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ULI Offers Some Climate Change Solutions For Miami’s Commercial Properties Along The Waterfront

To protect commercial properties along the waterfront in downtown Miami and by the Miami River, city officials and the real estate industry should implement natural lines of defenses, consider using less ground floor space for commercial uses, embrace transit-oriented, mixed-use projects and identify funding resources for large-scale flood mitigation projects similar to the Thames Barrier in London.

Those are some of the recommendations made by a 10-member panel of the Urban Land Institute, or ULI, brought on by the City of Miami and the Miami Downtown Development Authority to figure out ways to make the urban core more resilient to climate change.

The panel’s final report came out this month. It focuses on strengthening the Biscayne Bay waterfront as Downtown Miami’s first line of defense against rising seas, transforming the Miami River into a mixed-use district that bridges the gap between the water and surrounding neighborhoods such as Little Havana and Allapattah. The report also recommends creating incentives for responsible development along an inland ridge of high-lying ground.

“The Urban Land Institute’s preliminary findings provide us with a roadmap for enacting design, infrastructure, zoning and financing strategies that will ensure Miami sustains its growth as a world-class city – not for years, not for generations, but forever,” said Miami City Commission Chairman Ken Russel, who also chairs the Miami DDA. On Nov. 21, commissioners passed a symbolic resolution declaring Miami is an a state of climate emergency.

The ULI recommends city officials adopt living shorelines along the Miami Baywalk and Riverwalk, study the development of an iconic tidal gate for the Miami River, use the city’s transfer of development density program to give builders incentives for building in less flood-prone areas and update the downtown Miami master plan to incorporate building streets and sidewalks at a higher elevation.

According to the ULI report, commercial properties in Miami’s urban core, which includes retail storefronts, offices and large apartment buildings, comprise $21.1 billion in taxable value. Roughly $5 billion of that value exists with a quarter mile from Biscayne Bay and the Miami River.

Since 2009, a total of $13.1 billion was invested in commercial property in the Miami central business district, indicating an active market, the ULI report states. The ULI panel largely agreed that the city’s current waterfront guidelines lack overall flexibility, have some problematic design requirements, and do not allow for elements, such as terracing, that could address storm surge.

 

Source:  Forbes

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Miami Lost Amazon’s HQ2. Still, The Area Looks More Attractive Than Ever, Experts Say

South Florida’s bid to attract Amazon’s HQ2 when it came to landing the big prize. But in a panel discussion Tuesday, regional leaders said the bid process itself has galvanized the tri-county area to think and work more collaboratively.

“This process showed an extraordinary level of regional cooperation, done in a record amount of time,” said urbanist Richard Florida, who led the discussion of the panel, “What Did We Learn From Our Amazon Adventure.”

The panel, which drew about 80 attendees, was produced by the Miami Herald, the Downtown Development Authority and Florida International University’s Miami Future Urban Initiative, which Florida leads. It was hosted by the Miami-Dade Beacon Council.

Michael Finney, Beacon Council president and CEO, echoed the sentiment. He recounted how he’d initially hesitated about approaching Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez about the idea of a region-wide pitch — only to find Gimenez was fully on board with the idea.

“It was clear that the young folks working for Amazon, some significant portion would want to live in Miami, even if Palm Beach or Broward won the site,” Finney said. “There was an incredible potential for a win-win.”

As part of the ongoing regional collaboration, the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County (BDB) will be hosting a tri-county executive leadership meeting in Palm Beach County Friday, Feb. 15. The meeting will be composed of the executive board members of the Beacon Council, the Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance, and the BDB.

Few new details about Miami’s bid emerged Tuesday. Finney said a total of 54 South Florida business, academic and political leaders had signed nondisclosure agreements in the run-up to the bid. Seven of the nine Amazon delegates who met with Miami’s delegation were “millennials” and showed particular interest in advanced-degree and post-graduate opportunities (along with happenings in Wynwood and the Design District).

Shereena Coleman, vice president of business facilitation and The Glades region at the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County, which participated in the Amazon bid, said South Florida has still not conquered its longstanding brain-drain problem. Last year, from real estate group CBRE showed more tech graduates were moving out of Miami-Dade than coming in — although that was not the case for Broward.

“No one is coming here if the talent isn’t here,” she said.

Speaking as the lone non-South-Floridian on the panel, John Boyd — a relocation specialist and resident of Princeton, New Jersey — said that the Miami metro’s inclusion on Amazon’s finalist list was nevertheless a signal that other companies like Amazon — and perhaps even Amazon itself — would now bump the Miami metro region up on its list of relocation landing spots.

A spokesperson for Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Still, other firms are now taking notice, and all panelists said they had seen an uptick in relocation interest as a result. “We now have a treasure trove of sorts, of people paying attention to what’s happening in Miami,” said Finney.

Boyd added that the biggest recent development for South Florida’s reputation in the corporate world was the advent of Brightline, now rebranding as Virgin Trains USA. Relocation promoters and companies are focusing on “regionalization,” including assets that may not be physically close but which can be easily reached. The ability of Brightline to connect the tri-county area will prove a key asset, he said.

“Miami is considered a world class city now,” Boyd said. Brightline “now puts it in the minds of global executives.”

At the local level, the construction of Miami Central Station means the beleaguered, inter-county Tri-Rail line will finally have a downtown destination. That will open up the region to everyday commuters, said Nitin Motwani, managing principal of Miami Worldcenter, a major real estate project downtown, and co-chair of the Downtown Development Authority’s economic development committee.

Motwani said the bid had the effect of breaking “the invisible line” that many South Florida residents recognize as dividing Miami-Dade from its county neighbors to the north.

Finney said that the tide would soon begin turning from seeing rail projects as not-in-my-backyard nuisances to desirable assets as property values increase, noting that this is usually how transportation-oriented development works in most other cities.

David Coddington, vice president for business development at the Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance, said developments like this would give the region an opportunity to brag about itself, something it has been too shy to do in the past.

And telecommuting has made the region all the more desirable. Coddington’s new suggested motto: “Work in the cloud. Live in the sun.”

 

Source:  Stock Daily Dish

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Landlords Adopting ‘Must-Have’ Technologies To Remain Competitive

Radically transforming commercial real estate, new technology — much of it in the form of convenient, user-friendly apps — is being adopted by property owners wishing to remain relevant and competitive. Landlords who want to work smarter, protect their properties, and attract and retain tenants, do well to become acquainted with future-forward technology redefining property management and tenant relations.

While numerous contenders may vie for attention, the following are tried-and-tested options being used in many commercial spaces throughout Miami.

One of the original ground-breaking companies in the industry, Kastle Systems, established more than five decades ago, provides an integrated platform of cutting-edge solutions, delivering both excellent consumer experiences and landlord peace-of-mind. Tenants can conveniently open or unlock property doors with their smartphones, doing away with the need to carry cardkeys or fobs, while allowing landlords to entrust the task of making their space safer to a dedicated team.

On call 24/7, they provide video surveillance, visitor and identity management tools, and monitors alarms, security reports, repairs and more. CUBE WYNWD, a RedSky Capital office project, relies on Kastle Systems to provide top security and access for its tenants. Additional disruptors in the security systems space include Kisi and Openpath.

Another provider of advanced technology that has become invaluable for landlords seeking to better understand real space needs and save costs — Mapiq tracks activity within your office space and building common areas in a single dashboard. A heatmap reveals how people are concentrated throughout the building or a space.

The data, collected in the analytics dashboard provides quantified statistics over time, enabling confident, strategic decisions. For employees, this cloud-based solution facilitates finding available desks and meeting rooms and other employees. With Mapiq, landlords, tenants and employees access tools which effectively position them to have control over their environment.

Additional solutions include Jabra, TrueView Heatmap by Mirame.net and several others that are in development phases.

A third resource — award-winning HqO, connects tenants to their community, facilitates commerce, and provides content, among other features. This app provides the means to maximize positive tenant experiences and strengthens the tenant-landlord relationship.

HqO enables tenants to pay for the amenities and services offered throughout the building; be apprised of events taking place on or near the property, and receive timely notifications, while also providing messaging and concierge services. It can also be used to control the environment in the building, including opening doors and accessing common areas. HqO brings a wealth of information and a smart tool for communication which tenants can access by simply picking up their smartphones.

Other apps that focus on the tenant experience include Comfy, Bixby and SkyRise, and many traditional property management platforms are also launching similar tools.

Yet another innovative option is Motionloft, developed by a leader in artificial intelligence and computer vision, it is rapidly gaining in popularity. Utilizing wireless sensors, Motionloft gathers real-time vehicle and pedestrian data, enabling developers to gauge foot traffic and attract retailers accordingly. Currently, Goldman properties in Wynwood utilizes this solution, allowing them to gauge traffic throughout their retail and dining spaces..

A fifth tool, Kepler Analytics is designed to decrease operating costs and enhance customer satisfaction. Kepler analytics measures sales in stores outfitted with sensors which allows it to monitor individual stores to entire regions — forecasting which stores will meet daily targets and which might need a little attention. It also controls access.

RetailNext, ShopperTrack and Aislelabs are also similar tools being leveraged in the retail sector.

Commercial real estate landlords who expand their offerings to include mobile platforms and future-forward technology are amplifying their competitive edge, facilitating how they market their properties, and securing tenants and their properties. Using one’s phone to book a conference room, pay rent, learn about an upcoming event, access building areas, and much more, is a convenience tenants will soon come to expect.

Savvy landlords will do well to stay at the forefront of the technology curb as this technology becomes more ubiquitous and helps to shape the future of commercial real estate.

 

Source:  Miami Herald

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Developers Targeting Multifamily Properties In Little Havana

Developers are targeting multifamily properties in Little Havana, especially ones recently built.

An investor recently flipped a Little Havana apartment building for $6.2 million after buying it a few months ago.

In September, Bar Invest Group sold an apartment building it built in Little Havana for $7.1 million to Beraja Investments.

Earlier this year, Key International sold Havana Palms II, a 79-unit multifamily complex at 931 Southwest Third Street, for $10.1 million, or about $128,000 per unit. In April, a group of investors acquired a 103-unit apartment portfolio in the neighborhood, with plans to upgrade the properties and flip them.

Unlike Brickell, most of Little Havana is zoned for medium-density development – either T4 or T5. That means that development is capped at five stories and 65 residential units per acre.

Investors also are proposing new apartments in the neighborhood. Ricky Trinidad’s Metronomic is planning several developments in Little Havana, including a series of two-story residential projects called La Elaina, and a five-story office building called SieteOcho at 640 Southwest Eighth Avenue.

 

Source:  The Real Deal

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Demand For Miami Office Space Remains Strong As Companies Relocate To The Region

Demand for office space continues to rise as companies from outside of Florida relocate to Miami-Dade County, driving up average asking rates by more than 5 percent from a year ago. An increase in co-working spaces also played a significant role.

The average weighted asking rate grew for Class A and Class B office space, according to the Blanca Commercial Real Estate third quarter 2019 market report released this week.

For Class A space, average weighted rates grew 5.6% year over year, from $45.51 per square foot in the third quarter 2018 to $46.37 per square foot in the third quarter 2019. The highest average asking rates were in Brickell, at $59.10 per square foot, and Wynwood/Design District, at $55.97 per square foot.

The average asking rates for older, simpler Class B space crept up slightly, from $33.39 per square foot in the third quarter 2018 to $33.47 a square foot in the third quarter 2019. But the class suffered a loss of 248,000 total square feet, primarily in the Miami Airport market.

The vacancy rate for Class A space dipped slightly, from 13.9% to 12.7%, while the vacancy rate for Class B space inches up from 16.1% to 16.9%.

A total of 324,000 square feet of multi-tenant office space was delivered, said Tere Blanca, Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Blanca Commercial Real Estate, for a total Class A/ Class B inventory of 36,953,985 square feet. Another 2.1 million square feet of multi-tenant office space is underway and set to be delivered by late 2022.

Net absorption increased overall year-over-year, by 412,191 square feet, led by Class A space offering amenities such as wellness programs, concierge services, Wi-Fi indoors and outdoors as well as tenant lounges with snacks and coffee. Tenants in legal, financial and professional services gravitate toward buildings with water views, she said.

Much of the change in the Class B market was driven by companies already in the market looking to right size their spaces — both by increasing and decreasing — and seeking new layouts, said Blanca.

Overall, tenants are also looking for buildings connected to transit and those with open floor plans and flexible conference spaces.

Of the positive absorption, 292,000 square feet or 44% came from co-working companies leasing in Downtown Miami, Miami Beach, Brickell and Coral Gables. Co-working now accounts for nearly 4% of the total office inventory in the county.

New-to-market firms are driving net absorption, led by companies in finance, technology and professional services, said Blanca. Those include Starwood Capital, which is moving to Collins Avenue in Miami Beach; SoftBank, which took space in Brickell, and Icahn Enterprises, which will relocate from New York to the Milton Tower in North Miami Beach.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, a favorable business environment and climate are driving new companies to relocate to Miami, said Blanca.

About 150 companies have expanded to Miami since 2017, encompassing 592,000 square feet, wrote Blanca Chief Marketing Officer Diana Pubchara over email. The majority of the companies had an office elsewhere out of state and decided to open in Miami-Dade County. Some organizations in foreign markets are establishing their U.S. headquarters in the Magic City. And about 15 new companies are touring the market and would cover another 201,000 square feet when they are expected to sign leases in the next few months.

The market looks bright looking over the next 25 months, said Blanca. She said, “We’ll see continued absorption and rents will continue to hold with moderate rent increases, if any.”

 

Source:  Miami Herald

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South Florida: A Center For Hemispheric And Global Health Care

By the time a foreign cardiac surgeon is standing side by side in the operating suite with Joseph Lamelas, M.D., to learn how to perform the minimally invasive cardiac surgery Lamelas perfected, that physician would have spent six months on a waiting list to do so.

That’s the allure and importance of training with University of Miami Health System’s chief of cardiac surgery. Whether to train the next generation of world physicians, or receive premier care, health care that reaches the hemisphere and beyond is a significant driver to the South Florida economy.

So much so that 2016 figures from Florida Tax Watch and the Agency for Health Care Administration found that medical tourism brings some $6 billion to Florida and “medical tourism” is a destination feature listed by the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau.

More than cosmetic procedures, however, patients seeking treatment and medical students hoping to advance their training are finding care and training that can be scarce in the region.

“UHealth delivers such care from locations in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties, as well as elsewhere around the state,” says Chad Ritch, M.D., associate co-director of UHealth International at the University of Miami Health System.

Baptist Health International, a division of Baptist Health South Florida, served some 12,000 individuals, executives, and families in 2018. The recently opened Hilton Miami Dadeland hosted international patients visiting Miami for treatment. The network recently expanded into Broward and Palm Beach counties.

“Miami-Dade county-run Jackson Health System sees about 3,000 international patients annually,” says Diamela Corrales, director of the international programs and guest services division at Jackson Health System. “By treating major medical specialties such as trauma, neonatology, rehabilitation, transplant and neurosurgery, care is provided to patients hailing from locales where this type of medical technology and advances are not readily available.”

Certified translators at Hollywood-based Memorial Health System, which includes five hospitals plus Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital, all operate under the provider’s Global Health Initiative, first launched in 2013. Translators versed in 160 languages allow doctors to converse with patients and consult with fellow physicians in real time on-site or abroad.

Not included in this activity are advancements in health care technology, like those from Sensus Healthcare, Inc., the maker of non- and minimally-invasive treatments. Health tech, medical device and life science startups drive a third of all venture deals in South Florida in 2019, up from less than a quarter in 2018, according to the biannual “eMerge Insights” report.

 

Source: Florida Trend

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Retail Rental Rates Continue To Rise In Miami-Dade In Q3

In what is still a supply constrained market, despite the continued instability of the retail sector, the vacancy rate for retail space in Miami-Dade County remained relatively flat in the third quarter.

MMG Equity Partners, in its third quarter report on the South Florid retail market, states that the third quarter vacancy rate for retail space rose by 0.1% from the second quarter to 4.4%.

The asking rental rate rose $0.56-per-square-foot to an average of $39.75-per-square-foot from the second quarter. In the past year, MMG Equity notes that the average asking rental rate has risen $4.21-per-square-foot from the $35.54-per-square-foot registered in the third quarter of last year.

The retail absorption rate moved up from +149,929 square feet in the second quarter of 2019 to +470,942 square feet in the third quarter, a +321,013-square-foot change quarter-to-quarter.

“On a macro level, South Florida remains a largely supply constrained market due to the scarcity of available land. Although there has been a softening in rates of non-core product within the market, all properties are still trading at a relatively lower rate than other Florida markets,” says Marcos Puente, director of acquisitions, MMG Equity Partners. “All new supply that has come to market by means of retailers shuttering has quickly been gobbled up by the development community to either backfill the former retail spaces with new stores, or be repurposed to a new use.”

The largest retail sale transaction in the third quarter was the $33.1-million sale 509 Collins Ave. in Miami Beach. The 22,875-square-foot building acquired by Allied Partners, Inc. traded for approximately $1,445-a-square-foot.

MMG Equity Partners reports that at the end of the third quarter there were 52 retail properties under construction in the Miami market representing 2.8 million square feet of new product.

The largest project under construction, which is scheduled to be delivered in the fourth quarter of this year is the 800,000-square-foot Warren Henry Auto Group project at 2300 NE 151 St. being developed by Turnberry Associates.

 

Source:  GlobeSt.

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Developers Are Excited As Transit Oriented Developments (TODs) Boost South Florida To Super Region Status

Today’s TOD real estate investor faces a bifurcated scenario when it comes to timing a project: Start at the inception of a TOD or take the wait-and-see approach. The former involves much coordination and understanding regarding a local government’s pre-existing ordinances and plans. On the other hand, the latter involves study and assessment of where a TOD-centric community is going in the way of economic and lifestyle demographics.

No matter which approach you might employ to develop real estate in the penumbra of a TOD, you must realize initially that moving people efficiently and economically stands at the forefront of priorities for local transportation agencies. Services and domiciles must, of course, offer amenities congruent to the demographics of the prevailing commuters.

When TODs started trending among local governments, agencies predominantly chose traditionally high-density neighborhoods where more traditional commuter options existed. These neighborhoods may accommodate a large university population, government administration centers, tech headquarters, or aircraft manufacturers.

Sometimes, new industries planning to relocate to a new neighborhood stay abreast of the local agencies’ TOD priorities and plans as it pertains to prospective real estate development. In these cases, your development or industry serves as one of the linchpins to a TOD’s success and vice versa. The project, resultantly, proves symbiotic for both the TOD and the developer. As a developer, you become vested from the very start, even though people movement is the main priority.

Recently, however, communities reliant on large arterials for mostly single-occupant transportation are breaking the stereotype for TODS. Take Orlando, Florida, for example. Here, as with many other auto-dominant communities and neighborhoods, space has become a high commodity—especially as it relates to parking and living domiciles.

High-density residences located near a modern transit hub, such as those serving high-speed rail, resolve many of the challenges sprawl can present to cities such as Orlando. Moreover, the changes in today’s urban lifestyle preferences—living, working, and playing within a relatively small radius—helps such communities stay vibrant.

In the case of downtown Orlando, many developers gained jump-starts via tax credits and similar incentives for playing a role in stemming sprawl, decreasing auto emissions, and revitalizing central neighborhoods that sometimes suffer abandonment by suburban or perimeter flight.

At Brownsville Transit Village, locating in the booming super region of South Florida, real estate developers teamed up with a not-for-profit organization’s initiative to include affordable housing for low-income families and the elderly in a community that fully serves all ages without the need of a car. Caribbean Village will soon follow with a strategically designed district that will also cater to low-income residents and the elderly.

The TOD outlook for Southern Florida’s horizon is bright as a handful of other transit-centered villages will either break ground or be completed within a year. Strategically incorporating mixed use real estate developments along each station, the region’s sole privately owned, operated, and maintained passenger rail system—Brightline—recently launched its express service connecting Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach along the FEC corridor. These beautifully laid out TODs are paving the way for South Florida residents to take advantage of the “live, work, and play” dream, as all real estate concepts are now connected and thriving along this high-end rail system.

Because of the varying types of TODs, a real estate developer should first define which model of the TOD trend best fits the complex or business involved. Realtors must also pay attention to nascent trends, as a recent survey by a major infrastructure consultancy firm shows that 70 percent of millennials are willing to pay more in rent or mortgage in order to commute to work without a car while finding entertainment and recreation within a walkable radius.

Today, the evolution of TODs remains actively in play in South Florida. As a result, a developer strong in versatility gains the competitive edge.

 

Source:  The Real Deal

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Co-Working Medical Office Space Operators Plans Major Expansion In Florida

ShareMD, a San Diego-based investment firm led by President and managing partner George Scopetta, is looking to purchase medical office buildings throughout the Sunshine State’s major cities and convert vacant space into its co-working concept. The group has already purchased two buildings, one in South Miami and another in Coral Gables, where it plans to launch the operation in Florida.

The Bilmore Professional Building, located at 475 Biltmore in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical office building totaling ±51,423 square feet, and SOMI Center, a ±50,000-square-foot Class A mixed-use building located at 5966 S. Dixie Highway in South Miami, Florida were purchased by ShareMD for $33,152,500.

The transaction closed October 31.

In Southern California, ShareMD has locations in La Jolla, San Diego, Encinitas, Temecula, Oceanside and Los Angeles.

The company operates as WeShareMD, but is in the process of changing its name. It offers fully furnished medical office space and patient rooms available by the half-day, day, week or month, according to its website. Locations also have private storage areas, meeting space and common waiting rooms.

 

Source:  The Real Deal

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CRE Momentum To Continue Into 2020

The market for commercial real estate from occupiers and investors has continued to be relatively flat overall in the third quarter.

The latest Commercial Property Monitor from international real estate body RICS reveals generally solid conditions for the office and industrial sectors but retail continues to have a tough time as the shift to online shopping remains. Interest from occupiers and investors in retail declined in Q3 2019.

For the coming year though, retail should see a modest uptick, while office and industrial sectors look likely to see strong gains, especially in prime markets.

“While there is an industry-wide effort to invest in and transform real estate for a more connected and sustainable future, these innovations in how people live, work and play aren’t yet the standard, especially outside prime markets,” said Neil Shah, Managing Director for RICS in the Americas. “What this means for the overall retail sector is continued underperformance, particularly in secondary markets, in comparison to the office and industrial spaces.”

Capital Projections

Capital value projections over 12 months are positive for all sectors apart from retail, although for industrial the projections have cooled despite ongoing sentiment.

“Real estate leaders are increasingly believing that, after a protracted period of growth, the market is now approaching the top of the cycle,” said Tarrant Parsons, Economist with RICS. “While indicators are still generally solid for other sectors, the troubles in the retail sector show no signs of abating. The downward demand trends, particularly in secondary locations, is likely to result in a significant decline in capital values over the year to come.”

Survey respondents were asked to compare conditions over the latest three months with the previous three months, as well as their views on the overall market outlook.

 

Source: Mortgage Professional America

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