Insanity: To give a developer control of 3 Miami Streets in the heart of the City but it is rocketing along in the City of Miami where insane ideas (LED Billboards) move swiftly forward if you have money. Read the Miami Herald story.
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Developer wants to take control of 3 Miami Streets West of the American Airlines Arena. By Geniusofdespair
Insanity: To give a developer control of 3 Miami Streets in the heart of the City but it is rocketing along in the City of Miami where insane ideas (LED Billboards) move swiftly forward if you have money. Read the Miami Herald story.
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12 comments:
Whoa! I would think this blog would all be in favor of development that promotes a more pedestrian/less car-centric downtown.
Well you would be wrong. Giving away control of public streets to private developers is wrong.
What could go wrong? Residential condominiums with ground floor retail next to an arena with not enough parking spots. Add in more retail and condominiums and a convention center and a few hotels. The fact that these frauds use the pedestrian card is hilarious. Nobody but the best fraudsters uses the pedestrian card.
I love the project. It provides good density in Downtown. Will generate millions in TIF (located within the Overtown CRA) that will allow for further redevelopment in other areas of Overtown. New Urbanism is the direction that we have been heading in since the passage of Miami 21. Providing incentives to activate the pedestrian realm is smart planning for the future. Remember, this project is located within very close proximity to All Aboard Florida's massive main station development (basically located from Government Center to the Old Arena Site). Re-purposing of existing right-of-ways happen all the time, you just never hear about it, as most don't make the front page of the Herald. I like the plan, but, maybe it is my youthful exuberance that clouds my judgement. I can't wait to see this project completed. Transformational to a downtown that has undergone significant transformation in the last 15 years. Forgive me if I am wrong, but, Lincoln Road seems to attract a lot of people on the beach. Having a more urban version of that in downtown would be great for the City of Miami, and provide some nice options after a Heat game, or a trip to the Museums, or the Arsht Center.
Giving away control of public streets, that is a little much. You can apply for a replat at the City to close an existing street of alley. Again, it happens all the time for a myriad of reasons. Sometimes it makes more sense for traffic flow. Sometimes it is to realign the streets in the area to increase traffic flow. Sometimes you "close the alley", technically, but leave it there and use the air rights to maximize development density. That this is exactly where we want to maximize density, in the urban core.
Not only that, if not in City "control" maintenance costs are transferred to the property owner. Another good thing.
Brilliant post above. Not filled with blind hysterics from the usual posters. I agree it's time to look at different solutions.
This attempt to grab 90,000+ sq ft is purely a naked attempt to get extremely valuable downtown land for nothing, well next to nothing ($185,000 in fees). The same speculator who is begging for the free 90,000 sq ft is buying lots from private sector sellers for $160 psf to $400+ psf. Only the City idiots are dumb enough to consider giving away land for a $2 psf fee. This is a combination of raw greed and obvious stupidity or maybe corruption is involved?
Is this not also about converting public streets to private areas in order to sweep away the homeless without worrying about their civil rights. One way around the federal lawsuit requirements. By the way, a private plaza and a street lined with commercial uses is not a public area - even if its "pedestrian friendly" as the developers are touting.
In a city with a SEVERE shortage of public spaces and public parks (real green space), it's shameful to give up public space to a private developer without any requirements that the area have public parks. Let's not make the same mistakes as was done with Midtown Miami. The taxpayers have paid for the infrastructure improvements and what do we have? More shopping. And by the way, the surrounding neighborhood has not benefitted at all. Who runs this place? The Oligarths?
This project would be magnificent for that bleak area. Thus more development could eventually move into overtown. Privatizing the streets will force the homeless to leave also.
When was the last time you walked those "public streets"? This project is good for downtown and for those of us actually living here.
Downtown has two major problems. 1. Surface lots which bring all sorts of issues. 2. Homeless.
This project helps with both.
Many of you might not know that most of the blighted vacant lots downtown are owned by the speculators who just got the free 90,000 sq ft from Sarnoff. Ten years the same speculators have owned the lots not a shovel in the ground. Don't hold your breath.
Just a land grab? Land theft is more accurate.
Sarnoff just gave a $15 Mil gift to a bosom buddy. Unfortunately, the taxpayers got screwed.
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