From the Air Jade at Brickell Bay Looks Better Than Ever
Jade at Brickell Bay is back and looking better than ever! For almost four years, a dark cloud hung over the luxury tower as an exterior work project to correct construction issues concerned and kept away would-be buyers. Scaffolding and rope hung down the sides of the building and, at one point, residents were unable to use their balconies on weekdays and the pool deck during certain hours. A few months ago, almost four years later, the exterior work project was completed and Jade at Brickell Bay is once again regarded as a top luxury option for buyers and renters. Take a look at our drone video below to see Jade at Brickell Bay in all her glory.
Can Somebody Save the Midcentury Gulf American Building’s Sexy Sun Shades?
Former Gulf American/INS Building. Photo courtesy BrettHufziger.com.
The old INS Building, originally known as the Gulf American Building and an under-appreciated midcentury modern icon just outside the boundary of the Biscayne Boulevard MiMo District, is losing its signature anodized aluminum sun shades. Photographer Brett Hufgizer (see more at BrettHufziger.com) noticed construction workers removing the distinctive architectural elements from the facade yesterday. The building (historic photo below) originally had a glassed-in lobby and distinctive rooftop news ticker. As I once pointed out on Curbed Miami, the screens were used to shade the building’s windows from the direct light of the sun, in the days before solar tinting. They doubled as a place for architectural display. At the very top was a funky ‘GA’ logo. Plans are for the structure to be gutted to its shell and remade into the Triton Center, a mixed-use residential, commercial, and hotel project, with metal panels that ‘highlight’ to some extent elements of the original building’s design, by architecture firm ADD Inc. (update: the hotel will be a Hilton Garden Inn) Meanwhile the shades need a last minute salvation. If the sun shades can’t be saved in the ‘new’ building, maybe somebody can find use for them somewhere else.
Tri-Rail is Coming to Downtown Miami Station but a ‘Super Tower’ Might Not Be
Helix Ramps being formed and cast.
Miami’s future railroad, All Aboard Florida/The Brightline has submitted street re-routings for the south end of the Downtown Miami station site, causing The Next Miami to speculate that the project’s planned ‘supertower’ may have been canceled and replaced with two smaller towers (update: according to a Brightline spokesperson, they are not downsizing the super tower). Meanwhile, yes, it’s official says Miami Today: after some close calls, Tri-Railwill be joining the party. “The South Florida Regional Transportation Authority’s governing board has voted to accept an agreement among local agencies that will allow Tri-Rail trains to roll into the new MiamiCentral station by the end of next year.” From recent construction shots, dated May 24th, over at The Brightline’s snazzy AF website, it looks like station construction, to accommodate both Brightline and Tri-Rail trains, is going just swimmingly. Captions are via The Brightline.
Station columns formed and ready to be cast.
Aerial view of 3MiamiCentral office tower.
View of Downtown Miami is starting to change.
Rebar and formwork for 3MiamiCentral’s sixth level.
A “straddle bend” bridges two train capitals.
Columns and walls cast up to lift.
3MiamiCentral column and wall cast.
Aria on the Bay Construction Reaches 11th Floor Pedestal, is Apparently 70% Sold
Photo courtesy Aria on the Bay.
Construction at Melo Group’s Aria on the Bay has reached the top of the building’s 11-floor pedestal, and will increase in speed to approximately one new floor a week, according to the developer. The gargantuan 648–unit building will continue at that pace for the next 48 weeks to reach its full 53 floors in height. That means in about a year the hole which Aria is filling in the row of condo towers known as the ‘Margaret Pace Park wall’ will be gone. Niente. Nein. Meanwhile the building itself is over 70% sold “with units under hard contract,” at prices averaging $550 a square foot, according to the developer. Designed by Arquitectonica, the tower is basically the nicest thing Melo has ever built. (I once called it “Melo’s least hideous tower yet.”) Top off is expected in April 2017, with completion before the end of next year.
The Underline is Beginning Construction in Brickell Next Year
The ‘Brickell Backyard’ section of the Underline.
The Underline, Miami’s planned ten mile linear park running underneath the Metrorail, has enough money to build the Brickell section, and expects to begin construction next year. The park has about $8 million in secured funding so far from a variety of public and private sources, with the latest chunk, a $600,000 grant, coming from Swire Properties and Brickell City Centre. Construction documents are underway with design firm James Corner Field Operationsreports Miami Today. Meanwhile Meg Daly, CEO of Friends of the Underline, told us “Our target is to start building in the fall of 2017 in Brickell.” Exciting news people, exciting news.
Terra’s David Martin Debuts his New Real Estate Column in Forbes
David Martin
A warrior and a poet? Meh. Maybe not, but David Martin, head of Terra Group and developer of Grove at Grand Bay, Park Grove, and GLASS, is now a developer and an author. He’s writing a twice-monthly column over at Forbes on ‘real estate development, design, and sustainability,’ beginning with a discussion on why more buyers in South Florida are end users these days as opposed to speculators. To summarize his point in just a few words: Miami’s a bit more grown up, and that makes a big difference.
A New Chinatown in North Miami?
Chinatown? Photo via Google Street View.
At a conference last year on the potential for Chinese investment in Miami, one of the takeaways was that Miami needed a Chinatown. To encourage the kinds of investment we want, Miami needs a neighborhood where Chinese have already congregated to some extent that can foster additional growth. It sounds like North Miami is trying to do that, sort of, on a stretch of six-lane asphalt west of I-95. The bounds of this new ‘Chinatown’ are along NE Seventh Avenue from 119th Street to 135th Street. There are currently few (if any) Chinese businesses in the area, although there are a few strip malls, and a smattering of this and that, and the City of North Miami is probably hoping an influx of Chinese capital just might bring some life to this seriously lackluster area. Interestingly, there is already a significant number of Chinese-owned businesses on a stretch of 163rd Street just west of Biscayne Boulevard, but that’s in North Miami Beach, not North Miami. ‘Officially’ designating an ethnic or culturally-specific neighborhood can be a messy situation (just look at Little Haiti). Let’s hope they can do it right.
New Video Released for Paramount Miami Worldcenter Showcasing the High Street Retail
A new video was released today for Paramount Miami Worldcenter and includes footage of what the high street retail will look like once finished. Well, the video isn’t exactly new. It’s an edited video with all references of the mall removed and, in its place, new footage showcasing the high street retail. Spoiler alert: It looks amazing!
Super Bowl in the Bag, the Dolphins Are Hustling on That Stadium
Miami Dolphins Stadium Construction. Photos via Miami Dolphins.
The Super Bowl is officially returning to Miami in 2020. However, the shade canopy at Dolphins Stadium, a massive structure now under construction, has to be done in about three months. The Dolphins play the Falcons August 25, meaning the awning has to be done by then. The rush to upgrade the Miami Dolphins Stadium is tight, and now comes with Super Bowl-sized stakes too.
