Miami Economic Development = Engines that drive the community

[Barfolomew]

Originally Posted by Roark

I'm ready for lesson.
Can you tell me how many windmills, or how many square miles (or acres) of windmills on the Florida landscape, it would take to equal the electricity production of the Turkey Point facility? I'm curious.

Turkey Point generated 11,227 GW·h in 2007 using 3,300 acres of land.

Roark, I'm not interested in instructing you at all. I find it very presumptuous that you would disrespectfully interject your willingness to be my disciple on this forum when the only person I am currently instructing is NYJETS305. If you'd like to become my disciple though and learn the wisdom of the windmills, I'd be happy to teach you at another time. Right now though, I suggest you learn the skill of respecting another person's mentoring.

Also, just to answer your question about the number of square miles on the Florida landscape: My answer to that question is this:

I don't really give a flying f**k.

[NYJets305]

Then don't take so much apparent interest with something you really don't care about.

[Barfolomew]

Originally Posted by NYJets305

Then don't take so much apparent interest with something you really don't care about.

I do whatever I want, whenever I want, and I don't listen to people like you who tell me "don't" do this or that. I will take interest and let go of it at my leisure without concern as to what you or others think.

[Endeavor305]

Originally Posted by Barfolomew

Roark, I'm not interested in instructing you at all. I find it very presumptuous that you would disrespectfully interject your willingness to be my disciple on this forum when the only person I am currently instructing is NYJETS305. If you'd like to become my disciple though and learn the wisdom of the windmills, I'd be happy to teach you at another time. Right now though, I suggest you learn the skill of respecting another person's mentoring.

Also, just to answer your question about the number of square miles on the Florida landscape: My answer to that question is this:

I don't really give a flying f**k.

Originally Posted by Barfolomew

I do whatever I want, whenever I want, and I don't listen to people like you who tell me "don't" do this or that. I will take interest and let go of it at my leisure without concern as to what you or others think.

Way to go Barf.

[victorino08]

barfolomew.....JAJAJAJAJJAJAJJAJA lmaoooooooooo... "thats right n**i*gaa"...lol

[victorino08]

Originally Posted by Barfolomew

Also, just to answer your question about the number of square miles on the Florida landscape: My answer to that question is this:

I don't really give a flying f**k.

[1772]

Originally Posted by victorino08

barfolomew.....JAJAJAJAJJAJAJJAJA lmaoooooooooo... "thats right n**i*gaa"...lol

Jajajaja?

[Roark]

Originally Posted by Roark

This is such a great project for the city.
The Port Tunnel has won the International Finance Deal of the Year award for the way this deal was structured (stark contrast to the Marlins Stadium).
The City pays $50M, the County pays $100M, the State pays $150M, and the rest is paid by the Private entity and the Feds.
The construction company doesn't get paid until the job is complete.
Throughout construction, the capacity of roads will not be reduced.

Groundbreaking festivities are slated for June 11th, and the tunnel opens May 15th, 2014.

Throughout construction, the capacity of roads will not be reduced. Further, there will be no contstuction on Memorial Day Weekend. This has been public knowledge since at least May 18th, so what is Mayor Bower complaining about?

[dave8721]

http://www.miamitodaynews.com/news/100527/fyi.shtml

TOP OF HOTELS: Miami was the No. 1 US market in hotel occupancy January-April 2010 at 76.7% occupancy. That's an 8.5% increase over 2009. New York was second with 75% occupancy.

[Roark]

Port of Miami tunnel is a waste of taxpayer money
By Erik Maza published: June 03, 2010 Full Story...
If you believe downtown developers and government officials, the street next to Monica Winter's kiosk at Bayside Marketplace should be a heaving mass of smoke-belching big rigs clogging Biscayne Boulevard as they head to the Port of Miami.
But on this early spring morning, the streets are deserted as the feisty Colombian native feeds Kirkland almonds to the squirrels that come down to her counter. "There are more homeless people than trucks," Winter says.

With all due respect to Monica the nut vendor, Port of Miami statistics count over 3,000 eighteen wheelers coming in and out of the port daily. Source

Tell that to city and county officials who on May 24 quietly broke ground on a $1 billion project that will siphon all of those nonexistent big rigs to a tunnel 120 feet underground. Even if it stays on budget, the project will be the largest, most expensive tunnel in Florida history and the costliest road project after the I-595 reconstruction in Broward.

Quietly??? If news has been happening for years and a New Times "journalist" didn't know about it, has the news happened "quietly"?
Non-existent big rigs?? All you have to do is stand at the intersection of Biscayne and Port Boulevard for 20 minutes to "report" the facts.

County Commissioner Joe Martinez, who voted against the tunnel before it was approved in 2007, warns it could become Miami's Big Dig, the $4 billion Boston tunneling project that ended up costing $22 billion in overruns and delays.
"I still believe it will not live up to its promises and become more of a headache," Martinez says. "I'm still petrified of the Big Dig. It's a matter of common sense. There are better ways to spend that money."

Really Joe? Miami-Dade County is paying $100M for the tunnel that will bring over $1 BILLION in value while under construction and facilitate Port growth going forward. Don't be scared. This isn't the government building it. The private company building it doesn't get paid until it is completed. Believe me, they will do their very best to be on time. How did the "journalist" miss the facts surrounding the structure of the deal?

Speaking from the Florida Department of Transportation's drab Miami-Dade headquarters in Doral, director Debora Rivera predicts the number of trucks visiting Miami's port will jump from the current 3,000 a day to 4,800 a day in 2014, when the tunnel is scheduled to be completed.

Hold up...the Director of Transportation says 3,000 trucks per day, but Monica the Nut Vendor says "more homeless people than trucks" and the crack New Times "journalist" says "non-existent big rigs"...who can you believe??

At Papa's Fries farther inside the mall, owner Ray Jurist, a Romanian who indiscriminately sprinkles his English with heavily accented fucks and goddamns, is pissed he'll be footing the bill.
"When you build a highway, that pays for itself," Jurist says. "But nobody's going to use this." The money, he adds, should be invested in public transportation, in a rail connecting the city to the airport, or better yet, to the beach.
[quote]Huh? A highway pays for itself?? No one is going to use this??Someone tell the Fry Guy, the Nut Vendor, and the journalist that highway do not pay for themselves unless they are toll roads. The Port Tunnel is a Toll Road. No one using this...see the 3,000 rigs per day number, then add in the millions of cruise ship passengers. And yes, Fry Guy, the tolls and a private company will handle the maintenance.

People don't really read the New Times to be informed do they?

[Aceventura]

I read Erik's article and I can't find a solid thesis. Is he saying the money for the tunnel would be better spent upgrading FDOT's headquarters? Is he anti union, and anti government employment at the port? Is he saying all hope is lost on the Port of Miami and all investment should be focused on Port of Everglades? Are there over 3,000 homeless people around Bayside? Or that Jason Estrada's beer drinking early in the morning may be a sign of alcoholism?

[spellbound]

Yeah, I think the article largely whiffed. It was a little surprising to learn that port traffic is actually down from 1990's levels but to me that's all the more reason you MUST invest in substantial infrastructure improvements. It's a competitive industry (as the gains made by Port Everglades amply attest) and standing pat means losing ground. Any big project like this runs some risk of misuse of funds, delays, etc. but the alternative of doing nothing would not allow the POM to keep pace. I'm all for it.

(and, yes, Jason Estrada is clearly a drunk)

[Roark]

Originally Posted by spellbound

Any big project like this runs some risk of misuse of funds, delays, etc.

If you leave it in the hands of the government.
The reason this project won the International Finance Deal of the Year is because of a finance and payment structure that will only the pay the private construction/management consortium when the project is finished. You can bet, the boaring machine isn't shutting down for coffee breaks.

[miami1]

Tissue bank adds muscle to skeleton of the University of Miami's life sciences park


By Zachary S. Fagenson
By this time next year Miami should have some tangible sense of the impact of the University of Miami's long-awaited Life Science & Technology Park.
A skeleton at the park's first site, a $100 million, 246,000-square-foot building with research and labs space, is already beginning to rise in the Health District.
Construction is to create 1,150 direct and indirect jobs, and once finished and occupied the building will lead to the creation of about 2,700 direct and indirect positions, according to a report by the Washington Economics Group, which was hired to by developer Wexford Miami to study economic impact.
But it seems the park's expectations have been dialed back.
The park was long projected total about 2 million square feet. But a recent press release said the five buildings will total "roughly 1.6 million square feet of laboratory and office space," a 20% drop from earlier estimates.
Meanwhile "permits are in place for [the building's] skin, the roof, the floors, the main HVAC system," Joseph Reagan, who heads the project here for Wexford, said in a recent interview, "and we will soon submit permits for tenants."
Wexford last week announced the University of Miami's Tissue Bank, which collects, processes and distributes donated human tissue, will occupy about 80,000 square feet of the first building.
"We recover heart valves, skin for burn victims, bones for patient with tumors or bone loss from trauma," said tissue bank director, professor and Vice Chair of UM's medical school's orthopedic department Dr. Thomas Temple. "Our first obligation is to hospitals in South Florida, where our donors come from."
Though it's not a for-profit outfit, "whatever net positive there is from that we plow back into research and development," he added.
Research, development and commercialization of medical discoveries are at the core of the life sciences park.
The tissue bank is to occupy 50,000 square feet in the first building, a dramatic increase from its current 10,000. It'll be joined to a 30,000-square-foot laboratory space for an "organ-procurement organization" that is to create an added 75 to 100 jobs.
It's "going to expand because our donor base has expanded and we're going to go from three processing rooms to eight processing rooms and one recovery suite to two," Dr. Temple said. "We're adding basic science lab space involved in cartilage regeneration and stem cell applications.
"In addition we're going to be working with the brain bank, who will also be occupying that space," he added.
University officials and Greater Miami will keep a sharp eye on what comes out of the tissue bank and future tenants. Biotech has long been touted as one of the region's forthcoming economic engines, through it hasn't risen near the level of tourism, real estate or agriculture.
But the tissue bank already has a number of projects underway that could change all that.
As one example, "there's a covering of a muscle on the outside of the leg that wasn't used for anything," Dr. Temple said of an ongoing research project. "We found a way to [modify] that fascia into an anterior cruciate ligament."
Commonly known as an ACL, injuries to this ligament have ended or suspended the careers of numerous professional athletes. The San Diego Chargers' Kellen Winslow retired after constant knee injuries. The New England Patriots' Tom Brady sustained an ACL injury in 2008, and even golfer Tiger Woods was rumored to have a similar injury. Professional sports teams and trainers have spent countless hours and dollars on preventing ACL injuries and rehabilitating athletes who sustained the injury.
A better fix for the injury with a shorter recovery could prove valuable to organizations forced to watch athletes with multimillion-dollar salaries sidelined months at a time.
And though it may be some time before Miami sees such lab work turn into dollars and cents, it can expect more tenants in that first building and progressively larger building as work continues.
Mr. Reagan said Wexford is negotiating with a potential Miami-based tenant looking to license and commercialize those discoveries and an out-of-state medical device company, nearing the end of development on a product, looking for space.
Wexford is funding the build-outs of incoming tenants.
Although Wexford is only the official developer for "Building One," it has a "concept design for the remainder and we've advanced the conceptual design of the buildings far enough along that we can run some estimates," Mr. Reagan said. And though there has to be "a careful balance between getting started too soon and not having any product," expect each new building to be bigger.
"As the conceptual site plan is organized, each building is two stories taller," he added. From the first six-story building they're to grow to eight, 10, 12 and finally 15 stories.
And though the vast increase in supply for a still-burgeoning industry could shrink demand and prices, the challenge for such a park comes early on.
"Our experience is most first buildings in a multi-building park will take 12 to 18 months to lease up, which gives us a cycle of people [becoming] aware of" it, Mr. Reagan said. "Once you get the first building up and occupied, the second building goes much quicker because by then it's truly a destination."

[1772]

Port Everglades is getting ahead of Port of Miami.
Sure, Ft. Lauderdale is a part of our region, but Miami should ALWAYS be ahead.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/06/2...g-port-of.html

[QuantumX]

Originally Posted by 1772

Port Everglades is getting ahead of Port of Miami.
Sure, Ft. Lauderdale is a part of our region, but Miami should ALWAYS be ahead.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/06/2...g-port-of.html

The thrill of approaching Port Everglades by cruiseship could never beat approaching the Port of the Miami passing South Beach and Fischer Island and then piroutting in the Turning Basin beneath the Miami skyline to take in the view all around.

[DShoost88]

Originally Posted by QuantumX

The thrill of approaching Port Everglades by cruiseship could never beat approaching the Port of the Miami passing South Beach and Fischer Island and then piroutting in the Turning Basin beneath the Miami skyline to take in the view all around.

Perhaps Port Everglades isn't as "thrilling" but after personal experience I can say it sure is more convenient. That Terminal 18 they built at Port Everglades for Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas and other large vessels is amazing! It's a whole lot more organized for handling passengers than the terminals I've been to in Miami. My grandparents--who go on 2-4 cruises a year--even prefer Port Everglades over Port of Miami. And having FLL right next to Port Everglades is a big plus, especially for domestic (US) travelers looking to board a Caribbean cruise.

Hopefully soon Broward County will build the elevated rail-link between FLL and Port Everglades like they've been talking about... that'll really cruise business at Port of Miami.

[QuantumX]

Originally Posted by DShoost88

Perhaps Port Everglades isn't as "thrilling" but after personal experience I can say it sure is more convenient. That Terminal 18 they built at Port Everglades for Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas and other large vessels is amazing! It's a whole lot more organized for handling passengers than the terminals I've been to in Miami. My grandparents--who go on 2-4 cruises a year--even prefer Port Everglades over Port of Miami. And having FLL right next to Port Everglades is a big plus, especially for domestic (US) travelers looking to board a Caribbean cruise.

Hopefully soon Broward County will build the elevated rail-link between FLL and Port Everglades like they've been talking about... that'll really cruise business at Port of Miami.

Well, I certainly can't argue with you there.

[dave8721]

http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/07/0...s-support.html

DOWNTOWN MIAMI

Convention center idea gets support .The Miami Downtown Development Authority should move forward with plans for a new convention center, a group recommended.

BY HANNAH SAMPSON
hsampson@MiamiHerald.com

There's no reason for downtown Miami not to pursue a new convention center, a panel said Wednesday -- not the lousy economy and not concerns from Miami Beach about competition.

The Miami Downtown Development Authority, which called for a new convention or conference center in its master plan last fall, invited a panel of experts set up by the Urban Land Institute, a nonprofit research organization, to explore the question of whether such a facility makes sense for the city.

The answer, according to attorney and panel chair Andrew S. Robins: ``Yes, it does make sense.''

BEACH OPPOSED

Officials in Miami Beach protest any plans for a downtown center, saying any resources should go to the aging Miami Beach Convention Center, which has been in line for years for upgrades.

A downtown center could ``distract from the focus of building and enhancing this facility and could potentially gobble up some of the funding,'' said Miami Beach City Manager Jorge Gonzalez. ``It really gives us some reason for concern.''

Gonzalez called the Miami Beach facility ``the regional convention center'' and said anything downtown would inevitably compete for business.

``There's not enough business to go around,'' he said.

DIFFERENT FOCUS

But the five-member panel disagreed, saying a downtown center would be meeting-focused with an emphasis on classroom space where Miami Beach is more geared toward exhibitions and trade shows.

``There's no reason to expect that what you would do in Miami would have a significant impact on Miami Beach,'' said Robins, a Palm Beach County attorney who specializes in the tourism and hospitality industry. ``There's a whole host of reasons why this is good for Miami and not bad for the city of Miami Beach, in our opinion.''

The DDA, which paid $15,000 to facilitate travel for the panelists, should next do a market analysis to narrow down what it is looking for and what the specifics of the center would be, according to the recommendations. No price tag has yet been attached.

Any site, which could be a re-use of an existing facility or a new building, should likely have between 100,000 to 200,000 of leasable square feet with banquet space and a full kitchen suitable more for meetings than trade shows. There should be 500 to 800 adjacent or attached hotel rooms and 2-3,000 rooms within walking distance, the panel said. A public-private financing partnership would make the most sense, but the next step should include analyzing potential funding, the recommendations said.

BENEFITS

In its master plan last year, the DDA called for a new center to bring more economic activity downtown; encourage more visitors to stay in the area; attract new hotels, restaurants and shops and spur investment in infrastructure and transit.

Downtown's existing venue, the James L. Knight International Center, is ``not functioning well in today's market,'' said Alyce Robertson, the DDA's executive director.

The market has changed in the decades since that center was built, she said, and so has downtown Miami.

``What has happened downtown in the last five years is a transformation of great magnitude,'' she said. ``There's new residences, new businesses, there's a new vibrancy.''

[Roark]

It is a fantastic idea and would be a great economic engine. Luring large meetings away from Orlando, New York City in the winter, and Las Vegas would bring millions of out of down dollars to the people in this community.
Filling hotel rooms, local restaurants, bars, and selling rental cars, plane tickets, and services.

We could just use the funds from the tourist taxes to fund the construction of the...
Wait.
That money is no longer available.

We used that money building a stadium where locals will spend their discretionary $100 a visit instead of spending their discretionary $100 at a different local entertainment option.