Camillus House has long been a thorn in the respective thighs of nearly all politicians directly involved in its potential move. The shelter, the State, and the University of Miami have finally come to an agreement which will pave the way for the new $70 million facility next to the new bioscience center. The new shelter (pictured above) will contain nearly 1.5 times the beds of the current facility and is being designed by Rodriguez & Quiroga Architects, one of the preeminent design and restoration architects in our region. Rodriguez & Quiroga are specialists in urban design and the integration of structures with their surroundings as well as for their respective uses; a practice which is fairly unheard of in Miami. The modern design of the Camillus House structure will continue to build on the cutting edge buildings currently reshaping the Health District.

The new Camillus House intends to rehabilitate 120 people a year out of “chronic homelessness.” The Camillus House organization has also set a valiant goal of ridding Miami of homelessness with 10 years of the opening of the new facility. It will concentrate on the treatment and rehabilitation of individuals while also providing the resources to address their basic needs.

Well, it’s cross blogination day and things around here aren’t running smoothly. I’ve just found out that Jessica of the Snap-Crackle-Pop-odopoulos Family Blog is out of town and subsequently will not be posting an article on my site… In lieu of that wonderful detail that I somehow just discovered at this very morning, I’ve decided to do some cross blogination with my readers. I want to hear what you guys think: Whatever transportation/development topic which tickles your fancy will do just fine. You can send me an article today: MoveMiami@gmail.com or reply in a comment. I’ll keep the site updated continuously throughout the day with each and everyone one of the articles I receive…Have fun!

Oh, and go read read my cross blogination over on 26^th Parallel…It’s my take on First Generation Cuban-Americans, so It should be a good read…

Update: Since The Cross Blogination did not go as planned, Lisette of Urban Paradise was left holding another excellent article which was originally intended for the aforementioned Family Blog…Go check out Lissette’s article…

I’d like to thank everyone who took some time out of their day to reply to last Thursday’s article. The poll numbers were much lower than I had anticipated, but, we generally got to see that the majority of readers were not in accordance with the development plans for Watson Island. I will take some time now to reply to all the comments:

Walter:
Your visions of keeping Watson Island a sleepy island with a bait shop and plenty of places to stroll are admirable but difficult to implement given the island’s location and proximity to two urban centers. The lack of a public transit station/system makes it fairly difficult to convert the island into a large park for the region.

Manola:
I like your take on the bland architecture, however, I must disagree on your perception of Chad Oppenheim’s 10 Museum Park (The pigeon hole tower.) Ten Museum Park is one of the better designed buildings we will see rising in the area. It has a much greater level of creativity due to the fact that the architect took better care in paying attention to detail than most of the other high-rises in the area which were simply looking for quick profits.
The Parc Olympic idea is excellent but again, difficult to implement if people can’t get to and from the island easily and effectively. An development such as that would be better suited along the Miami side of Biscayne bay, incorporating any of the long neglected waterfront parks.

Mikey:
Good point, Miami is facing a hotel crisis due to the amount of condo conversions we have seen in recent years. The additional Hotels will prove to be a boon to the local economy, hopefully keeping more cruise passengers or mega-yacht owners in our region longer. I’m with you for further options for regular Miami boat owners, but, I believe there is already a public marina on the opposite side of the Island Gardens project.

Helene Pancoast:
I did neglect the Ichimura Japanese Garden but, not on purpose. The Gardens (which I sadly have yet to visit) are supposed to be beautiful and are one of the better points of the Watson Island redesign. From what I have heard they do not garner their share of attention in our region either.

Verticus:
I have yet to experience them myself, however, it could be fenced in to try and isolate the serene attraction as much as possible from the urban spaces and sounds which surround it.

Nicfitkid:
Excellent point, I could not agree more. I believe the marina should not be built to cater only to Mega-Yacht and their owners, but rather boat owners as a whole.

Mark:
Glad to hear you are on board with the plan, there must be some sort of use for such a large/center piece of land. I still think the Miami Children’s Museum is inadequate in its’ external appearances as well as content. I’m not sure where you obtained your information from, but, at 56,000 square feet the MCM is nearly 1/8 the size of the largest children’s museum in the US.

Tere:
Thanks!

In case you all were unaware, in less than a week we will be conducting the Inaugural Miami Cross Blogination. What’s a Cross Blogination? Well, we Miami bloggers have come up with a unique idea of trading our sites for day to break up the monotony of day-to-day writing and add a little bit of creativity to our local blogging community. The point of the event is to further the awareness of the blog community in our region as well as to give all our writers the opportunity to gain access to a different sector of readers.

Next Tuesday, I will be blogging on Robert’s 26^th Parallel (a site dedicated mainly towards the happenings of Cuba) while Jessica of The Snap-Crackle-Pop-odopoulos Family blog (a site dedicated to the family) will be writing on my site. Sounds like a fun event! I hope everyone takes the time to not only read my article on 26^th Parallel, but also the other various writers participating in the Miami Cross Blogination…

For a Complete listing of the sites participating, please click here. Great Job Rebecca.

Next Topic of Conversation: Watson Island. I’d like to hear what everyone else thinks about this touchy subject, so, please feel free to comment as much as possible below. I’ve also created a simple poll which can be found on the left sidebar…

The Dilemma:
The proposed use for Watson Island, the artificial island in the heart of our metropolis, has been the center of debate, lawsuits, and political agendas for quite some time now. It was formerly barren strip of land which was frequented by little more than the thousands of cars which traverse the Mac Arthur Causeway daily (Plus or minus a few crack deals by the bay, a handful of amateur photographers, and the people waving goodbye to their loved ones aboard cruise ships that are apparently sailing away to another dimension, etc.) Otherwise, the island is home to some of the most scenic views of the Magic city, the Bay, and the busiest passenger port in the World. Aside from the readily available space, Watson Island remains little more than a wasted opportunity to create something excellent at our city’s front doorstep.

The Project:
The current scheme for the Island will include the already built Parrot Jungle and Gardens and the extremely lackluster in design and content Miami Children’s Museum. Oh, and two massive hotels will also grace the property along with a marina slip for the private ships of the super wealthy. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not against tall buildings or development; I usually just push for it to be done appropriately and in the right settings. Typically, I don’t advocate placing 500+ ft towers next to a squat 30 foot tall museum on a solitary island in the middle of the bay. In addition to the 6 lanes of the Mac Arthur Causeway, the island may also feature the entrance and exits to a tunnel which would move trucks under government cut to the Port as well as the lanes of the Baylink Streetcar.

The Good:
The opportunities that such developments can provide to our city abound. The average owner of a Mega-Yacht spends over a million dollars a year on the maintenance of the vessel itself, so we can just imagine how much money they will spend when they stay in our city for extended periods of time. One of the Hotels, the Shangri-La will be the first of its kind in the United States and will definitely attract its share of Wealthy Asian Travelers and business to our area. Asia is quickly realizing that Miami is their easiest gateway to Latin America. Parrot Jungle moved from its digs in Pinecrest to the more urban location to become the city’s newest tourist attraction. Regardless of what other projects could have risen on the island, I can guarantee that any project would have greatly transformed what was essentially an unoccupied thoroughfare into a further bustling section of urbanized waterfront.

The Bad:
We are taking advantage of these opportunities at the expense of the public land, plain and simple. The new marina will restrict public access to much of the land. The developer has creatively cited “Anti-Terrorist Regulations” as the reason behind the gates and bars that will keep most of us away from the actual docks or seaside or most importantly Paul Allen, Larry Ellison, Roman Abramovich, or any other billionaire that can afford a boat as big as a Carnival cruise ship. In addition, the only heliport in the area was closed to make way for the impending development as well as a popular bait shop. Parrot Jungle has been a failure until now and owes vast sums of money to the County as rent payments. Apparently it didn’t occur to anyone that the nostalgia and lush tropical environment of the previous location was what kept so many local visitors interested in the park to begin with.

The Ugly:
Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not crying foul about the project, but, at the same time, I don’t support it fully either. I think the land could have had better uses, especially if Baylink had been taken into account much sooner. I also have issues with those who chose to complain about the project as well. First off, just for clarification, the “blocked view” or “added traffic” lawsuits and claims are completely bogus. I hate to remind them, but, they purchased a home, not a view or the surroundings. Last time I checked, the MLS listings included square footage not vistas. My real question to the people who complained about the project is: Where were they before Island Gardens? And why weren’t they complaining about the lack of adequate use on public land when Watson Island was a barren wasteland? No comment. My best guess is because it wasn’t about the public use to begin with…

My Thoughts:
All in all, Watson Island could have served the community much better had the appropriate measures been taken ahead of time. Public Transit would have definitely alleviated many of the traffic concerns and would have presented a multitude of options which would have made the island more suitable to better public uses. The FTAA Secretariat home, an idea that floated around for a while (Small Building on the lower right), could have been feasible with better access and would have created a venue similar to the United Nations plaza in New York City or NATO Headquarters in Brussels Belgium…

Update: Miami-Dade County Commissioners Deferred a vote yesterday which would have allowed dredging to begin in the Bay.

Your Thoughts:

Big news for the corporate sector of Miami as Nokia announced plans to relocate its regional offices into the Miami area. The regional offices will further bolster our dominant telecommunications industry. We are currently home to the Latin American headquarters of Terra Networks, Telfonica, AT&T, Ericsson and also home to various other telecom companies including Movida, Global Crossing, and Americatel. The Telecom industry is one of our main industries in the area along with international banking and biotechnology.

Sadly, Nokia will be settling into expanded offices in the blue lagoon area rather than a downtown location…

Some people have been wondering what they can do to get involved in some of the local transportation projects. I recommend any interested parties attend the workshops hosted by the local MPOs and local transit agencies. I try to post these once a month, and I attend as many as my schedule permits. Here is a listing of some of the upcoming meetings:

Metrorail planning meetings: (Via Miami Herald)
Sept. 19 at the Sheraton Miami Mart, 711 NW 72nd Ave (6:30 pm)
Sept. 20 at FIU’s Graham Conference Center, 11200 SW Eighth St (6:30 pm)
Sept. 21 at the St. Dominic Church Parish Hall, 5849 NW Seventh St (6:30 pm)
Miami-Dade MPO Meetings:
FTAC, Sept. 13 at the Stephen P. Clark Center (3:00 pm)
General MPO Meeting, Sept. 28 at the Stephen P. Clark Center (2:00 pm)
Broward MPO meetings can be found on this pdf file.

If you don’t get involved, you have no right to complain about the terrible traffic…

• I’ve spent the better part of the day reading various articles about the reconstruction of ground zero in downtown Manhattan; hence the absence of any MM awards for the day. I’ll offer my take on the rebuilding process in NYC at a later time. I do however recommend reading a review of the site which I read in my hard copy version of the NY Times this morning; the architectural review of the towers by Nicolai Ouroussoff can be found here online.
• There are also a pair of notable Transit/Development reads in today’s Miami Herald: 1. Larry Lebowitz’s streetwise column, addresses the expansion of metrorail West towards FIU. 2. Charles Rabin’s column addressed the mega yacht developments of Watson Island. I’ll be giving my opinion on both subjects later this evening.
• Alesh, also provides us with his take on the newest advertisement along I-95, the Barry University watchtower.
• The Miami Monthly is reporting that the Four Seasons Hotel on Brickell has become Florida’s first Green Lodge, earning certification recently from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

Didn’t think I’d get to bestow the Moronic Monday award today upon anyone? Well, neither did, I, until I ran out to run some late night errands. This is also a character who should be nominated to appear on Burnettiquette’s WBA. In any case, this Maricon Monday Award is going out to those idiots among us who see ambulances in their rearview mirrors and freeze like a deer in headlights. Typically, I go above and beyond to get out of the way of the thing so that whatever unfortunate soul is heading off to the ER, can get there as quickly as possible. I’ve ran red lights (yes, cautiously) and jumped curbs just to make way for the sirens, so, I find it difficult that anyone would just sit still when the horn is blaring and sirens are whaling DIRECTLY BEHIND THEM.

Here is how tonight’s episode went. I was the first car at a red light waiting at an intersection on a major three lane road. A few cars had started filing in the two right lanes behind me when I saw the ambulance barreling from behind. Figuring, that it would be easiest if I cleared my one car out of the queue to allow the ambulance to pass, I turned on my hazard lights and jumped out in front of the car in the center lane. That’s when the idiocy occurred. By freeing up my lane, some self serving jerk exited the queue of the center lane, nearly cutting off the ambulance. Then came the punch line: they hit their brakes and stopped fully two car lengths before the intersection, effectively blocking off the shortest route for the emergency vehicle. Stuck. The oncoming turn cars had already yielded to give way to the oncoming ambulance, which had to jump a curb to circumnavigate the moron.

I cringed as the ambulance flew by me and as I peered in through the back windows and witnessed a paramedic pumping the patient’s chest. Hopefully, that person will not suffer any added damages as a result of the selfish and careless drivers of our streets…

Image From Asurroca’s Flickr…