build its most expensive condominium units ever -- units that will range in price from $2 million to $15 million and will include every imaginable luxury. The project is called Apogee, and it's slated for the last available waterfront parcel in the section of Miami Beach known as "South of Fifth," at the southern tip of South Beach.

"It's a unique product," said Joyce Bronson, senior vice president at Related, which is developing the project under the name TRG-Alaska I Ltd. "It's special because you have a very small number of units."

Apogee will feature 67 units in a 21-story building that will rise at 800 S. Pointe Drive, a 2.7-acre tract overlooking Government Cut. Related purchased the land in September 2003 and expects to break ground on the project in April, after building permits are issued. Bronson estimated that the building would take about 15 to 16 months to complete.

The units at Apogee will range in size from 3,100 to 6,900 square feet. Every unit will be a "through unit," with views in multiple directions. Units will feature double dishwashers and ovens, to facilitate entertaining; wine cellars; home automation systems; and top-of-the-line appliances and cabinetry. The building's amenities will include a fitness center and recreation deck with infinity-edge pool and sculpture garden. Every unit will have a private two-car garage.

Apogee is unusual because early buyers can elect to customize their units. "Where other developers -- including ourselves, in other buildings -- do a standard floor plan, we're offering our purchasers the opportunity to help us custom-design a unit for them," Bronson said. One buyer may want four bedrooms in her unit, for example, while another buyer may choose to design the same space to hold only two bedrooms and more space for entertaining. "It's what we think our buyer profile would demand," Bronson said.

That buyer profile consists of wealthy individuals from around the world -- "people looking for a very exclusive and private retreat in South Beach," Bronson said. Sales for the project opened in mid-October, and nearly a third are spoken for already. "This site is exceptional, so there were people waiting to see what was going to be developed there," she added.

The project faces little competition from other new projects, said Mark Zilbert, an associate at brokerage Esslinger-Wooten-Maxwell Inc. in Miami Beach, although it might compete with some resale units at other projects in the area.

"This is a building for multimillionaires," Zilbert said. He said that many of the wealthy buyers with whom he works don't want to live in a building where there are smaller apartments when they are buying a unit that costs $5 million. "But Apogee is like a classic suburban country club neighborhood -- just stacked," he said.

Zilbert has already sold "a handful" of units at Apogee. He said that although the project is not beachfront, the developer has created a desirable environment with amenities that create the kind of lifestyle the wealthy desire.

The architect for Apogee is The Sieger Suarez Architectural Partnership Inc., based in Miami. Toronto-based Yabu Pushelberg will design the interiors.

Robyn A. Friedman is a freelance writer. E-mail real estate items or tips to rafriedman@att.net.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/local/sfl-ybreal08nov08,0,6073223.story

[streetscapeer]

WOW...awesome pics...MOre Please!!!:)

[The Mad Hatter!!]

that last pic is great, the skyline looks awesome imagine like 20 more big buildings added to it.

[nimbyhater]

tru, uptown, imagine that last pic in just 5 years from now, itll b totally different

[Don Pacho]

Whats under construction in the foreground of the second to last picture?

If I am not mistaken, they are going to build a parking structure. There are major parking problems at this area specially for all those hotels on the beach. :)

[nimbyhater]

no, no parking garages, only makes people more dpendent on cars, if parkin is bad, peoplell give up eventually

extend bylink up this way, and ull never need a parking garage, ah, who am i kidding, baylink ainte hapning for 20 years, and even then, they wont bring it their far north, dammit

[Don Pacho]

The following are pictures of the Fontainebleau Tower II as of today that is nearly finished. The tower will be a condo / hotel combination and is the first of two towers of this major expansion of the Fontainebleau Hilton Resort.

This tower is 37 storeys high. The base of the building is a parking zone with apartment units starting at the 7th level.

South Elevation

http://home.comcast.net/~fpenagos/wsb/media/689008/site1040.jpg

South West Elevation

http://home.comcast.net/~fpenagos/wsb/media/689008/site1041.jpg

South West Corner Close-Up

http://home.comcast.net/~fpenagos/wsb/media/689008/site1042.jpg

[streetscapeer]

looks great to me!!:)

[nimbyhater]

parking garage is too exposed and ugly, buidling could use a little more color, but besides that, great addition to the miami beach skyline

[Don Pacho]

parking garage is too exposed and ugly, buidling could use a little more color, but besides that, great addition to the miami beach skyline

Let's just wait and see, this building has at least 6 more months to go. I believe each corner of the parking garage will be camouflaged by some fancy waterfalls coming from the 7th floor, the amenities level where this building's swimming pool is located. These waterfalls will be lighted at night and I think they will create a landmark to Miami Beach.

I think the paint is just the primer being applied. Many of the glass railing panels have not been installed. The windows are still protected by the blue-max film that protects the glass from scratches and falling debris during construction. Once is painted, I hope with a less white-ish color, then this film is removed and glass is cleaned. The glass color is blue-green to match the existing building, the old chateau.

[nimbyhater]

well i guess i just got 2 ahead of myself, thanks don

[ChuckScraperMiami#1]

DON PACHO :) :) < Great PIC again, I see you've been to the TOP of the Fontainbleau II, Fantastic, DON, Whats going up in that HUGE LOT South of the Fontainbeau II, thats Under Construction Just one block away ?? :cheers:

[nimbyhater]

Whats under construction in the foreground of the second to last picture?

If I am not mistaken, they are going to build a parking structure. There are major parking problems at this area specially for all those hotels on the beach. :)

this the one ur talkin about chuck?

[south florida dave]

waterfalls at the corners of the garage? sounds pretty cool. hopefully it will be some sort of landmark to make up for the mural that was dropped to make way for the tower. i'm still not happy about that :rant:

got any renderings of the waterfalls, don?

[Don Pacho]

waterfalls at the corners of the garage? sounds pretty cool. hopefully it will be some sort of landmark to make up for the mural that was dropped to make way for the tower. i'm still not happy about that :rant:

got any renderings of the waterfalls, don?

hey south florida dave :) let me get you some memories. I've found some pictures of the old Fontainebleau mural.

It was fun to drive on Collins going north and see far away this mural that looked so real and later realise that you've been fooled.

http://home.comcast.net/~fpenagos/wsb/media/689008/site1043.jpg

The turning street by the mural is where the new tower now sits. The resort owned the land across the street and traded "lands" with the city and the street was relocated.

The last hotel by the mural on the right, I believe the Sonesta, was recently demolished to make room for the new tower III.

http://home.comcast.net/~fpenagos/wsb/media/689008/site1044.jpg

[streetscapeer]

I'm really mad they took that down....It had alot of character :(

[ChuckScraperMiami#1]

I'm really mad they took that down....It had alot of character :(
SAME HERE STREET, its SAD to see this GREAT Mural ALL Knocked down for Fontainbluea II, its Really ashame, and just for a 18-Story Condo TOWER, it SUCKS, Down with TURNBERRY. the Developer.

[MIAballinboi]

wat only 18 stories, ill take this mural any day, thats nice i remember when i was alot younger this, very nice but too bad its gone... stupid developer,

[renner01]

REAL ESTATE

South Pointe parcels secure luxury condos

A super-pricey condominium is being planned on one of Miami Beach's last remaining underdeveloped waterfront parcels.

BY MATTHEW HAGGMAN

mhaggman@herald.com

One of South Beach's last underdeveloped beachfront parcels has been snapped up by developer Michael Samuel, in a move that continues South Pointe's transformation from a once-blighted area to among South Florida's priciest.

Samuel, part of the team behind the massive Midtown Miami mixed-use project at the former Buena Vista Rail Yard in Miami, said he plans to erect a 42-unit condominium building on 1.6 acres of waterfront property near the southern tip of Miami Beach.

''It is probably the last waterfront property in South Beach that is viable for midrise residential,'' said Edie Laquer, who brokered the sale with Vincent Pastore.

AGING BUILDINGS

Three aging buildings -- located at 121, 125 and 135 Ocean Dr. -- currently sit on the property. Two of the three existing buildings -- the Seacrest Apartments and Villa Luisa Hotel -- will be included in the development.

Unlike many other new waterfront condos on South Pointe, Samuel's project will not be a high-rise. Instead, zoning restrictions limit its height to 75 feet.

A Samuel-led investment group paid $25 million for the three contiguous lots, he said. Samuel said he bought the property from another developer who originally had the contract on the properties, but declined to name that person.

Over the last decade, the neighborhood south of Fifth Street in Miami Beach has rapidly changed from a struggling, seedy neighborhood to one of the most sought-after in South Florida.

Units at the 135 Ocean Drive Atlantic View Towers -- which will be torn down -- rented in recent years between $500 and $1,400 a month. But, in a glaring indication of the shift, condo units in Samuel's development will start at a whopping $4 million.

''When I moved to South Beach 14 years ago, I had a friend living at Third and Meridian and I couldn't believe he lived in such a slum,'' said Jeff Morr, chief executive of Majestic Properties, which will sell the condo units. ``It is amazing. The area is now getting some of the finest restaurants and shops.''

And the project underlines another trend: non-Florida developers and investors continue to pursue South Florida real estate.

Samuel and his wife, Deborah, who own Samuel & Co., moved their 29-year-old real estate company from New York to Miami two years ago.

THE INVESTORS

The project's investors include Ramin Kamfar, the former chairman and CEO of the Colorado-based New World Restaurant Group, which owned Einstein Bros. Bagels. Kamfar, who could not be reached for comment, left the company in 2002 amid allegations of financial irregularities.

To be called ''South of 5th,'' the new development will occupy 150 feet of the beachfront. It is located between the Marriott Hotel and Bentley Beach condominium. One block south is the Nikki Beach Club, a restaurant and nightclub.

Designed by Coral Gables architect John Nichols, the seven-story project will connect the Seacrest Apartments and Villa Luisa Hotel. Samuel hopes to begin selling units in February and break ground in the summer.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/business/10158851.htm

[ChuckScraperMiami#1]

Renner :) !!!, Great INFO, Continuum II is Starting Soon, The Last 40 Story Tower on South Pointe. :cheers:

[miamicanes]

subway isnt geologically possible in miami

Sigh. The impossibility of building underground in Miami is one of those myths that just refuses to die.

With the exception of Coconut Grove, subterran Miami is geologically drier and more stable than Manhattan, Chicago, AND London. Lower Manhattan is SO wet & soggy, it makes South Beach look like Death Valley by comparison.

There are three major reasons why there isn't much underground in Miami:

1) FEMA. Residential living space below floodplain and dry-floodproofed residential structures are prohibited in "A" flood zones, and building ANYTHING below grade is forbidden in residential buildings in "V" flood zones (apparently, FEMA's logic is that if dry floodproofing is allowed, people in dry-floodproofed buildings won't evacuate because they're safe, and people who live in buildings that aren't safe will follow their example and stay behind too). Most of South Beach is "V". A good portion of the area south and east of US-1 is "A". Ironically, most of Edgewater, Wynwood, and the upper east side is "X" -- as is most of urban Dade County with the exception of the area along the Tamiami Canal (836 corridor), Doral, and the general area south of SW 152 st..

Note that "floodplain" has nothing whatsoever to do with groundwater. Ever wonder why Mirador has a huge underground garage that they don't use? They aren't allowed to. When they remodeled the building, they triggered FEMA's "50%" rule and were forced to officially abandon a perfectly good underground parking garage and pretend it doesn't exist. In theory, lots of old art deco apartment buildings have basements and aren't allowed to use them either... but small condos and private homeowners can basically stick up their middle finger at the government and keep the basement anyway. Big corporations (like the one that owned Mirador when it was a rental property) can't do that because their lawyers won't let them and they're subject to outside scrutiny.

2) "Up North", buildings need to have their foundations below the frost line. That means that you need to dig a 4-8 foot deep hole regardless of whether you want a basement or not. As a result, the marginal cost of getting a not-necessarily-dry unfinished basement is minimal. So nearly everyone gets one. Here, there's no frost, nor any need to dig a significant hole, so 100% of the cost of digging an 8 foot hole and hauling away the dirt would be additional expense.

3) Cost. Almost without exception, it's cheaper to build one or two stories higher than it is to dig one or two stories down. So unless height restrictions are causing problems, it rarely makes sense to go down. Until recently, land in Miami wasn't expensive enough anywhere outside the Grove to justify the cost.

As for groundwater... well, that's actually a problem just about everywhere in the country. It's perfectly possible to engineer a good waterproof structure, particularly if it's going to have a few million tons of reinforced concrete sitting above it to keep it from turning into a concrete boat (some condo in the Grove with a 2 or 3 story deep garage has this problem... apparently, their solution was to just abandon the lowermost floor and simply allow water to flow in through the cracks and pump it out because keeping it out entirely was putting too much stress on the rest of the building).

[miamicanes]

As for Baylink...

I think Baylink, as an at-grade streetcar, is just about the worst idea anybody has had transit-wise since the South Dade Busway. It'll cause a traffic meltdown in South Beach, and be slow to boot.

Personally, I think MDTA just needs to bite the bullet and run Metrorail all the way to South Beach as a real, honest-to-god subway. Yeah, it'll probably cost $2 billion (vs "only" $500-700 million), but at least then it'll be fast enough to be genuinely useful to people besides tourists and won't make traffic worse than it already is.

IMHO, the ideal route would be the eastern end of the future east-west line between FIU and Government Center (making use of the mid-level ghost station one level below the main Metrorail platform that most people don't even REALIZE is a ghost station until it gets pointed out to them). Say...

running east (high above the road as it comes out of government center) to its first eastern stop at American Airlines Arena, then continuing over the water to the Port of Miami. From there, it would descend to about 100 feet below sea level for its short trip across Government Cut...

... to Jefferson Station, located deep below Washington Avenue, with portals roughly 2 blocks west (via escalator) and directly above (via elevator). This station would have to be mined, like most of the London Underground and a few stations in DC.

From there, it would continue north, heading towards the surface as it follows Washington Avenue until it passes under Fifth Street, then banks to the left to follow Pennsylvania Avenue the rest of its trip north as a shallow cut 'n cover subway. Why Pennsylvania Ave? Closing Washington Avenue for 2-3 years is just out of the question. It would disrupt and destroy too many businesses and inconvenience everyone in major ways. Pennsylvania Avenue, on the other hand, is more like a big residential driveway and parking lot. As long as they only dig up a half of a block at a time and ensure that every other intersection is open at any given moment, and turn the remaining portions of Pennsylvania Avenue into a high-density temporary parking lot for the residents, it won't be nearly as bad. Plus, it'll take half a block to get to the surface via escalator anyway, so they can still put the portals on Washington Ave (though I'd add one or two more stairway-only portals right above the station for residents who don't need an elevator and would rather climb stairs than fight their way through herds of clueless tourists).

Washington Station itself would sit by the intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington Avenue, and 7th Street. This is the first major station of interest to non-residents due to all the clubs and hotels in the area.

Heading north, Reagan Station comes next. It's located just south of Espanola Way (and would, in fact, have its main entrance portal in the area by Drexel and Espanola way, with a hall tunnel leading there under the school yard from the station). Why "Reagan"? Because he's the reason all the Eurotourists from what used to be Eastern Europe can go partying in South Beach to begin with :)

Lincoln Station is the last stop. It sits beneath what's now the huge parking lot at the corner of 17th street and Washington Avenue. However, it's no longer a parking lot. It's now a huge 20 story version of Dadeland Station, complete with Best Buy, Target, Sports Authority, Borders, OfficeMax, and (god forbid) maybe even a Lowe's or Home Depot.

But wait, there's more!

Jefferson Station is where most of the locals get to flee the hordes of tourists because it also happens to be the southern terminus of a Metromover line that mostly follows Alton Road north to 17th street, where it heads to its northern (for now) terminus at Lincoln Station. Maybe with the southbound track taking a short detour west at Lincoln & Alton to hit one additional station by Purdy Park, right across the bridge from all the condos on Belle Island.

It's beautiful. The underground metrorail line goes almost directly to where tourists and nonresidents want to go (clubs and the convention center), and the mover line lets the locals escape at the first opportunity and enjoy the remainder of their ride home in peace (and gets them all a little closer to their ultimate destinations while it's at it).

[Roark]

Sounds great Cane...a couple of billion well spent! I'm fer it.
Only a few things, there is already a Frank Gehry Soundscape project planned for the corner of 17th and Wash, and the Dadeland Station type thing is planned for 5th & Alton. And finally, there is only one Republican person in South Beach, so even though Ronald helped free half of Europe from tyranny, he is still "dumb" just like every Republican president. You may have to name that Reagan Station after son, Michael Reagan to win approval on the Beach! It's a tough crowd!

[Don Pacho]

Sounds great Cane...a couple of billion well spent! I'm fer it.
Only a few things, there is already a Frank Gehry Soundscape project planned for the corner of 17th and Wash

Hey...what do you know about this project? I didn't know !! Wow
I love the works of this guy...

Any renderings?

[Dale]

Sounds great Cane...a couple of billion well spent! I'm fer it.
Only a few things, there is already a Frank Gehry Soundscape project planned for the corner of 17th and Wash, and the Dadeland Station type thing is planned for 5th & Alton. And finally, there is only one Republican person in South Beach, so even though Ronald helped free half of Europe from tyranny, he is still "dumb" just like every Republican president. You may have to name that Reagan Station after son, Michael Reagan to win approval on the Beach! It's a tough crowd!

Or which son is it who's a ballerina ? Ron Reagan Jr. ? Maybe that would play better in South Beach. :)

[ChuckScraperMiami#1]

TRUE ROARK :) I agree with MIAMICanes :) , too. Sounds FANTASTIC, good POINT !!!, WELCOME to The Florida Forum, MAKE sure you VOTE in that Favorite Florida CITY POLL, at the Bottom. Your VOTE is NEEDED, Again WELCOME MIAMICANES !!! :cheers:

[streetscapeer]

Wait...what exactly is being planned for 5th and Alton? that's like right when you get off the MacArthur!

[Jaroslaw]

:)

[ChuckScraperMiami#1]

Wait...what exactly is being planned for 5th and Alton? that's like right when you get off the MacArthur!
TRUE STREET :) , Its THAT Empty NORTHEAST CORNER of the Main Intersection of 5th St. and Alton RD., Used to be a Gas Station, but NOW its A Huge LOT ready for Development. A PUBLIX There SOUNDS GREAT, its Good For the NEW Residents of THE ICON Condo Tower and the BENTLEY BAY Condo Towers, and All the Other Towers along WEST AVENUE, Fantastic NEWS MEN !!! :cheers:

[streetscapeer]

any renderings floating around...this sounds very, very interesting!

[Don Pacho]

The following are pics of the Fontainebleau Hilton Resort Spine Connector that is now under construction.
These 2-storey high corridors will connect guests within the resort. The lower level is the service corridor and retail areas. The upper level is the main guest corridor.
The big canopy is the arrival area or port cochere and is the centerpiece of these corridors.


Bird's Eye View. This picture taken from the penthouse terrace of Tower 2 (37th Floor).

http://home.comcast.net/~fpenagos/wsb/media/689008/site1059.jpg

This is an interior view of the upper level connector leading to Tower II.

http://home.comcast.net/~fpenagos/wsb/media/689008/site1060.jpg

Exterior View of the Tower II Connector.
A lot of work still has to be done. The arched concrete silhuette by the concrete block wall (right side) represents the future connector for tower III.

http://home.comcast.net/~fpenagos/wsb/media/689008/site1061.jpg

Glass Eyebrow. These are beautiful architectural elements located at the arrival area. A partial view of the big canopy can be seen beyond.

http://home.comcast.net/~fpenagos/wsb/media/689008/site1062.jpg

Connector to Old Chateau This is the connection to the hotel.

http://home.comcast.net/~fpenagos/wsb/media/689008/site1063.jpg

Entrance to Tower 2 and 3 Connector.
One of the two entrances to the connectors from the arrival area. A partial glass eyebrow can be seen unglazed.

http://home.comcast.net/~fpenagos/wsb/media/689008/site1064.jpg

[Dale]

That is just too cool, uber urban.

[havok100]

Wanted to add some early morning pics I took today- Enjoy. These are from my balcony looking east down Lincoln Rd. It has been a beautiful day..
http://skyscraperpage.com/gallery/data/643/848sobe_panoramic.jpg

http://skyscraperpage.com/gallery/data/643/848sobe_dawn_lincoln.jpg

http://skyscraperpage.com/gallery/data/643/848sunrise_over_sobe.jpg

[jzquince69]

beautiful

[jzquince69]

MIAMI BEACH ZONING RESTRICTIONS:

They flat out suck. This new height restriction is BS. Why not just limit it to everything north of SoFi? My god, with the Muranos, Icon, and Continuum (I & II), they could have filled in more lots with contemporary scrapers and made that district even that much more dramatic. That height restriction is BS. They did the same thing in Daytona Beach Shores this year. Apples and Oranges, I know. But DB Shores was the main part of Daytona with the most 20+ story condo towers. Now, they are a thing of the past.

[streetscapeer]

Everyone, thanks for sharing such beautiful pictures:):):)

[Don Pacho]

Wanted to add some early morning pics I took today- Enjoy. These are from my balcony looking east down Lincoln Rd. It has been a beautiful day..


Very nice shots !! Thank you for sharing :cheers:

[MIAballinboi]

amazing pics!

[ChuckScraperMiami#1]

Everyone, WE Need UPDATE on the New Projects getting ready to build on SOUTH Beach !!!

[The Mad Hatter!!]

We Need Updates On Everything

[ChuckScraperMiami#1]

We Need Updates On Everything
TRUE Uptown-Midtown, We need Updates on ALL 500 PROJECTS going on in All of Miami-Dade County, AWESOME !!!

[nimbyhater]

aite, some1 start workin on the list... 500 aint that many... any volunteers? i got a doctors appointment so i cant do it...

[logybogy]

These aren't in the newspapers yet but if you look at the Miami Beach government website they have design review boards...it's where the developers go to get their projects approved.

http://www.miamibeachfl.gov/newcity/drb/pz_afteractions.asp

Look at Design Review Board and Historic Preservation Board.

New projects from the past few months that haven't been mentioned....

Saxony Hotel at 3201 Collins Avenue wants to restore and partially demolish the existing 12 story hotel and build a 19 story condo by its side.

Seville Hotel at 2901 Collins Avenue wants to put a rooftop addition on their 12 story hotel and also build a 21 story condo by its side.

[nimbyhater]

heres the seville, wouldnt mind if the 12 story condo they wanna build would block this one out:

http://images.travelnow.com/hotels/MIA_SEVI-exter-1.jpg
http://images.travelnow.com/hotels/MIA_SEVI-exter-2.jpg

ill try and find some pics of the other one, where exactly are these two, around the north beach area rite?

[streetscapeer]

These were posted by Tom In Chicago over at SSP



http://www.pbase.com/temper/image/36687479.jpg
The South Florida coast is densely populated with high rise condominiums and resorts

http://www.pbase.com/temper/image/36687481.jpg
Bal Harbor coastline and the Bay Harbor islands

http://www.pbase.com/temper/image/36687487.jpg
Coastal communities of Surfside, Normandy Islands and Atlantic Heights

http://www.pbase.com/temper/image/36687490.jpg
North Miami Beach

http://www.pbase.com/temper/image/36687491.jpg
The city of Miami

http://www.pbase.com/temper/image/36687504.jpg
The art-deco landscape of Miami Beach

http://www.pbase.com/temper/image/36687602.jpg
Apartment buildings and high rise condominiums of Miami Beach

http://www.pbase.com/temper/image/36687607.jpg
Condominiums along the causeway over Biscayne Bay

http://www.pbase.com/temper/image/36687612.jpg
The 38 storey Setai Hotel and Residences on 20th Street just off the beach

http://www.pbase.com/temper/image/36687614.jpg
The 47 Storey Akoya Condominiums is a dramatic recent addition further north in the 6300 block of Collins Avenue

http://www.pbase.com/temper/image/36687617.jpg
White is a popular color for high rise buildings

http://www.pbase.com/temper/image/36687628.jpg
Modern high rise buildings dot the palm-laden neighborhood of South Pointe

http://www.pbase.com/temper/image/36687633.jpg
Basking in the warm November sun, Portofino Tower rises 484 feet above South Beach

http://www.pbase.com/temper/image/36687636.jpg
More South Pointe high rises

http://www.pbase.com/temper/image/36687675.jpg
Built in 1956 by architect Morris Lapidus, the landmark Eden Roc resort was recently restored to it's original beauty

http://www.pbase.com/temper/image/36687691.jpg
Built in 1936, the Tides hotel is a pet friendly hotel on Ocean Drive

http://www.pbase.com/temper/image/36687680.jpg
The Marlin hotel on Collins is an art-deco hotel sporting window-brows to shade the rooms in the hot Florida sun

http://www.pbase.com/temper/image/36687684.jpg
The Cavalier is a typical "deco" hotel on Ocean Drive

http://www.pbase.com/temper/image/36687701.jpg
View of the beach from my 6th floor hotel room

[MIAballinboi]

nice pics

[renner01]

http://www.globest.com/newspics/mia_apogee.jpg
With Price Tags Up to $15M Per Unit, Apogee Raises the Mark
By Marita Thomas
Last updated: November 29, 2004 01:34pm

MIAMI BEACH-Jorge Perez, CEO of Related Group of Florida, is collaborating with Miami-based Sieger Suarez Architectural Partnership to develop Apogee, a 67-unit condo designed to raise the price bar along South Beach’s exclusive “South of Fifth” neighborhood. Located on 2.7 acres at 800 South Pointe Dr. overlooking Government Cut, 22-story Apogee will occupy the last remaining waterfront parcel on the southern tip of South Beach.

There will be four units per floor, built out to buyers’ specs, and they are being marketed at prices ranging from $2 million to $15 million, in keeping with the building’s name, which translates to “pinnacle” and “apex.” A typical floor plan for an interior unit ranges from 1,030 sf to 3,100 sf and contains three bedrooms, three baths and a balcony. A representative plan for a more expensive exterior unit ranges from 2,400 sf to 4,150 sf and contains four bedroom, three baths and a balcony.

All units have a private elevator, full-size gourmet kitchen, and built-in, automated technology systems. Interiors are by the Yabu Pushelberg design team, which worked with Perez on One Miami in Downtown Miami and Beach Club in Hallandale and also designed interiors for the new Four Seasons Hotel in Tokyo and the Tiffany & Co. flagship store in New York. Sieger Suarez, which is known for floor-through designs that afford views in multiple directions, previously collaborated with Related Group on the neighboring Portofino Tower and Murano at Portofino, located, respectively, at 300 and 1000 South Pointe Dr.

Perez declined to disclose the estimated construction cost of Apogee. Marketing begins next month and details are accessible to buyers only through a password-protected website.

[nimbyhater]

this is a nice one, itll bring some more reaaaaaaaly rich people into the neighborhood to spend at the reeeeeeealy expensive stores and drive our reeeeeeeeealy great economy

[logybogy]

The website for Apogee is up.

www.apogeesouthbeach.com

[Roark]

heres the seville, wouldnt mind if the 12 story condo they wanna build would block this one out:
http://images.travelnow.com/hotels/MIA_SEVI-exter-1.jpg
Good sluething! Here is a bit more info....Fortune International and the Lowenstein's are going to add a 22 story tower and rehab the Seville at 29th Street and Collins (Direct Ocean front). The parking lot between Collins and Indian Creek will be put to good use too! The properties will be sold as condo hotel and operated by a very luxurious flag. It's very early but if you would like more info about purchasing, send a private message...I hate to bother everyone with sales pitches!

[Don Pacho]

http://img53.exs.cx/img53/6168/miamibeach048s2ji.jpg

http://img53.exs.cx/img53/4708/fontainebleauhotel0yu.jpg

Fontainebleau marks half century of greatness

BY BETH DUNLOP

bdunlop@herald.com


The Fontainebleau occupies a place in the landscape that is not merely Miami Beach, it is also etched indelibly in the landscape of our minds. This month, it turns 50.

This hotel -- for the past 25 years it has been officially the Fontainebleau Hilton -- set the stage for the Miami Beach of the Jackie Gleason Show, Ed Sullivan and Arthur Godfrey, the one depicted in Goldfinger or The Bellboy. Miami Beach has never shunned excess or glamour or glitz, but the city did not known real excess before the Fontainebleau came along.

Each president of the past five decades, 10 of them in all, has walked through the Fontainebleau's doors, the ones with the characteristic signature bronze ''F'' as handles. Many of them have been greeted by the same doorman, Floyd ''Mac'' McSwane, who has worked at the Fontainebleau since the hotel opened Dec. 20, 1954.

Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope and Elvis Presley have performed here. Films have been shot here from the '50s on, right up to Scarface (the scene in which Al Pacino looks at Steven Bauer and says, ``This is paradise. This is paradise''), The Bodyguard, The Specialist. More recently, an episode of The Sopranos was filmed at the Fontainebleau, which in a prior era was the home hotel for the show Surfside Six.

ARCHITECTURE TOPS

The stories are legend, but it was always somehow the architecture that ended up at the top of the discussion. At the Fontainebleau, architecture, history and culture are inextricably bound in the 900-plus rooms on 20 acres of Collins Avenue oceanfront.

Almost everybody associated with the hotel has seemed larger than life. It was designed by the legendary Morris Lapidus and owned first by the colorful and controversial Ben Novack and later by the feisty and often-outspoken eminence gris of Miami Beach's developers, Stephen Muss. In 1978, Muss bought the hotel out of bankruptcy, never dreaming that it would ultimately become one of the central passions of his life.

''I bought it as a civic gesture,'' he says now. ``I had no knowledge of hotels.''

The 1970s were a low moment for Miami Beach. Tourists were heading to the Caribbean or to their own, newly built condominiums in Florida. The country had lost its innocence somehow during the ferment of the 1960s, and what defined fun (a drink in the Fontainebleau's ''Poodle Lounge,'' for example) no longer seemed to apply. Barbara Capitman and her colleagues had not yet rediscovered the Art Deco District, at the time a blur of peeling brown and beige paint. When Muss took over the Fontainebleau, almost everything leaked -- the plumbing, the roof, the ceilings, the windows, the walls.

The story, however, begins in the early 1950s, when likewise, Miami Beach wasn't yet charted on the tourist map. That was when Novack asked Lapidus to join him as the ''interiors'' architect of a hotel he was planning on the site of the posh Firestone Estate, one of the mansions that then lined Collins Avenue. The architect -- and all this is recounted at length in Lapidus' lively autobiography, Too Much is Never Enough (Rizzoli, 1996) -- determined immediately that he would be the architect of the hotel, not someone's associate. He cut his fee to a pittance and got the job.

With its sleek, curvilinear shape and clean lines, the Fontainebleau put Miami Beach at the forefront of its era architecturally. Lapidus tells of the long process in which he led Novack away from the more expected rectangular building, showing him one concept sketch after another.

''I had my staff draw curved buildings, round buildings, Y-shaped buildings, snake-shaped buildings, every conceivable shape. The form that appeared most often was the curve,'' Lapidus wrote. ``A sweeping curved building was what I wanted.''

One day Novack came back with an idea of his own, a curved building. Lapidus told him it was a ``wonderful idea.''

Lapidus died in 2001 at 98.

LUXE INTERIORS

Inside the hotel, it was and still is another story. The Fontainebleau was to be the grand hotel for those who had never visited a chateau but wanted to feel like royalty for a night, or a week. It was luxe and lavish, but in a way that defied definition, and for years baffled critics. The floors were white marble with insets of giant bow ties. The fluted marble columns were designed to have no base and no capital in a gesture neither modern nor classical.

Vast chandeliers hung from ceilings that were not exactly coved, but rather carved out with shapes that Lapidus later called ''woggles.'' There was a ''stairway to nowhere'' that actually went somewhere, which was the mezzanine so that the women could get off the elevator there and then make a grand descent into the lobby, a Hollywood entrance if there ever was one. The Venetian Room was filled with Murano glass (still there); the grounds had a formal French garden (long gone). The lobby had a Piranesi-esque mural along the stair to nowhere and was filled with French provincial furniture and a profusion of statuary (also long gone).

These days, the Fontainebleau is a hotel on the verge again. In the course of the past three decades, it added a popular spa, transformed the pool into a mini-water park and kept its name and fame alive and its rooms full. But it is a mid-Beach hotel from the mid-century, not Art Deco and not in South Beach, and it must strive for a different audience and a different milieu, starting with the 36-story Fontainebleau II tower -- the long-planned condo-hotel building done in conjunction with Turnberry -- now scheduled to open in February.

NEWEST PLANS

Next to come is a full-scale remodeling of the lobby by famed New York designer Adam Tihany, with the intent to bring the hotel much closer to its origins. The escalator installed in the middle of the lobby is already gone, fluted columns reinstalled, and the missing portions of bow-tie marble are to be replaced, just for starters. Tihany has yet to make his first presentation of ideas.

Though the Fontainebleau is still Steven Muss' passion, it is his daughter Melanie who is now taking over. Officially vice president for development, Melanie Muss was 8 years old when her father bought the hotel, learned to ice skate there (in the hotel's also long-gone rink), blew out birthday candles there and much more; she returned to Miami Beach with a masters degree and serious work experience, and she says, ''really only then'' began to appreciate the full magic of the hotel.

Now she and her father want to make sure that the world still gets it, too. The challenge is to recapture the razzle-dazzle that was the 1950s without the kitsch, to ensure that the Fontainebleau never leaves the landscape, be it the one real or remembered.

http://img53.exs.cx/img53/8075/fontainebleauhilton003s9og.jpg

http://img53.exs.cx/img53/9017/fontainebleauhilton010s4oo.jpg

http://img53.exs.cx/img53/7762/fontainebleauhilton014s4cx.jpg

[nimbyhater]

luv the fountainbleu, one of miamis jewels, it was a sad day when they took down that mural for the generic lukin condos they built

[ChuckScraperMiami#1]

luv the fountainbleu, one of miamis jewels, it was a sad day when they took down that mural for the generic lukin condos they built
TRUE Nimby, SO SO TRUE, Very SAD

[dave8721]

W Miami is going before the zoning board with plans to tear down old Holliday Inn at 2201 Collins Ave built in the 1960's and replace it with two 19 story towers. See item "D" below.

http://www.miamibeachfl.gov/newcity/drb/agenda_history.pdf

[streetscapeer]

coool...hopefully we get some renderings soon!

[renner01]

HOTELS

GOLDEN SANDS TO BECOME CONDO SITE

Developers plan a 17-story condo tower where the Golden Sands Hotel now stands at 6901 Collins Ave. in Miami Beach. The 1951 hotel will be partially demolished to make way for the tower, said commercial broker Bard Brenner, who helped arrange the $9.9 million sale for owner M.S. Golden Sands. The buyer, a company owned by developer Sylvia Coltrane, will keep the hotel operating while as it pursues building permits for the project, Brenner said.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/business/10565872.htm

[streetscapeer]

Will Miami Beach ever stop??...nope, it's a force of it's own:):)

[nimbyhater]

the beach is amazing, we better get some damn mass transit over there soon

[streetscapeer]

There is construction @Terra


http://www.preconstruccion.com/images/terra_south.jpg


http://www.preconstruccion.com/images/terra_north.jpg


http://www.preconstruccion.com/images/terra_south_view.jpg


http://www.preconstruccion.com/images/terra_north_view.jpg


http://www.preconstruccion.com/images/terra_images.jpg

[renner01]

Sieger Suarez and BSG are also doing 6000 Indian Creek. Iwent by it yesterday and it looks like it is on the 2nd or 3rd floor. terra beachside hasn't gone vertical yet just ground/ foundation work

[logybogy]

NoBe Bay

http://miamirealestatetrends.com/Pages/NoBeBay.aspx

NoBe Beach

http://www.miamirealestatetrends.com/pages/NoBeBeach.aspx

I think these are around 67th and collins???

[streetscapeer]

WOW...NoBe Beach is Quit Awesome....that building along with 6000Indian Creek (both have weird shapes) are gonna be awesome for North Beach!:D:D:D

[dave8721]

This has been in the works for a while but I don't think anyone has ever posted anything on it. An 8-story loft tower for 500 Alton Rd (Alton and 5th). There is also a mixed use project set to go up on the opposite side of Alton Rd. You wont be able to walk from one to the other though with that flyover in the way.

http://www.miamitodaynews.com/news/050127/fyi.shtml

"LOFTY PLANS: A sales center for Vitri, 500-550 Alton Road, an eight-story condo tower, will open on site this spring, said the project manager at Leviev Boymelgreen, Bob de la Fuente. "Majestic Properties will be in charge of sales. We are targeting fall to break ground, but nothing has been established," he said. The 1,500-square-feet lofts are to include 66 20-foot-high units. Prices aren't set. Details: (305) 757-1400"

[streetscapeer]

I've been heraing about that project for awhile...but I've yet to see any renaderings...I'm dying to see what it looks like!

[Rx727sfl2002]

http://img87.exs.cx/img87/7939/con21fr.th.jpg (http://img87.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img87&image=con21fr.jpg)

[JEmanuel56]

yeah i like that continuum project ties in nicley with the first one good renderings of continuum2 at www.miamirealestatetrends.com

[Don Pacho]

Sieger Suarez and BSG are also doing 6000 Indian Creek. Iwent by it yesterday and it looks like it is on the 2nd or 3rd floor. terra beachside hasn't gone vertical yet just ground/ foundation work

yeah.. I think this is the building your are talking about. I've shot this pic yesterday :)

http://img239.exs.cx/img239/799/6000indiancreek01s8ev.jpg

[streetscapeer]

ooo...NICE...we're gonna like this one:):)

[logybogy]

Continuum II's official website

http://www.continuum-so-beach.com/fixed.htm

[south florida dave]

wow, 6000 indian creek doesn't take up a whole lotta horizontal space, does it? it almost looks miniature. can't wait to see what the finished building looks like.

[south florida dave]

from the continuum 2 website. thanks, logybogy!

http://img237.exs.cx/img237/1395/continuum29uv.jpg

[logybogy]

It's a relatively small boutique condo project.

I think there are only a few units per floor.

http://www.6000indiancreek.com/aerial-views.htm

[renner01]

they drilling something into the ground on the site of continium I was there this morning

[MIAballinboi]

woow great pics and good site

[logybogy]

It looks like the new Seville may be dead.

Posted on Sat, Feb. 05, 2005

DEVELOPMENT

Ritz plans fourth Dade resort

A fourth Ritz-Carlton is slated for Miami-Dade County. But don't plan on checking in. This time-share and condo complex in Miami Beach will be for owners only.

BY DOUGLAS HANKS III AND MATTHEW HAGGMAN

dhanks@herald.com


Developers plan a Ritz-Carlton condominium and time-share complex in Miami Beach, the fourth Miami-area property to carry the luxury hotel brand.

Diego Lowenstein, whose family owns the Ritz-Carlton in South Beach, said he and Miami-based developer Fortune International plan to convert the Seville Beach Hotel at 29th Street and Collins Avenue into an unspecified number of condominiums and extended-stay time-shares known as fractional ownerships.

Owners of those units have the right to use them for a month or more, instead of the one-week stays typical for time-share properties.

To build the new Ritz-Carlton, Lowenstein plans to demolish part of the 1955 hotel and build a pair of 21-story towers on the oceanfront property once known for hosting boxing matches.

Miami Beach zoning officials have recommended that the city's historic preservation board reject the plan, saying the Seville shouldn't grow beyond its current 12 stories and the hotel's old Matador room should be saved, documents on file with the city say.

If it wins zoning approval, the venture would bring a fourth Ritz-Carlton property to a region that already has three Ritz-Carlton hotels: in South Beach, Coconut Grove and Key Biscayne.

But Ritz-Carlton executives and Lowenstein aides emphasized that only unit owners would be staying at the new property, not transient guests.

''It is different -- it is residential versus hotel,'' Ritz-Carlton spokeswoman Beth Vairo said of the chain's residential properties, including one in Jupiter.

The developers -- zoning documents list Fortune President Edgardo Defortuna and Alfredo Lowenstein, Diego's father, as majority owners of the now-shuttered hotel -- are scheduled to appear before the preservation board Tuesday.

The new Ritz-Carlton venture reflects the growing value hotel brands are finding in the real estate market.

The Ritz-Carltons in Key Biscayne and Coconut Grove were paired with condominium complexes, as was the Four Seasons tower in Miami. And hotel projects from Fort Lauderdale to Islamorada are selling off single rooms as condo-hotel units.

The planned Ritz-Carlton Residences and Club South Beach would bring a novel hybrid for South Florida: time-share and standard condominiums. Though popular in other resort markets, the time-share and fractional concept has yet to gain traction here.

And this is believed to be the first South Florida property bearing a major hotel brand without a hotel component.

''It is like a hotel, but it is being sold as real estate,'' said Lowenstein, chief executive officer of Lionstone, his family's company.

Though some analysts had earlier questioned the wisdom of opening three Ritz-Carltons in a single market, others dismissed suggestions Friday that the property might dilute the brand locally.

''I don't see that as competitive at all with our resort,'' said Sherwood ''Woody'' Weiser, an owner of the Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne. ``It just doesn't affect us.''

[renner01]

does anybody know what is going up next to the wyndham resort in south beach on collins around 48street. I ran by there today but didn't see any sign with a name of the project

[dave8721]

I saw about six months ago the Wyndham was getting permits to build a second tower/parking.

[streetscapeer]

http://newspaperads.miami.com/p2_images/26/SS/11083/SectionZooms/534130.jpg


http://newspaperads.miami.com/p2_images/26/SS/11083/SectionAds/283491.jpg

[renner01]

http://southfloridaceo.com/CURRENT-JANFEB05/Art/Highrise-Continuum.jpg
Continuum onSouth Beach
LOCATION:
100 & 200 South Pointe Drive
Miami Beach

DEVELOPER:

Continuum, LLC
Ian Bruce Eichner, Chairman
New York

Ian Bruce Eichner, chairman of Continuum, LLC, is one of the country's leading real estate developers, having developed more than six million square feet of luxury residential, office, hospitality, and retail space in the Northeast and Florida totaling more than $2 billion in the last 25 years. In 1996, Eichner purchased one of the most sought-after oceanfront parcels of land on Miami Beach to develop Continuum on South Beach. Phase 1 is a 40-story development spanning nearly 12 acres on the southernmost tip of Miami Beach. He recently completed the development’s 318-unit South Tower in the ultra-exclusive South of Fifth neighborhood.

DESCRIPTION:

Eichner recently launched sales for Continuum's second tower, Phase 2, a 37-story, 217-unit North Tower, slated for completion in 2007. The North Tower will offer a variety of condominiums, town houses and seaside cabanas with floor plans ranging from a 1,200-square-foot one-bedroom unit to 4,000-square-foot four-bedroom residences to a 7,000 square foot penthouse. Soaring 37 stories over the Atlantic Ocean on the very southern tip of South Beach and fronting nearly 1,000 feet of unspoiled sugar sand beach and turquoise sea, Continuum's striking new North Tower will join the 40-story South Tower in featuring ultra-glamorous residences with 1,500 to 7,000 square feet of living space, each embraced by stunning glass walls and 10-foot floor-to-ceiling windows. The community spans an impressive 12.9 acres and is dotted with towering Royal Palm Trees and accented by lush tropical landscaping, lagoon pools and fountains. A three-story, 20,000 square-foot spa and fitness center crowned with a rooftop lap pool, a private championship tennis club, and 24-hour services including concierge and valet, complete the picture of elegant, carefree living.
Amenities:
10-foot floor-to-ceiling windows
expansive terraces
marble floors
granite countertops
Italian kitchens with top-of-the-line appliances
lagoon pools and fountains
20,000 square foot spa and fitness center
championship tennis club
24-hour valet and concierge
rooftop pool


CONTACT:

For more information contact the sales center at
1-877-ONE-SOBE.

NUMBER OF UNITS: North Tower: 217 South Tower: 318
SQUARE FOOTAGE: 1,500 - 7,000
PRICE RANGE: $1.5 - $16 million
OPENING DATE: North Tower: completion early 2007

[VansTripp]

http://newspaperads.miami.com/p2_images/26/SS/11083/SectionZooms/534130.jpg


http://newspaperads.miami.com/p2_images/26/SS/11083/SectionAds/283491.jpg

That's one nice project. :righton:

[logybogy]

Traffic, Shadows, Create Unease for W Hotel Project

“There will always be a portion in the sun.”—architect John Nichols

By Brandon Dane
Staff Writer





More than 40 residents from the Collins Park neighborhood packed Tuesday’s Historic Preservation Board at Miami Beach City Hall, Tuesday, to hear the outcome of an application to build a twin high-rise condo-hotel in South Beach.

The W Hotel developers want to demolish a Holiday Inn at 2201 Collins Ave. to make way for two 19-story towers and a six-story parking garage.

But Kent Harrison Robbins, attorney for the Roney Plaza Condominium Association, asked for a continuance because, he said, one of the main points of contention was the issue of traffic congestion and flow, which would require a “traffic study.”

“[The study] still hasn’t been provided,” Robbins said.

Lucia Dougherty, a Greenberg Traurig attorney representing the W Hotel, told the board that Roney Plaza Condominium residents’ major complaint was that the height of the structures would cast a shadow over the pool deck there.

“Will there be a shadow over the pool deck in December?” Dougherty asked rhetorically. “Yes, but it will never cover the whole deck.”

Dougherty said her client had done everything the city had asked them to do, including rearranging traffic flow so that “100 percent of the cars exit on 22nd Street.”

“It has been reported that when the Mandarin Oriental Hotel went up in Brickell Key, the property values rose 15 percent,” she said.

John Nichols, architect for the project, said there would be no shadow across the Roney Plaza pool deck in the spring and summer months, but there would be shadow in “November, December and January.”

Laughter erupted from the Roney Plaza residents as one said, “Yeah, only during the ‘high season.’”

“There will always be a portion in the sun,” Nichols continued.

Ross Klein, a vice president for the W Hotel corporation, told the board his company would be a “good neighbor” and never “an absentee landlord.”

“I was born here,” Klein said. “We’re into the ‘renaissance.’ We want the [designers] to look back 50 years and forward 50 years [in order to be respectful] of the value of space. We’re concerned with the neighborhood.”

Roney Plaza Condominium Association board member Don Jones told the HPB that he thought it unfair to ask them to “make an informed decision” to either advocate or oppose the project because neither they, nor their attorney, had received the proper documentation until late that morning.

“That’s a fact,” said HPB Chairman Mitch Novick. “We didn’t get it until an hour or so ago. You should have [at least] gotten it a week ago.”

Robbins told the board that he and his clients needed time as “a matter of fairness” and “fundamental due process.”

“We’re getting there,” Robbins said. “We will support [the project] if it is beneficial to both sides.”

Jones continued by saying that it wasn’t merely a matter of “economic benefit” but to ensure that there was no loss of “enjoyment” because of the erection of the proposed structures.

“We don’t want to end up like the Setai,” Jones said. The Setai condo-hotel project is being constructed on 20th Street and Collins Avenue, “where traffic is a problem because the Townhouse Hotel, the Shore Club, SkyBar, [and] NoBu all use the same ingress and egress.”

Jones ended by saying that after the residents have had time to examine traffic and shadow studies that they would arrange transport for the many elderly and handicapped residents who live in the Roney Plaza so they can attend the HPB meeting as well.

“They want to be heard,” he said.

The board voted unanimously to continue the matter to the March 8 HPB meeting.

Comments? Contact the author at bdane@miamisunpost.com.

[logybogy]

Arte City has a very cool website.

Check out the videos.

http://www.artecitymiami.com/

[streetscapeer]

thanks...logyboy...has a portion of this project been completed already??

[logybogy]

streetscaper, it looks most of the buildings exist now. They are going to be converted to condos.

Artecity
The Wave Group Development (headquartered in Miami Beach) announces Artécity, an $100 million project including 180 residences on Miami Beach. The total square footage, including new and renovated buildings, will exceed 210,000 square feet and comprises one city block, bordered on the east by Park Avenue, 21st Street at the south, Washington Court to the west and 22nd Street to the north. Artécity includes the Governor Hotel (formerly an Island Outpost property) located at 435 21st Street, Miami Beach, considered the largest original Art Deco hotel in Miami Beach. In addition, several existing buildings which will be converted into condominiums and villas and two vacant lots facing Park Avenue and Washington Court, where two new buildings will be developed. Artecity is a proud sponsor of the Art Basel 2004 Video Lounge; the ArtCenter/South Florida; the Bass Museum; the Miami City Ballet; The New World Symphony; The Miami Light Project and the Wolfsonian Museum.


FYI... a few more high rises have been approved recently in Miami Beach.

Golden Sands - 6901 Collins... 17 story condo tower

Carribbean Hotel - 3737 Collins...19 story condo tower

Saxony Hotel 3301 Collins ... 19 story condo tower

Awaiting approval...

Group W Hotel 2201 Collins.... (2) 19 story towers

Seville Hotel 2901 Collins... (2) 21 story towers

Mone Carlo Hotel 6555 Collins.... 20 story tower

There's plenty more here in the historic preservation board after actions

http://www.miamibeachfl.gov/newcity/drb/pz_afteractions.asp

[renner01]

Posted on Thu, Feb. 17, 2005

ZIP code where you park at night.

Do you currently have auto insurance? Yes No
Have you had a U.S driver's license for more than 3 years? Yes No
Has any driver in your household had 2 or more accidents or moving violations in the last 3 years? Yes No



MIAMI BEACH

Zoning at center of fight over SoBe development

The city tonight will discuss settling a legal dispute with a South Beach developer that affects real estate along Ocean Drive.

BY NICOLE WHITE

nwhite@herald.com

Miami Beach city officials will meet with residents today to discuss a possible settlement agreement with developer Micky Biss.

Biss, who owns coveted real estate along Ocean Drive between First and Second streets, sued the city over changes in various zoning ordinances that facilitated the recent ''Alaska Parcel'' settlement agreement.

Under the terms of that agreement, the developers -- the Related Group -- agreed to give the city two acres of land from the Alaska Parcel to be added to the other parcels of city-owned land in the South Pointe neighborhood.

In return, the city agreed to restore a portion of the Floor Area Ratio, or FAR, the developer lost when zoning laws were passed in the 1990s intended to limit building heights. The developer is now able to build a 296,000-square-foot building -- or 27 stories -- on the site.

But Biss, who has since offered to sell his properties to an architect who often works with the Related Group, sued the city after last year's Alaska Parcel settlement. He argued that changes made to the zoning laws were improper.

If Biss' suit is successful, it could unravel the Alaska Parcel settlement agreement, which includes a two-acre parcel of land the city plans to turn into a park, said Commissioner Saul Gross.

The suit is the latest chapter in a long run of legal entanglements between Biss and the city that date back to the early 1990s, when Biss first received approvals to build an 18-story tower on Ocean Drive.

He eventually sued the city in 2001, arguing that he should not be forced to seek a second set of approvals from the Design Review Board when he modified his plans to change the project from a condominium-only project to a condo/hotel.

The city also determined that under the South Florida Building Code, Biss' building permit had expired and was no longer valid. Biss challenged that decision, arguing before the Miami-Dade Board of Rules and Appeals that his permit had been kept alive because of his pending lawsuit. In December 2003, the board voted 6-5 that Biss' permit was still valid.

The city appealed that ruling.

That appeal is a key focus of today's meeting. If the city loses the appeal, Biss will be allowed to build the 18-story tower under his existing permit -- a building that will be dramatically out of scale with the neighborhood. Current law only allows five-story buildings on the west side of Ocean Drive.

If the city drops the appeal altogether, the developers with whom Biss is negotiating to purchase his property have agreed to some modest changes, including removing the ground-floor restaurant and the two floors of parking associated with the restaurant.

Biss' attorney Elliot Scherker said he could not comment on the case.

Some commissioners agree the city faces a vexing dilemma but suggest the city should await the outcome of its appeal.

''It's a tough appeal, but I think we have a decent shot of winning,'' said Commissioner Jose Smith.

Said Gross: ``I personally don't see how the city can vote to waive an appeal that would make it easier for the developer to build an 18-story building that's completely out of scale with the surrounding historic district.

``If that jeopardizes the Alaska settlement, then so be it. I think the developer has a strong incentive to come to the table and negotiate with the city to reduce the height of the building.''

Tonight's meeting takes place at South Pointe Elementary School, 1050 Fourth St., inside the school auditorium. The meeting starts at 5:30 p.m.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/local/states/florida/counties/miami-dade/cities_neighborhoods/beaches/10910080.htm

[nimbyhater]

heres south beach boys...

gotta luv the cars on south beach
http://img190.exs.cx/img190/1599/pic1212gy.jpg


http://img190.exs.cx/img190/6131/pic1244bz.jpg


http://img190.exs.cx/img190/3409/pic1253yx.jpg



i hate this building... i really loathe it...
http://img190.exs.cx/img190/9048/pic1266yk.jpg


http://img190.exs.cx/img190/2097/pic1287fo.jpg


http://img218.exs.cx/img218/1039/pic1298bc.jpg


http://img218.exs.cx/img218/2176/pic1313kd.jpg


http://img218.exs.cx/img218/995/pic1320nk.jpg


http://img218.exs.cx/img218/9850/pic1338sv.jpg


http://img218.exs.cx/img218/6871/pic1340ro.jpg


http://img218.exs.cx/img218/5546/pic1354lv.jpg


http://img218.exs.cx/img218/2788/pic1366ak.jpg


http://img32.exs.cx/img32/15/pic1370jm.jpg


http://img32.exs.cx/img32/8126/pic1383aj.jpg


http://img32.exs.cx/img32/2887/pic1393ra.jpg


http://img32.exs.cx/img32/9849/pic1408ko.jpg


http://img32.exs.cx/img32/7137/pic1412ab.jpg


http://img32.exs.cx/img32/4199/pic1427fo.jpg


http://img32.exs.cx/img32/6673/pic1434iz.jpg


http://img32.exs.cx/img32/194/pic1440xp.jpg



mediteranean is nice break from all the art deco...
http://img32.exs.cx/img32/1848/pic1453or.jpg


http://img32.exs.cx/img32/6417/pic1462dr.jpg


http://img32.exs.cx/img32/3408/pic1477ez.jpg

[brickell]

these big photo threads really kill my computer. you think you could keep the pictures in their own thread and leave the regional threads to discussion?

thanks.

[south florida dave]

http://img190.exs.cx/img190/1599/pic1212gy.jpg

dammit, nimby! pick a @#$%&! lane!

damn miami drivers. :)

btw, nice pics!

[nimbyhater]

dave, i had to capture both the bentley and the ferrari... thats wat makes that pic so kik ass... only on south beach would both of them both happen to just be driving next to each other

on a more commical not... we challenged the guy in the ferrari... we all shared a laugh and then he speed off... was quite amusing

[south florida dave]

yeah, i know, nimby. just messin with ya.

is that actually a bentley on the left? haven't seen that one.

[renner01]

I go by this site every day when i go run at south beach. the site is cleared and about to start work on foundation
Continuum Phase II Obtains $135M Construction Loan
By Marita Thomas
Last updated: March 2, 2005 02:12pm

MIAMI BEACH-Chicago-based Corus Bank closed on a $135-million first mortgage to South Beach Ocean Parcel II Ltd., an affiliate of Continuum Co., to finance construction of Phase II of the Continuum at South Beach. The 37-story condo will take its place alongside Phase I, a 40-story condo that was completed in 2002. They occupy the last remaining oceanfront parcel on South Beach.

The developer, Continuum LLC, is chaired by Ian Bruce Eichner and is affiliated with New York City-based Eichner Properties. Although the second tower is shorter than its predecessor, its units will be pricier. Phase II consists of 199 for-sale apartment units, seven townhouse and seven loft-style units, and 14 poolside cabana units.

They range in size from a one-bedroom unit of approximately 1,200 sf to a 7,000-sf penthouse. Units feature 10-foot, floor-to-ceiling windows and balconies. Sale prices will range between $1.5 million and $16 million in this North tower, which is scheduled for completion in early 2007.

“The strong presales, excellent design and unrivaled location allowed the bank to provide the entire $135-million first-mortgage loan without participants,” says John M. Barkidjija, SVP of Corus, which is the banking subsidiary of Corus Bankshares Inc., also based in Chicago. “Phase II of the Continuum at South Beach will be a landmark property on South Beach,” he adds. Calls to Eichner were not returned by press time.

The gated Continuum complex spans 12.9 acres with 1,000 feet of oceanfront beach. It contains a 20,000-sf spa and fitness center with a rooftop lap pool, a private championship tennis club, and landscaping that incorporates lagoon pools and fountains.
http://www.globest.com/news/233_233/miami/131795-1.html

[streetscapeer]

Ohh...cool..that was quick!:)

[Roark]

Icon....
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/feb05_Icon.jpg

[ChuckScraperMiami#1]

RENNER :) , Gre...ate UPDATE :) on the North Tower of Continuum PHASE II, Its About time it Got started with the LOAN , NOW :) , How long for the Construction To start ??? :cheers:
ALSO :) , this is THE LAST TALL TOWER :sleepy: to go UP in MIAMI BEACH :eek2: , since it was GRANDFATHERED IN since the CITY of MIAMI BEACH :bash: LIMIT FLOORS to 22 ONLY !!! :bash:

[south florida dave]

nice shot, roark. icon is lookin good.

[brickell]

awesome shot roark.

[jzquince69]

I love the way Icon's base hugs the sidewalk--it really changes the complexion of that neighborhood. It makes it look so much more urban--- night and day from before it was built.

[logybogy]

Can someone tell me or better yet show me a picture of what a tower with a double-loaded corridor would look like?

http://www.miamisunpost.com/IMAGE/cover.jpg

Kent Harrison Robbins, an attorney for Roney Plaza condo owners, poses during a demonstration against the W Hotel. Robbins is no stranger to organizing pickets for his clients as a negotiating tactic. He also planned protests for Lincoln Terrace property owners who were opposed to their area being historically designated and Ocean Drive residents who opposed the Arden Savoy Hotel. Photo by Mitchell Zachs/MagicalPhotos.com.

Shadow Showdown
W Hotel Forced to Eliminate Tower After Objections From Neighbors, City Planners

http://www.miamisunpost.com/IMAGE/main1.jpg

Roney Palace resident Clemens King, center, protests proposed construction blocking the Roney Palace Condominiums poolside sun in Miami Beach. Photo by Mitchell Zachs/MagicalPhotos.com.

By Brandon Dane
Staff Writer

A throng of about 50 angry condominium residents packed Miami Beach City Hall’s commission chambers to protest the construction of two high-rises that will cast shadows on their building’s pool.

On Tuesday, the Miami Beach Preservation Board was to decide the fate of two 19-story W Resort and Residences towers and a six-story parking garage that is slated to be built on the site where the Holiday Inn South Beach at 2201 Collins Ave. now stands.

But residents from the neighboring Roney Plaza claim the towers will become a threat to their quality of life, so much so that 30 Roney Plaza dwellers, led by condo owner Marco Leera and their attorney, Kent Harrison Robbins, picketed in front of the Holiday Inn Sunday afternoon chanting slogans such as “No Sun, No Fun” and “Stop Shady Construction.” Roney Plaza residents picketed a second time in front of City Hall, Tuesday, at 8:30 in the morning. Their main objection: the prospect of a shadow from the north tower casting over their pool area.

In the end, in spite of proposals to redesign the twin towers and to pay up to $1 million to Roney Plaza residents, the HPB would only grant approval of one tower.

Lucia Dougherty of Greenberg Traurig, lead attorney for the W Hotel, told the board that her client had met almost every demand that both the city and the residents of the Roney Plaza had presented.

The city’s planning and zoning department requested that the project be redesigned so that “more light and air be brought to Collins Avenue.” The W Hotel responded by eliminating a north-south connector and creating two separate towers. When the city was concerned about beach access to 23rd Street, the W’s architects designed a landscaped walkway on the north property line that could be used in conjunction with the walkway at the Roney Plaza.

Roney Plaza residents wanted a proposed north tower to be moved 50 feet west in order to avoid the shadow. The W Hotel representatives agreed to shift the tower 51 feet “to align with the eastern edge of the existing Holiday Inn location.”

But it wasn’t just shadows neighbors were concerned about. Roney Plaza residents also worried about increased traffic at 23rd Street and Collins Avenue. So the W proposed to build a tunnel under their complex that would allow cars to exit on 22nd street.

But Robbins, the Roney Plaza Condominium Association’s attorney, said the compromises were not enough. The north tower will still affect the Roney Plaza’s pool “at peak hours in peak months,” leaving the condo’s facility’s pool in shadow from October to December.

Dougherty told the HPB that the publicity surrounding the shade over the Roney Plaza’s main swimming pool was being overstated.

“There will still be 16,000 square feet of [un-shaded] pool deck on the worst day at the worst time,” Dougherty said. “Enough room for 500 lounge chairs. We didn’t sacrifice their pool deck for ours.”

“Their [the W’s] pool in December [would not be] affected by shadows,” Robbins contended.

John Nichols, W’s architect, contended that Roney Plaza’s pool is right at the edge of the property line, making it hard, if not impossible, to design a hotel that would not cast at least some shadow on the neighboring pool.

“We’ve pulled our project way, way back to accommodate the Roney,” Nichols said. “They put the pool deck at the edge of the property line. It’s an issue.”

But Robbins accused Nichols of creating and designing structures that are not compatible with the neighborhood, citing the Loews Hotel and Georgian Condominium on Collins Avenue as examples of his work.

As for the pool, Robbins described the Roney’s pool as an “economic engine” and said the W had no right to “dictate” when residents can use their pool.

“Pools and balconies sell property here,” said architect and Roney Plaza resident Deborah Desilets. “We will have lifestyle depreciation. Over time, we will have economic depreciation, too.” Roney resident Brian Crone described the proposed structure as a “praying mantis.”

However, South Beach resident Barbara Morris disagreed.

“We need ‘divine design,’” she said. “I welcome the W Hotel. We need it and the services [it would bring].”

Gary Knight, president of the Collins Park Neighborhood Association and former member of the Design Review Board, concurred.

“This is an extremely important public policy issue,” Knight said. “The Roney condo association is a small part [of the Collins Park neighborhood] fighting [against] the W.” Most members of the Collins Park Neighborhood Association support the W, he said. “It’s a meritorious project.”

Chairman Mitch Novick said he could not support the project as proposed because of the effects it would have on residents of the Roney Plaza.

But HPB member William Taylor said the pool was just an “amenity” and the real investment was their units’ close proximity to the ocean. Roney Plaza residents groaned in response.

“The peanut gallery has been yelling all morning. Nothing is being taken away,” said board member Randall Robinson. “The applicant is proposing a wonderful project. The Roney [itself] is a low point in Miami Beach architecture.”

Dougherty interjected that her client had offered $1 million to build another pool at the Roney Plaza that would not be shaded by the proposed north tower of the W Hotel, but Robbins and his clients refused.

“We have a master association,” Robbins said. “We would have to get approval. We would not oppose that.”

At one point Robbins sought to have HPB member Judith Berson-Levinson conflicted out of the vote. Robbins said Berson-Levinson had written e-mails casting disparaging remarks on the Roney Plaza and the historical insignificance of the Holiday Inn building.

Six members were present at the meeting. The proposed W Hotel towers required a 5/7th’s vote in order to be approved by the HPB.

First Assistant City Attorney Gary Held told Robbins that a board member was allowed to make public statements as long as proper notice of those statements was given at the time of the quasi-judicial proceeding.

“I see no reason for [Berson-Levinson] to recuse herself,” Held said.

Still the HPB tabled the issue until 4 p.m. in the hopes that the W and Roney Plaza residents could work things out. At around 5 p.m., Dougherty and Robbins told the HPB that an agreement was reached whereby the structure would be constructed in an “L” shape and set back 160 feet from Collins Avenue to avoid a “canyon-like effect.”

But Thomas Mooney, the city’s design and preservation manager, said planning staff couldn’t support an L-shape structure of the two towers because it would “broadside” Collins Avenue and restrict ocean views.

William Cary, division director of design, preservation and neighborhood planning, called the compromise proposal “selfish” and said it did not benefit the Collins Waterfront Local Historic District. The design would deprive neighbors to the west of a view corridor.

City planners proposed that only one tower be constructed with a “double-loaded corridor.”

David Edelstein, an owner of the Holiday Inn property, told the HPB that it was not economically feasible for the structure to have a double-loaded corridor because the units facing Collins Park would not sell. The proposed new pool, he said, was the best solution.

“We already reached out to the master developer [at the Roney],” he said. “The pool would cost $350,000, and then they can do whatever they want with the other $650,000. It should be contingent with the agreement.”

Held said that the $1 million was a private matter that the city could not enforce. Robbins said that his clients would not accept the money.

“It’s not about money,” Robbins said.

Berson-Levinson motioned that the HPB approve the project contingent that the north tower be eliminated and the south tower have a double-loaded corridor that would be moved further east on the property. The board voted 5-1 to approve.

After the vote Robbins said that his clients were “elated.”

“It was a complete victory for the Roney [residents],” Robbins said. “We ended up getting everything we asked for. It can’t get much better than that.”

Dougherty later told the SunPost that the HPB action was such a surprise that her client wasn’t sure if they would be satisfied with the approved plans or not.

“I can’t tell you that we’ll be unhappy,” Dougherty said. “The architects are analyzing it now. We should have some preliminary answers by [Thursday] afternoon.”

[streetscapeer]

I F*CKING HATe NIMBYS...they're such pests!!...why are the rooney residents so uncompromising...ARGh!

[dave8721]

I was just looking at a picture of Roney Palace on the Miami-Dade Property Appraiser site to see where that pool in question is and ironically their bigger pool (not the one effected by the W) was being put in shadow by Roney Palace itself....Ha!!

The pool that all the turmoil is over is the small pool on the southern edge of the property.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y19/dave8721/roneypalace.jpg

[logybogy]

The Roney Palace is a god awful ugly monstrosity representative of cheap 60's crap condo architecture. They totally gutted and refurbished the building a few years ago to make it look decent but it's still crap.

It is literally a gigantic ugly wall of concrete that takes two full city blocks of Miami Beach and pollutes the skyline.

http://idxdata.rechannel.com/IdxImages/sefl/M935915.jpg

http://media.wwte.com/hotels/1000000/30000/28200/28103/28103_5_b.jpg

[streetscapeer]

North beach is picking up steam.


http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/11078772.htm


Northern lights

Two high-profile production centers are bringing stars to North Beach

BY CASEY WOODS

cwoods@herald.com

After taping an interview for the top-rated morning show produced at Venevisión's North Beach studios, Dominican music giant Juan Luis Guerra walked out onto Collins Avenue, where a few still-shuttered businesses stood as testament to the neighborhood's hard years.

As he prepared to fold his lanky frame into a black BMW, passersby pounced and restaurant employees scurried out to delay him, breathlessly asking for autographs and hurriedly snapping photos with cellphones.

Guerra -- a singer who has released such albums as Ojala que llueva cafe and Bachata Rosa -- is the latest star Venevisión's top-rated Spanish-language morning program Tu Desayuno Alegre has brought to the neighborhood.

Venevisión isn't the only draw for top talent in the neighborhood: Just up the street, multiplatinum music producer Rudy Perez also runs a studio, where he crafts hits for stars including Michael Bolton and Christina Aguilera.

The two studios are bringing the area a little of what South Beach is known for: high-profile glamour.

The neighborhood has long been seen as South Beach's younger, working-class brother, until recently generally forgotten and oft-neglected by city and star-makers alike.

North Beach business leaders say the vibrant production centers are accelerating the area's already rapid rise.

''Having these studios in the neighborhood brings credibility to the North Beach address,'' said Gary Farmer, marketing director for North Beach Development Corp., a nonprofit that cultivates economic development in the area. ``It gives the community backbone and helps the other businesses in the neighborhood.''

North Beach is in the midst of a heated ascent, with some of the city's most dramatically rising property values transforming it into an attractive target for real estate heavyweights. The upscale health resorts company Canyon Ranch is working on a hotel and residential complex at 6801 Collins Ave., and hotelier Ian Schrager of Shore Club and Delano Hotel fame recently announced he's looking for a property in the neighborhood.

Venevisión came in well before the curve, renting the old theater at 7403 Collins Ave. because its high ceilings and open spaces fit production needs.

Besides filming Tu Desayuno Alegre, an entertainment and music show that runs every morning on Univisión, the company produces at least one other show there. The company's editing and copying facilities are also in the building.

The show's staff has watched the neighborhood change.

''Before, so many of the buildings on this block were abandoned,'' said morning program's general producer Maria Corina Marrero. ``There's been a total change in the past few years, with new apartment buildings going up and new restaurants opening.''

Many neighboring businesses have noted the studio's presence. ''Since Venevisión came, the neighborhood has gotten better,'' said Constantino Mejia, owner of nearby Abraham's Bakery. ``There are a lot more people around.''

Two years after Venevisión arrived, music producer Perez transformed a rundown two-story house up the street into an intimate studio.

While Venevisión came to the area for convenience, for Perez it was love. ''This neighborhood is the hidden treasure of Miami Beach,'' Perez said. ``I wouldn't trade working here for anything.''

Perez and his wife Betsy are considering selling their posh North Bay Road home and moving to North Beach. They have already bought their oldest son an apartment there. Perez said that one of his artists, Adolfo Angel, lead singer for the Mexican superstar band Los Temerarios, became so enamoured with the neighborhood while working on albums there that he bought a condo within walking distance of the studio.

If Perez has his way, North Beach streets will have an even higher star quotient. He's in discussions with national jazz franchises to open a world-class jazz club in North Beach. To house it, he is looking to buy one of the properties along the Ocean Terrace hotel row.

''I want it to be the biggest jazz club on the East Coast, one that will be on the national circuit,'' Perez said. ``I want artists like Chick Corea to play in North Beach. I want people to come out of the club and smell the sea air.''

For now, Perez is helping produce a free concert series for the community, North Beach Nights.

Cosponsored by the North Beach Development Corp., the series features established and emerging artists pulled from Perez's roster of clients.

''I want this area to have nightlife but different from South Beach's,'' Perez said. ``I want it to become a place where a more mature crowd can have drinks and listen to some music.''

[Toucano]

By Helen Hill

Columnist

Raise a Glass to Design

At last, a new mixed-use project on South Beach that will look distinctively different, from the usual towers. Vitri, Leviev Boymelgreen’s new development planned for a 1.58-acre site between Alton Road and West Avenue at Fifth Street, will create an eye-catching gateway to Miami Beach as people cross the MacArthur Causeway from the mainland.

Architects Carlos Prio-Touzet and Jacqueline Gonzalez-Touzet, principals of Miami-based Touzet Studio Design & Architecture, have come up with a design that splits 66 residential units between two distinct buildings designed for urban living. On West Avenue, a curving four-story concrete frame encloses glass-fronted “facets” on double-height units, which capture views of Biscayne Bay. An irregular grid pattern on the façade, combined with a gradual shift in the tint of its glass walls, is meant to reinforce the sense of motion. On Alton Road a modern rectangular structure of steel, glass and concrete is in scale with traditional Miami Beach neighborhoods.

Two-story lofts of one-, two- and three-bedrooms range from 1,000 to 2,200 square with 19-foot-high ceilings and master bedrooms and baths set on mezzanines that overlook the double-height living areas below. Each master bath opens onto a balcony, designed to serve as a meditation or lounging space off the master suite. Vitri’s 22 penthouses will have “sky gardens” within glass walls, designed for outdoor/indoor entertaining and equipped with summer kitchens and wet bars. Private spas will be an option.

On the ground-level, a wood and glass-faced structure will house a signature restaurant and boutiques. A concealed, four-level parking garage will serve retail customers and residents.

Landscape architect Raymond Jungles (his real name!) is planning a modernist garden of bamboo, hardwoods, limestone and river rock with a grotto hidden behind the swimming pool. Prices for the loft units will start in the $600,000s. Majestic Properties, the exclusive sales agent for Vitri, say that the sales office will open within the next couple of months.

http://www.miamisunpost.com/IMAGE/groundwork1.jpg
The mixed-use Vitri buildings will offer views of Biscayne Bay.
http://www.miamisunpost.com/IMAGE/groundwork2.jpg
A rendering of the Vitri project as seen from the piers.

[south florida dave]

i like, i like. interesting thing, it looks like it's on the site of the 5th & alton, big box development. i guess Boymelgreen bought the land & is gonna build this instead? that won't bother me too much cause i think the curved glass wall makes for a nicer entrance to the beach than the other project. that one was pretty nice too, but this, to me, is superior.

i guess the 2nd building will be behind (north) of this one?

[dave8721]

That new Fifth and Alton will be across Alton Rd from Vitri, Vitri on the west of Alton, Fifth and Alton on the East of Alton. Its totally changing what people first see when they enter the Beach. Now they see vacant lots and a parking lot.

[south florida dave]

oh, ok. i looked up the lots on the county property website but wasn't sure what was what. i thought the 5th & alton oproject was gonna be where vitri is, so that's what confused me. thanks for clearing that up.

[streetscapeer]

yeah...on the "Fifth and alton" rendering, it appears to be on the East side of Alton rd....and the new Vitri project appears to be on the West side



Here is the "Fifth and Alton"....in this picture, Vitri would be directly to the right...



http://berkowitzdevelopment.com/img/5altonf4gde.jpg



This will totally transform the Miami Beach Entrance experience:)

[brickell]

Wow.
Love it.

[dave8721]

The only problem is that elevated 5th Street to Alton Rd exit ramp will be between the two (i.e. not a pleasant walk from one to the other)

[dave8721]

There is another project going up on 5th. Ocean Five. I've been hearing about it for a while. Its a condo-hotel going up on the south-west corner of Ocean Dr and 5th Street. Here is a really good rendering I found:

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y19/dave8721/oceanfive1.jpg

[south florida dave]

The only problem is that elevated 5th Street to Alton Rd exit ramp will be between the two (i.e. not a pleasant walk from one to the other)

i gotta find where i read it, but supposedly the developer of vitri wants to divert the alton rd. traffic onto west ave. sounds like it would just kill west ave with traffic, but it might also get rid of that ugly alton rd. flyover.

[renner01]

dave where did you get the pic if from a website please post

[streetscapeer]

5th and Ocean looks tight:):)...thanks alot for posting this...I actually this is already well under way as far as construction goes...I've seen something going up @ 5th and Ocean!


Great Stuff

[logybogy]

More info on the vitri project, really cool rendering.

http://www.miamirealestatetrends.com/pages/VitriSouthMiamiBeach.aspx

[nimbyhater]

love it... add another great, small, really urban building to south beach

[dave8721]

Another small scale development for the beach, this one at 35th Street and Collins. 4 stories of double-height lofts (I guess that makes 8 stories doesn't it?) designed by Kobi Karp.

http://www.kobikarp.com/index2.html

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y19/dave8721/35th.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y19/dave8721/35th2.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y19/dave8721/35th3.jpg

[streetscapeer]

we've got great densification (that obey the princples of urbanity)...I think the smaller projects are just as great as the highrise ones:)

thanks dave (looks 8 stories to me):)

[south florida dave]

yeah, kobi karp designs some nice buildings. hopefully this will replace some horrible, aging building or empty lot.

[south florida dave]

found a couple nice renderings of vitri...

http://www.hansenhomesaventura.com/blogmiamirealestate/archives/Vitri%20South%20Beach.jpg

http://www.miami-beach-real-estate.info/vitri/images/main_2_790.jpg

this one should really improve the entrance onto the beach from the macarthur.

[nimbyhater]

million times better than the parking lot that theres now... really gonna enhance the feel of the beach, and rite at the entrance, great location

[MIAballinboi]

the skyline view will be awesome from that building

[streetscapeer]

damn dave...you always find the coolest renderings:):)


this building will be quite fantastic!!:)

[The Mad Hatter!!]

thats hottt

[south florida dave]

damn dave...you always find the coolest renderings

i've got a lot of time on my hands these days so i'm able to do lots of googling.

[dave8721]

Looks like we are going to lose another distinction. First Las Vegas one-ups Met3's height to get the tallest residential south of NY. Now Panama City has a building that will top the Blue and Green Diamonds (559 ft) as the worlds tallest oceanfront residential buildings. Panama City's Sky Tower will be 670 feet. We wont be able to top that with Miami Beach's 22 story limit and Sunny Isles' 550ft limit.

http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=101547

[south florida dave]

saw an ad for vitri in the herald today that had it's website.

Vitri (http://www.vitrimiami.com/)

here's a pic from the site:
http://img215.echo.cx/img215/2023/vitri26tn.jpg

[MIAballinboi]

u do get the hottest renderings dave, thnx

[ChuckScraperMiami#1]

I agree with MIAballinboi :) , you da man S.F. Dave, great renderings, fantastic pis there. I hope that project gets built and soon !!! :cheers:

[streetscapeer]

Beach's Fifth Street to get parking garage


The Miami Beach City Commission has given preliminary approval to invest $9.5 million to create hundreds of city-owned parking spaces within a high-profile shopping center development.

The Fifth & Alton Shopping Center, which will straddle a city block at the foot of the MacArthur Causeway, will include a public transit facility, 179,000 square feet of retail, a supermarket and 1,081 parking spaces.

According to the agreement with the developers -- Jeff Berkowitz and brothers Alan and Robert Potamkin -- the city would partially operate the parking garage and own just under half of its spaces.

''Not only will the project revitalize Fifth Street, there will be more than 1,000 spaces available for evenings and weekends,'' said Wayne Pathman, the lawyer representing the development. ``Without city participation, there would not be as much parking in the project.''

The agreement, approved at the City Commission's April 20 meeting, will be considered for a second and final time at the commission's next meeting.


http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/11502417.htm

[renner01]

South of Fifth, a courtyard-style project with 28 oceanfront residences at 135 Ocean Dr. in South Beach, has kicked off its sales campaign. Residences range from 1,300 to 6,200 square feet, and are priced from $1.5 million to $10 million. Info: 305-398-7888 or www.so5th.com.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/classifieds/real_estate/11523787.htm

[renner01]

Canyon Ranch South Tower -6801 Collins Avenue going up restoring other building to the left
http://img226.echo.cx/img226/8310/canyonranch59057fm.th.jpg (http://img226.echo.cx/my.php?image=canyonranch59057fm.jpg)

6000 indian creek topped off

http://img226.echo.cx/img226/8681/6000indiancreek59055zy.th.jpg (http://img226.echo.cx/my.php?image=6000indiancreek59055zy.jpg)

Ocean side 6747-6747 Collins Avenue- nothing yet just a sales office

http://img226.echo.cx/img226/9879/674759052fj.th.jpg (http://img226.echo.cx/my.php?image=674759052fj.jpg)

Monte carlo-6551 Collins Avenue -demolition and then to build a tower

http://img226.echo.cx/img226/8684/montecarlo59053oy.th.jpg (http://img226.echo.cx/my.php?image=montecarlo59053oy.jpg)

Continuum - 200 S Pointe Dr-foundation going in

http://img201.echo.cx/img201/1778/continum59057lf.th.jpg (http://img201.echo.cx/my.php?image=continum59057lf.jpg)

Caribbean - 3737 Collins Ave. restoration and partial demolition of the existing seven-story Caribbean Hotel and the construction of a new 19-story multifamily building

http://img201.echo.cx/img201/4585/caribbean59055mn.th.jpg (http://img201.echo.cx/my.php?image=caribbean59055mn.jpg)

Terra beachside villas- 6000 Indian Creek - on foundation bath residences on left is topped off

http://img55.echo.cx/img55/4602/terra59059xg.th.jpg (http://img55.echo.cx/my.php?image=terra59059xg.jpg)

This is next to Wyndham. I don't know what they are building.. anyone?

http://img55.echo.cx/img55/5989/wyndham59058la.th.jpg (http://img55.echo.cx/my.php?image=wyndham59058la.jpg)

fontainebleau III Ocean Club -4441 Collins Avenue groundwork

http://img127.echo.cx/img127/8418/fountainbleau59050qz.th.jpg (http://img127.echo.cx/my.php?image=fountainbleau59050qz.jpg)

I think this is supposed to be a 490 room hotel I talked to a guy from the general contractor KVC Constructors Inc.said owners from Europe are sitting on their hands. It has been on foundation for about a year. Anyone have any info on this job?

http://img169.echo.cx/img169/3162/490roomhotel9pe.th.jpg (http://img169.echo.cx/my.php?image=490roomhotel9pe.jpg)

Crown - refurbishing and adding another tower mid-rise

http://img169.echo.cx/img169/4484/crown59052kz.th.jpg (http://img169.echo.cx/my.php?image=crown59052kz.jpg)
http://www.gtmcdonald.com/projects/crown-luxury--ramada.jpg
http://www.gtmcdonald.com/projects/CLR01-14-04-elevations.jpg
http://www.gtmcdonald.com/projects/crown-luxury-residences.jpg

Ritz-Carlton (seville) Seville Beach Hotel Corporation is requesting a CA for the partial demolition, renovation and restoration of the existing 12-story Seville Hotel, a four-story rooftop addition as well as the construction of two 21-story ground-level additions to the north of the existing structure. The Seville is located at 2901 Collins Ave.

http://img55.echo.cx/img55/6355/seville59056wh.th.jpg (http://img55.echo.cx/my.php?image=seville59056wh.jpg)

5th & Alton - EMPTY site right now
http://img55.echo.cx/img55/2366/fifthalton59057vb.th.jpg (http://img55.echo.cx/my.php?image=fifthalton59057vb.jpg)
http://berkowitzdevelopment.com/img/5altonf4.jpg
http://berkowitzdevelopment.com/img/5altonf2.jpg

apoogee - empty should start soon

http://img184.echo.cx/img184/9273/apogee59055xp.th.jpg (http://img184.echo.cx/my.php?image=apogee59055xp.jpg)

[dave8721]

I remember reading something about the Wyndham seeking permits for a second tower.

[Bobdreamz]

what kind of name is Canyon Ranch?...we don't have canyons or ranches in Miami.

[Roark]

what kind of name is Canyon Ranch?...we don't have canyons or ranches in Miami.Canyon Ranch is one of the foremost Spas/health resorts in the world. http://www.canyonranch.com/
By the way, we don't have 4 seasons in Miami...but I still like the building!

[logybogy]

UP FRONT | MIAMI BEACH


A gamble for the Fontainebleau

The Fontainebleau hotel's new owner is rolling the dice on a Las Vegas strategy and has hired the head of Mandalay casinos to run the resort. Plans include musical acts, celebrity chefs -- but not gambling.

BY DOUGLAS HANKS III

dhanks@herald.com


The Fontainebleau's new owner seems to be doing everything he can to bring Las Vegas to Miami Beach.

Jeffrey Soffer plans a major reworking of the 1,340-room resort, South Florida's largest and most famous hotel. Though Florida law doesn't allow gambling there, he plans to bring in the kind of celebrity chefs, big-name musical acts, upscale shops and entertainment options that are signatures of hotels along the famed Vegas Strip. After renovating the hotel's Morris Lapidus-designed Chateau building, Soffer promises high-roller room rates, too -- up as much as 70 percent from its current $180-a-night prices.

Punctuating his Sin City strategy, Soffer announced he would take his newly acquired brand and build a second Fontainebleau, a 4,000-room hotel on the Vegas Strip, and the first in what Soffer promised would be a string of Fontainebleaus around the world.

And on the day he closed his purchase of the iconic Miami Beach hotel, Soffer announced Wednesday he had recruited the outgoing president of the Mandalay casino company to oversee the Fontainebleau.

AMBITIOUS PLANS

Soffer, 36, outlined what could be the most ambitious changes yet for the Fontainebleau.

He has fired Hilton as the hotel's operator, ending the chain's 27-year association with the Fontainebleau. He plans to gut the hotel's signature Chateau building sometime next year, strip the rooms' walls to their studs and renovate the hotel's sweeping Lapidus-designed lobby. The hotel's north tower -- known as the ''Spite Wall'' since it blocks the afternoon sun of the adjoining Eden Roc hotel -- might be razed to make way for a new building.

Cookie's World, the kiddie pool with a giant octopus in its center built by former owner Stephen Muss to attract families, may yield to a new 40,000-square-foot spa -- part of $400 million in renovations to reverse the Fontainebleau's decline against South Beach's wave of new, hip, upscale hotels.

''People know what it was back in the Frank Sinatra days,'' said Soffer, referring to the Fontainebleau's golden years in the 1950s and '60s when the blue-eyed crooner made the hotel a regular gig and vacation spot. ``We want to bring it back to what it was.''

Like other industry watchers, Soffer painted a less-than-cheery picture of the Fontainebleau's current operations. He said the 1954 hotel is showing its age and can't compete for the kind of top-tier conventions he wants. The hotel's current revenues couldn't justify the still-undisclosed sales price, Soffer said. And he had little good to say about the Fontainebleau's current operations.

''If I was Hilton, and I had my name on this place, and it was run the way it's being run, I would not be happy,'' Soffer said. Hilton spokeswoman Lisa Cole declined to respond to the comment.

BY REPUTATION

When Soffer announced earlier this year he was firing Hilton -- the operator's last day at the Fontainebleau is Friday -- some industry watchers questioned the wisdom of trying to fill such a large hotel without a national chain's brand recognition and global sales force.

But Soffer is counting on the Fontainebleau's reputation and rich history to exceed the cachet of a Hilton or a Marriott. He has recruited 30 former Mandalay executives to set up a new resort company to drive the kind of large meetings and conventions the Fontainebleau needs to stay afloat.

OFFICE IN LAS VEGAS

Fontainebleau Resorts will put its headquarters in Las Vegas, not Miami Beach. Its chief executive and president, Glenn Schaeffer, recently left his post as the president of Mandalay Resort Group, owner of the Mandalay Bay and Excalibur hotels in Vegas.

Soffer, whose Aventura-based Turnberry Associates already has three condominium projects under way in Las Vegas and partnered with Muss to build a pair of condominium-hotel towers at the Fontainebleau, said the Vegas Fontainebleau will be built on 25 acres of land he owns off the Strip.

Schaeffer is a minority owner in Fontainebleau Resorts, said Soffer, who will serve as chairman.

NO CASINOS

Soffer said he has no designs on bringing casino gambling to Miami Beach, and Schaeffer said his game plan doesn't require it. Instead, he wants to replicate his strategy on the Strip by cramming entertainment options into the Fontainebleau's 18-acre compound.

''You build a total-destination resort. Marquee restaurants. Swinging clubs. Live entertainment,'' Schaeffer said during a conference-call interview.

Jonathan Galaviz, a Vegas-based analyst of the gambling industry, said Schaeffer succeeded in creating one large destination out of the company's three Strip hotels, where guests had little need to head elsewhere. ''He came up with the idea of creating [a] stand-alone section of the Vegas strip,'' he said.

PREFERS MIAMI

Soffer wants the same for the Fontainebleau, which sits some 20 blocks from the clubs and restaurants of South Beach. And he sees Mandalay's formula working better on Miami Beach's oceanfront than in the transformed desert of Vegas.

''I would much rather be in Miami, where everything is real, instead of Vegas, where everything is manufactured,'' he said.

[Toucano]

anyone else think this has something to do with the cirque du solei plans???

[archifreese]

I wouldn't be surprised. This would be a real chance to bring the Fontainebleau and Miami Beach (esp. w/Cirque) back to that entertainment theme they once had.

I have to say I love the qoute from Soffer "I would much rather be in Miami, where everything is real, instead of Vegas, where everything is manufactured." Funny stuff...

[Toucano]

Yeah that is a great quote

[streetscapeer]

Thans for the construction update renner....The Crown development is one of my favorites...I love that many of the projects are refurbishing what already there, and adding new towers. It adds dimension to the cityscape:)

[logybogy]

PMG Collins plans condos on Miami Beach land
A subsidiary of Property Markets Group said it has bought the last oceanfront land parcel in Miami Beach.

PMG Collins said it purchased 1.75 acres at 5875 Collins Ave. from First Ocean Estates Realty. The company did not disclose the price, but it did say PB Capital of New York provided a $98 million loan.

On the land, PMG said it plans 135 condominium residences in 22 stories. The proposed name is Mei, which the company said is Mandarin for "beauty" and "femininity."

Prices are to range from the $900,000s to more than $2 million, with sales to begin this summer. PMG said construction will begin next month.

"We have secured coveted real estate," said Mitchell Schneiderman, PMG principal. "Oceanfront property is quickly dwindling, while demand is not. Our plans for this project will satisfy the affluent consumer looking for a quiet retreat on the beach in a sought-after location."

--


PMG Collins Builds Condos on Last Miami Beach Ocean Parcel
May 19, 2005
By Suzann D. Silverman, Editor-in-Chief


Having netted the last oceanfront parcel in Miami Beach, developer PMG Collins L.L.C. is underway on South Florida's favorite property type: condominiums. But Mitchell Schneiderman, principal at the subsidiary of New York City-based developer Property Markets Group, believes he has an advantage. "A lot of condos are going up, have gone up,” he noted, “but the ones on the ocean are all sold out.”

The company will start development within the next 10 days, with plans to build 135 condo units in 21 stories. PMG Collins's goal is to achieve the pre-sell level of 50 percent within the next 90 days, with the balance sold before units start delivering in about 16 months. Units will be priced starting at $900,000 and exceeding $2 million.

Grabbing the property was a coup for the company, because owner First Ocean Estates was purportedly already in contract negotiations with another investor. Property Markets Group moved in quickly and completed negotiations over a weekend, Schneiderman said, ultimately closing on April 27 for $42 million. The property has been vacant, but the seller had already created architectural plans. These plans had already been approved by the city of Miami Beach, which also already issued a building permit.

Schneiderman, who only joined the company two months ago, built a 1 million-square-foot waterfront condo community, Hidden Bay, in Aventura six years ago. Property Markets Group has been active in Florida, including development of condos in the Sarasota area. It has also been active in another popular area: condo conversions in New York City.

[streetscapeer]

cool....thanks for the info:)

[ChuckScraperMiami#1]

what kind of name is Canyon Ranch?...we don't have canyons or ranches in Miami.
BOB :) !!!, just Dreamz of a Concrete Canyon down biscayne blvd. south of the I-395, thats our future canyon, lol, 6 tall new towers to be completed by 2012, wow, " I'm so excited, I can't hide, I know , I know, I know, I know, don't want too. Go Cranes !!! :cheers:

[Roark]

:runaway:

[dave8721]

The massive 1688 unit Flamingo South Beach is going up for sale with an expected price tag of over $700 million!!!

http://southflorida.bizjournals.com/southflorida/stories/2005/06/13/story2.html

Market prices indicate complex could fetch $700 million or more
Susan Stabley

The Bird is for sale, in what could be Florida's biggest condo conversion.

Denver-based Apartment Investment and Management Co. (AIMCO) has hired CB Richard Ellis to sell the landmark Flamingo South Beach apartments.

The decision was announced in AIMCO's June 7 SEC filing. Through affiliate company Morton Towers Apartments, AIMCO wants to sell the Flamingo's three towers and other improvements, but keep the land. A simultaneous 99-year land lease has been offered.

The property was listed for an undisclosed amount through CB Richard Ellis on Tuesday. It could sell for more than $700 million based on recent rates, although two analysts predict a lower price.

AIMCO (NYSE: AIV) reports that it expects the deal, if completed, to close within a year. The REIT has 1,475 rental properties in 47 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia.

Condo conversion anticipated
The property could be sold to another rental company, AIMCO spokeswoman Judy Stowell said. "We are not condo converters. We aren't saying we want to convert. Anyone could buy it."

But a condo converter will likely buy and resell the Flamingo's 1,688 units, according to CB Richard Ellis.

The team selling the Flamingo consists of Executive VPs Jay Massirman and Sean Cunningham, First VP Robert Given and senior associate Gerard Yetming.

Led by Massirman, the brokers are projecting more than $3.5 billion in multifamily property sales this year, with 90 percent slated for conversion.

The sale of the property known in the community as "The Bird" would the biggest in the state, Given said. "This is the mothership."

Click here for the rest of the story:
http://southflorida.bizjournals.com/southflorida/stories/2005/06/13/story2.html

[dave8721]

We dont have a North Beach thread so I'll stick this here:

It looks like a cool looking project is going bye-bye.

http://www.kobikarp.com/images/Deauville%20on%20the%20Ocean%20-%20Perspective%2001.jpg

http://www.miamisunpost.com/groundwork.htm

Reports are that preconstruction buyers at Nobe Beach at the Deauville Hotel are getting their deposits back — could it be to make way for an Ian Schrager project? The hip hotelier, noted for reinventing old glamour palaces, is said to have been casing properties in North Beach. The Deauville, which attracted celebrities and entertainers from Sinatra to the Beatles in the 1950s and ’60s, fits the bill perfectly. Meanwhile The Merco Groups’s other project, NoBe Bay across on Indian Creek, will go ahead on schedule.

[MIAballinboi]

^that sucks, looked like a pretty cool project, well now these buyers can fill up another building

[The Mad Hatter!!]

i'm guessing that this was the original rendering of fifth and alton,before redesign
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v289/enyers/3d_alton.jpg

[dave8721]

http://www.miamisunpost.com/breakingnews.htm

Building Permit for 205-Foot Tower in South Beach Still Valid, Court Says



An appellate court decision clears the way for a South Beach property owner to build an 18-story tower.

By a 2-to-1 vote, an appellate court ruled that Micky Biss’s building permit to build a 205 foot tall building at 120 Ocean Drive is still valid.

Biss was issued a building permit in 1999. However, the city of Miami Beach later ruled that the permit was expired and that Biss’s proposed tower violated the area’s height laws. The county’s Board of Rules and Appeals (BORA) disagreed and in 2003 ruled that the Biss’s permit is still valid. The city appealed the decision.

Biss, who represents himself as his own lawyer, is also suing Miami Beach for not noticing him properly regarding a settlement agreement with the new owners of several South Pointe lands including the Alaska Parcel, a vacant property next to South Pointe Park that was once controlled by Thomas Kramer. Under the agreement, the city would be able to merge a portion of the Alaska Parcel into South Pointe Park in exchange for zoning increases. One of Related Group’s properties abuts Biss’s 120 Ocean Drive property. Related Group executives said the suit is jeopardizing the settlement.

Biss also filed a lawsuit claiming that Miami Beach elected officials violated state Sunshine Law when they spoke at a public workshop regarding the property owner's lawsuit with the city and how it would effect the settlement agreement.

[archifreese]

^ i hope he builds it to full height, and i hate the rural politics of Miami Beach they are slowly degrading the potential of this city to be the great world city that it could be.

[Dale]

^ i hope he builds it to full height, and i hate the rural politics of Miami Beach they are slowly degrading the potential of this city to be the great world city that it could be.

True, but it's not too late for Miami Beach. There's nothing wrong with the city that a Trump tower wouldn't correct.

*quickly runs from the room to avoid a stiff reprisal from Roark*

[archifreese]

:hahaha:

[Roark]

True, but it's not too late for Miami Beach. There's nothing wrong with the city that a Trump tower wouldn't correct.

*quickly runs from the room to avoid a stiff reprisal from Roark*
Dude!!! You totally negated my rebuttle!!!!

[south florida dave]

does anyone know what happeneed to the W hotel that was planned for south beach a few years back? was it built or is it under construction? i haven't heard anything.

[dave8721]

does anyone know what happeneed to the W hotel that was planned for south beach a few years back? was it built or is it under construction? i haven't heard anything.

I know they had all kinds of trouble with the residents of the neighboring Roney Palace since one of the W towers was going to block out the sun from one of Roney's pool decks. I think the Miami Beach commission made them go back to the drawing board and redesign it from being two towers to being one. From the tone of what I read it sounded as if the W people didn't feel it would be worth while to build at all at the smaller size. I haven't heard anything about it since.

[Roark]

They are gearing up to launch sales in the very near future...as in next couple of weeks.

[south florida dave]

ah, that explains it dave. i thought something must've happened since i hadn't heard anything in a while. thanks for the info.

roark, do you have any pics of it?

[dave8721]

The City is looking to build a parking/office facility on the big empty area west of the Convention Center:

http://www.miamibeachfl.gov/newcity/drb/agenda_design.pdf

"1721-1755 Meridian Ave - Miami Beach Multi-Purpose Municipal Parking Facility.
The applicant, the City of Miami Beach, is requesting Design Review Approval for the construction of a multi-purpose municipal facility with ground level commercial space, 5 levels of office space, and 7 levels of parking spaces, on an existing, grade level municipal parking lot."

[MAH45462]

i'm guessing that this was the original rendering of fifth and alton,before redesign
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v289/enyers/3d_alton.jpg

That isn't the original. My friend's firm put out the original proposal for the design. I got to take a look at it last year...it was amazing! Was not that.

[Roark]

I know...just a little north of South Beach, but very important news to Miami Beach.
More Morris Lapidus buildings making way for progresss. The "Spite Wall" is an incredible story.

And back to the news....Posted on Wed, Jul. 27, 2005

Eden Roc to shift owners, look
The Eden Roc would get new owners and a seven-figure makeover under a pending deal. A possible bonus: The Fontainebleau's ''Spite Wall'' might come down, too. BY DOUGLAS HANKS III dhanks@herald.com

The owners of the South Beach Marriott are buying the Eden Roc resort and plan to add a 20-story tower with 300 rooms to the 1956 oceanfront hotel, an executive with the buyers said Tuesday.

The expansion would give the Eden Roc 649 rooms and make it the third largest hotel in Miami Beach. The new tower and a planned renovation costing between $15 million and $20 million would come as its neighbor, the Fontainebleau, also adds hundreds of new rooms and prepares a major makeover of its interiors.

Key International, the Ardid family's real-estate development firm, has signed a $100 million contract for the Eden Roc at 45th Street and Collins Ave, said Diego Ardid, a vice president at the company. Owner Blackacre Capital Group declined to comment Tuesday on the reported deal, which Ardid said should close next month.

The Eden Roc and the Fontainebleau once defined Miami Beach glamour, before the glitz, stars and luxury rates headed down Collins for a stylish crop of renovated Art Deco hotels in South Beach.

Full Story at Herald.com (http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/12229828.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp)