Then the City of Miami teamed up with the Miami World Center Group, which began accumulating property in 2004. Immediately after the property was purchased by the group, the City upzoned the area nearly 250%, vastly increasing the value of the World Center holdings. In 2008, City resources were diverted to developing a “Special Miami World Center Zoning District”, with an unspecified cost to taxpayers. In 2009, the Overtown CRA contracted a $1.2 million regional impact study, normally paid for by the developers themselves. In the June 2009, the City of Miami issued a conflict of interest waiver to allow the CEO of the World Center to sit on the Board of the Downtown Development Authority while continuing to do business with the City.
So what now? Faced with financing and legal problems, lobbyists for the World Center Group are going after public money to bail them out. A “public / private partnership” for a billion dollar convention center in Park West is being pushed by the DDA, whose Board contains lobbyists and supporters of World Center. This is despite Mayor Regalado’s vow to put any new mega-projects to a public referendum, the Miami Beach Convention Center’s planned $55 M in renovations, and numerous studies showing lack of demand for such a project. If a convention center is built (albeit extremely unlikely), there would suddenly be demand for thousands of hotel rooms in the area, potentially resurrecting the Miami World Center project from the grave.
So if it sounds like history repeating itself, it is. Why do City officials continue to follow the same failed strategies as in the past? Why not think outside the box in this era of change? Instead of mega-projects, why not beautify the area “one block at time” as the new Mayor has suggested. Put a public park on the old arena site, focus on a commuter rail into Downtown, lobby for a supermarket to serve the 20,000 residents north of the river. A clean, pedestrian friendly neighborhood will encourage investment and vastly improve the quality of life for the 5,000 or so new residents of Park West. This is a proven model used around the country, including South Beach and we should use it. Our New Mayor ran on a platform of listening to concerns of constituents and NO MORE mega-projects. Unfortunately there are still those in the City who are not listening.
48 Responses to World Center Project RIP?
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Your post clearly shows the great divide between what new Mayor Regalado “says” and what he “does.” We’ll soon see that his words are as empty as his deeds.
“Was supported by the City of Miami with special favors and taxpayer money.” Which favors and money? Please be specific. I think you have no idea what you are talking about.
“Thousands of new residents in the area now have to continue to be surrounded by abandoned and dilapidated lots, adversely affecting the quality of life in the neighborhood.” What quality of life? If there is none to begin with, how can a project NOT happening have an adverse effect? And what “thousands” of residents are there? All I see us a U-Haul building.
“Immediately after the property was purchased by the group, the City upzoned the area nearly 250%.” Ummm…no. The city downzoned the area by keeping the same FAR but imposing dramatically more restrictive design guidelines. You really don’t know anything, and you deal in fear-mongering assertions.
“In 2009, the Overtown CRA contracted a $1.2 million regional impact study, normally paid for by the developers themselves.” Ummm…again no. Area-wide DRIs were created so that a local government agency could do a regional study more efficiently and then pass the costs on to multiple developers. Any developer in the area pays DRI fees to reimburse the costs of the study. Don’t you have even the slightest idea what you are talking about?! Transit Miami, this post signals a dangerous new direction of stupid fear-mongering.
“[One block at a time] is a proven model used around the country, including South Beach.” A big final WRONG, South Beach revitalization included at least one large catalytic public-private partnership, the Loews Hotel, that signaled to smaller private sector investors that it was time to do business. I agree one block at a time is better (and even better one platted lot at a time), but it is irrational to say that large catalytic public-private partnerships are never part of a successful revitalization strategy. Again, Transit Miami, this post is very scary for those of us who look to this blog for smart planning ideas.
^^^
Who’s the loser Anon? Take a chill pill, christ!
Anon, I agree with Becky. Take a chill pill.
First of all, if you visit the area you will see that there are THOUSANDS of residents within a five minute walk of the site. Along Biscayne, and around the arena site there are many residential skyscrapers. The Uhaul building is but one building in the entire complex. One of Brad’s points is that the any improvement in this area has hinged on the World Center Project – why? Why do the residents of Overtown have to wait for this project for their quality of life to improve? At what point is it cost effective for the City/DDA/CRA to pay attention to this area. The lots that are owned by the World Center Group look abandoned. Broken fences, overgrown lots, trash etc. These are the quality of life issues that can be addressed at low cost to the developer, and will make a huge difference in the area. As the one of the largest landowners in the area, they have a responsibility to maintain their properties in anticipation of their long term plans.
In reference to your assertion that Lowes was the large catalytic partership to change South Beach, I would say that is a big WRONG. South Beach had changed at least a decade before the Lowes.
I’ve spoken to Brad about this neighborhood a lot, and I think he wants what most people want for their neighborhoods: safe streets, active buildings, and landlords who take care of their properties. I tend to agree that large projects are not the enemy, but Brad’s position comes from decades of broken promises for this area.
Lastly, there is nothing about this post that doesn’t support the one of the main missions of Transit Miami: to provide a forum to discuss the development of walkable, pedestrian friendly urbanism in Miami. If you don’t like the content, then don’t read it, that is one of the beauties of the internet. I might not agree with everything that is posted here, but the lifeblood of a healthy democracy is the exchange of ideas, and I do support that. I would be just as guilty of lack of transparency as the typical politician if I were to censor and limit the discussion of issues on the site. I welcome Brad’s commentary as much as I would welcome a counterpoint to his position. If you want to put yourself out there and compose a response I would be glad to post it for you.
So how about it, anon, willing to enrich the discussion?
“Any improvement in this area has hinged on the World Center Project – why? Why do the residents of Overtown have to wait for this project for their quality of life to improve?” WRONG. Miami WorldCenter owns around 3 blocks, and has it’s eye on 6 more, but those 6 as well as all the surrounding blocks are completely up for grabs. The current landowners are free to improve their land, or sell to another developer, and the DDA and CRA can deal with whomever comes to the table.
Tony, how could you let someone who clearly has not even done his homework opine on DRIs and call catalytic public-private partnerships a “failed strategy?” And not just opine, but reach such a wrong and venomous conclusion? This blog is supposed to be a place where people can politely disagree after discussion, but at least they know what they are talking about.
Brad seems like a hack with dim comprehension and an ax to grind, and HE is the one bringing down the quality of the discussion. Anyone could have reached the same conclusion about the merits of incremental redevelopment without at the same time spouting facts and assertions that are just plain false and accusatory.
You can win readers either by sensationalistic preaching to a limited choir (a la Eye on Miami), or by high technical, journalistic, and editorial standards. The “New Miami” we all hope for lies down one of those paths, and the choice is yours.
Actually, the World Center project encompasses more than 12 acres of land around the NAP – not 3 blocks. I worked on a zoning analysis for the Falcone group two years ago (along with Boston planners Elkus Manfredi). I think in this case, you may be mistaken as to the extent of the world center project.
Like I said before, the purpose of the site is civil discourse. Rather than make ad-hominem attacks against Brad, why don’t you make arguments against his facts rather than call him a ‘hack’. I would respect that much more than blasting the site.
I’ll let Brad defend himself (and his facts), but Anon, please try to keep on point (even if you don’t think Brad knows what he is talking about).
Tony thank you – I agree about the chill pill- normally this is civilized but the post obviously exposed a raw nerve (or the truth) in someone!
The point of the post and this forum is to attempt to learn from our past mistakes and engage in a rational, adult discussion about the future of our City and our Government. The only agenda here is to make our City a clean, pedestrian friendly City with a vastly improved quality of life than it has currently.
It should be painfully obvious to anyone who has studied the history of the area for the past 25 years 9and that of our City since it was founded) that all of the mega-projects such as the Miami Arena, AA Arena, and PAC have done little to revitalize the surrounding area. In fact the promise of a mega-project usually has the effect of preventing redevelopment. “let’s sell our land or develop this project but wait to see what happens with the XX (Statium, arena, convention center, world center) project”. City services are severely lacking – “why repair the sidewalks and pick up trash when the XX project is going to get built in a couple of years.” The difference between now and then are the 4-5,000 new residents of Park West (in addition to the 8,000 or so long suffering residents of overtown) who are paying heavy RE Taxes for “redevelopment” and a new Mayor who has pledged to listen to the residents and their needs rather than big out of town developers.
I can only assume that you have some sort of personal vested interest in the project based on your extremely strong reaction to the truth. Again the major point is that we should not give special favors and spend taxpayer money when NOTHING GETS BUILT. Reward success, not slick renderings.
But personal attacks are really pointless when the facts speak for themselves:
Special favors for Miami World Center:
1) 2005: City of Miami upzones SD-16 overlay district from standard C-1 zoing of 1.72 FAR to 4.32 FAR. Upzoning drastically increases value of commercial developement parcels.
2) August 2008: The City of Miami implemented a custom designed zoning code called “Miami World Center Special Zoning District” (August 2008 res # 08-010115zt) What developer gets a special zoning district just for them instead of abiding by the existing zoning regulations?
The concessions on parking, green and open space, and various other waivers is called “the biggest giveaway to a developer that I have ever seen” by a respected land use attorney. While I am not a big fan of parking requirements, allowing a developer to waive a huge amount of parking requirements while others are required to respect them gives them an enormous economic advantage
2) August 2008: SEOPW CRA executes an agreement with the Curtis Group, for a DRI study (obviously a major priority for the neighborhood with no developement) res # 08-0937. The timing is consistent with the Mayor’s initiative to approve the zoning code and other items for the World Center Group. The agreement contains and option “to expand the study to include the Miami World Center project.”
3) The CRA Board approves the execution of the “option to include the Miami World Center Project” for the Curtis DRI study. They allocate $500,000 of additional redevelopment funds to execute this option.
4) March 2009: $500,000 traffic study for the World Center Group (as per the backup documents) appears on the SEOPW CRA agenda. Then Commissioner Regalado stated “I don’t understand what are we doing with this or why
are we doing the traffic study if we don’t know what is going to be there..So I don’t understand. They have not close on the property. There is no WorldCenter, only in the front page of the paper.” Item was deferred.
5) June 2009: City of Miami approves a “Conflict of Interest Waiver” to allow Nitin Motwani, principal of World Center Group to sit on the DDA Board without violating City charter (res # 09-00721)
6) November 2009. The Downtown Development Authority prepares an RFP for a “convention center feasibility study” for Park West. part of the World Center plan is to put hotels / convention center on their land. Despite many studies showing no demand for such a project, the inability of the City or County to finance such a project, and Mayor Regalado’s vow to “put any more mega projects to a referendum”, the DDA is moving ahead.
Facts, not personal attacks.
speaking of axes to grind,
why are you being so biting, Anon.
Also, why don’t you stop hiding behind your anonymity, and talk trash with a name.
Anon is quite misinformed.
South Beach was under renovation “one building at a time” for a decade before the City of Miami foolishly provided many millions to the Loews Hotel chain. South Beach began its revival in 1980-1884 and the Loews Hotel got its bailout money a decade later. (The Loews Hotel is just one building out of a thousand on South Beach.)
History has shown that redevelopment works best when the private sector is involved and development is accomplished building by building and block by block.
“Forbes Magazine” in its November 2nd, 2009 issue gave a detailed look at the Miami World Center scammers and their imploding scheme. For those of you who want to see for yourselves simply visit the sites supposedly owned by the Miami World Center group (at the moment). You will see blighted ugly vacant lots. You will see a property owner who either does not care or who lives out of town. Or both.
“Forbes Magazine” Online too.
The City of Miami Beach provided the bailout money to the Loews Hotel…
South Beach was under renovation “one building at a time” for a decade before the City of Miami foolishly provided many millions to the Loews Hotel chain. South Beach began its revival in 1980-1884 and the Loews Hotel got its bailout money a decade later. (The Loews Hotel is just one building out of a thousand on South Beach.)
City of Miami Beach… Sorry. By the way, the City of Miami Administrators realized after they commited tax money to Loews that if they had just waited six months they would not have had to invest a cent because South Beach was exploding and there were dozens of buyers…
And by the way, the lack of even basic maintenace began soon after the World Center Group purchased the properties in 2004-2005. You would think that the special treatment from the City saving them millions and the $20 per space parking could cover fence repair and weed cutting! Simply doing basic maintenance and repair on the properties and turning on the lights at night could vastly change the quality of life of the thousands of new residents of Park West. This issue also has Citywide implications. The thousands of visitors to arena and PAC events each week see the dilapidated lots and leave with the impression that this is Downtown Miami. How many never return to see our beautiful up and coming Downtown due to their first bad impression of Downtown?
After proactively reaching out to the group (working together is always better than confrontation!), code enoforcement was called and the the City issued dozens of violations on the properties dating from January 2009, very few of which have been rectified. Although almost all of the lots owned by the Group are characterized by collapsing barbed wire / chain link fences, overgrrown weeds and strewn with trash, the worst are the two blocks between NE 9th/10th sts and N. Miami Ave and NE 2nd. The dumpster has not been emptied in years and the collapsing barbed wire fences have dozens more code violations posted all over them. Come take a look – I see it every day.
And this, Mr Anon, is how a project NOT happening can degrade the quality of a neighborhood.
If anything, the City should require they take care of the empty lots and keep them clean. At this point, and especially now after many years of construction, I think it’s more realistic that we look at future development on a one-by-one basis. Take Midtown Miami for example, a very similar, large-scale development just minutes from Downtown, and it is not completed, and Midtown was built at the height of the boom.
Miami World Center is a really great proposal, and if it were to be conceived as planned, it would be the single greatest project to land in Downtown, but it doesn’t happen over night. Maybe, like others have said, it’s best we develop Park West a la MWC but one building at a time.
Great point Cody! One block at a time with the MWC vision. Exactly..
The vision behind the World Center Renderings is one we all share. European style, pedestrian friendly streetscapes with sidewalk cafes are something we all dream about here, even though we know we are a long way away. Perhaps the sexy rederiings seduced the City, the CRA, and the DDA (they did me, until I realized what was going on) into putting the cart before the horse.
And just to clarify, public/private partnerships are not necessarily a bad thing. But of course we need to be careful, as history should teach us (especially in Miami). There are two problems that seem to always occur:
1) The public entity doesn’t always know who they are getting in bed with. Lack of due diligence or paying too much attention to campagin contributions or lobbyists tend to get in the way with this. Are they taking the same risk as the public sector? Or looking for public funds to pay for the initial parts of the project that they don’t want to risk their own money for? Are they really going to build the project or just flip it? All these questions need to be asked and put in a legally binding agreement that protects the taxpayers.
2) The private entity almost always makes out better than the public one. Whether they take advantage of incompetence in the public sector or there are not enough guarantees for the public good (as we have seen here where the public takes the risk paying for studies etc. when the financing or permits are not even secured), the public should not be left holding the bag for the public / private partnership.
I really hope that we can start some dialogue including both the community and our government as to the best way to do things in Miami. We really need to think outside the box sometimes and learn from the past. We have a wealth of community activists and prgressive urban planners who really care about this City. Why not use them as a resource, instead of of consultants and lobbyists who aren’t even part of the community. Why not look at best practices for redevelopment and urban planning aroung the world and implement it here? Every thing that Mayor Regalado said at the innauguration speech is spot on. Transparency, non-adversarial relationships with the community, referendum on mega-projecs such as the stadium, no more outside consultants and studies. This is the right way to do things – let’s make sure that that vision is implemented.
EXCERPT FROM MARCH 31, 2009 SEOPW CRA MEETING DICUSSION ABOUT FUNDING $500,000 TRAFFIC FOR MIAMI WOLD CENTER PROJECT :
Commissioner Regalado: Bill, I would like to do a traffic study in front of my house. The reason that I want to is because there are many cars and because they closed 27th Avenue and some people are using my street. But I won’t get a traffic study on my block. The reason we are doing this is because the WorldCenter was going to be there, right, this –
Mr. Anido: Correct.
Commissioner Regalado: — mega project. But we don’t know if there is going to be a WorldCenter. That’s my point. And so I’m just trying to understand why do we need to rush if we don’t know…and the bottom line — you know what the bottom line is? I’m voting no.
bradk, you are obviously very uninformed on many aspects.
In particular, when you refer to the project as imploding… the partnership just closed on another $40 million piece of land – their biggest ever, almost a year after these events took place. They simply brought in another partner subsequent to the events mentioned in the Forbes article, which is old news at this point.
I suggest a little more research before posting these half-baked critiques.
Brad is about the only one I know who is not hinged on a politics, but rather focused on the establishment of a working city….and also living in a war zone.
Deutche Bank [sic] foreclosing? did you just make that up or do you have a source, it certainly is NOT in the Forbes article.
Anon,
you are not contributing to this discussion at all. You simply continue to accuse brad of being misinformed, but have no given one shred of evidence to support any of your assertions.
Anon just wants to start an argument for argument’s sake. Anon also needs to step up and show his/her name if they’re going to come here and accuse everyone of being wrong.
Deutche Bank has filed at least one foreclosure action against the Miami World Center. Anon should simply read the “Forbes” November 2nd, 2009 article. Anon seems to want to rewrite history. Other articles state Miami World Center did not close on various parcels and walked away from $30 mil in deposits. Do a google search. The “Forbes” article clearly stated a money partner and a promoter partner were suing each other.
How does Anon explain why Miami World Center is such a slumlord? Why does MWC keep its properties in such deplorable condition? Why is MWC so disrespectful to its neighbors and to the City? Do MWC promoters ever visit the site or are they too busy defending lawsuits?
Why is Park West so ugly?
While I admit I have many times been “giddy eyed” at the thought of huge, beautiful redevelopment projects, the reality just a few years later is almost always the same: if it took a government bribe (subsidies) to make it happen, the project is underused. Government needs to stick to making its own property (the streets) beautiful; the developers will come all by themselves with projects that don’t need subsidies. Lincoln Road is a good example of government just improving its streets.
Good point Mike. Might I bring up the idea of making Flagler Street pedestrian-only like Lincoln Road. That would be amazingly beautiful. Beautiful oaks along Flagler with cafés and stores opened up to the street. Something to definitely consider DDA. Yes, I’m calling you guys out.
If you read Jane Jacobs, The Miami World Center was ‘cataclysmic money.’ Block by block would have ten times the result, and is actually realistic–especially now and into the future in the new economy. Developers need to learn how to play small ball again.
Awesome discussion. Mike, your comments about govt taking care of it’s own property is right on- if park west had complete streets it would be a big difference to the people who live there.
Park West has been burdened by one huge government screw up after another. In no particular order: Public money paid for the failed and now demolished Miami Arena, the NAP Center is too large, too ugly and poorly located, the City refuses to enforce the most basic of Code Enforcement laws, 24/7 hour drug fueled clubs were not only permitted but funded by taxpayers, governments permitted and encouraged the homeless to take over, too many billboards, too many speculators… Feel free to add to the list.
People should read Jane Jacobs and more closer to home they should study Tony Goldman who renovates neighborhoods using many small steps.
Throwing taxpayer money away to bailout stupid investors is never a good idea.
As with most spirited discussions, both individuals are half right here. With knowledge of this project I can definatively state a few items:
1. The World Center area was upzoned with the provision that the developer give large public spaces and enhanced design guidelines long before Miami21. If not for this project proving it can be done with Miami21 type regulations, we may not have Miami21.
2. The government must review any development application much like, Midtown, Icon, Met Miami, Brickell Key, Health District and others.
3. Brad needs to disclose he owns property in this area and did not sell out to the Miami World Center or he could have bought a really nice place on the beach. Anon obviously works for the developer or its attorneys?
4. I would disagree that the PAC was not a good investment for Miami. The Omni area was a blighted area as bad or worse than Park West before the PAC. Some of the “blight” vacant parking lots south of the PAC is FDOT land reserved for the new I-395 project. The Omni project has been redeveloped and the waterfront up to 19th St has prospered. No one wants to admit the truth that properties near the water always develop first, only after these are developed will Park West and Omni West develop to any substance, and finally Overtown and Lumus Park.
5. Miami has several DRI’s controlled by the DDA or CRA. Like them or hate them, there was nothing special about Miami World Center.
6. Whether you agree with Zyscovich’s plan for a convention center on the Hyatt/ Knight Center land or Elkus Manfredi’s plan for one at the Miami World Center; Downtown needs a medium size convention center to be the financial and business center of South Florida. Miami Beach will always be the dominant national convention draw.
7. We will soon see which Planning philosophy of development works better. The City of Miami is a great test case and I would love for a university to study the effects now and in the future.
On the mega project side- Midtown, Miami World Center, UM/Jackson Health District, Brickell Key.
On the natural growth of neighborhoods side- Wynwood, Design District, MiMo (new 35′ height limit and historic designation).
On the public-private catalyst side- Miami Orange Bowl redevelopment, PAC, Museum Park.
Depending on which Planning camp you are in is where you should be investing your money. May the best man win, it’s all there in Miami for you.
Listening to the concerns of local area residents sounds great. However, they don’t have money and in Miami that’s the only thing that seems to talk these days. So sad…
I was never a big fan of this project anyway. They should just allow the area to re-develop in a more organic fashion. Of course, the city can always do things to encourage re-development, but I believe things usually are best left to evolve on their own.
TM Reader needs to include more details –
“On the mega project side- Midtown, Miami World Center, UM/Jackson Health District, Brickell Key.
On the natural growth of neighborhoods side- Wynwood, Design District, MiMo (new 35′ height limit and historic designation).
On the public-private catalyst side- Miami Orange Bowl redevelopment, PAC, Museum Park.
Depending on which Planning camp you are in is where you should be investing your money. May the best man win, it’s all there in Miami for you.”
It should be disclosed that several of the projects mentioned are massive failures to the taxpayers. Midtown Miami took at least $169 mil from the taxpayers and taxpayers received no equity. Midtown Miami is far behind schedule.
The Performing Arts Center (PAC) has cost the taxpayers over $1 bil with over $6 mil per year (going to $25 mil per year) being diverted each year from the OMNI CRA alone. Miami-Dade County taxpayers pay $15+ mil per year to cover PAC losses and debt service. Further, the PAC pays no property taxes.
Museum Park, which is Bicentennial Park, has been badly managed by the City for decades. Now several broke museums want $500+ mil from the taxpayers to bail them out for land that will never generate property taxes for police, fire, schools etc. Already designers have billed taxpayers over $25 mil for this pending disaster.
Orange Bowl. Another massive government failure. The City demolished that stadium and it gave away that $40 mil site and then with the County gave away over $3 Bil of the taxpayers money for another failing “project” that generates no property taxes and no revenues for the taxpayers.
Obviously the public taxpayers get screwed every time they fund so-called public-private partnerships.
It is never “may the best man win”. It is always which sleazy lobbyist has the votes to take the taxpayers money.
TM reader needs to study a bit more… There are many examples worldwide of cities growing building by building and block by block.
Once again, the Forbes article makes absolutely no mention of any foreclosure. What it DOES say is that they are going after a (former?) equity partner’s line of credit, which does not mean that they can or will come after the project itself.
Additionally, the partnership did not walk away from any deposits, although they had threatened to do so as a negotiating tactic. If you had been following the progression you would know that just a few months ago on September 21 they ended up closing on that property. The only information to be gleaned from the Forbes article is that two former partners are having financial difficulties.
Certainly to refer to the project as ‘imploding’ just a few weeks after they paid an additional $40 million for a new property is irresponsible. If you really are just making this up I hope they sue your ass for libel.
. Brad needs to disclose he owns property in this area and did not sell out to the Miami World Center or he could have bought a really nice place on the beach
Of course I own property in the area – my real estate taxes paying for the studies and all of the special favors for this project, among other things that the community does not want. This is the whole point of the argument – we want our tax money spent to redevelop the neighborhood, not to subsidize the latest “mega-project” as it has for the past 25 years! We were always critical of the giveaways to the World Center project, not because its a bad project, but because taxpayer money was spent when they have done absolutely nothing except produce a slick rendering Guarantees and protection of public funds? Not with the City of Miami.
The reason I moved from the Beach (and won’t move back) was because Downtown Miami has the framework to become a world-class city (albeit we are a long, long ways away). All we need to do is make sure our government spends our tax money on the right things. It is too easy to run away to the beach, or New York, or Paris. This “brain drain” is one of the problems that we are having in Miami – some of the most talented and educated people are throwing up their hands at the political mess and leaving. We need to keep fighting for the City we want and which is rightfully ours.
And what about the long suffering people who have been here for 25 years amd seem failed promise after failed promise? They don’t have slick lobbyists to defend them – its up to us to speak up for the underpreviledged, who always get taken advantage of.
The PAC has really done nothing to improve the surrpounding neighborhood. The facts are on the ground and can’t be spun. The area west of NE 2nd avenue looks essentially the same as it did 25 years ago. When Commissioner Martinez at the November 17th BCC meeting asked Jim Villacorta, executive director of the CRA “what have you been doing for the past 22 years?” “Where has the money gone?” he replied “all the redevelopement money has gone to the PAC.”
This piecemeal approach to redevelopment has been well documented (knight foundation analysis of wasted spending in Overtown, 2005 CRA Oversight Committee White paper) . Spend millions on one project (PAC, $6m for NW 3rd avenue, 9th street pedestrian mall) and leave the rest of the neighborhood in shambles. Why not spend $6m on fixing ALL of the streets and sidewalks in the neighborhood. No, th priorities are DRI and Traffic studies and spending $3million to improve 4 blocks of NW 2nd ave. This is what happens when planners who don’t even live in our City and who do not interact with the community and take into account their needs decide on what is best for the neighborhood.
mb above should read the “Forbes” article titled “Down and Out in Miami” dated November 2nd, 2009 page 34. The article, in “Forbes” which is distributed worldwide, detailed information about the Miami World Center silent “money” partner, a promoter partner and the article details various lawsuits. Forged signatures are alleged. The promoter partner diverted money from the “money” partner? The promoter bought a Bentley for himself using the money partners cash?
“…says Kenneth Lapatine, a lawyer for Deutsche Bank, which lent $20 million. “All we want is for the note to be paid”.”
“The coupon has not been paid in months.”
Perhaps the Miami media will discover this story?
“Taxpayers get beat by another group of out-of-town con artists”?
From the Forbes article:
“Several banks, including Deutsche Bank ( DB – news – people ) and Citigroup ( C – news – people ), are after Silverman for $80 million in overdue loans”
Perhaps not in foreclosure, but it doesnt sound like it is far off.
A libel lawsuit against Brad for merely suggesting that the project is imploding would also have to include Forbes for initiating the discussion. (Besides, libel lawsuits have to do with misrepresenting the facts – something which has not been done in this case).
“The duo took a 50% ownership that Roberts publicly fronted and Silverman backed with equity, borrowing $80 million on his own personal guarantee. Citigroup, which lent $10 million, called on Silverman to maintain a net worth of $150 million. But the credit crisis diminished the prospects for both Miami Worldcenter and Silverman’s portfolio. At one point Silverman’s net worth dipped below $150 million, says one lender. The bank loans started maturing this year and have gone unpaid”
With one of the ‘owners’ of the project defunct it is not unreasonable to conclude that this project is imploding. MB, your libel lawsuit threats show a desperate and ignorant approach to the subject. Refrain from personal attacks, especially as you hide under the veil of anonymity. Any further comments that veer from the discussion will be deleted. Thanks.
I am new to Miami – only 16 months. So with the caveat that I am new to the city, here are my observations from the outside looking in:
Last weekend I was in Washington D.C. visiting with a friend in Georgetown. I am a big cheerleader for Miami. I asked this friend, not a huge real estate investor but with at least $10 mil of equity (post crash) from his various holdings in D.C. and N.Y. He said Miami was off limits – OFF LIMITS. He called it a boom/bust city, corrupted by greed, and that until that pattern breaks he wasn’t touching it – no matter how good a deal it seemed. That’s what Miami’s brand is… no avoiding that. Frankly, World Center just seems like another avenue for corruption in a city that is run-down by it. Re-build some credibility with the community here and outside Miami by paving sidewalks, planting trees, putting in a park, etc.
Another friend is a program director for the world bank, working on development in Africa. She specializes in micro finance. I asked her if that could work in a city like Miami and her response was *OF COURSE! Miami needs it, too many mega projects (her words not mine), you need to finance small community projects.*
I’m not an expert, but it seems to me that the problem with these “mega projects” is similar to the phenomenan of “leakage” in the tourism business. Money from the community actually gets pulled out because the larger the projects the more accountable they are to outside investors – not the communities. That is not intended to assign any blame, that’s just business. Of course, some anchors and catalysts are necessary but making miami livable doesn’t appear to need (another) white knight. It needs a grocery store, a park, and a couple of shops.
The big question with the World Center Project is why hold everyone else up?
To TM Reader. I really enjoyed your post. But do we need a Miami case study? Seems to me that Miami is doing too little LEARNING from places like Boston, D.C., Brooklyn, Harlem, Denver… Again, I’m not expert but it seems that World Center is an idea looking for a plot of land, not a solution for anybody.
To simplify this for you, if you had withdrawn cash from your credit card and invested it in a partnership to buy a piece of land, the credit card company has no right to foreclose on the land. They can come after the partner that borrowed the money, but cannot touch the land unless they actually gave a mortgage on it.
And once again, you are ignoring the fact that they just purchased an additional $40 million piece of land and brought in another partner subsequent to the events mentioned in the Forbes piece. This certainly is not indicative of an imploding partnership.
Obviously someone is trying to do some major damage control here, but it really is simple:
1) A respected national publication has raised questions about the viability of this mega-project. For some reason the press in Miami has ignored this. It really doesn’t matter if they closed on land in September or will eventually find the money to build it. THE PROJECT IS POTENTIALLY AT RISK.
2) Our Government, as stewards of the taxpayer’s money, should not spend any additional public funds to assist or facilitate any part of this project until the owners can demonstrate the financial abiolity to pull it off and actually build something instead of showing slick renderings. They should pay for their own studies like every other developer.
Everything else is just an attempt to cloud the issues and detract from the most important points, noted above.
With regard to the PAC, I think the neighborhood around it is ripe for coming up. You can see new restaurants and upscale bars moving into the remaining buildings around the center, but the main problem is that the PAC’s “parking fiasco” so now they are afraid to get rid of their billion square acres of paved asphalt lots that the center sits within. I am not a fan of building parking structures, but this area will be a wasteland until one is built and the lots are closed and replaced with retail/permeable structures.
AO might not be aware of the economy. The idiots at Miami-Dade County permitted a massive performing arts center (PAC) to be approved with no on-site and no adjacent multi-level parking dedicated to that project. Now the economy has crashed and Miami-Dade County is facing a $400 mil deficit. The City of Miami is probably technically bankrupt. There is no more money.
Luckily the money losing PAC Center is surrounded by unused surface parking lots. Acres and acres of parking. There is no public money and no need to build a new parking garage. Why would someone pay $25 to park in a pay enclosed lot when there are acres of parking available for $10 per space? There is no more public money. When firemen and useless muncipal employees get paid $250,000 per year there is no public money available. Plus there is no demand.
If a private developer using private money wants to buy a lot and pay for a new garage that is their business. But no more taxpayer bailouts. Please.
I’m certainly not defending the parking situation there, but the reason that there should be a parking structure instead of miles of empty lots should be obvious in the context of neighborhood improvement. Yes, it was a fuckup, but if nothing is sone to rectify it it will be a permanent blight like Chicago’s United Center. There is a huge and special dispensation for all those lots already (a tax payer bailout, if you will), revoke that and we will see what happens with private parking structures.
Wow, you say I make personal attacks with no facts? What about my first 5 comments on this post? Full of facts that Brad has no answer for. Special favors? Name one. If the project was upzoned in 2005, it was long before Miami WorldCenter even had any land under option. Just because the project contemplates 9 blocks doesn’t mean Miami WorldCenter is anywhere near to owning even a majority of that land. Area-wide DRIs are SUPPOSED to be paid for by the local government agency, and then reimbursed with fees to developers. The existing Overtown Park West DRI was approved 20 years ago, the latest study is just an update.
I have ALWAYS supported the main thesis that incremental redevelopment is better than “magic bullet” redevelopment. Misinformed, bitter posts win readers and comments, but is that really what Transit Miami is about?
Brad K seems like the perfect small-time property owner to get this incremental redevelopment going. How about it, Brad? Applied for a loan recently?
Brad’s property is a perfect example of adaptive reuse. Brad took a very old 2-3 story warehouse building and he completely redesigned it to meet the new century. Brad has done more than his part to help his neighborhood. Brad even spearheaded the renovation of FEC Railroad owned right-of-way adjacent to his property.
Contrast Brad spending money and restoring an old building to the blighted and disgusting vacant lots owned by the Miami World Center promoters. Have the Miami Work Center promoters built or renovated one thing? Have they even cleaned up one lot? How much taxpayer money has been wasted on pie-in-the-sky schemes?
Now that it has been 1 year later. I am very interested in knowing what each poster thinks about the Miami World Center Project now. Seems like Brad was correct in his analysis a year ago…
Most of the properties were supposed to be sold at auction on Nov 24th 2010. Not sure what happened or who bought them. Anyone know?