Delayed by a Year, American Dream Miami Will Have More Traffic Than The Magic Kingdom
American Dream Miami, which is planned to be the largest shopping mall in the world, has been delayed by a year due to traffic concerns by the county. Although developer Triple Five Group had submitted plans to the county, for approval this year, they withdrew the request after the county said it needed more information about the impact of traffic from the project. It also gave it to them. The new traffic analysis is 4,500 pages that covers the mall’s potential impact from southern Broward to Hialeah and Miami Lakes. The analysis predicts 70,0000 trips a day, and 5,200 during up from afternoon rush hour. That’s more people than go to the Magic Kingdom, the busiest theme park in the world.
King of Diamonds Strip Club is Coming to Ocean Drive, And Neighbors Are Really Pissed
The Netherland Hotel. Via Flickr/Pablo FJ.
The notorious King of Diamonds, the Tremont Towing of strip clubs (recent press mentions covered the absence of building permits for the 60,000 square foot N. Miami club, a teen party hosted at the club, celebrity partying, and a legal battle between management and the litigation rights of its strippers) is opening in a space on Ocean Drive, in the historic Netherland Hotel. Construction noise at the future venue, a frequent neighbor complaint for any development, is according to reports is exceptionally loud and inconsiderate. Afraid that the King of Diamonds on Ocean Drive will be anything like the Noth Miami location, a public meeting is being held nearby at Il Villaggio on July 27th at 5 PM.
The City Inn on I-95, Bleak and Abandoned, Will Reopen as a Holiday Inn Again
Le Parc at Brickell Scores Temporary Certificate of Occupancy
Le Parc at Brickell. Photo courtesy Christopher Adeleke/Cervera.
West of Brickell’s Simpson Park, construction has just finished at Le Parc at Brickell, which has received its Temporary Certificate of Occupancy says Realtor Christopher Adeleke, Le Parc In House Agent. Le Parc is ‘officially’ done, and buyers are beginning to move in. Simultaneously, a brand new model show unit has been furnished and designed by Ligne Roset, highlighting the sales push for Le Parc’s remaining units. Pricing information is below.
The most important aspect of Le Parc is actually just right there in its name: the park, and its location in a relatively hidden corner of Brickell, which a long time ago a blogger once dubbed the Simpson Park Triangle. “The building really becomes alive with all the greenery of the Park in the East, and the dynamic city landscape in the West.” says Adeleke. Le Parc at Brickell is an urban infill linkage between the old growth hammock of Simpson Park, and the quiet urbanity of the Simpson triangle.
Le Parc at Brickell. Photo courtesy Christopher Adeleke/Cervera.
Brickell City Centre’s R&R Towers Hit $180 in Sales, With Rise Opening This Summer
Plus a Brickell City Centre Fly-Through, Via Drone-Cam
Courtesy Brickell City Centre.
Brickell City Centre’s two residential towers Reach & Rise have done a combined $180 million-plus in condo sales to date, say the megaproject’s public relations wonks, with Reach 90 percent sold out and Rise 45 percent. Reach opened to residents back in April, giving it a head start in sales, while Rise is scheduled to receive its Temporary Certificate of Occupancy (a.k.a. that’s move in day!) sometime this summer. Prices for remaining units have also been bumped up by 10% in response to strong sales despite a slowing market, although even things at City Centre are obviously tamer than they were a year ago.
The Miami Building Department has nailed the controversial new Walmart in Midtown Miami, revoking a construction permit it issued near the end of last year. The reason for the usual move was explained as a lack of unity of title, in a letter issued to the retailer in February and reported by The Next Miami. “A partner in the project, Midtown Opportunities, needed to sign a covenant in lieu of unity of title, along with the Midtown Community Development District.” Evidently, when Walmart didn’t fix the situation in the intervening four months, well, there went the permit. Neighborhood activist and opposition leader Grant Stern’s response conveys a subtle hint of satisfaction: “I’m glad the city of Miami finally revoked Walmart’s foundation permit. Walmart’s plan has a fatal design flaw, that violates Miami21 and that we’ve been pointing out to our public officials in writing, in public meetings and in court since 2013.”
Update (October 2020): The parcel of land where a Walmart was slated to be built in Midtown Miami still remains vacant. Gio Midtown, an apartment complex, has been built across the street to the east of it.
Debate Over Arquitectonica’s Babylon Apartments Preservation Goes National
The Babylon Apartments. Photos courtesy Phillip Pessar.
The aesthetically pioneering Babylon Apartments has a date with the City of Miami Historic Preservation Board on July 5th, potentially resulting in historic designation status. Architecture firm Arquitectonica’s “first building that wasn’t a house,” as described by one of its heads and cofounders Bernardo Fort-Brescia, is also one of its most important, and a seminal piece of Miami’s architectural history. The debate over the Babylon’s fate has also become national news. Miami Condo Investments Editor Sean McCaughan’s report on uncertain future of the Babylon is over at the Architect’s Newspaper:
Paramount Miami Worldcenter Adds Indoor Observatory to Rooftop Sky Deck
Paramount Miami Worldcenter’s upcoming rooftop ‘Sky Deck’ complex will a little less open to the sky, with the luxury condo tower’s latest design tweak, made by developer Dan Kodsi. The Real Deal got the low-down from Dan. A portion of the multilevel, yacht-like complex of decks, pools, and lounge areas that is going at the tower’s top is being enclosed in 12-foot floor-to-ceiling glass, with panoramic views. The new observatory’s telescope (Telescopes? A new rendering shows more than one) will connect to a large digital screen, for group sky-gazing. Finally, a specially added glass elevator just off the 56th floor lounge will take those ‘looking up’ to the 1,200 foot observatory on the building’s 60th floor. Paramount construction, meanwhile, is still in the very early stages, leaving plenty of time for design tweaking like this.
Paramount Miami Worldcenter Construction. Photo by Michbelle La Llave.
Design District Getting Gucci Flagship & its First Cuban Restaurant, With a Gloria Estefan Cherry on Top
Approximately thirty new luxury stores and restaurants are coming to the Miami Design District this year, developers Design District Partners announced today, including a new restaurant concept by Gloria and Emilio Estefan, and a 7,000 square foot flagship Gucci boutique, an achievement which has been a personal goal of District CEO Craig Robins. “Gucci is a big step forward for us in the luxury category,” he told the Miami Herald “It’s a real tipping point and a statement about our progress.”
The mega grammy-winning power couple, Mr. and Mrs. Estefan meanwhile will bring the Design District it’s first Cuban Cafe, err… high end Cuban restaurant, called Estefan Kitchen: “Estefan Kitchen will feature traditional, family recipes presented in a new, healthy way that will appeal to both locals and our international guests.” Think an upscale facsimile of a down-home hangout, with the small but distinct possibility of a celebrity drop-in to see if your Aroz con Pollo is cooked alright.
Even though foot traffic along the District’s new shops, plazas, and shaded paseos is still pretty sleepy, some stores showing strong sales from occasional big spenders with budgets the size of Birkin Bags, while others are feeling the squeeze. It’s only growing pains, says Robins, because the District “doesn’t compare to what you’ll see next year when you’ve got 10 more restaurants, yoga, coffee shops, bakeries and these powerful fashion brands opening up.”
Other new retail tenants will include Alexander Wang, Eres, Warby Parker, Cos, The Smile, Ahana Yoga Studio, Dolce & Gabbana, Diane Von Furstenberg, Van Clefe & Arpels, etc. “The next phase of development will add roughly 250,000 square feet of retail space, bringing the total to nearly one million square feet, as well as a 120-room hotel and a 900-space parking garage, all set for completion in 2017.” says the Herald. Not to mention the ICA Miami and its sculpture garden, and the multiple surrounding projects being done by other developers.
Alfred Browning Parker’s Sublime ‘Woodsong’ House Has Hit the Market
The famed postwar architect of many of Miami’s most striking subtropical homes, Alfred Browning Parker designed and built this Coconut Grove house, which he called ‘Woodsong,’ for himself in 1968. A series of pavilions bisected by a serpentine lap pool, deep in the Coconut Grove hammock, Woodsong sings. Since being owned by Parker, the house has traded hands a number of times, and yet it is, incredibly, still in absolute mint condition. The only weak spot might just be the kitchen. Although that space appears to have been sensitively updated, very standard-looking appliances and non-custom cabinetry from Home Depot or somewhere just don’t do justice to the quality of this house. Located on 3003 Seminole Street, Woodsong was listed twelve days ago for $2.75 million.
