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Beacon Council Targeted Jobs Initiative Paid Big Dividends

Targeted jobs initiative One Community One Goal, which was shut down last month when a new program called Opportunity Miami replaced it, listed high new job totals in annual reports. From 2012 to 2019 Miami-Dade added 202,970 overall jobs. In 2018 and 2019, jobs added in all sectors totaled 33,243, including 6,556 in the targeted industries.

The One Community One Goal initiative was begun by the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce in 1998 and continued from 2012 under the Beacon Council, the county’s economic development partnership, which ended it.

The program’s 2019 annual report – the last published – shows that until that year the county’s 1,344,113 jobs across all industries included 453,959 in targeted industries that included aviation, banking and finance, creativity and design, hospitality and tourism, life sciences and healthcare, technology, and trade and logistics.

Those jobs represented an increase in county employment of 18% from 2012 to 2019 across all industries, and of 19% in targeted sectors. Hospitality and tourism was the sector with the most jobs added (152,479) and technology showed the highest percentage increase between 2012 and 2019 – 58%.

One Community One Goal was created to provide the county a roadmap for its economic, entrepreneurial and educational success, the website of the program says.

“In the past seven years, we have created more than 200,000 new jobs. We’ve seen 19% overall growth in our target sectors, with the biggest boost in technology, where we’ve had a 58% increase in jobs,” wrote former county mayor Carlos A. Gimenez in the report.

The 2020-2021 Beacon Council annual report reveals 1,303,204 jobs in 2021 across all industries, 12% above the 1,165,761 county jobs in 2012. In 2020-2021 alone 5,989 direct jobs were created under the One Community One Goal program with an average salary of $120,000 and a capital investment of more than $229 million.

Life Sciences and Healthcare was the industry with most jobs in 2020-2021, with 146,241. Hospitality and tourism became the second largest employer during the pandemic as jobs decreased 12% to 110,135. Technology again had the biggest percentage increase (88%) with 15,678 jobs by this year.

The One Community One Goal 2018 annual report said that from 2012 to 2018 the program created 67,015 jobs. Up to that year, the county had 1,310,870 jobs across all industries, up 15% from the county’s total of 1,138,985 jobs in 2012. Target industries had 447,403 jobs by 2018, up from the 380,388 jobs in 2012.

Opportunity Miami, the initiative that came to replace the long-standing program, is headed by Matt Haggman, Beacon Council executive vice president.

“The risks we face, such as climate change, also present a generational business opportunity that can create jobs and drive our economy for decades to come,” he said in a press note. “Opportunity Miami will be a platform where the community can help identify these opportunities and act on them.”

The 2021 initiative is to present information in formats such as a weekly email newsletter, daily social media, biweekly podcast, monthly live events and a website, a press note said.

Some US companies that relocated to Miami-Dade in 2021 came from the Bay Area of California; Topeka, KS; Detroit; New York City; and Naples, FL.

 

Source:  Miami Today

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Restaurants Can Reopen Dining Rooms In Miami-Dade Starting Next Week

Restaurant dining rooms in Miami-Dade County can reopen beginning on Monday, more than a month after restaurants were ordered to close indoor seating due to spiking coronavirus cases.

Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez said restaurants will be able to operate at 50 percent capacity indoors, as long as tables are spaced at least six feet apart with a maximum of six people per table. He said the decision came after consulting with medical experts and the White House.

The countywide 10 p.m. curfew will remain in effect. Gimenez said that the county will revisit pushing the curfew to 11 p.m. after Labor Day weekend. He also added that he plans to keep the beaches open, though that can change.

Individual cities may be stricter with the reopening guidelines, but cannot be less restrictive than the county.

Gimenez called it the “first step” and said “we must keep our guard up.”

The announcement comes as the uptick in coronavirus cases begins to slow in Miami-Dade. The 14‐day average positivity rate in Miami-Dade is 10.29 percent as of Tuesday, according to the county’s New Normal dashboard.

To date, Miami-Dade has had 153,385 cases and 2,277 deaths. Statewide, 605,502 positive cases of Covid-19 have been reported, and nearly 11,000 deaths, according to the Florida Department of Health.

Gimenez said restaurants will be required to keep doors and windows open if possible, and keep the air conditioning running. Diners can only remove their masks once food and drinks are present on their tables, and must wear masks when they leave their tables.

Countywide, a number of restaurants have either closed permanently, been unable to offer outdoor dining, or have decided to close temporarily due to the effects of the pandemic on their businesses. Shortly after the mayor announced restrictions in July, restaurant owners protested that decision.

Casinos and bars will remain closed, though Gimenez hinted that casinos may be able to open sooner than bars.

 

Source:  The Real Deal

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Vulture Investors Circling In Search Of Dying Businesses And Available Space

Faced with heightened restrictions due to a surge in Covid-19 cases, coupled with a desire to keep employees safe, some Miami restaurants are calling it quits.

Other eateries are mulling closing their dining rooms, temporarily shutting down, or changing their business models entirely. If the state or local governments order another shutdown, it could mark the “nail in the coffin” for as many as half the restaurants, said Felix Bendersky, restaurant broker and owner of F+B Hospitality.

Yet, some restaurants are still signing new deals or reopening during the pandemic, taking advantage of spaces that are back on the market.

New Restrictions

After several days of record Covid-19 cases statewide, stricter rules are putting renewed pressure on struggling businesses. On Wednesday, Florida’s total reached nearly 159,000 cases and 3,550 deaths.

Gov. Ron DeSantis ordered the closure of bars on Friday. On Tuesday, Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez ordered restaurants (and bars that have been able to continue operating) to stop selling alcohol between 12:01 a.m. and 6 a.m. This past weekend, pool access and alcohol sales were restricted at hotels in Miami-Dade.

On Wednesday, Miami Beach established a curfew from 12:30 a.m. to 5 a.m. (food delivery is among the exceptions). The city is banning alcohol sales at all retail stores, including liquor stores, grocery stores and convenience stores, after 8 p.m. Restaurants can’t operate for dine-in or takeout between 12:01 a.m. and 6 a.m.

The new orders come as restaurants are still restricted to 50 percent occupancy.

Vultures Circle Amid Struggles

All the while, vulture investors are circling in search of dying businesses and available space, sources say.

In May, OpenTable CEO Steve Hafner predicted a quarter of U.S. restaurants that were closed or that were only offering takeout would not survive.

Bendersky said he’s receiving 20 to 30 calls a day from restaurateurs and brokers looking for second generation spaces ranging from 1,000 square feet to 1,500 square feet in neighborhoods such as Edgewater, MiMo, Brickell, Downtown, Coral Gables and South-of-Fifth.

Second generation spaces include built-out kitchens with a DERM-approved grease trap, which makes the space more valuable, especially now. It can save new operators between $300,000 and $750,000 in buildout costs, Bendersky said.

Meanwhile, many existing restaurants are on pause, trying to figure out when and if to reopen, whether to close their dining rooms, or sell.

“There’s a lot of different groups right now that are just evaluating whether or not it’s worth it right now to open back up,” said Aaron Butler, CEO of Avenue Real Estate Partners.

Mila, a rooftop restaurant on Lincoln Road in Miami Beach, is among those waiting to reopen, Butler said.

Chica in the MiMo District and Spring Chicken in Coral Gables are also waiting to reopen, according to a spokesperson for 50 Eggs Hospitality Group.

Michelle Bernstein, a prominent Miami restaurateur, posted on her Instagram account that she was closing Cafe La Trova’s dining room as of Monday.

Bernstein, whose restaurant is in Little Havana, said that despite following social distancing and CDC guidelines, “the health and safety of our employees and patrons has become too great of a concern to continue offering dine-in service under the circumstances.”

Laid Fresh, a cafe in Wynwood, also announced on Instagram that it was closing the location permanently.

Kush by Spillover, a Coconut Grove restaurant that Kush Hospitality recently rebranded and reopened, closed temporarily. Caja Caliente, a restaurant in Coral Gables, posted on social media that it was closing its indoor dining room, and would only have outdoor seating available. Politan Row, a food hall in the Miami Design District previously called St. Roch Market, has not yet reopened.

“The arbitrary changes and regulations have been pretty impactful because we find out hours before the changes are made,” said Ben Potts, co-owner of Beaker & Gray in Wynwood.

He said the county and city-mandated curfews put in place due to protests also had an effect.

Yet, his and other restaurants still remain open. Potts said Beaker & Gray has been open since May 27. “At the moment we’re planning on staying open,” he said.

And some new eateries are in the pipeline. In the Miami Design District, Itamae, Ovation and Cote are all expected to open later this year.

And Old Greg’s Pizza will operate a pop-up out of chef Brad Kilgore’s Kaido space in the Design District beginning on Friday, the pizza concept posted on Instagram Wednesday.

Test Is Coming

The real stress test could come in the next three to six month months, after money from the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program loan program runs out, brokers say. Vulture investors of both kinds – hunting for real estate deals and for the restaurant and bar businesses themselves – are in the market.

“Larger, high-priced restaurants are more of a challenge because their overhead and carrying costs are so much higher,” said Butler of Avenue Real Estate Partners.

Many tenants had the wherewithal to survive in April, May and June, or had worked out deals with their landlords, and/or had received PPP money, experts say.

Moving forward, the types of tenants that will survive have been adapting successfully to the changes brought on by the pandemic.

Pizzerias and national chains are flourishing, because they lend themselves to takeout, said Scott Sandelin, a broker with Marcus & Millichap.

“This [pandemic] will accelerate that change in the food business,” Sandelin said. Yet, many restaurants and bars, he added, are in a “scary situation.”

 

Source:  The Real Deal

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Super Bowl Descends on Miami and Its Changing Skyline

The last time the Super Bowl came to Miami, the football stadium on the edge of the Everglades and just off the turnpike was surrounded by asphalt and dirt parking lots.

Miami-Dade County had 20% fewer apartments and 23% fewer available hotel rooms during the championship game in 2010, when Airbnb and ride-hailing companies such as Uber were in their infancy. Brightline, the commuter train service renamed Virgin Trains USA that connects Miami with West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale, didn’t exist. All those factors are expected to play major roles this weekend as Miami hosts the Super Bowl for a record 11th time, attracting more than 200,000 people to a region with a skyline that has changed dramatically.

“If you were here 10 years ago and came back, you’ll find that this city is completely different,” Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez said.

North of downtown, once-distressed neighborhoods such as Allapattah and Little Haiti are attracting new development that appeals to millennials who want to live close to where they work. One of the trendiest areas of Miami is Wynwood, a former industrial and garment district now drawing offices, retail and residential. Tour buses regularly pass through Wynwood, allowing visitors to snap selfies among the spray-painted graffiti that adorns many of the buildings in the rollicking arts district.

“Miami has become more of an urban place where people live and play now,” said Rodney Barreto, chairman of the Miami Super Bowl Host Committee. “It wasn’t that 10 years ago. Heck, at 6 or 7 o’clock at night you couldn’t find anybody downtown. Now at 11 o’clock at night, people are walking their dogs.”

In the past 10 years, close to 30,000 new apartments have been built across Miami-Dade County, helping make it the U.S. capital for rentals as a percentage of inventory, according to CoStar data. The market has added 11,000 more hotel rooms, not including thousands of new beds now available through home-sharing giant Airbnb. Scores of luxury condominium towers are sprouting up in downtown Miami, including one that has an amenity deck that can be transformed into a skyport for flying cars and another with a robot concierge service.

The 65,000-seat Hard Rock Stadium is now the new home of the Miami Open tennis tournament and has attracted soccer, concerts and other events. Last year, ground was broken on a $135 million Dolphins training facility next to the stadium. And gondolas were installed that will make their debut on Super Bowl Sunday, giving fans an aerial view of the pregame festivities.

“It’s definitely a different town, and we’re going to be really proud to show it off, for sure,” Barreto said.

The Feb. 2 game at Hard Rock Stadium between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers is expected to generate an estimated economic impact in excess of $400 million. Hotels in the Miami area are projected to break all-time highs for average daily rate and revenue per available room, two industry standard measurements, according to figures from STR, a travel industry data and analytics firm owned by CoStar Group, the parent company of CoStar News.

Making the Pitch

NFL owners voted in 2016 to award South Florida this year’s Super Bowl, a game that marks the league’s 100th season. They were sold after listening to a pitch from Miami Dolphins owner and Hudson Yards developer Stephen Ross about hundreds of millions of dollars he spent to renovate the aging Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, on the edge of the Everglades northwest of downtown Miami.

At the time, the Dolphins and Barreto said the region’s bid, which topped 550 pages, included a budget of cash and incentives valued at more than $40 million. Barreto now declines to discuss specifics of the bid, saying parts of it eventually will be made public.

Miami, the nation’s seventh-largest metropolitan area, is a preferred destination for the Super Bowl because of its size and the consistently warm weather, notwithstanding the Super Bowl in 2007, but even then fans found it strangely appropriate that halftime performer Prince sang his hit song “Purple Rain” in the rain.

Meanwhile, the matchups in Miami have been among the most memorable in league history.

In the second of five Super Bowls played at the Orange Bowl in Miami, New York Jets quarterback Joe Namath famously guaranteed victory over the Baltimore Colts in 1969, a huge upset that led to the merger of the NFL and the American Football League.

Twenty years later, in a new stadium privately funded by Dolphins founding owner Joe Robbie, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Joe Montana jokingly pointed out actor John Candy in the crowd to his teammates before leading them on a last-second drive to beat the Cincinnati Bengals.

A decade ago, the New Orleans Saints outlasted the now Indianapolis Colts with the help of a risky onside kick to open the second half, delivering the Big Easy’s first title, 4 1/2 years after the city was devastated by Hurricane Katrina.

But not long after the Saints beat the Colts in February 2010, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell delivered a stark message to Ross and other officials hoping to schedule another Super Bowl at Hard Rock.

“The commissioner was very adamant and very loud about we would not get another Super Bowl until we made renovations,” Barreto told CoStar News.

Stadium Improvement Process

Ross first sought public money to renovate the stadium that opened in 1987, though that effort hit a political wall. In 2014, he struck a deal with Miami-Dade to pay for the upgrades himself in exchange for bonus payments to the Dolphins for hosting the Super Bowl and other events.

The phased stadium improvements brought new seats, two new concourses, new suites, four high-definition video boards and a canopy that shades 92% of the fans. The cost: more than $550 million.

Gondolas will make their debut at Hard Rock Stadium at the Super Bowl Feb. 2 in Miami. (Paul Owers/CoStar News)

Ross’ total investment at Hard Rock Stadium now tops $700 million, noted Tom Garfinkel, president and CEO of the Dolphins and member of the Miami Super Bowl Host Committee.

“It’s a testament to Steve Ross’ commitment,” Garfinkel said in an interview. “The stadium has become a global entertainment destination.”

The NFL seems impressed.

Senior Director of Event Planning Eric Finkelstein, whose crew of 6,000 workers has been in South Florida since Jan. 2 preparing for the Super Bowl, said the new canopy allows the league to introduce surprises for fans during the championship game.

“To us, it feels like a brand new building because of how much has changed,” said Finkelstein, who is overseeing his 21st Super Bowl.

NFL owners typically vote to award the game to cities with warm weather or domed stadiums. Teams that agree to build stadiums, as the Los Angeles Rams are doing, have a good chance of eventually hosting the Super Bowl. Tampa, Florida, doesn’t have a new stadium, but NFL owners voted to move the Super Bowl there in February 2021 from Inglewood, California, because of construction delays at the Los Angeles Rams’ SoFi Stadium. It will be the fifth time Tampa has hosted the game. The big game heads to SoFi Stadium in the Los Angeles area in 2022.

Local civic and business leaders insist they aren’t taking for granted the impact of the game on South Florida, no matter how many times it has been played here.

“We have the attention and the focus of the world,” Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said.

Barreto has signed paperwork to allow South Florida to compete for the Super Bowl in any year from 2025 to 2030. He was watching on television Wednesday when Goodell, speaking at his state of the league press conference, praised local officials and indicated the game likely will return to Hard Rock Stadium.

“We’re ecstatic,” Barreto said. “I believe they like Miami. We’re experienced, and we know how to work with them.”

 

Source:  CoStar

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