well i wanted to do a thread about south dade becuase alot of things are happening there.including metrozoo,new housings and now even U.M. wants to do a development there.

UM, county eye school, homes near Metrozoo

By Suzy Valentine
The University of Miami is working with the county to build a school, a library and homes on 4 acres near Metrozoo.
An academic village in the south area of the county would be part of several developments. Plans could be complete in April.
Plans are to create a school with a math and science focus next to a low- to medium-density housing project in which most units will be for sale. The 136-acre site is on the university's South Campus.
"The land has yet to be conveyed by UM," said school board member Ana Rivas Logan. "It's 4 acres of land, and it will take a few months for the transaction to be processed. We're still at the ideas phase, but anything that relieves overcrowding in our schools is good."
Though prices for the units have not been set, Michael Katz, president of Miami Asset Management Co., a subsidiary of the University of Miami, said he hoped some of the properties would be affordable to low-income workers such as teachers, police officers and firefighters.
The university also plans to set up a branch of its School of Education's Institute for Retired Professionals to provide programs to people older than 50.
"What we're envisioning is a residential community that has education as a core value," said Mr. Katz. "We plan to incorporate a lifelong learning center for seniors and a wellness center similar to that on campus."
The emphasis of the project, said Mr. Katz, would be education, health and environment. The state's Department of Environmental Resources Management would provide 40 acres of natural forest to the community, he said.
"We will have a small amount of retail space to include a bookstore and coffee shop," said Mr. Katz. "There may also be some live/work units."
The University of Miami's plans for an academic village close to Miami Metrozoo's on Southwest 152nd Street is one of several projects in the pipeline for the south end of the county.
Earlier this month, the zoo announced plans to add a water park or roller coaster to raise attendance - a project that, like the academic village, is several years away.
Commissioner Dennis Moss said he hoped the area could attract a Six Flags, Cedar Park or Paramount amusement park. Meanwhile, the Gold Coast Railroad Museum is to be expanded while work on a military museum and the Veterans Memorial of South Florida in a former World War II Navy headquarters can get under way once a portion of the $2 million allocated to it in the county's bond issue is released.
The academic village, which is to include a public school, a library and 1,200 housing units, is at the conceptual stage.
"It hasn't gone to the board for approval yet," said school board member Evelyn Langlieb Greer, whose district includes the site. "There's nothing really concrete nor will there be until the full board has approved it, and I can't say when that will be."
Ms. Greer welcomed the project.
"Students from Districts 7 and 9 really need this," she said. "We're popping apart at the seams. It's one of the most overcrowded parts of the county."
County Commission Districts 8 and 9, drawn along different lines than the school board districts, would be the beneficiaries of the scheme.
"I'm really excited about it," said Katy Sorenson, county commissioner for District 8, which is also targeted for a mixed-use project close to the South Dade Government Center. "A lot of my constituents will directly benefit."
"This is exactly the kind of partners we wanted to build," said Joseph Garcia, chief communications officer for Miami-Dade County Public Schools. "It's a prime example of how we can find other entities in the county and bring to South Dade the kind of specialization found in a Design and Architecture Senior High, a Maritime and Science Technology High or a New World School."
Mr. Garcia likened the emphasis of a school in the academic village to one in New York City. "We're interested to see how a project like the Bronx High School of Science with a big specialization in math can provide new opportunities for students in South Dade."
"It's a several-year process," said Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk of Duany Plater-Zyberk and Company, which has been retained to consider the town-planning aspects of the project. "It requires approval at federal, state and county level."
The project site abuts property owned by the Army, said Ms. Plater-Zyberk, and a land-swap agreement has been sought at the federal level.
"At this point, we're revising the mixes of uses and housing," she said. "We are looking at ways to reduce the dependence on cars within the community and make it more walker-friendly in the manner of a traditional neighborhood."
"Though this is a first for UM," said Ms. Plater-Zyberk, "other universities are also working on developments which in some sense build on the existing character of their institutions."
Other possibilities laid out in a two-page preliminary plan include playing fields, an amphitheater and a day-care/after-school program. The concept of an academic village was conceived by Thomas Jefferson, the document says.
Rudy Crew, superintendent of Miami-Dade Public Schools, also welcomed the initiative.
"He was very supportive," said Michael Katz, president of MAMCO, the university's construction arm. "The school system needs innovative ways to build schools on smaller plots."
UM president Donna Shalala, he said, is dedicated to reaching out to the local community.
"The university has always taken a strong interest in the community," said Mr. Katz. "Now, we're reaching out in a generational way."
miamitodaynews.com

County clears way for winery in South Dade

By Samantha Joseph
Miami-Dade County expects to welcome a winery next month as new ordinances allow alcohol production in agricultural zones.
Schnebly Redland's Winery expects to sell its first bottle of locally pressed wine, made from tropical fruit on its 96-acre farm in South Dade, by Feb. 14, said its owner.
"Most people do not think of vineyards and wineries when they think of Florida, (but the state) has a $5 million viticulture industry," said Jennifer Parsons, public-affairs director for the Dade County Farm Bureau, based in Homestead.
Schnebly joins 15 other wineries in Florida. But until a month ago, Miami-Dade agricultural laws did not allow wine production.
On Dec. 2, county commissioners approved a plan to let farmers make and sell wine from locally grown fruit.
The amendment requires winery operators to cultivate large groves or vineyards on at least 10 acres but limit wine production to about 250,000 gallons per year.
"For us, it's just another venture," said Peter Schnebly, who co-owns the winery with his wife, Denisse.
The Schneblys have operated Fresh King, a produce company in the Redlands, for 11 years, selling packed fruits and vegetables to retailers and gourmet restaurants across the country.
They thought a winery would allow them to use overripe fruits that they now discard to create more than 114,000 cases of wine.
Fresh King grows mangoes, passion fruit and guava and is the country's largest producer of lychee, an Asian nut that will become the main ingredient in its wines.
"We don't have a single grape wine here," Mr. Schnebly said.
The venture is expected to create 30 jobs by summer. Annual sales - including those of wine, fruit and fruit trees - are projected to exceed $13.8 million.
Minutes away from what looks like a real estate stampede in South Miami-Dade, a small company represents the county's first effort to meld farming and tourism.
Just west of Homestead, where developers have converted thousands of acres of farmland to prime real estate, the new business offers an idea that could help stem the loss of agricultural land.
When it opens next month, Schnebly Redland's Winery will introduce agri-tourism to the county as a tourist attraction in a rural setting.
It's the start of an effort public officials say could keep farming an attractive option for landowners in the last real estate frontier in one of the nation's fastest-growing counties.
"I really jumped at the opportunity" to help preserve farmland, said Dennis Moss, vice chairman of the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners. "At the end of the day, it may prove to be the way to make the land valuable enough so farmers aren't tempted to accept these very, very lucrative offers to sell to developers."
Longtime resident and banker A. "Buster" Castiglia says the area has changed beyond recognition. His bank, which specializes in real estate lending, has been doing brisk business in South Dade. "Builders can't build fast enough," he said. "Low interest rates only fuel the demand."
Economic conditions that encourage ownership and overcrowding in the northern parts of the county have led developers to turn their attention south.
In Homestead, just west of the Redlands, where the new winery stands, more than 12,000 homes are under construction, city officials say.
The city's population grew 10% to about 35,000 from 2000 to 2004. It will double in the next five years, estimates Charles LaPradd, planning and economic development administrator in Homestead.
"The growth's going to continue well into next year," Mr. Castiglia said. "You simply won't recognize the area."
Since 1995, Commissioner Moss has led efforts to create local wineries. In 1997, he co-sponsored an eco-tourism conference at Florida International University to promote the idea.
Nothing happened until December 2003, when Denisse and Peter Schnebly invested about $300,000 in equipment to expand their produce company in the Redlands by adding a winery to utilize overripe fruit.
The couple own Fresh King and had planned to open a winery before they learned that local laws made no provision for such a business.
The discovery led to a series of meetings with public officials, including former Miami-Dade Mayor Alex Penelas and Mr. Moss, who sponsored the ordinance to allow alcohol production in an agricultural zone.
One year later, on Dec. 2, the county approved the change and Schnebly Redland's became Florida's 16th and Miami-Dade's only winery.
"Our idea is to have people come on out, tour our property and try our products," said Mr. Schnebly.
It's an idea borrowed from California's Napa Valley, where farmers have merged tourism and agriculture to attract 5 million visitors each year to wineries and vineyards.
"If we got just a portion of the tourist interest that they have there, certainly you can see the potential we'd have here," Mr. Moss said.
One month before it is scheduled to open - and before it has received its license to sell liquor - Schnebly Redland's Winery has booked its first tour group, Napa Valley's Wine and Food Institute.
The tour is one of several events the company has planned for the year. Its agenda includes up to six festivals to bring chefs, restaurateurs, wine lovers and other tourists to its 96-acre fruit orchard and winery.
By summer, the winery is expected to create about 30 jobs in packing, retail and other areas. At full capacity, it is projected to produce about 114,680 cases of wine and generate about $13.8 million in sales annually.
miamitodaynews

homestead in a decade or so will be the new kendall... and kendall will continue to densify

I'd be really excited about Homestead if they get metrorail service. They have the core downtown they just need to tap the potential.

It's already solid urbanity from Brickell to Kendall... 20 years from now, the line of skyscrapers itself will stretch all the way to Kendall (before being briefly interrupted by Pinecrest, then continuing south for another 20 miles) :-D

ooh how i hate pinecrest

I'm of the firm belief that we should build skyscrapers across the street from Pinecrest from north to south, on the west side of US 1, to help increase our housing stock but also mostly out of spite... Their village limits fall entirely EAST of US 1. Biggest mistake allowing them to incorporate -- County should have stuck on a $2 million+ mitigation fee just to listen to the complaints.

What exactly is wrong with a community that prefers single-family homes?

Not everyone wants to live in a condo.

Lots and lots of people want a nice large house with a backyard.

And there's nothing wrong with that. It's their right.

That's not it... They succeeded in forming their own enclave to maintain their own zoning, however it's their attempt to exercise jurisdiction outside their municipal boundaries that I find objection with. They are opposed to every single project in the downtown Kendall area, and they have attempted to block each project each time it has reached the permitting process through their County Commissioner, whose district happens to lie within both Kendall and Pinecrest. If they want to have their single-family mansions within their village, fine, but don't try to dictate what occurs outside your own limits.

tivo is right the other day the had the nerve to complain about latitude neovertika and bor becuase they were supposedly to clos to each other

they have the right to do watever they want... like miami beach, they want a building limit, w/e, i hate em for it, but w/e... rich old farts in pinecrest wanna live in a huge forest, more power to em, to be honest, its a really nice neighborhood... and its charm is its seclusion, but their attempts to control development outside of their area is what ticks me off... i understand that they formed a city to stop development like this in their area, but its outta their jurisdiction, so fuk off pinecrest, lol