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Marlins moving to Las Vegas?

bobliocatt

By bobliocatt
in Miami/South Florida

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Aessotariq Burg

Aessotariq

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Anytime! I'd like to see more participation and discourse in this forum... it's a very well-mannered group over here.

You took the words right out of my mouth... It reminds me of a more-upscale Cocowalk, only with a Publix and condos. I want to be optimistic and hope that it will work. Maybe it's Cocowalk meets Bal Harbour Shops. :)

Since it's Brickell, I think taller buildings would have been more appropriate for this prime real estate. I propose nothing shorter than 5-10 stories east of I-95 for Brickell and the CBD, and nothing shorter than 20 stories for any building fronting Biscayne Blvd/Brickell Ave in the same area.

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Brickell Burg

Brickell

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http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/st.../27/story2.html

LOOK BACK: RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE

Cranes in Miami deliver the future

Susan Stabley

Residential development seemed unstoppable in Miami-Dade County during 2004.

In just the city of Miami alone, more than 9,100 units are under construction and nearly 40,000 more are waiting to break ground. These are impressive numbers coming from a single city, especially when absorption rates countywide have been pegged at 12,000 housing units a year.

Fueled by tempting low interest rates, ownership outranked rental options, as the conventional wisdom that it's cheaper to buy than lease held sway.

As a result, scores of apartments were depleted from the rental market by condo converters in 2004, twice the figure from the year before, according to Rosendo Caveiro, director of Cushman & Wakefield's apartment brokerage services in Miami. More than 14,300 apartments in South Florida are marked for conversion. Of that figure, 86 percent are in Miami-Dade.

Average selling prices for apartments ($125,000 a unit) grew 40 percent from last year. Owners who hadn't planned on selling are finding offers difficult to refuse, according to Caveiro.

"Everything is going condo," from homes to hotels, warehouses to offices, said Gary Saul, real estate attorney and shareholder with Greenberg Traurig's Miami office. "It's the easiest way to finance whatever you are building."

Follow the money

Abel Montuori, executive VP of commercial lending with Miami-based U.S. Century Bank, said Miami-Dade's real estate has been undervalued for many years.

Luxury condos in downtown Miami boasting water views are marketed at starting prices of $200,000 - considered a steal to New York transplants but too pricey for many residents of Miami, one of the poorest cities in the country.

Less expensive conversions have been a hit, and sell quickly. Montuori cited a Kendall conversion of about 200 units that was paid off in five months.

The two-year-old community bank he works for has picked up some of the lending activity spurred by development. U.S. Century has about $100 million in new construction loans and $55 million in apartment conversion loans, he said.

Many fear that most of the development has been supported by speculators hoping to flip units at a tidy profit. As a result, banks became more rigorous by increasing pre-sale requirements, Saul said.

In turn, developers say they are more cautious.

Jorge M. P

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Brickell Burg

Brickell

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Gulfstream is undoubtedly the best racing in Florida. I was said to see the old grandstands go but they look to really expand, especially with the slots going in.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/10510478.htm

Posted on Tue, Dec. 28, 2004

GULFSTREAM PARK

Gulfstream Park to open season of change

Gulfstream Park's racing season opens next week. Construction will mean no concerts this year, but general admission to the races will be free.

BY HECTOR FLORIN

[email protected]

Rock-'n'-roll groups and cartoon characters won't cavort on a Gulfstream Park stage next year.

Crowds won't pack the grandstand on opening day, bettors won't wander the expansive clubhouse, and parking won't be available as far as the eye can see.

In the midst of a complete makeover, the Hallandale Beach park's 2005 season, which opens Jan. 3, is one of transition.

A new grandstand and clubhouse are under construction, the early stages of ambitious plans concocted by Gulfstream Park's parent company, Toronto-based Magna Entertainment, to remodel the 200-acre park.

So, Blondie and Styx and Dora the Explorer won't have stage space in 2005 because of the construction.

Temporary air-conditioned tents will provide the track's best views and dining this year, but park officials are banking on its future growth as an entertainment destination. The new clubhouse and grandstand are scheduled to open in 2006.

''We really couldn't sit idle for a year,'' said Scott Savin, Gulfstream Park's president and general manager. ``That would have been dangerous to us. Hopefully, people will reflect back on 2005 as the year Gulfstream underwent some big changes.''

Average race-day crowds remained steady in 2004, about 8,574 fans, but weekend crowds regularly ballooned to 15,000, thanks largely to the concert series.

Attendance is expected to fall this year because of the suspension of the concert series, which may or may not return in the future, and because of the park's limited capacity -- about 12,000 -- during construction.

There will be more police at the track because of the temporary facilities and the construction, said Hallandale Beach Capt. Chris Hock.

''We just need to ensure that the public that are attending the races are protected,'' Hock said.

Police will focus more on traffic because the main clubhouse entrance will remain closed during construction, giving patrons two ways in and out of the park -- Southeast Third Street and Federal Highway, and Northeast 10th Avenue and Hallandale Beach Boulevard.

Because of the many changes, park admission will be free next year. Radio station 790 ESPN will air live broadcasts from the park. Sunday family days, with rides and entertainment, will continue, and a house band will entertain visitors on weekends.

Savin said the park is trying to cater to the average sports fan this year and maintain the interest of previous fans. He admits it's a different tactic from previous years, when Gulfstream aggressively marketed concerts to bring new visitors while trying to expand the options for regular bettors.

Not next year. Billboards will feature horses, not concerts, for the first time in five years.

The first results of the makeover are in place -- a new, wider 1 1/8-mile dirt track and newly sodded turf track.

Savin said the new turf track will catapult the track from ''major leagues to world class.'' The park will be able to run twice as many turf races, he said.

Forty percent of the park's 1,100 horse stalls have been torn down and rebuilt.

Further down the road is Gulfstream's real metamorphosis: up to 1,500 condos, 600,000 square feet of shops, a movie theater and a hotel.

The hotel and retail aspects could open in late 2007, said Tom Dillon, executive vice president of development for Magna Entertainment. The company is working with Ohio-based Forest City Enterprises on the retail and condominium portion of the project.

The South Florida Regional Planning Council has reviewed most of Gulfstream's plans, which are on pace to receive final government review by mid-2005.

Hallandale Beach officials look forward to the council's approval of the plans.

''It should end up being an economic engine as far as jobs and the economy,'' Mayor Joy Cooper said.

Other future plans include a 500- to 750-seat House of Blues-type venue, a new poker room for 2006 and the addition of hundreds of slot machines, if Broward voters approve allowing them at Gulfstream Park, Hollywood Greyhound Track, Pompano Park Harness Track and Dania Jai-Alai. Calder Racetrack and Miami Jai-Alai would also have slots if Miami-Dade voters approve the referendum.

Slot machines would add a new dimension to the park, Savin said, though horse racing and family entertainment remain the park's focus.

''Anytime you can branch out your options to the general public, it's a good thing,'' Savin said.

110529948885.jpg

UNDER CONSTRUCTION: An artist's rendition shows how the new clubhouse at Gulfstream Park will look when construction is completed. The new clubhouse and grandstand are scheduled to open in 2006

110530001450.jpg

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Brickell Burg

Brickell

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but then...

http://southflorida.bizjournals.com/southf...tml?t=printable

City rejects $55 million request

Jim Freer

Hallandale Beach officials are eager for Gulfstream Park's proposed retail, residential and entertainment center, but they don't want to pony up $55 million in funding.

The city council in November unanimously rejected parent Magna Entertainment Corp.'s request for those community reinvestment agency (CRA) dollars. The city believes the prospect of slot machines provides a larger potential revenue stream than the company projected in October, Mayor Joy Cooper said.

Despite Gulfstream's expected addition of more than 2,000 jobs in the area, it is highly unlikely Hallandale Beach will provide any CRA dollars, City Manager Mike Good said.

Cooper and officials of Magna and Gulfstream said they are confident they will resolve the funding issues, but until then, Magna won't be able to obtain zoning changes and other approvals it needs to start work on the undeveloped portion of Gulfstream.

Magna had hoped to begin construction on the non-racing components late this year, and open the retail and condominium phase late in 2006. Company officials who could comment on whether this could create a delay could not be reached.

Gulfstream and Aurora, Ont.-based Magna Entertainment (NASDAQ: MECA) asked for the funds to build roads and parking facilities, plus hook-up and operations for utilities at the redeveloped project. The $55 million would have been the largest amount ever awarded by the city's CRA.

Plans for the $145 million revamp, which is expected to provide the track with year-round revenue, call for a new Gulfstream clubhouse, including a slot machine facility if one is permitted.

A 650,000-square-foot retail complex with up to 80 stores is also planned between the track and Federal Highway. Condos and a hotel are also envisioned.

Magna now has permission only to build a new clubhouse at Gulfstream. The former clubhouse and grandstand were torn down last summer, the first step in Magna's planned redevelopment at the 65-year-old thoroughbred track.

CRA for job creation

The 215-acre Hallandale Beach portion of Gulfstream is in the city's CRA zone, which includes some nearby neighborhoods with many low-income residents. The southern 40 acres of Gulfstream are in Aventura in Miami-Dade County.

Hallandale Beach uses tax dollars set aside in the CRA for programs whose goals are to create jobs and stimulate business expansion.

Magna estimates that, following full development, Gulfstream would have 1,280 direct permanent jobs and 875 indirect permanent jobs would be added in Hallandale Beach, which has a population of 34,000.

The company and its development partner, Forest City Enterprises (NYSE: FCY), are still negotiating with the city over the infrastructure funding issue.

Gulfstream and Magna officials would not comment on whether they will seek a lower amount of CRA dollars from Hallandale Beach.

The city also wants Gulfstream to agree to firm rules on the location and hours of its potential slot machine operation.

In a Dec. 14 letter to the Broward County Commission, Hallandale Beach City Manager Good said the city favors holding a slots referendum in Broward County on March 8 only if the city has an agreement with Gulfstream and Hollywood Greyhound on how much they would pay for increased municipal services associated with the machines.

Hallandale Beach supports Magna's effort to build its mixed-use complex because of still-undetermined tax revenue it would generate and the expectation it would spur other development, Cooper said.

"But it is important that it is done in a way that is not a detriment to the local community, and that we receive revenues to offset our costs of extra fire and police protection and traffic management," Cooper said.

Gulfstream will hold its four-month 2005 season, starting Jan. 3, in a temporary setup that includes pavilion-like tents.

Each night, workers will continue construction on a new, air-conditioned clubhouse that is scheduled to open in January 2006.

For several years, Magna Chairman Frank Stronach talked about a plan to tear down Gulfstream and rebuild it with components that could produce year-round revenue.

On April 19, it announced its joint venture with Cleveland-based Forest City. That company develops, owns and manages commercial projects - including retail centers, hotels and apartment complexes - in 20 states and the District of Columbia. Forest City's current projects include redevelopment of Denver's Stapleton Airport into a retail complex.

Gulfstream cannot estimate its projected revenue from slot machines until legislation is in place for their operations, track spokesman Mike Tanner said.

If Broward County voters approve a referendum, which its commission is considering on March 8, Gulfstream and Broward's three other pari-mutuel facilities would be able to install slot machines late next year or in 2006.

The referendum vote comes after state voters on Nov. 2 passed Amendment 4, which authorizes Broward and Miami-Dade to hold separate votes on whether their pari-mutuels can install slot machines. The amendment authorizes the Legislature to set rules for operation of machines, including the percentage of proceeds that would be used to supplement education statewide.

Amendment 4's sponsor, Floridians for a Level Playing Field, is negotiating with county commissions of each county to hold votes on March 8. Even if county votes are not held during the first half of this year, leaders of the Legislature plan to pass a slot machine law during the 2005 session.

Ryan Worst, an analyst at C.L. King in New York who follows Magna, said the track is a great location for slots.

"If the tax rate is reasonable and if they are not severely limited on the number of slot machines and hours, they could have a few hundred million a year in revenues," he said.

Magna has emphasized that slot machines would be just one part of the expanded revenue and profit it would generate at a redeveloped Gulfstream. On Dec. 9, Magna obtained a commitment for $192 million in loans from MI Developments (NYSE: MIM), its largest shareholder for the Gulfstream project and a project at a racetrack in Pennsylvania. That includes $115 million earmarked for the Gulfstream project.

Access to MI Developments' capital and projected revenue from slot machines should provide Magna with funding to complete the project without tax incentives, according to Worst and another analyst who asked not to be identified.

Magna, whose holdings include 11 U.S. thoroughbred tracks, does not report revenue or income from any of its tracks.

For this year's first three quarters, the company reported revenue of $79 million for Florida operations - including Gulfstream, the Palm Meadows horse training center in Boynton Beach and a training center in Ocala -14 percent of its total revenue of $569 million.

Worst's research indicates Gulfstream has been profitable, partly because of revenue Magna receives from simulcast showings of its winter-season races at other tracks around the country.

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Aessotariq Burg

Aessotariq

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Don't have the exact date at hand, but they want this up and running within the next 10-15 years.

Some perspective: among the first new Metrorail lines to be built will be the North Corridor, a heavy rail line, and construction is expected to be completed by 2012 (probably a few years longer if there are cost overruns or some other delays).

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Aessotariq Burg

Aessotariq

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http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/10515278.htm

Posted on Tue, Dec. 28, 2004

Making Waves

Water taxi wows riders from Fort Lauderdale to South Beach

By ASHLEY FANTZ

[email protected]

Already on vacation and desiring a better way to see South Florida than from a car window, Donna Knott and her husband, Henry, were among 50 people today who rode the first weekday voyage of a water taxi that runs between Fort Lauderdale and Miami Beach.

''What? This [is] paradise to us,'' insisted Donna Knott, 53, as she smiled and crossed her arms over her chest. ``We're from Paducah, Kentucky. There's snow where we're from.''

Fort Lauderdale-based Water Taxi, Inc. had been offering the trips on its 72-seater water bus only on Saturdays for $17 round trip.

But on Tuesday, the company branched out due to high demand, said owner Bob Bekoff. Now, the company includes Tuesday cruises, and has added a new boarding point in Hollywood, across from the Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa.

Riders seemed to be enjoying themselves, even though the temperatures dipped into the low 60s, with windchill in the mid- to low 50s.

''The weather was miserable today, but people like doing this,'' Bekoff said.

The trip took a whole day, beginning at 8:45 a.m. at Fort Lauderdale's Bahia Mar. It stopped at the Diplomat hotel in Hollywood, and arrived around noon at the Miami Beach Marina.

Passengers -- typically northern and Midwestern tourists -- have about three hours to take in the SoBe beautiful people, sip some overpriced martinis, and perhaps be momentarily shaken by the topless section of beach around 14th St. They head back to Fort Lauderdale in the evening.

110567863265.jpg110567873780.jpg110567894810.jpg

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Aessotariq Burg

Aessotariq

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http://www.miamitodaynews.com/news/041230/story4.shtml

Arriola: Marlins have no deadline for agreeing to cover stadium overruns

By Suzy Valentine

Efforts to develop a baseball stadium near the Orange Bowl won't progress until the Florida Marlins sign a contract with the City of Miami to cover cost overruns, but City Manager Joe Arriola said a deadline has not been set.

"We've already made the team an offer," said Mr. Arriola. "It's up to the Marlins, but it's running out of time. It's kind of frustrating.

"We've offered to pay $325 million, and all the Marlins have to do is agree to pay for the overruns. We don't want to build this thing and find out we don't have an occupant."

Regular meetings with team management are held, he said.

"The offer is still there. The Marlins must act or time will run out," Mr. Arriola said. "The land hasn't and won't be acquired yet. We're busy renovating the (Orange Bowl)."

In January, the cost of constructing a 35,000- to 40,000-seat retractable-roof ballpark and refurbishing the existing stadium was projected to be $375 million. The new stadium was estimated to be completed in 2007 at the earliest when the proposal was made almost a year ago.

The Marlins would get revenue from all in-stadium sources, naming rights, signage, concessions and about 4,600 parking spaces.

In spite of reports earlier this month that Marlins executives had been in talks with Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman to move there, Mr. Arriola said that Miami officials have continued to have regular dialogue with team officials.

He said the Marlins have been stalling on the Miami proposal. "We speak once a week," said Mr. Arriola. "We've done everything that we can already. If the team thinks it can just go to Tallahassee as it has done before without securing a deal with us, then it is very much mistaken."

City officials would have to reclaim land next to the Orange Bowl if the Marlins agree to the stadium proposal. Any eminent-domain claim would relate to parcels east of Northwest 17th Avenue and south of Seventh Street, at the northern flank of the Orange Bowl, said David Rosemond, chief of staff to the city manager.

Mr. Arriola said a decision about what groups other than the University of Miami football team might use the 68-year-old, 82,000-seat Orange Bowl after its renovations may come by the end of February.

"We are interviewing different entities. We haven't picked anyone," he said, "but we should do so within the next 60 days. We haven't chosen any finalists yet, but I hope to consider the options by the end of February. I hope that that relationship can get under way by the start of 2006."

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Urban_Legend Town

Urban_Legend

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I always wondered why Miami never took advantage of their river. I know there's nice park space on Biscayne Bay, but Miami River has kinda been lacking a riverwalk. I think either the Met project or One Miami is planning on building their portion of a riverwalk, with public art and landscaping. The renderings looked neat.

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Urban_Legend Town

Urban_Legend

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I wish this project was denser. The only dense portion is the tower, but all that retail is just two stories. I think 3 floors of lofts or offices should've sat on top of the retail, kinda like Cityplace in West Palm. But it'll still be some nice retail and nightlife in the Brickell area.

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bobliocatt City

bobliocatt

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This sounds like a good project, however, I'm a little worried about the retail portion. I'm not too fond of it taking the shape of another Coco Walk or Centro Ybor in Tampa. At least with those too centers, the courtyard is anchored by movie theaters. I wonder will Publix's main entrance be off the courtyard or street. If its off the street, then the retail space surrounding the interior courtyard is destined to doom.

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prahaboheme City

prahaboheme

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I'm really not a big fan of these lifestyle centers in an urban environment. It works in West Palm because its a bit outside of downtown and its done REALLY well, meshing with the surrounding environment. Its also helped to spur development. MBV seems almost unneccessary in Miami/Brickell because there already is so much development that a retail district there would have spurred up more naturally.

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