The American "Wet" Dream Mall and the Graham Mega Development Around It. By Geniusofdespair

The gargantuan city proposed for the NORTH WEST end of the County might die. Sea Level rise sure won't help it survive.

You all know why I I fondly call it the American "Wet" Dream Mall -- it is a statement laced with the thought of the "big" dreams of men. HOWEVER, I was not that far off.

The limited property area in both developments leaves very little room for water retention.  So will "wet" be the end of the dream of both mega developments? The Khardashians Ghermezians and the Grahams have to deal with too much water that they MUST keep on their property by regulation. But of course we all know that environmental rules, with enough funds, can be skirted. Hang tough Commissioners (who am I kidding on that one).

 Hang tough Neighbors afraid of traffic, make sure that the water is dealt with. Keep the pressure on the WET DREAMERS. Hold their feet to the fire on water. You don't want your hood flooding?

Unpopular Miami Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez About to Reach $1 Million in His Campaign Account. By Geniusofdespair

Mayor Carlos Gimenez has raised $930,4446 in his campaign account, $69,000 last month. Note the American "Wet" Dream Mall owners gave to him.

His PAC Miami Dade Residents First is up to $2,165,432 having raised $52 Thousand last month.  PAC givers of interest The Ghermezians (AMERICAN "WET" DREAM MALL) and Florida LLC Plaza Construction Group gave $20,000. I would suppose it is Architect Brad Meltzer. Incorrect name of Corp. but I looked by address. His ECO did not raise any money but it is still paying Consulting Associates Group of Pembroke Pines their $6,000 a month.

Here is who gave to his campaign account:

Wet Dream Mall of the Americas will be joined by 1,000 Future Homes...all to Flood. By Geniusofdespair

I think he means the North Side of 170th Street because that is where they annexed but who am I to question another reporter. Google gives the location for the Mall in the Northwest Corner but the Business Journal says the Southwest intersection. Whatever, it all is somewhere on this map.

According to the South Florida Business Journal....the largest mall to be built in America will not be alone, a developer wants to build 1,000 homes just South of it.  More houses to flood.  Good move. What is the elevation of that area?

Dacar Management affiliate Atlas Hialeah Heights wants to rezone the 135.3-acre site on the south side of Northwest 170th Street between Interstate 75 and Northwest 97th Avenue for high density residential. That would permit eight units per acre, for a total of 1,082 homes. The developer has the option of putting commercial/retail buildings on up to 15 percent of the site.

In addition, Atlas Hialeah Heights agreed to expand Northwest 170th Street to two lanes and build a bridge east over Interstate 75.

They still aren't taking sea level rise seriously. It is coming from the West too folks.

Yet another full page ad for a mall not to be built for years: The American Wet Dream Mall of Miami. By Geniusofdespair

Looks like the Miami Herald is raking it...so far I have seen two full page ads for a mall that hasn't even started building.

Here is their last SUBMARINE ad from September. What does the Miami Herald get one ad on a Sunday near the end of every month? Boy have they lucked out. Where are these guys going to get all the fill to elevate their project? There is already a rock mining lake on the property.

Picture of the Week: The Wet Dream Mall Places Its First Ad. By Geniusofdespair

The Ghermezian clan's Triple 5 Group, placed its first ad for their American Dream Mall, it is full page and full color. Wow, the Miami Herald must be happy, they haven't even broken ground on the mall and they are giving them big bucks.  You have to realize that it (what I call the wet dream mall) is not going to be near any water except a rock pit. So they are going to decorate a rock pit and put a submarine in it. Sounds like Florida...pay to go dive in a reproduction of a reef (a rock pit made into an aquarium).

We do have REAL reefs Floridians where you can snorkel or get a glass bottom boat experience.  Get real Ohhh, Ahhh moments. We already have Orlando for fake experiences. Oh, I forgot. Everything has to be around the corner for  lazy Miamians.

The American WET Dream Mall in Miami Dade County. By Geniusofdespair

According to Brian Bandell of the South Florida Business Journal:

American Dream Miami would have over 3 million square feet of retail, about 2 million square feet of entertainment and 2,000 hotel rooms. That's larger than the Mall of America in Minnesota. As previously mentioned, the entertainment would include a theme park, the world’s largest indoor ski slope measuring 180,000 square feet, 800 feet long and 16 stories high plus an ice climbing wall, a water park, a giant observation wheel, a submarine lake with marine life such as sharks and manta rays, an Art Deco village with performance halls and a 3,000-seat movie theater, an ice skating rink, a museum, bowling, and mini golf. Gorlow said the previously mentioned sea lion show and residential units would not be part of the project. It would be developed all at once, he added.

Hit this link it is an American Wet Dream slide show for the gory details.

Get your ski parkas ready! Snow comes to Miami and some major ski moguls!

The "American 'Wet' Dream Mall Miami" Project. What do CEO's in Miami Think? By Geniusofdespair

What do Miami Dade County CEO's think of the new American Wet Dream Mall proposed for the Miami Dade County/Broward line? A portion of our public land was just approved in the State Legislature to be given to that zany Persian-Canadian family -- the Ghermezian -- who are going to put submarines in rockpits.   The  Ghermezian Patriarch Eskandar, promised in the contract, 12,500 (NOT 25,000) "part-time" and permanent jobs by 2030. The press just throws around 25,000 full-time jobs as a lark with no basis of fact. According to the Miami Herald, Most CEO's love the plan.  Here are CEO's that actually made some sense to the Herald's question: If you were given a vote on the American Dream Miami retail theme park, would you approve it or reject it?  (most of the CEO's don't realize this family is giving no concessions...I have it on video -- watch the damn video. By the way, at the end of MY VIDEO all these Triple 5 propaganda video's start playing. I tried to fix it.)

My first thought is yes because I believe every idea deserves a chance to thrive. However, I would have a few stipulations that would be deal-breakers if not answered favorably: How many local jobs could we guarantee above $14 an hour? How many local businesses would be housed in the facility? How much importance would be placed on not just selling carbon-neutral products but on carbon neutral/green development and construction, and environmental mitigation? If the answer to these questions is over 50% I would vote yes. Unfortunately, I doubt that a retail theme park could make such promises; thus I would implore the developers/investor to consider diversifying Miami’s future planning to include local, sustainable, growth sectors like manufacturing and product-based development which would create a less bifurcated Miami.

Pandwe Gibson, executive director, EcoTech Visions (sorry Pandwe no stipulations accepted by the developer, especially not your $14 an hour wage)
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I'm still in the middle on this project, I'm very optimistic and hopeful that the promises are true construction jobs, permanent jobs, a boost in property value for the surrounding residents etc., but those are often times promises we hear that don't often come true. My biggest concern is that we do not contribute to the cycle of low wage jobs for our residents that add no real value to increasing their quality of life.

Felecia Hatcher, co-founder of Feverish Gourmet Pops
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Only if it comes with an investment in higher education and a higher education component, and only if truly independent traffic and environmental impact studies show it is sustainable.

Eduardo Padrón, president, Miami Dade College
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South Florida definitely needs to create more opportunities for employment; however, I’m not sure that we want to continue creating low-wage jobs that will continue to widen the wealth gap. In order to cultivate a community of higher wage-earning residents, we must continue to invest in basic services that help promote success: health, safety & protection, affordable housing, food and education.

Paco Velez, CEO, Feeding South Florida
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All good comments but what they have on their wish list, it ain't going to happen!

Here are two of the dumber statements by CEO's:

The American Dream Miami retail theme park represents a major investment which will not only attract visitors and residents, but will create thousands of jobs, generate significant tax revenues, and create more buzz about Miami as a fabulous destination. I would vote to approve it.

Julie Grimes, managing partner, Hilton Bentley Hotel
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Approve the project. We need a shopping/entertainment experience that reflects our stature in the world.

Darryl K. Sharpton, president and CEO, The Sharpton Group
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We have very little control on what happens here. We have a lame agreement for them to get the public property but once they do get the property which is very soon...no control. They would not agree to the water restrictions that Chair Jean Monestime wanted or the higher than minimum wage that other commissioners wanted. And don't be fooled, they only guaranteed 12,500 jobs (part-time and full time by 2030 -- I predict they will be under water by then, that is literally) in the agreement for the property not the 25,000 touted in the media. This group holds all the cards. Here is background on how Triple 5 got our water when they weren't supposed to.

Saturday Editorial: More about the big American (Wet) Dream Mall Miami And Other Topics. By Geniusofdespair

WE FILL THE GAP - WHERE THE MIAMI HERALD HAS GIVEN UP

Actually I am going to the Miami Herald for material for my Saturday Morning Speak-up. Fabiola Santiago said it better than I ever could:

To the county powerbrokers anchored in downtown Miami, the small bedroom communities in Northwest Miami-Dade may be expendable in their quest to increase the tax base and create jobs.

But if Mayor Carlos Gimenez and the Miami-Dade County Commission are going to destroy the quality of life of residents with their push to bring a grotesque megamall and theme park to their doorstep, they ought to at least listen to the people whose lives they’re up-ending.

“There’s such gridlock already we can’t get out of our own neighborhoods,” says Patricia Collado, a paralegal, mother of a Tennessee-bound firefighter, and president of the Palm Springs North Civic Association. AND:

To add the proverbial insult to injury, giving just a week’s notice to residents affected, the county commission has scheduled a key vote for Tuesday to assemble land, now in state hands... ”

Do I care about people who live in Western Miami? I hardly have any readers there. Hmmm. They don't drink wine and they don't eat cheese (that is Javier Souto's euphemism for Whites). Yes, I care when ANYONE is taken advantage of. Commissioner Daniella Levine Cava has an Achilles' heel. When she hears the word JOBS her eyes glaze over on the other deficiencies and that is her focus: jobs. They will not pay $15 an hour at the American Wet Dream Mega Mall, and that isn't even a living wage for a family.  I want Levine Cava to focus instead on job training. I have heard the job mantra for years with Barbara Jordan and they never come through with good paying jobs with a future. How are you going to make a sows ear job into a silk purse job? Maybe we need a different concept. And, the Mayor has grossly inflated the amount of jobs that this project will generate. There are just so many theme park malls one community can handle. This one sounds like a boondoggle. Working in a dying concept -- a mall -- is not lucrative in the Sunshine State. We already have Mall saturation and I bet we can count on one hand how many African Americans they will hire for this Western Dade location. And this mall has no water supply. When the land was put in the UDB it had to produce its own water supply. The Hialeah plant is plagued with problems.

We need less buggy whips and slide ruler makers. We need to train in the jobs of the future not the past. Since we don't look for any industry, except for theme parks, and we wasted the $70 million of bond money to attract new businesses, I guess here in Miami Dade  the future is caring for the elderly. What else do we have? We are killing farming, the cruise ships employ foreigners, and  a Burger King was closed recently for health violations. Bagging groceries is a budding career choice, especially at Whole Foods where they think cutting down trees to make bags is better than using plastic bags.

We should get a good vote on this land deal on St. Patrick's Day from Steve Bovo who hates last minute crap. Everyone on the Commissioners should follow his lead on last minute crap. Hopefully Pepe Diaz will be too drunk to show up since I have given up on him having an epiphany anytime soon. I will be going to the Hallandale Beach Theme Park because I can play Texas Holdem at the same time. They have combined shopping, water theme park, horse racing and gambling. That is a budding career for people: card dealer at all the casinos. You need to be dexterous and you only have to know about 20 words in 3 languages.

If they build the American (wet) Dream Mall they are going to shake with rock mining blasting. People will be caught in avalanches. OMG what a way to die, on a theme park mountain. How is Sylvester Lukis the lobbyist going to deal with that one? Here is how, he also works for the rock miners as well as the mall.

Now you all see my thinking process at work -- This is the all over the place editorial.


MIAMI BEACH: I think supplying sunscreen to beach patrons is the best idea ever.