Archive for July, 2007

One Bayfront Plaza Rising

Published
by
Gabriel Lopez-Bernal
on July 31, 2007
in Architecture, FECR, Office, One Bayfront Plaza, Skyline, Skyscrapers, Terra Architecture, Tibor Hollo and Urban Design
. 11 Comments
One Bayfront Plaza is poised to become Miami’s first super tall (1000′) and truly iconic skyscraper. With the recent approval by the City Commission, the 2 million square foot office development is ready to proceed through the initial stage of pre-construction. The $1.8 Billion project will feature 2 million square feet of leasable office space, 120,000 square feet of exhibition or banquet space, 112,000 square feet of retail, and a 850 room hotel. The project is slated to break ground in 2011 and has attained preliminary approval to rise to 1,049 feet (roof) and 1,180 feet to the top of the spire…
One Bayfront Plaza is being developed by Florida East Coast Realty (Tibor Hollo) and was designed by Terra Group Architects. Frankly, I’m impressed by the eastern facade of the structure but dismally disappointed by the initial designs of the west side, pictured above. The two structures appear to be disjointed and fail to compliment each other accordingly. Hopefully, the west tower will be subject to further redesigns to make this a visually appealing structure from all angles, not just the east…

PBS Investigates Miami-Dade’s Housing Agency Corruption

Published
by
Ryan Sharp
on July 30, 2007
in Affordable Housing, Barbara Gomez, House of Lies, Liberty City, Miami, Miami-Dade County, Miami-Dade Housing Agency, Oscar Rivero, PBS and Rene Rodriguez
. 0 Comments
PBS has been investigating the endemic corruption and incompetence that has plagued the Miami-Dade Housing Agency. Now you can watch the new online video, “Money for Nothing”, a three-part series reporting the recent history and actions of the Agency, detailing how everything went wrong. I highly recommend watching these videos.

The funny (and sad) thing is, this doesn’t even mention the recent scandals regarding the unbuilt Biotech facility in Liberty City or the corruption at the City of Miami Community Development Department.

US Eagle visits Miami

Published
by
Gabriel Lopez-Bernal
on July 30, 2007
in Downtown, History, Miami, Museum Park, Parks, Ships, US Eagle and USCG
. 3 Comments
I took some time today to pay a visit to one of the two unique ships sitting in Miami’s harbor this weekend, the U.S. Eagle (watch the video), the United States’ only active duty tall ship (the other ship, HSV 2 Swift, was not allowing tours.) The U.S. Eagle, moored in the cut of land between the AA Arena and Bicentennial Park, provided visitors with a free, unique tour all weekend long. Visiting the ship docked at the blighted and underutilized park facility, further solidified in my mind the vision plan for Museum park. anchored by the Museum of Science and MAM’s likely iconic structures on the opposite end of the park, the cut where the U.S. Eagle was moored has also been envisioned to become the site of a floating museum (USS Barney Update: Guess Not), similar to the USS Intrepid in Manhattan but on a smaller scale. While visiting the iconic Coast Guard vessel, I was surrounded by an assortment of curious locals and tourists, all equally enjoying the experience, sights, and sunshine by the bay…

Riptide discusses plans for a possible Bay of Pigs Museum on Parcel B…The steering mechanism of the ship requires the attention of six sailors:Meanwhile, the derelict park served well as a surface parking lot for US Eagle visitors. Aside from those of us visiting the Eagle, the only other park visitors consisted of some homeless individuals and a few people fishing in the bay…

Historical tidbits from the USCG:
“The Eagle is a three-masted sailing barque with 21,350 square feet of sail. It is home ported at the CG Academy, New London, Connecticut. It is the only active commissioned sailing vessel in the U.S. maritime services. She is one of five such training barques in world. Remarkably, her surviving sister ships include the Mircea of Romania, Sagres II of Portugal, Gorch Fock of Germany, and Tovarich of Russia.

Today’s Eagle, the seventh in a long line of proud cutters to bear the name, was built in 1936 by the Blohm & Voss Shipyard, Hamburg, Germany, as a training vessel for German Navy cadets. It was commissioned Horst Wessel and served as a training ship for the Kriegsmarine throughout World War II. Click here to read a translated-diary from a German naval cadet who trained aboard the Horst Wessel in 1937.

Following World War II, the Horst Wessel, in the age-old custom of capture and seizure, was taken as a war prize by the United States. Initially, the Soviet Union selected Horst Wessel during the division of Nazi vessels by the victorious Allies. The four available sailing ships had been divided into three lots–two large merchant ships being grouped together. The Soviets drew number 1, Great Britain number 2, and the U.S. number 3. Before the results of the draw were officially announced, the U.S representative, through quiet diplomacy, convinced the Soviets to trade draws.

And so, on May 15, 1946, the German barque was commissioned into U.S. Coast Guard service as the Eagle and sailed from Bremerhaven, Germany to New London, Connecticut. On her voyage to the United States she followed Columbus’s route across the mid-Atlantic. She rode out a hurricane during her trip and arrived in New London safely. She weathered another hurricane in September 1954 while enroute to Bermuda. She hosted OpSail in New York as part of the World’s Fair in 1964. She again hosted OpSail in 1976 during the United States’ Bicentennial celebration. She hosted the centennial celebration for the Statue of Liberty in 1986 as well.

One of the major controversies regarding the cutter was generated when the Coast Guard decided to add the “racing stripe” to her otherwise unadorned hull in mid-1976. She was the last cutter so painted and many in the sailing community decried the new paint job.

Eagle serves as a seagoing classroom for approximately 175 cadets and instructors from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. Sailing in Eagle, cadets handle more than 20,000 square feet of sail and 5 miles of rigging. Over 200 lines must be coordinated during a major ship maneuver. The sails can provide the equivalent of several thousand through-shaft horsepower. The ship readily takes to the task for which it was designed. Eagle’s hull is built of steel, four-tenths of an inch thick. It has two full length steel decks with a platform deck below and a raised forecastle and quarterdeck. The weather decks are three-inch-thick teak over steel.”

1989 Metrorail Discussions

Published
by
Gabriel Lopez-Bernal
on July 27, 2007
in MDT, Metrorail, Ronald Reagan and Today Show
. 3 Comments
18 years later, tell me what’s the difference…

“I’d Use it if it went in the direction I was going”

“The system is only Half of what they originally promised…”

“I’m just amazed at how virtually nothing has changed in the 18 years that this clip was filmed. It’s as relevant now as it was back then.”
-Rick, SOTP

Via: SOTP, Grambrunk

"I Love Paris on a Bus, a Bike, a Train and in Anything but a Car"

Published
by
Ryan Sharp
on July 27, 2007
in Bikes, Miami-Dade Transit, New york times, Paris, Sustainability and public space
. 1 Comment
Serge Schmemann has written an excellent editorial in the New York Times, where the spotlight is on Paris again as an emerging global leader in livability and sustainability. It goes hand-in-hand with the cycling post from yesterday. Miami (and the U.S.) could learn a lot.

Click here to read it.

Photo courtesy of paytonc’s flickr

An Economy Fueled By Sprawl

Published
by
Gabriel Lopez-Bernal
on July 26, 2007
in American Dream, D.R. Horton, DPZ, Economy, Pulte Homes, Sprawl, Stock Market and Suburbia
. 5 Comments
Image Via myuzishun’s Flickr…

The alarms should have rung long ago, not today when the stock market plunged 300 points on the news of dismal results coming from the nation’s top sprawl produces. It’s pretty disappointing to see that so much of the US economy is based on the growth of these development groups which continue to produce nothing but atrocious housing developments on the outer fringes of nearly American city. Its also ironic that what we consider to be an economic engine in our communities is also responsible for degrading our lifestyles, increasing congestion, straining our resources and with that likely costing us as taxpayers more in infrastructure needs and upgrades than the economic benefit we receive in return:

“Disappointing results from home builders including Pulte Homes Inc. and D.R. Horton Inc. — squeezed by a sluggish environment from home sales and continued defaults in subprime loans — weighed heavily on the market.”

An Excerpt from Suburban Nation, The Rise of Sprawl and the Decline of the American Dream:

“…The primary goal of the [housing] industry remains to build and sell individual houses as quickly and profitably as possible, to “blow and go,” as they put it…Homebuilders, land developers, and marketing advisers are all constituents that must be won over if the campaign against suburban sprawl is to succeed. Their participation will be meaningful in the long run only if it is driven by the profit motive, because in America at the millennium, ideas live or die based upon their performance in the marketplace….A higher standard of development will become common place only if it offers greater profits to those who practice it.”

Paris Sets a Global Precedent for Urban Transportation Policy

Published
by
Ryan Sharp
on July 26, 2007
in Bicycle Sharing, Bicycles, Miami Beach, Paris, Transportation and Urban Planning
. 6 Comments
Paris has finally unveiled its highly anticipated bicycle sharing program, sending a global message that it’s serious about reducing emissions and embracing sustainable urban transportation. Over 10,000 bikes are now available for rent at over 750 stations, with plans to double the fleet to 20,000 by years end.
Dubbed “Velib” (a play on words - Velo = bike & liberte = freedom), the system works like this:

A local or tourist who is interested in renting a bike goes to a high-tech docking station, swipes a credit or debit card at a meter (translated into eight languages), and a bike is yours for a nominal fee. A one-day pass costs only 1 Euro ($1.38), a weekly pass 5 Euros ($6.90), and a yearly pass only 29 Euros ($40.00). There are no surcharges, taxes, or other fees, so long as the bike is returned within 30 minutes. Over 30 minutes, you would be charged an incremental “late fee”, which is designed to facilitate high turnover and ensure that bikes will be available for rent at each station. If you want to take out another bike after 30 minutes, go right ahead - for convenience, bikes can be returned to any of the docking stations, which are located an average of only 300 yards apart.

“This is about revolutionizing urban culture…for a long time cars were associated with freedom of movement and flexibility. What we want to show people is that in many ways bicycles fulfill this role much more today.”

~ Pierre Aidenbaum, Mayor of Paris’s Third District

According to the New York Times, early indications point toward success for Velib. Even before a single docking station was open, some 13,000 people had already purchased yearly subscriptions online.

Paris is definitely moving in the right direction. Bicycle-sharing on this scale is absolutely one of the most important urban planning developments to come along in sometime. There’s no reason why Miami can’t follow Paris’ lead.

In fact, I challenge the City of Miami Beach, which I believe to be the most appropriate place for bike-sharing in South Florida, to strongly consider implementing its own version of Velib. It has the density and compactness that will allow this sort of program to thrive. It would be great for tourists, who no longer would feel obliged to rent cars. It would be great for locals, whom besides benefiting directly from the service, would benefit tremendously from fewer cars and VMT (Vehicle Miles Traveled) in their communities. It’s even more logical when you consider that Miami Beach lacks (unfathomably) quality transit.

Once the program manifests success on the beach, it could set a precedent for cycling/transportation policy elsewhere in Greater Miami. I mean, after all, Miami should be a national (and global) leader in cycling, given its phenomenal assets - climate and ecology.

The little improvements are nice, but it’s time to step up and create cycling initiatives that will revolutionize urban transportation in Miami and South Florida.

Photos courtesy of Le Fil’s & austinevan’s flickr accounts

Opa-Locka Airport Development

Published
by
Gabriel Lopez-Bernal
on July 26, 2007
in Airport, Opa-Locka, Redevelopment and Revitalization
. 0 Comments
New development should be coming to the extremely under-utilized Opa Locka Airport facility in the near future. Frankly, we would have liked to see Opa Locka resume some minimal commercial airline service (which was killed back in 2006) when talks surfaced to turn Opa Locka into the low-budget airline airport of Miami (similar to London’s Gatwick, only domestic.)

Miami’s Bursting Condo Bubble Should Equate to a Net Improvement for the City and its People

Published
by
Ryan Sharp
on July 25, 2007
in Brickell, Bubble, Condos, Downtown, Miami and Miami Today News
. 1 Comment
Michael Lewis, from Miami Today News, has written a nice essay on Miami’s condo boom, including what it, and the inevitable bubble burst, means for the future of the city.

Check it out, here.

Miami Parks Update

Published
by
Gabriel Lopez-Bernal
on July 25, 2007
in C3TS, Fan Mail, Fern Isle Park, Grapeland Park, Green Space, Greenway, Master Plan, Melreese, Miami and Water Park
. 1 Comment
We recently received some fan mail from loyal TM reader Chandler, asking (hoping, too) that the development occurring just north of the 836 on 27th Avenue and north of the 836 along 37th Avenue would be some sort of transit project or park-n-ride facility. He was kind enough to shoot a few pictures for us as he zoomed westbound along the Dolphin:

To answer his question, sadly, the two projects he referenced are not Transit related developments however, the two sites happen to be City of Miami parks undergoing extensive renovations and facility upgrades. The Park along 27th Avenue is Fern Isle Park, currently undergoing the addition of a Park building, two baseball fields, basketball courts, a play structure, and pavilions.

The Park along 37th Avenue, adjacent to the Melreese Golf Course is Grapeland Park, the subject of a more adventurous City of Miami Park reconstruction project. The first phase of construction brought about the refurbishment of the park’s baseball fields, facilities, and courts. Phase two, which began sometime early this year, will feature a municipal water theme park. The water theme park, designed by C3TS, will cost nearly $20 Million and will feature two water slides, a lazy river, and 800 seat community activities and banquet facility.

Taken from the C3TS Site:

“This project will take an underutilized and poorly planned tournament complex and transform it into a regional, needs-based park which will include a water theme park, an 800-seat community activity and banquet facility, as well as a state-of-the-art baseball tournament complex.

The needs for access and parking encroachment into the surrounding areas were identified as one of the principal complaints by the stakeholders as this program was developed. As such, the design of Grapeland Park, located adjacent to a densely populated urban neighborhood, will be able to accommodate both multi-modal transportation access and all required parking.”

For More information visit the Miami Parks Masterplan site…

Geo Tag

Port Funding Approved

Published
by
Gabriel Lopez-Bernal
on July 25, 2007
in Bouygues Travaux, Cuba, Javier Souto, Miami, Miami-Dade County, Natacha Seijas, Port of Miami, Rebeca Sosa and Tunnel
. 4 Comments

Miami-Dade County Approved the funding for the Port of Miami Tunnel…

The 9-3 vote of approval wasn’t without some misdirected and unwarranted criticism due to French construction giant Bouygues Travaux Publics’ ties to Cuba. Of course, some of our elected officials had their priorities out of order, instead voting for what was best for Cuba than Miami:

”This project is morally wrong,” said Miami attorney Nicolas Gutierrez, who represents the descendants of a Cuban family whose property was expropriated by the Castro regime. One of the resorts that the Bouygues affiliate helped construct is on the family property in eastern Cuba.

But in the end, only Commissioner Javier Souto, a Bay of Pigs veteran, specifically mentioned the firm’s ties to Cuba in casting his vote against the deal. Also voting against the deal were Commissioners Natacha Seijas and Rebeca Sosa.

Last time I checked we elected our officials to do what was best for Miami-Dade, not Cuba, the US embargo is only applicable to US corporations, none of which were the low bidders for the port tunnel project to begin with. (Side note: last time I was in Europe, I drank from a Pepsi can which offering chances to win a “voyage for 2 to Cuba…” Where is the sense in that?) Their reservations about Bouygues Travaux are unwarranted when its a foreign company operating under foreign jurisdictions and policies and is further evidence that our commissioners tend to vote without knowing the pertinent facts…

AESTHETICS OF TRANSIT: MEMORY AND PLACE

Published
by
James Wilkins
on July 24, 2007
in Uncategorized
. 1 Comment
As the new elements of Miami transit fall into place, driven in part by the forces of those committed to it, I am happy to see aesthetics playing a major role. The recent postings of the new cars for MetroMover and the this hybrid bus, represent for me, yet another important piece in the puzzle of the Miami of tomorrow. Clearly the issues of the environment, dependence on foreign oil, sustainability etc are the primary issues at hand, but I also feel that our visual relationship to transit , it’s history and it’s future, factor into our experience greatly.
The cutting edge design of the new Metromover cars and the additions to the fleet of buses create a distinct aesthetic emotion that, however subconciously, alter our perception of the world we live in. They indicate what is possible and what we are committed to. Futurism, responsibility and beauty to name a few.

Miami is a particularly modern city by the simple fact that it is such a young city. I remember my first visit to Miami in the 80’s and the silent, sublime little cars of the MetroMover hovering overhead and the realization that this city was staking a claim for itself. While the MetroMover may not be without its problems, it represents an attempt at solutions and a unique expression of such in the U.S.

Of course all the elements encountered in the city contribute to this aesthetic emotion, but I for one think that advancements in transit bode well for both the citizens and the visitors to Miami. All of these elements influence the future of Miami, as business and development are greatly influenced by this perception, and every step toward the visual fruition of the promises Miami holds– matter greatly.

Coming Soon: MDT Hybrid Buses

Published
by
Gabriel Lopez-Bernal
on July 24, 2007
in Hybrid Bus, MDT and NABI
. 2 Comments
MDT will be purchasing 39 large Hybrid Buses (similar to the one pictured above) next year to come into service in 2009. There are also initial plans to buy 180 smaller Hybrid buses which would come into service by 2012.

Click here to watch the video…

Click here to learn more about NABI…

Thanks to the Reader who sent us the link to the article…

WHAT’S IN STORE

Published
by
James Wilkins
on July 24, 2007
in Architecture, Herzog and De Meuron, MAM and Museum Park
. 10 Comments
It has been announced, to the excitement of many, that the new design for Miami Art Museum will be announced during ART BASEL 07. This couldn’t be more appropriate considering that the architects hometown is in fact Basel Switzerland.
I thought it would be a good time to consider just what we might be in for. Here are several images of recent projects by the duo of Pritzker Prize winning architects.Whether it be residential interiors in NYC, or a stadium in Germany one confounding truth is that their work is so varied and site specific, it is almost impossible to even attempt to forecast any design model for Miami.For those eagerly awaiting the unveiling, I hope this little taste helps.

GeoTag

Little Haiti Park Update

Published
by
Ryan Sharp
on July 24, 2007
in Little Haiti, Miami and Parks
. 11 Comments
Good news for Little Haiti residents - it looks like the long wait for a promised new park is approaching an end. After more than nine years of promises, the new Little Haiti Park is set to open this October.
Amongst badly needed public green space, the park will feature a soccer field, a practice field, covered seating for 750, and a nearby cultural center, according to the Herald. The park will be located on 45 acres from 59th Terrace to 64th Street along NE 2nd Ave.

Some 200 parking spaces are planned for this small park, which I’m sure will screw up the urban design surrounding it. Sounds like another suburban solution to me - too bad we our transit in this corridor is still so poor and limited right now.

Though I do believe this park will be of benefit to the Little Haiti community, I also am afraid it will fail if it certain tried and true urban park design elements are missing.

There will be a public meeting on Monday, July 30th to exchange information and ideas regarding the park. It will be from 6-8 PM at the Notre Dame d’Haiti Catholic Church, located at 110 NE 62nd Street.

Photo courtesy of the City of Miami