MDC Wolfson Campus Development

[dave8721]

Does anyone know of any of the other designs submitted?

[ChuckScraperMiami#1]

Originally Posted by dave8721

Does anyone know of any of the other designs submitted?

But DAVE , my friend,
I drive down N.E. 2nd ave just about every other day, and That Lot is way now under construction with Steel rebar sticking out of the ground for Vertical at 5th Street, there was a parking lot there for the Miami-Dade downtown college, it's half closed for the project on the west side of the huge property along biscayne Blvd , between 5th Street and 6th Streets.

[mileageman]

..

[SouthFloridaBoy]

...I'm no expert, but since no1 has been updating this post since JULY!! slim 2 none chance, I mean when it 1st came out this Topic was brought up all the time n now it's just a memorie in the past.....But like i said, im no expert, thats just my oppinion, even tho this was the most outstanding proposal in Miami.

[MiamiMike]

I hope thats not the case............you have to figure that this project is not susceptible to market forces since it is student housing and not high priced condos.

What a sexy design..........I hope we see it happen!

[DShoost88]

Originally Posted by MiamiMike

I hope thats not the case............you have to figure that this project is not susceptible to market forces since it is student housing and not high priced condos.

That is a very, very good point you make, MiamiMike. I never thought of this project like that, and you're right--it's not driven by market forces. One thing I've noticed about the development process up here in Boston (where I'm currently at college) is that the city is increasingly in favor of the colleges and universities densifying their campuses with 10 to 20+ story buildings for residence halls and class space.

The problem they've been faced with in Boston is automotive congestion in the region due to many student commuters. One way my college, Northeastern University, curbed that was by building residence halls on parking lots and getting the go-ahead from the city to maximize building height from 5-stories to up to 20 stories. The amazing job they did by getting students out of the suburbs and into the city is one of the factors that drew me to coming here. Take a look at these photos to see what I mean (and please note, that the entire space in the picture below, including the buildings, used to be the university's largest parking area) :



(Sorry, I didn't know how to rotate the below pictures on imageshack. Just tilt your head counter-clockwise)





Also, if take a look at this link: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showth...198272&page=16
... and look at posts #302 and #303, you can see additional high-density housing they're planning for NU.

Why do I share this with the Miami forum: mainly because I think there should be more optimism about this project getting developed. As long as the county and city don't have to put a dime forward to making this project happen, I don't see why they wouldn't allow it. It's green (i.e. environmentally friendly), it's jaw-dropping, it closes the gap in the wall, and it promotes Miami's image as an educational destination.

[Roark]

Originally Posted by MiamiMike

I hope thats not the case............you have to figure that this project is not susceptible to market forces since it is student housing and not high priced condos.

NEWSFLASH: All real estate development is suseptible to market forces.
The project cost is a half a billion dollars, maybe we should link a PayPal link on this thread and if all 100 active members here could pony up for $5Million each, we will get it done!!

[MiamiMike]

Thanks for your NEWSFLASH Roark.

Don't test me sport. I've made you look like an embarrassment on here too many times. I'm kind of tired of it. I can do it with or without your help as you might have noticed.

[MiamiMike]

Thanks for the cool examples DShoost88. I hope youre having a good college experience in Boston. Looks like a really nice campus!

[Architek]

Dshoost, i didn't know you went to northeastern, thats cool i got accepted there but couldn't afford it and was a bit of afraid of the weather also. ONE point i did want to mention is how close the campus is to the T'lines, it makes it very simple to reach transportation,but nonetheless i still thought that northeastern had some of the nicest dorms i had seen at a college.

[Roark]

Originally Posted by DShoost88

Why do I share this with the Miami forum: mainly because I think there should be more optimism about this project getting developed. As long as the county and city don't have to put a dime forward to making this project happen, I don't see why they wouldn't allow it. It's green (i.e. environmentally friendly), it's jaw-dropping, it closes the gap in the wall, and it promotes Miami's image as an educational destination.

There is great optimism! The drawings are incredible, the plan is incredible, but financing this project is a challenge. We're trying!
There wouldn't be much resistance from the County or the City for this project. It's just a matter getting the money together in a market where liquidity is tight and lenders aren't knocking themselves out to loan the $450 Million required to make it happen.

[305Lover]

Rather use that money for this than for the Marlin Stadium......

[Aceventura]

I agree. Harumph Harumph!

[DGM]

Hey, I was on the campus of Northeastern two days ago. I was visiting a friend that used to go to Northeastern but now goes to BU. We swung past for a bit and stopped inside that gym/cafeteria type building.

[DShoost88]

Yo Architek and DGM, I'm glad you checked out Northeastern. I love it here. What other city can you hear the fans cheering at the world series game(s) from your dormitory window a half mile away from Fenway?

DGM--I think you were in the Marino Center; however, it's a gym and has 2 restaurants. The dining halls and student union are separate. BU's not so bad... sucks it has no campus though.

Architek--you're right about the cost. I found out from someone here that this is one of the priciest undergrad universities... and it's not like they cut a break for people with financial aid. But I'm having the best time of my life here. The "T" lines on campus (i.e. a subway/trolley-car) have made it great for moving around the city... in fact, I haven't been in a car since I left Florida. And I've probably spent about $40 on transportation in the past 3 months... so I'm not missin' paying for gas.
As for the weather, it's been wonderful. I was worried about braving the cold everyday, and I know its only gotten down to 33 here so far, but the weather's only a problem if you make it one. At least it's sunny 6 out of 7 days and the trees are changing colors.

Sorry Miami Forummers... didn't mean to get off topic (again). Wouldn't it be great, though, if Miamians and other SoFlo residents could be as enthused and happy about a college in South Florida as my classmates and I are in Boston. MDC strikes me as a project that can do that.

[DGM]

Once MDC gets that student housing project completed it can brand itself as an urban college like Northeastern as opposed to a commuter school. I really feel like FIU and MDC have a great amount of potential. FIU is doing everything it can to reach that potential but it seems MDC is a bit behind the curve.

You know, after visiting Boston I started thinking that the Miami Streetcar should model itself after the T. Instead of being half trolley, half subway (like the T) it could be half trolley, half above ground rail (like the metromover). Imagine if the metromover dropped down to street level around the PAC and ran all the way through to Midtown. Surely that line would be more utilized than the metromover commuter line to Dolphin Stadium.

[kevinkagy]

Originally Posted by DGM

Once MDC gets that student housing project completed it can brand itself as an urban college like Northeastern as opposed to a commuter school. I really feel like FIU and MDC have a great amount of potential. FIU is doing everything it can to reach that potential but it seems MDC is a bit behind the curve.

You know, after visiting Boston I started thinking that the Miami Streetcar should model itself after the T. Instead of being half trolley, half subway (like the T) it could be half trolley, half above ground rail (like the metromover). Imagine if the metromover dropped down to street level around the PAC and ran all the way through to Midtown. Surely that line would be more utilized than the metromover commuter line to Dolphin Stadium.

It's kind of difficult to compare FIU, which is a state research university, with MDC, which is a community college. A community college serves the local community, therefore, it's a commuter school. FIU serves the local community, the state and the world. With over 4,000 beds on campus at FIU with people from all over, and with other "traditional college" things such as a football team and campus life, FIU is the "college experience", whereas MDC is for locals and as such, will remain a community college.

[dave8721]

Originally Posted by DShoost88

Architek--you're right about the cost. I found out from someone here that this is one of the priciest undergrad universities... and it's not like they cut a break for people with financial aid. But I'm having the best time of my life here. The "T" lines on campus (i.e. a subway/trolley-car) have made it great for moving around the city... in fact, I haven't been in a car since I left Florida. And I've probably spent about $40 on transportation in the past 3 months... so I'm not missin' paying for gas.
As for the weather, it's been wonderful. I was worried about braving the cold everyday, and I know its only gotten down to 33 here so far, but the weather's only a problem if you make it one. At least it's sunny 6 out of 7 days and the trees are changing colors.

And to think Northeastern is the cheapest of the major Boston schools, BU, BC, Harvard & MIT are all even more expensive. And dont go dissing BU several of your fellow forumers here went there

[DShoost88]

Originally Posted by dave8721

And to think Northeastern is the cheapest of the major Boston schools, BU, BC, Harvard & MIT are all even more expensive. And dont go dissing BU several of your fellow forumers here went there

Cheapest?! Can you elaborate on that, please? Do you mean in terms of cost? If you're talking about educational quality, I'd like to know that Northeastern has climbed every year for the past 7 years in the national rankings for colleges--we're currently # 96 in the U.S. Maybe not further ahead than the other above-mentioned Boston schools, but then again, there's nearly 50 colleges and universities in the Boston area to observe, so we're not all that bad.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...politan_Boston

[dave8721]

Originally Posted by DShoost88

Cheapest?! Can you elaborate on that, please? Do you mean in terms of cost? If you're talking about educational quality, I'd like to know that Northeastern has climbed every year for the past 7 years in the national rankings for colleges--we're currently # 96 in the U.S. Maybe not further ahead than the other above-mentioned Boston schools, but then again, there's nearly 50 colleges and universities in the Boston area to observe, so we're not all that bad.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...politan_Boston

I meant in terms of tuition (BC, BU, Harvard & MIT are even more expensive).

BC- Tuition: $35,674 Room/Board: $11,720 Total: $47,394
BU- Tuition: $35,418 Room/Board: $10,950 Total: $46,368
Harvard- Tuition: $34,998 Room/Board: $10,622 Total: $45,620
MIT- Tuition: $34,986 Room/Board: $10,400 Total: $45,386
Northeastern: Tuition: $32,149 Room/Board: $11,010 Total: $43,159

By the way that BU tuition is up 20% from when I went there just a few years ago. Where would we be without financial aid and scholarships...

I wonder if in another 20 years you will see some of these schools top $100k a year tuition?