whoa it seems as if one of these days a developer comes in and i'll pay you 100billion for the city of miami.i remember back when i used to go every saturday night to watch a movie at the omni ,to bad it went out of business
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Posted on Fri, May. 06, 2005




REAL ESTATE


Omni Center sells for $100M

Developers purchased the long-struggling Omni Center for $100 million, creating a huge section of properties poised for development in Miami's Performing Arts Center district.

BY MATTHEW HAGGMAN

mhaggman@herald.com


The Omni Center, an enormous concrete structure covering a lengthy stretch of Miami's Biscayne Boulevard, has been sold for $100 million in a move that portends more dramatic changes in the rapidly evolving Performing Arts Center neighborhood.

Argent Ventures purchased the 11.2-acre parcel, currently occupied by a Radisson Hotel, an art school and chamber of commerce offices, from Lehman Brothers. Also on the property is the gutted Omni International Mall. The purchase comes on the heels of developer Pedro Martin's Terra Group buying a nearby 10-acre swath of land in March from The Herald's parent company, Knight Ridder, for $190 million.

The twin sales bring about a rare occurrence for a major metropolitan area: More than 21 acres -- separated only by a bus stop and Metromover station -- are poised for development.

''We view this site as one of the great development sites in the U.S.,'' said Mark Teitelbaum, chief operating officer of New York City-based Argent. ``Where else can you have control of such a large site in the middle of a major [downtown area] where around you is explosive development and you are near the water? This is a special opportunity.''

South of the Omni Center, the Performing Arts Center is taking form and an unprecedented number of high-rise condominiums are sprouting in downtown Miami. To the north, the Edgewater and Wynwood neighborhoods are experiencing a historic surge of building activity.

The Omni Center, stretching from Biscayne Boulevard to North Bayshore Drive and Northeast 15th Street to Northeast 17th Terrace, has stood for several years as an imposing eyesore. City leaders are hoping the renaissance occurring now will inspire more street life and bring pedestrians onto Biscayne.

''I would like to see them bulldoze that whole complex and start over,'' said Miami City Commissioner Johnny Winton, whose district includes Omni Center. ``I think that whole complex as originally designed is totally disinviting to the kind of community the city of Miami is trying to create.''

Teitelbaum said Argent is evaluating its options, which could include a mix of demolition and retaining the existing structure. Residential and office components are both considerations, he said.

He also praised the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce and the Miami International University of Art & Design, which are both tenants in the building, and the 528-room Radisson Hotel.

''We like retaining existing infrastructure whenever possible,'' Teitelbaum said. ``The art institute is a great tenant on a long-term lease that belongs in the area. The chamber creates activity in the hotel. And we think the hotel is a great asset.''

Argent closed on its purchase last month. Jubeen Vaghefi of Rockwood Realty, who brokered the sale, said the property drew ''significant interest'' when it went on the market late last year.

Lehman Brothers' Miami office did not return calls.

In a separate transaction, Teitelbaum said Argent also purchased the sole single-family house located on the same block as Omni Center. A two-story home built in 1937, the home at 1720 N. Bayshore Dr. has stood incongruously next to the massive Omni for decades. Teitelbaum said it bought the home last month, which previously sold for $2.5 million in February, but refused to disclose the purchase price.

Luciana Gonzalez, spokeswoman for Miami's Planning & Zoning Department, said the nearly 70-year-old house is not historically protected.

Argent previously had a stake in the retail portion of Omni Center, but the property never came to life. Most recently, Argent acquired and renovated the Manhattan Mall in New York City.

''This is our next venture,'' Teitelbaum said of the Omni Center. ``We are putting all of our resources into this now.''

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/business/11576768.htm

Cool! this is insane! :nuts:
Miami is going to be unrecognizable in the next five or ten years. So much is going on! :nuts:
Thousands of new condos, new neighborhoods, new tallest buildings, new malls, new people.:nuts:
South Florida has already grown and changed so much since I moved here in 1997!
It's like a gold rush!!!!:nuts::nuts::nuts:
Biscayne Boulevard is going to be amazing. I can't wait. I wish I could fast forward ten years.
I wish I could move downtown now before it becomes like Manhattan or Chicago's loop, or San Francisco.
I'm so glad something's going to be done about that disgusting eyesore of a mall.(No disrespect to your childhood memories of the mall, hatter:))
The Omni site is soooo important to the future of downtown. It has to become more pedestrian friendly.
After all of this development, the ridership on the metromover is going to be crazy!

ok i was searching online for this argent ventures,and i was disappointed to findout they're in the business of renovating old malls into techology center which might mean no scrapers!!

They spent so much money they'll probably have to build high to make a profit.

Althught the article says that demolition, or partial demolition is a possibility.

I remember when they built that monstrosity calling it a "megastructure" but it sits in an urban setting while ignoring the streetscape surrounding it so it was no wonder it failed. What a horrible piece of architecture and I hope they get rid of it.

amen to that, bob.

gotta think we'll see some tall buildings on this site if they do scrap the existing building. $100 million is an assload of cash so they're gonna wanna make all thet can. only way to do that is to build up. hopefully they'll coordinate with the developer (can't remember who it is now. perdo martin?) next door at the herald site to unify the area.

Hatter when did the Omni actually close? I remember going there as a kid too to see movies, and then when I was a young adult when I moved back.

screw the omni... tear it down and buily 6 1000+footers... wit lotsa ground floor retail, thatll make up for it... lol

^ And a really big Home Depot too ! :)

and a Wal-Mart.

i prefer that they build yet another publix or sedanos that would be a change....

does anyone know if that purchase include the hotel (i think its a radisson but i could be wrong) that sits in the center of the u-shaped plan of the Omni mall, or is it just the mall and garage. I don't really like that hotel either, the entrance on biscayne is an ugly recessed car-port.

yea in the article it states the radisson is included

Hatter when did the Omni actually close? I remember going there as a kid too to see movies, and then when I was a young adult when I moved back.
Yes , Rider of rohan :) , the Omni Mall closed over 7 years ago, when J.C. Penney and the OMNI 6 Theaters closed , the Mall closed about two years after, This is Great News, and that two story, 70 year old house is Not a Historict art house :bash: , so the Whole Omni complex with the Raddison hotel needs to Come Down :bash: , its over 30 Years old. :runaway:

The part where the University art school is the Old Jordan Marsh, My mother used to work there back in the 60's before the Omni Mall was built, Its all got to go, Build about 4 Condo towers of 55 floors each with a park and driveways through the middle of the Condos.. Perfect, and Go Cranes !!! :cheers:

RE-EDITED for Mad-Hatter :) , okay Uptown, bro, But it still has to be torn down to the ground. :cheers:

no it didn't close 15 years ago because i remember going to the omni amc6 when i was like eight ,that was 8years ago

no it didn't close 15 years ago because i remember going to the omni amc6 when i was like eight ,that was 8years ago
No Problem, Mad Uptown Hatter :) , its Been Re-edited, I can find the right date it closed by the miami herald office when I worked by there next week. :cheers:

If these people are willing to spend that kind of money to simply buy the property, think how much they'll spend on the project that will go ON this property. :eek2:

so as the article states 21 acres divided only by a metromover station.....anyone want to guess what kind of project we'll see......and roark no verticus

Verticus ! Verticus ! Verticus !

*To the tune of: Maximus ! Maximus ! Maximus !*

The mall slowly died out over time, and by late 1999 there were no longer any large anchor stores, very few small stores left, and hardly any foot traffic. The mall closed as a shopping center in 2000 and was eventually bought out to be turned into a technology center. When the telecom industry took a downturn that plan was abandoned and the Omni has remained vacant for the most part. There is now an open art school on part of the bottom floor and several security guards that patrol the complex.


http://spork.no-ip.com/~uef/gallery/omni_trip_1

Great news! I hope it can become a great shopping mall.

Great news! I hope it can become a great shopping mall.
Okay, Pablo :) , sounds good, A Home Depot , Walmart, and a Publix, and a CVS Pharmacy with a Super Cuts, a Taco Bell , A Foot Locker shoe , and a Dunkin Donuts, with a Ruby Tuesdays, Thank God Its Fridays as the Main restruants, and a Hooters !!! :cheers:

Okay, Pablo :) , sounds good, A Home Depot , Walmart, and a Publix, and a CVS Pharmacy with a Super Cuts, a Taco Bell , A Foot Locker shoe , and a Dunkin Donuts, with a Ruby Tuesdays, Thank God Its Fridays as the Main restruants, and a Hooters !!! :cheers:

ooh, maybe they can squeeze 5 or 10 strip malls on the land. & they could stack them & put all the big box stores in the middle of the layered strip malls. picture a bunch of town & country's (the strip mall part, not the enclosed mall part) stacked vertically with best buy's & target's & wal-mart's in between as buffers.

now that would be awesome! :hahano:

LOL S.F.Dave :) , I forgot about the Super Target and Best Buy, and maybe a Micheal's and the Rag Shop with a BIG LOTS, lol, add a Petsmart or Pet supermarket , too !!!, Or was that a Petsco, woof, woof. :runaway:
Also, don't forget the All in one Dentist, Doctor and " Four Eyes Store ", lol. :cheers:

why must you choose between petsmart, pet supermarket, or petsco... lets build all three!

it's still a blight on Biscayne Boulevard...the only real entrances where through JC Penney & Jordan Marsh on Biscayne...beyond that it was built like a fortress.
I give Tibor Hollo a credit for developing many projects downtown but it is quite obvious that architecture and aesthetics took a back seat to profits.
Look at Plaza Venetia...two white stripes of paint on the edges while having exposed concrete in the middle...what an ugly highrise right on the bay.
Developers should be forced to take architecture classes before they grace us with this crap but I guess that hasn't really helped when we have idiots like BAP development building their crappy highrises all over the city.

i must say tibor hollo has some ugly buildings villa magna,opera tower,brickell bay club,plaza ventia. but i find that bap is doing a good job at architecture except for the left side of onyx2,they're only problem is that they're trying to put 50 a story building in wierd places onyx2

Well, it's not the best looking retail spot in the city, but its located in downtown, and compared to some other joints in the downtown area its alright. Plus, with the new PAC nearby, it might be remolded or just torn down.

;eviev and boymelgreen are soon to annouce there 4th project,housingnews.com

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The fourth project will be north of I-395 and across the street from the Ballet Opera House of the Performing Arts Center. Boymelgreen is planning a parking garage to serve patrons attending events at the center.

At Northeast Second Avenue and 13th Street, the building will also have a residential tower atop the garage. Gordon said plans for the garage and tower have been completed.

^cool, been waiting to hear about this one.

is the property directly west of the western hall of the PAC or is it SW of the same hall? anyone know?

I saw a rendering of the proposed 4th project at the Marquis sales center. It is on the wall of one of the conference rooms. IT IS AWESOME! They also have a spectacular scale model showing the Boulevard with Marina Blue, 900, Ten Museum and Marquis. WHAT A MODEL!

The proposed project will provide an entertainment section with several high rises and will compliment the PAC to the east and the Ice Palace area to the west.

I tried to get a picture of it, but the conference room was occupied by sales people.

Take a stop by the Marquis sales center at the old HoJos on Biscayne and 11th. There you can catch a glimps of this exciting proposal.

AM

i'll go check it out, magic city. do you think if i walk in & ask to see it they'll let me? & where exactly is the conference room in the sales center?

btw, magic-city, what are you talking about when you say "The proposed project will provide an entertainment section with several high rises and will compliment the PAC to the east and the Ice Palace area to the west.?" are you still talking about the 4th project by the developers or the herald or omni mall sites?

YES !!! S.F.Dave :) , I still say " ON " with the Opus Towers !!! :cheers: I still believe they will be built someday, somewhere, in the P.A.C. Area. :)

s.f dave, magic city,is talkin about the 4th project which is suppose to ressemble that heat street proposal which was suppose to offer an entertainment city with offices,retail,clubs,and residential

i don't know where its at but lv,bm own
The Miami Arena (subject to the City of Miami’s scheduled August 10th auction of the property),

- The former Howard Johnson Hotel at Biscayne Boulevard and 11th Street,

- A 1 ½ acre city block just west of the Howard Johnson hotel property,

- A complete 3-acre city block west of Biscayne Boulevard located east of the NAP of the Americas and west of the site of the Marina Blue condominium,

- An assortment of additional parcels in the Park West area,

- The site of the proposed parking garage just west of the Opera Ballet Theater at the Performing Arts Center,

- An office building and redevelopment site located on 3.5 acres in the Biscayne corridor,

- Various parcels in the Brickell Avenue area,

huh, but i thought it was just supposed to be a 1 tower project with a public garage below it. hadn't heard anything about theere being several hi-rises & the entertainment section stuff. sounds interesting though.

so which lot is on then. the one directly west of the PAC?

You know what just occured to me, you could fit a baseball stadium on that peice of land. Too bad it never occured to the city (Orange Bowl site...ugh).

even if they did, i'm sure the $100 million price tag would have made it impossible for the team & the city to make it happen. it's a good thought, though, cause it'd be a cool site for a stadium. would probably wreak havok on traffic, though.

I saw a rendering of the proposed 4th project at the Marquis sales center. It is on the wall of one of the conference rooms. IT IS AWESOME! They also have a spectacular scale model showing the Boulevard with Marina Blue, 900, Ten Museum and Marquis. WHAT A MODEL!

The proposed project will provide an entertainment section with several high rises and will compliment the PAC to the east and the Ice Palace area to the west.

I tried to get a picture of it, but the conference room was occupied by sales people.

Take a stop by the Marquis sales center at the old HoJos on Biscayne and 11th. There you can catch a glimps of this exciting proposal.

AM
hey could you describe the project,how many towers,height estimate,buildings design color?

i'll go check it out, magic city. do you think if i walk in & ask to see it they'll let me? & where exactly is the conference room in the sales center?

Ask to see the scale model and tell them you're into arquitecture.

It's in the conference room directly to the north of the scale model. Maybe you can get a picture of it. It is a night scene with lots of neon lights and entertainment venues. I don't recall how many towers but I think it was three or four in the 30 story range. Reminded me a bit of Times Square. Very, very pedestrian oriented.

Perhaps someone has a contact that can get an image of this project so we can all see it here.

http://img126.exs.cx/img126/9963/heatstreet.th.jpg (http://img126.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img126&image=heatstreet.jpg)
like this

would b great to get a picture of it... sounds really cool and would b really great for the neighborhood

http://img126.exs.cx/img126/9963/heatstreet.th.jpg (http://img126.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img126&image=heatstreet.jpg)
like this

Better that this!!!! I think the image you have was the Heat Street Proposal that never happened.

yea that was the heat street proposal, so this new project is better sounds great...so dave when are you going to go check it out

i'll try to get down there tomorrow. magic-city, is that room open to the public? is there any reason they wouldn't let me check it out?

Verticus ! Verticus ! Verticus !

*To the tune of: Maximus ! Maximus ! Maximus !*


Nah, they should call it Festivus, the skyscraper for the rest of us.;)

It's a conference room with glass enclosure. You can see it from the lobby. It is next to the model.

but is it open to the public?

I walked in briefly until they needed it for a meeting. I was at the sales center for a while but didn't catch a glimps of the mural-sized renderings until I was about to leave. I was so in awe with the scale model that I didn't notice it before.

It's on the east side of the wall. It's big! You can't miss it.

Talk to a sales lady her name is Christina Ashford. They are very busy and in a hurry. Charm the receptionist when you get there. Ask her if you can see the model.

I walked in briefly until they needed it for a meeting.
Talk to a sales lady her name is Christina Ashford.Christina is hot.

SCORE! although i f*ucked up the pic. i don't know how i did it, but both pics i took of the rendering came out blurry. i didn't notice it til i got home & checked them out. & i specifically took 2 pics to be sure that i got a good shot. photoshopping it helped a bit, but it's still blurry. oh well.
http://img99.echo.cx/img99/2736/marquis0055jx.jpg

now can someone please tell me where this is supposed to be. cause i can't figure it out.

SCHWOIT ! The taller one's between 45 and 50 stories.

I THINK ITS HERE BUT NOT SURE
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v289/enyers/xfl20138.jpg

woow thats hott,

thnx dave for taking the pic!

:eek2: WOW! You got it. Thanks for going out and getting this picture.

It will be directly west of the PAC. I wonder if the I 395 reconstruction will affect this corridor.

I'm off to San Francisco, Ca to celebrate my 15th Anniversary with my wife.
I have a list of all the best sights to see the San Francisco Skyline, so that's what I will be doing for the next few days. Drinking some wine :cheers: , and enjoying one of the most dynamic urban setting in the world!

I love this site! It's all about information and teamwork!!

Great job South Florida Dave!

See you all soon!!!!! :runaway:

AM

Happy anniversary, Magic ! *makes mental note not to forget own 17th anniversary, May 14th*

holy shit thats hot... will really solidify the neighborhood as a definite entertainment district, now that its got the pac and this project... the area's "potential" that weve talked about for years is definetly marterializing... and we still have to see wat theyve got planned for the omni and herald sites...

this one is hot... any idea what it will encompass?

Wow...what a proposal. the drive on the 395 seems to be improving by the month..lol! I have confidence in the Israeli group. If built-out, this project would significantly extend the skyline westward and may help catapult the more-blighted areas north of downtown...let's see what happens!:)