Categories
Florida Life

Transportation Alternatives For Commuting in Miami

Downtown Miami

I moved here from the San Francisco Bay area over 25 years ago and am still amazed at the lack of public transportation options in Miami.  I have used Metrorail to get from my home in suburbia to downtown Miami and it is not as easy or user friendly as train systems in San Francisco, New York City, or Washington D.C.  plus, it is an extremely limited route.  I know the SMART plan is supposed to address a lot of the busiest corridors, but implementation of any of those alternatives are most likely several years away, and I think the Brightline will help a lot with the traffic on I-95 for traffic heading to or coming from the north.

Another option would be to encourage drivers commuting from Key Biscayne, Miami Beach, Coconut Grove, and other areas with water access to boat to work.  Since there isn’t enough marina space for boating commuters and we don’t have a ferry service, maybe by offering incentives to use services such as Water Taxi Miami in addition to ride share services, we could cut down on the number of cars clogging our roadways and decreasing productivity.  The idea of commuting to the office in a scene like the one pictured above, sure beats sitting on I-95, 195, 395 or the Rickenbacker Causeway!

 

 

 

 

Categories
Florida Life Things To Do

My Favorite Painting At PAMM

Island (See-escape) 2010
Island (See-escape) 2010

 

This painting by Cuban artist Yoan Capote is mesmerizing and my iPhone photo does not due it justice.  It is extremely large and is the first object I saw when I walked in the room at PAMM where it was being exhibited.  I stared at it from a distance for quite a while, looking at the details of the waves, and relaxing with the color of the sky.  A friend and I approached to get a closer look and agreed that it was our favorite piece in the current exhibit.  We strolled around the rest of the room and the one next door and then came back to this one for a second look.  This time, I approached it from the side and was dumbfounded.

Island – Oil, nails & fishhooks on jute mounted on canvas…

The “painting” is mainly fishhooks!  Genius…also a great reminder that things aren’t always as they appear.  By far one of my favorite works of art.

Categories
Florida Life

Miami Needs More Linear Waterfront Parks

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Runners, walkers and bikers share the path along the Hudson River
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Waterfront eating along the Hudson River Park, NYC

Last weekend I flew to New York City for a quick weekend getaway and during my run along the Hudson River Park, I wondered why we don’t have more fabulous waterfront parks in Miami.  We are finally getting Bayfront Park cleaned up, but wouldn’t it be amazing to have waterfront access for runners, walkers, and bikers that weaves from Bayfront to the Miami River and then connected to the soon-to-be-built Underline and the path to Key Biscayne?

Categories
Buying Selling

What Do The Election Results Mean For Real Estate?

 

langer-front

The long election  is finally over and the question I am getting asked a lot is, “What does it all mean for the real estate market?”  A recent video put out by the National Association of Realtors sums up the election as follows:

  • In Congress, not much has changed.  Republicans controlled the House and the Senate before the election and they control the House and the Senate after the election.  This will help NAR moving forward on flood insurance, tax reform, and the re-invention of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, since Realtors® had been working on these issues with the previous Congress, thereby providing continuity.
  • Flood Insurance:  The National Flood Insurance Program is $24 Billion in debt, which needs to be addressed.  States vary on the importance they give this program and how flood insurance should be covered.  Nevada has a different view than New Orleans and Florida and NAR is active in trying to negotiate a solution so that insurance is available and real estate transactions can continue taking place.
  • Tax Reform:  The mortgage interest deduction, property tax deduction, capital gains exemption and 1031 Like Kind Exchanges are all under consideration for reform.  No bills have been filed yet, but there are different proposals that have been floated by a variety of legislators.
  • Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac:  Their future is totally up in the air and NAR will keep an eye on any new proposals that are put forth.
  • Dodd Frank and the Consumer Protection Bureau:  These will be revisited.  Under Dodd Frank, regulations that affect smaller banks will probably be relaxed.  Since approximately half of current mortgage lending is being done by non-bank banks (on-line lenders), regulations may start addressing them.  Overall, the view is that federal regulations will be loosened and state and local regulations will increase.

Another topic that will be looked at is refinancing student loans, which would help get young people with a lot of student debt into mortgages and homeownership.  This is obviously a national overview.  I will go into more detail as to what the elections mean for us locally and for commercial real estate in future blogs.  Stay tuned!

 

Categories
Commercial Real Estate Investment Real Estate Restaurants

Top 3 Retail ‘Buy’ Markets Are In South Florida

ceviche-105

Ten-X’s U.S. Retail Market Outlook listed the top five markets for investors to consider buying retail real estate.  Three out of those five were Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach.  Robust employment and increasing population in all three cities are pushing the demand for retail space in all of their respective counties.

Categories
Brickell/Downtown Miami Coconut Grove Coral Gables Florida Life South Miami

3 Projects That Will Improve Miami

Proposed Hammock Trail

 

Proposed Hammock Trail
Proposed Hammock Trail

A couple of days ago a wrote about what South Florida will look like in 2070 if we continue developing the way we are.  The state of Florida is growing by 1,000 people per day, making traffic unbearable and threatening our quality of life.  Luckily, there are many projects going on in South Florida that will improve our community and increase property values around them.  Three of them include:

  1. The Miami Underline
  2. The Ludlam Trail
  3. Brightline

Categories
Commercial Real Estate Florida Life

Autonomous Vehicles Will Change The Urban Landscape

 

Tesla Model 3 – Estimated Delivery 2018

The technology is coming so rapidly that Florida and 12 other states have already enacted legislation to address autonomous vehicles.  So how will having autonomous vehicles change the urban landscape?

  1. It will change parking requirements allowing for more density, wider sidewalks, and rely on drop off lanes
  2. Make traffic move more efficiently
  3. Increase focus on pedestrians and bikers

Urban planners and developers can start getting creative on how to use space that used to be reserved for parking.  That space can now become parks, community centers, or anything else that adds value to a neighborhood’s aesthetic.  This fact alone, makes the possibilities of what can be overcome my hesitancy over the thought of hundreds of driverless vehicles cruising the streets and highways.  On the other hand, Florida has never been ranked high in the “good driver” column, so maybe autonomous vehicles are the solution!

Categories
Commercial Real Estate Florida Life

A Glimpse Of South Florida in 2070

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These two maps show what South Florida will look like if we continue developing the way we are (map on left) and if we build sustainably and conserve more open space and agricultural areas.  The Florida 2070 Report, prepared by 1000 Friends of Florida and the University of Florida’s Geo Plan center, came up with several recommendations on how to develop our state that accommodates our population growth, estimated to be 33.7 million by 2070, while preserving the resources that make Florida such a wonderful place to live and work.

 

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Categories
Florida Life

Another Reason I Love South Florida: Easy Access to Other Countries

Christie's Office Flamingo Beach, Costa Rica
Christie’s Office Flamingo Beach, Costa Rica

I love the fact that South Florida has three great airports, making it easy to travel anywhere in the world for business and pleasure.  MIA in Miami and FLL in Hollywood/Ft. Lauderdale have flights at affordable prices, especially if you use the Hopper app.  My most recent trip took me to Liberia, Costa Rica where I visited with family while checking our local Christie’s affiliate on Flamingo Beach, in Guanacaste.

Costa Rica’s real estate market, like Florida’s, is very hot right now.  Construction cranes are visible on the point of Flamingo and it seems like just about everything from vacant land, commercial properties, condos, and single family homes are on sale.

Categories
Commercial Real Estate Environmental

University of Miami’s College Of Engineering Contributes To Sustainable Construction

UM sustainable concrete wall test

I was lucky to be invited to an evening reception and tour of University of Miami’s College of Engineering labs.  Titled Engineering in the 21st Century:  Innovation and Sustainability, the evening started with a brief overview of the engineering program by Dr. Jean-Pierre Bardet, Dean of the College of Engineering and was followed by tours of several of their labs.  The work and research being done at UM is impressive, even to this non-engineer.  In addition to several breakthrough developments in cyber-security and health care, including addressing diabetes and creating eye prosthesis, there were two labs that were working on items that directly affect the real estate industry.

UM’s Structures and Materials lab has developed a concrete using seawater instead of fresh water, which is a huge drain on our state’s water resources, and a non-corrosive material that can be used instead of rebar in construction.  Imagine:  no more spalling, special assessments to replace condo balconies and longer life-span for bridges and sea-walls.

The Industrial Engineering Industrial Assessment Center, conducts energy assessments at no cost to manufacturing facilities in Florida and Puerto Rico.  These assessments can help manufacturers save energy and money.  Keep up the great research UM!