[jzquince69]

NYC got the Empire in, what, 1933? Chicago got the John Hancock Center in 1969. Hong Kong got the Bank of China in the late eighties. The Sears and WTC also came in the early seventies.

Miami needs a signature super tall skyscraper as its "personality" bldg. The Sears is big, black, broad, and overpowering. The WTC was unique-- twins, broad, bulky, way bigger than the surrounding bldgs.

Miami needs the same. Met 3 is nice. Four Seasons is nice. Wachovia is good. But, those buildings need to be the secondary supporting skyscrapers, not the primary level of scyscrapers.

Pretty soon, downtown Miami, uptown, and Brickell will resemble the general layout of Chicago's downtown with the residential to office mix of midtown Manhattan. Collins, Brickell, and Biscayne will be Miami's answer to Chicago's Lake Shore Drive and Sheridan Road.

The Metromover is Miami's Chicago Loop; The Miami River is just like its Chicago counterpart; The MIC will be Miami's Union Station; Biscayne Bay is Miami's Lake Michigan (but much better); Port of Miami is like Navy Pier/Meigs Field (only better); Dadeland is Miami's Rosemont area near O'Hare; Sawgrass is South Fla's Gurnee Mills; etc...

The comparison is remarkable. But, Miami needs a John Hancock Center/ Sears Tower. The thing about Chicago, is, after the Hancock was done, when they were building the Sears Tower, they also threw in the Standard Oil Bldg. (which was taller than the Hancock) for shits and giggles.

Enough of the essay and preaching to the choir (did I spell that right?). I love the Lynx and Met 3 projects. Worst case scenario, Miami will just be a really dense downtown without supertalls; a smaller version of Chicago's downtown--- but large in its own right.

 

[jzquince69]

Anyway, based on some other discussions re real estate prices for office bldgs, it is more feasible that a mixed use structure be built instead, like the Hancock. And that's the Four Seasons--for now. Unless Millenium partners decide on a second tower which is substantially taller...

 

[MIAballinboi]

what about lynx, that seems signature.

or even better...

 

[miamitom]

 

[south florida dave]

yeah, miami doesn't have a true signature skyscraper yet. it has a few that are associated with miami (BofA, wachovia 4 seasons...) but nothing that's truly iconic. then again, how many cities really do?

my feeling is, buildings like that are a luxury & cities that have them are blessed. it also takes time to get to the point where someone wants to build that type of building in your city. most cities don't start at the top, they build themselves up to that level.

unless you're kuala lumpur, that is.

 

[The Mad Hatter!!]

i would prefer a chrysler but hey an empire wouldn't be bad,lol

 

[jzquince69]

That is a very insightful point, Dave (God, I think I sounded like the HAL 9000 computer just then).

I totally agree. I see Miami now as setting the groundwork for some wonderful things. All these 600, 700, and 800 footers, I think, will form the basis of the central core which will be added to a few years down the road with those much taller signature skyscrapers.

Don't get me wrong, Chicago's trad. signature building has been the Wrigley Bldg. for almost 90 years, and its less than 400 feet tall. And I don't take any of these new buildings for granted. What I'm talking about-- solely-- is the supertall bldg. 4Seasons, ESP, Blue, Ten Mus., are or will be award winning designs.

Maybe Miami's legacy will be that it is a haven or collection of some of the most impressive examples of architecture anywhere, regardless of height. Throw in the PAC and MIC as well.

 

[miamicanes]

I know that there are elected officials in Miami who passionately wanted to have the world's tallest skyscraper... but I don't know whether their enthusiasm would still extend to merely having the tallest skyscraper in America.

The problem is Bruj Al-Dubai. At 200+ stories, backed by enough crazy money to make it happen, we've lost that race for good. 200+ stories is hardcore non-cost effective ego-stroking, and I doubt there's any corporation in America, let alone Miami, with the financial will to hemmorhage millions on a building that would objectively be worth significantly less than its astronomical construction cost. Wall Street would eat their CEO for lunch and have its entire executive board sent to Club Fed for 20 years.

City of Miami logic: "If you want permission to build a 95 story building, we'll say 'no' because it'll generate too much traffic and destroy the neighborhood. HOWEVER, if you want to build a 150 story building and can get funding for it... well... then we can talk, because THAT would be a tourist attraction..."