Miami Today: Week of Thursday, August 27, 2015

AGENDA

THE ACHIEVER

WWW.MIAMITODAYNEWS.COM $4.00WEEK OF THURSDAY, AUGUST 27, 2015 A Singular Voice in an Evolving City

AS WORLD TRADE PLUNGES 5%, FLORIDA’S DIPS A BIT ... 2

20,000 SIGN UP FOR TOLL-REBATE-ELIGIBLE PROGRAM ... 3

3,200 NEW HOTEL ROOMS DUE IN COUNTY IN A YEAR ... 3

VIEWPOINT: A ROADMAP FOR UM IN ITS HOME TOWN ... 6

COUNTY EYES A PROPOSED MEGA-COMPLEX ON PORT ... 7

CITY MAY EXEMPT SMALL BUILDINGS FROM PARKING ... 10

EUE/SCREEN GEMS SET TO OPEN MIAMI’S FILM STUDIO ... 14

50 PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS ON COUNTY’S LIST ... 23

Tim RodgersLooks at plans for $10 million Wolfsonian expansion

The profile is on Page 4

Photo by Marlene Quaroni

Ripples from China and Greecesway globalized Miami, pg. 12

FINANCIAL TRENDS

An advertorial section spotlightsleaders in many fields, pg. 15-19

Bus firm seeking county pact picks factory site

At airport,cruise hubon runwayBY SUSAN DANSEYAR

The county may create acruise visitor center at MiamiInternational Airport, which of-ficials say could add tourism byefficiently processing cruisepassengers and luggage directlyto PortMiami.

The county’s Trade and Tour-ism Committee is to vote today(8/27) to direct the mayor tohave the seaport and aviationdepartments join with cruiselines to develop a plan for thecenter for either individual ormultiple cruise lines.

The team would pinpoint air-port space; costs of a centerthat processes cruise passen-gers who arrive at the airport tosail from PortMiami; potentialfunding sources; interestedcruise lines; a timeline to beginoperations; and other partici-pants such as the Greater Mi-ami Convention & Visitors Bu-reau and the Greater Miami andthe Beaches Hotel Association.

Resolution sponsor Commis-sioner Jose “Pepe” Diaz saidhe’s long been talking with PortDirector Juan Kuryla about theimportance of a cruise visitorcenter at the airport.

“People want convenience,and any time you can providethat for them, it’s a positivesituation,” Mr. Diaz told MiamiToday this week. “Water al-ways finds the easiest flow.”

The airport and seaport arethe county’s top economic en-gines. The resolution saysPortMiami welcomed nearly 4.8million cruise passengers in fis-cal 2014 and continues to ex-pand as the world’s leadingcruise port.

The resolution notes that mostPortMiami passengers who ar-rive by air land at Miami Inter-national. Several cruise lines al-ready lease airport space to pro-cess passengers and others haveexpressed interest in doing so.

Should the resolution pass thecommittee and the full commis-sion Oct. 6, the mayor will beasked to report a plan within 60days, including reasons if it’sdeemed unfeasible.

BY JOHN CHARLES ROBBINS

A partnership formed to build eco-friendlybuses has lined up a Miami-Dade Countymanufacturing site.

Nopetro|OHL, a joint venture of Nopetroand Karsan U.S.A., plans to make cost-efficient buses powered by compressednatural gas (CNG). It has picked a Medleybuilding where it hopes to begin work soonat 12300 NW 116th Ave. in Turnpike Park,adjacent to FL-821.

“It’s a brand new industrial site, out by theturnpike… it is essentially a shell,” said JorgeA. Herrera, Nopetro’s co-founder and CEO.

“Karsan (U.S.A.) identified the propertyand are finalizing everything now,” he said.The site, he said, has gone through prelimi-nary design and is ready to be outfitted withequipment to build the buses.

In March, Turkish brothers Claude andJan Nahum of Karsan U.S.A. announcedtheir ambition to establish a plant to buildcost-efficient, eco-friendly buses.

Nopetro, which bills itself as Florida’sleading compressed natural gas fueling in-frastructure provider, teamed with KarsanU.S.A. to bid for a lucrative Miami-Dade

government contract to supply transit busespowered by natural gas and the fueling sta-tions to keep them humming.

“We had our final presentation on Aug. 5,our comprehensive proposal,” Mr. Herrerasaid of Nopetro|OHL’s proposal to thecounty.

“It’s a very compelling proposal… We’rethe lowest cost provider, overall, also we’rethe most innovative,” he said.

“We are excited and cautiously optimisticabout the results,” he said.

A county committee evaluating the pro-posals is expected to announce a decisionSept. 11, he said.

“Based on that timing, we can be in thereas early as November,” he said about settingup manufacturing at the Medley location ifawarded the county contract.

If manufacturing begins around Novem-ber, the first bus could come off the linearound April 2016, Mr. Herrera said.

This summer, while the county was con-sidering proposals, Karsan U.S.A. workedwith Ron Shuffield, president of EWM Re-alty International, to find a Miami-Dade sitefor the plant.

The Nahums, who already make buses in

Turkey, told Miami Today in March theyplanned to establish a plant in the countywhether or not they and Nopetro got thecounty deal, and that remains the goal.

In June, Mr. Shuffield said the Nahumswere looking at other opportunities to buildbuses and export to other locations acrossthe country. Miami-Dade is attractive tothe Nahums and many other industrialinterests, due in large part to “our access toso many other global markets – all thepotential we have,” Mr. Shuffield said.

As part of the request for proposals,Karsan U.S.A. designed and built a CNG-powered bus adorned with the Miami-Dade County logo, Mr. Herrera said.

Karsan U.S.A. has already invested $7.5million in what it calls Project Sunshine, hesaid.

When the brothers and Mr. Herrera an-nounced their joint venture, they said itcould mean an initial investment of about$75 million to construct a plant and specialfueling stations, with the plant employing80 to 90 full-time workers.

The company’s stated goal is to trans-form all Southeast US government fleets tonatural gas.

SPOTLIGHT ON EXCELLENCE

METROMOVER MOVING: The Eighth StreetMetromover station, which shut down a yearago to be integrated into Swire Properties Inc.’sBrickell City Centre, is in final stages of con-struction, said Karla Damien, public informa-tion officer for Miami-Dade County Transit.She said the station is scheduled to reopen inlate September or early October. Enhance-ments include new escalators, a new elevator,a third-level open-space connecting walkway

to Brickell City Centre, new stairs, improved landscaping and platformamenities, such as new signage, a new public-announcement system andnew surveillance cameras, she wrote in an email. Although the countytransit department operates Metromover, the project is primarily Swire’s.The company said it did not have an update available.SIGN OF THE TIMES: A sign maker is setting up shop in a public garagedowntown. The city’s Off-Street Parking Board has approved a lease withDR Signs Express LLC (d/b/a FASTSIGNS of Miami). The company isleasing 1,547 square feet on the ground floor in the Miami ParkingAuthority’s Courthouse Center Garage at 40 NW Third St. The five-yearlease will have one five-year renewal, starting with a base annual rate of$38,675 or $25 per square foot with a 3% annual increase. The authority willreimburse the tenant $32.50 per square foot ($50,277.50) in exchange for thetenant making required improvements to the space. Opened in 2010, themulti-level garage has upper and lower office space and some ground floorretail. The largest office user is the parking agency, with about 10,000square feet on the top floor. A law firm has part of the 11th floor, adjacentto authority offices. The garage is also the new home of The MiamiFoundation, which is leasing all the available third floor office space.ENERGY PRICES DOWN, BUT UP: Miami area households paid less, onaverage, for electricity in July than they did the year before. Electricity cost anaverage of 11.6 cents per kilowatt hour this July, less than the 12.1 cents perkWh last year, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. The averageprice of utility gas also went down, from $1.634 per therm last July to $1.518 pertherm July 2015, but was still 62.7% higher than the national average.NEW LOCALES: The City of Miami Neighborhood EnhancementTeam (NET) Administration Office and the Little Havana NET Officehave relocated to provide better customer service and access. TheNET Administration Office is now at 151 NW 27th Ave., phone (305)960-5110. The Little Havana NET is at 1300 SW 12th Ave., phone (305)960-4650.

THE INSIDER

TODAY’S NEWS WEEK OF THURSDAY, AUGUST 27, 20152 MIAMI TODAY

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Miami’s Top Trading Partners January-May 2015

Country Imports (US Dollars) Exports (US Dollars) Total (US Dollars)

Source: Enterprise Florida

As world trade plunges, ours dips

‘South Florida is anexporter of services –education, law, engineering.If we’re exporting, say, dataentry to Cuba, none of thatis captured in tradestatistics.’

Jerry Haar

BY MARILYN BOWDEN

Due to economic turmoil af-fecting several key trading part-ners, international trade has beenslow so far this year in the MiamiCustoms District, which coversairports and seaports from PalmBeach to Key West, said MannyMencia, senior vice president ofinternational trade & businessdevelopment at EnterpriseFlorida’s Coral Gables office.

“World trade is down,” he said,“and US trade, particularly on theexport side, is under pressure.It’s off by about 5.2%. State-wide, imports are off by about1% and exports by about 1.5%.So we are doing better than thenation, but still not as well as Iwould like to see it.”

The culprit, Mr. Mencia said,is the world trading environment.

“China and the European Unioncontinue to be in some economicturmoil,” he said, “as well assome nations in the WesternHemisphere.”

China is Miami’s third mostactive trading partner, he said,and its No. 1 supplier, account-ing for 35% of imports intoPortMiami.

On the export side, “there isreason for optimism for Miami inparticular,” Mr. Mencia said, “be-cause the nations of LatinAmerica seem finally to be begin-ning to come out of a slowerperiod. Unfortunately, the twoexceptions are Brazil and Colom-bia” – Miami’s top two tradingpartners. Exports to Brazil are offroughly 12.8% so far this year,he said, and to Colombia about8.5%.

“However, on the positive sideof the house, exports to Mexicoare doing extremely well – up26%; to the Dominican Republic,up 11%; to Chile, 15%, and thenations of Central America aredoing very well, too. So we maybe beginning to see the reboundexpected in the region beginningin 2016,” Mr. Mencia said.

“But the fact that Brazil, ourNo. 1 trading partner, is slidinginto recession is a challenge, sothe outlook for this year is mixed.”

Both Brazil and Colombia havesignificantly devalued their cur-rencies in order to adjust to loweroil and commodity prices and theforthcoming increase in interest

rates in the US, said JosephGanitsky, director of the Univer-sity of Miami’s Center for Inter-national Business Education &Research in the School of Busi-ness Administration. Both are alsoaffected by internal factors: inBrazil, a corruption scandal, andin Colombia, peace negotiationswith the Revolutionary ArmedForces of Colombia.

Brazil’s GNP will not increaseat all this year,” he said, “and ifthe scandal continues the impactmight be more severe. As forColombia, growth will be around3% this year.

“All of the above is loweringour exports towards them. Therapid growth years are over.”

China’s recent devaluation ofabout 5% is insignificant com-pared to Colombia’s 50% de-valuation, Dr. Ganitsky said, “butwhen you’re talking about thelargest economy in the world,50% would have significant im-pact. They need more exports,but they cannot continue to growat the same rate without increas-ing their domestic market” – andgreater devaluation of China’scurrency could trigger a tradewar.

Because South Florida is byand large an exporter of services,not merchandise goods, tradestatistics fail to give a true ac-count of the local economy, saidJerry Haar, professor in FIU’s

Department of Management &International Business.

“Miami is a giant commercialair traffic control tower,” he said.“We are primarily a transshipmentport; most of what we import orexport is not produced here.

“Of course trade is very im-portant, but the jobs it creates arelow-rate, low-skill and high-turn-over.

“What is far more importantthan trade is foreign investment,which creates jobs and is notvolatile from one year to the next.”

Dr. Haar suggests that Miamineeds to broaden its definition ofexports.

“South Florida is an exporterof services – education, law, en-gineering,” he said. “If we’reexporting, say, data entry to Cuba,none of that is captured in tradestatistics.

“In terms of commodities,growth rates have not changedall that much, but what is thedollar amount of those other ex-ports? How many do they em-ploy, at what salary, and whattaxes do we get from them? Whatis the economic multiplier thatwe get from that?

“There needs to be some kindof reporting on the export ofservices, because that is wherewe really shine.”

WHEN DOWN IS UP: The leisure and hospitality industry generatedthe highest percentage of non-agricultural job growthyear over year among all industry sectors in Miami-Dade even though the seasonally sensitive sector haslost jobs here every month since April, state figuresreleased Friday show. Leisure and hospitality jobs inMiami-Dade increased 5.9% annually in July, up 7,500jobs from July 2014 to a total of 134,800. But 137,100were employed here in the industry in April, 136,300in May and 135,700 in June. “The strength of theMiami brand continues to attract new travel and

tourism infrastructure such as new hotels and restaurants,” said GreaterMiami Convention & Visitors Bureau President and CEO William D.Talbert III. But the only sector in Miami that actually gained jobs fromJune to July was professional and business services, which added 1,200jobs. Unemployment in July in the county fell to 6.1% from June’s 6.5%.STICKING TO SCHEDULE: A county committee was to vote this weekon directing the mayor to evaluate bus schedules to determine adequate

running time, headways, mileage and driver breaksand plan an upgrade. The resolution before the Tran-sit & Mobility Services Committee, sponsored byBarbara Jordan, states numerous residents rely onMiami-Dade transit for all aspects of transportationincluding getting to work and medical appointmentson time but bus schedules don’t realistically accountfor traffic, average number of stops and driver breaks.The lack of an accurate schedule, the resolution says,causes unnecessary waits and delays, and the ab-

sence of reliable scheduling disproportionately impacts riders who haveno option other than the bus. Should the resolution pass committee voteand then the full commission, the mayor will be asked to report onimproving bus route efficiency within 120 days.NEW WHEELS: The Off-Street Parking Board has authorized thepurchase of new vehicles for the Miami Parking Au-thority. CEO Art Noriega recommended buying 14passenger cars and trucks for the Operations Depart-ment in the parking agency’s ongoing effort to keepits fleet updated. The purchase will save on repairsand maintenance and reduce down time of the staffwhen vehicles are out of service, he told the board.The vehicles are being purchased from Gus MachadoFord, and the quoted price of $277,734 is available tothe agency by piggybacking on a state governmentcontract, said COO Alejandra Argudin. The price quote contemplatedthe extended warranty for all vehicles and the cost to obtain new licensetags. In a separate move, the board approved the purchase of a newbucket truck for $116,754.POWERING HOMESTEAD: Miami-Dade is on its way to sellingelectricity to the City of Homestead Energy Services beginning in 2020.The county’s contract would essentially replace a Duke Energy contractset to expire Dec. 31, 2019. The county met with city officials Aug. 13 todiscuss terms. The price for the 15 megawatts of energy the city is lookingto buy from the county’s Resources Recovery Facility is being negoti-ated but will be subject to the greater an annual increase of 2.5% or therise in the Consumer Price Index, whichever is greater, until 2020, said PaulMauriello, county deputy director for waste operations at the PublicWorks and Waste Management Department. The facility’s potentialenergy output is 40 megawatts. The county hasn’t been able to securea power sale deal since its contract with Duke Energy ended in November2013, resulting in a $10 million revenue decline. Mr. Mauriello said thecounty hopes to have the contract approved by October.IT’S IN THE MAIL: Property Appraiser Pedro J. Garcia is mailing theNotice of Proposed Property Taxes (TRIM) to property owners. Includedis a guide to proposed taxes as well as a letter inform-ing owners who believe their property may be overassessed to complete an Informal Assessment Re-view Form. The TRIM Notice is available online atwww.miamidade.gov/pa. The letter lists events whereproperty owners can meet with the appraiser and hisstaff. Property owners should bring support docu-ments. Sessions are 6 p.m. today (8/27), Point EastCondominium, 2895 Point East Drive, Aventura; 6p.m., Sept. 2, South Dade Cultural Arts Center, LabTheater, 10950 SW 211th St.; 6 p.m. Sept. 10, West Dade Regional Library,9445 SW 24th St.; and 6 p.m., Sept. 14, Milander Center, 4800 Palm Ave.,Hialeah. The deadline to appeal with the Value Adjustment Board is Sept.18. Tax bills will be mailed the beginning of November.IT’S A WRAP: A county committee is to vote today (8/27) on establish-ing a policy limiting checked luggage wrapped in plastic film that will beallowed into the baggage handling system at Miami International Airport.Should the Trade and Tourism Committee approve the resolution by JuanC. Zapata, the mayor will be asked to develop a process by which plasticfilm used by anyone other than the approved vendor can be approved forairport use. The resolution says passengers using material that hasn’tbeen tested and approved can cause injury to baggage handlers whocannot load bags onto planes properly, can cause difficulty in unwrap-ping for the transportation security administration – leading to process-ing delays – and could jam the baggage system and conveyor belts,resulting in delays and shutdowns. The mayor will also be asked to detailcosts associated with the policy or the recommended process for evalu-ating plastic films.CORRECTION: Eddie Dominguez is senior vice president and directorof marketing, communications and community relations at City NationalBank. A news brief in this column last week truncated the bank’s name.CORRECTION: Miami-Dade entered into a port agreement with Marseilleas a sister seaport during the recent mission to France. An Aug. 20 articleon the trip mistakenly reported the airport entered into a sister relation-ship as well.

WIlliam D. Talbert III

Barbara Jordan

Art Noriega

Pedro J. Garcia

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6 MIAMI TODAY

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MIAMITODAY

Michael Lewis

University roadmap should drive straight to Miami’s core

County budget reflects priority to maintain, not reach higher

On paper, the University of Miami isnow governedby a great newp r e s i d e n t ,Julio Frenk.But then, onpaper this sea-son the MiamiMarlins werechampionshipcontenders.

Succeedingoff paper inthe real worldrequires the kind of leadership for whichDr. Frenk was recruited. Which is whyhis first announcement was heartening:he said he’ll spend 100 days listeningintently as he roadmaps the university’sfuture.

He should get more than an earful:professors and university students arehardly reticent or lacking in strong opin-ions. His job will be to pluck the needle-sharp wisdom from the haystack ofideas he’ll find himself buried in.

Even more important than pulling to-gether wisdom will be the ensuingprioritization. Not every good idea ispractical, and not every practical ideacan be accomplished simultaneously.Ideas will be many, but in goal-settingless is more.

It’s likely that university trustees havealready given Dr. Frenk their own list ofaims. Doubtless a scholar who has al-ready been Mexico’s health ministerand Harvard’s medical school dean hashis own carefully drawn list as well.

The last thing Dr. Frenk needs, infact, may be a newspaper’s ideas aboutwhat he and the university should bedoing. But just in case he hasn’t yetstumbled over the obvious, we want tomake perfectly clear what Miami – asopposed to just the university itself –needs from the University of Miami.

First, the university should be linkingto the community in which it functionsin as many ways as possible. Communi-ties make great laboratories in which toput ideas and training into practice. Theuniversity gets a low-cost test tube ofthe practical; the community gains low-cost wisdom of the academic world.It’s a simple win-win.

We can see academic training beingpracticed to spur new leadership, add tolow-cost housing, alleviate traffic con-gestion, increase contacts with aca-demics globally, stimulate economicgrowth, and spur gains for economichave-nots. Those are not the university’sresponsibility, but since the universitylives here too it will prosper as thecommunity does.

The university’s president can alsoprovide both personal leadership and aforum to convene in a single room lead-ers of multiple groups to cooperate atMiami’s highest levels.

For example, Florida InternationalUniversity President Mark Rosenberg isnext in line to chair the Greater MiamiChamber of Commerce. ConsideringMiami’s paucity of leaders who crosslines, Dr. Frenk would do a public ser-vice by stepping off campus into a top-level local leadership role, formal orinformal.

It also would benefit the communityif the University of Miami were tostrengthen its STEM programs – thevital areas of science, technology, engi-neering and mathematics. We are un-likely to grow Miami’s economy in thoseareas without a steady flow of stronggraduates for businesses to hire. Wehave a gap there today.

It is also vital to Miami that the uni-versity keep strengthening its globalimpact in a multinational county thatlives on the services it sells to everycontinent. We should attract globallynot only top professors and students butalso events that bring here worldthought, business and government lead-ers, events that include Miamians andMiami institutions.

The medical school is a major con-tributor to Miami, but since that is Dr.Frenk’s strength and the medical schoolalready consumes more than two-thirdsof the annual university budget of about$2.8 billion yet enrolls only a few hun-dred of the 16,774 students, he willcertainly emphasize medicine and health.

But the university is still not amongthe American Association of Universi-ties’ 60 research universities. Admis-sion is by invitation only. Dr. Frenkshould target entry. The prestige willserve the community well and equallyserve Miami’s ability to recruit largenew employers in research fields.

As for the university’s high-profilefootball program, we’re sure others haveadvised Dr. Frenk. We’d simply warnthat the team should be entirely student-athletes, not just athletes. Too often UMfootball has made national news for allthe wrong reasons, starting with char-acter.

Under each of its first five presidentsthe 90-year-old university made majorgains. On paper, we expect no lessunder Dr. Frenk – including a much-sharpened focus on an active role inleading its community.

We can’t wait for him to announceafter his first 100 days just how he hasmapped the university’s next century.

Xavier Suarez

I was the first Cuban-born mayor ofMiami; I am the headof my household; Iknow that how onespends money re-veals one’s priorities.For the county, thebudget seems to re-flect our priority tomaintain, instead ofreach higher.

We seem not to push for what we couldbe, but only to maintain what little we trulyhave. The growing income disparity, astubbornly high (and growing) povertyrate and inaccessible, unaffordable publictransportation are the areas I thought thecounty was committed to addressing.Instead, its just more of the same. Noimagination, no investments, no vision.

On poverty, we created communityredevelopment agencies to address slumand blight, but forgot to match their mis-sions with the county’s resources to ac-tually develop areas that are prime for afacelift. Meanwhile, we haven’t been pro-tecting the cultural integrity of our neigh-borhoods and have allowed historic dis-tricts to be traversed by ugly overpasses.

Addressing poverty requires big think-

ing and coherent strategy, not just piece-meal fixes. Poverty amongst our chil-dren is a betrayal of our social contract;it is a badge of dishonor, a scarlet letterto be worn by us all. We can do better ifwe really align our words with our spend-ing, or “put our money where our mouthis.”

We can fix most of our problems withpoverty and a growing chasm betweenclasses by addressing two areas, housingand transportation. In July, I presented anaffordable housing plan that marries pub-lic investments of $50 million with privateinvestments to build affordable housingunits to be sold at less than $100,000. Thiswould be the first time that new affordablehousing units would truly be affordable,by making sure we kept the monthlymortgage payments below $700.

Right now, households that spend morethan 30% of their income on rent areconsidered “overburdened” by the USCensus Bureau. When we spend morethan 30% of our income on housing we

have very little disposable income to spendon other things like vacations, clothing,food, healthcare and transportation.

Addressing poverty is not just a func-tion of reducing the burden of housing butit also should be addressed by creating amore functional, less expensive transpor-tation system.

Too often, the location of affordableneighborhoods comes with the tradeoffof inaccessible public transportation. Ifwe want people to seize all of the oppor-tunity that this county has to offer, weneed to, at the very least, make gettingthere more feasible and less of a hassle.

For example, living near Homestead orPalmetto Bay or the West End might be themost affordable option; yet, commutesare regularly over an hour or the tolls rackup hundreds per month. This makes livingaway from the center of the county just asexpensive and definitely more cumber-some than living in the center of every-thing, where rent continues to skyrocket.

People do not really have options.The county is bringing in an extra $120

million this year; why not spend one-thirdof it on building more mass transit? Ipropose we spend $40 million of it onmass transit projects. We desperately needthis investment to help mitigate our transitwoes. County residents cannot continueto waste their time in traffic and theirmoney on tolls if we want our economy togrow for everyone.

Improving quality of life for residentsshould be a top priority for the countygovernment. We are blessed with the

nicest beaches in the world, a myriad ofrich cultural histories and people whohave an unusual strength fashioned fromwhat brought us all here in the firstplace. These are the ingredients for acommunity full of stability and rich withopportunities as vast as anything imag-inable; yet, our neighbors are still notexperiencing the comfort that comeswith financial security.

These problems are not insurmount-able. The fix lies in us prioritizing whatwill do the most good for the most people.We can start by setting the standard viaour budget. The investments that I haveproposed, $50 million for housing and $40million for transportation, are only a startto fixing problems that have been brewingfor decades.

These fixes are not going to drasticallyalter millions of lives tomorrow, but theywill be the first step in us codifying ourpriorities into law and setting our sights onmaking Dade County better than it is andcloser to what it could be.

The WriterXavier Suarez is a Miami-Dade

County Commissioner.

LE T T E R S T O T H E ED I T O RHelp Wanted: all-powerfullocal Mass Transit Czar

Quoting Miami Today, “The jam ofsolutions rivals the jam of traffic. Let’sget some adult supervision in govern-ment so that we’re all playing the trafficgame with the same aim.”

As I’ve said before, “What this dys-functional little burg needs is a MassTransit Czar.” His or her word is the finalword. He/she coordinates everything.

Period. No one, not even a mayor orcommissioner, can overrule what the Czarsays.

Oh, yeah, said Czar should be some-one well-respected in the mass transitcommunity, someone who actually hashad successful experience in the fieldand not someone appointed by one per-son, or someone whose only qualifica-tion is knowing the right people or con-tributing to campaign funds.

DC Copeland

How to WriteLetters for publication may be sent to

the Editor, Miami Today, 2000 S. DixieHwy, Suite 100, Miami, FL 33133 or e-mail to [email protected] may be condensed for space.

TODAY’S NEWSWEEK OF THURSDAY, AUGUST 27, 2015 MIAMI TODAY 7

County to weigh proposed private complex at corner of port

The county is being asked for land at lower left for a $240 million complex with convention, hotel space.

Ousted school principal retains title, pay level

Latest Design Trend: Nanny and Housekeeper Rooms

Ross Report

on Real Estateby Audrey Ross

www.miamirealestate.com

One of the latest design luxury

trends in Miami’s luxury market:

attached quarters for nannies and

maids. Developers taking notice of

this need have begun to design res-

idences that offer attached suites

with private entrances and separate

bathrooms to serve as housekeeper

or nanny quarters. Architects and

developers constantly re-think and

re-imagine how to design to

accommodate changing lifestyle

needs. The influx of buyers who are

choosing Miami as their permanent

residence and have additional staff

has developers rethinking designs.

When families look for a home, an

often heard complaint is the lack

of separate quarters for their nanny

or housekeeper. At first, to com-

pensate, buyers bought a smaller

separate unit for their staff.

Today’s luxury homeowners want

their staff close by, but not “on top

of them” either. It’s important to

the buyers to have sense of separa-

tion. Not having separate quarters

has been a major drawback to buy-

ing a condo instead of a single

family home. Luxury market buy-

ers want the comforts and service

buildings offer with the spatial

adjustments of the single family

home. It’s a desire influencing

architecture.

In recent years, the tastes and pref-

erences of off shore buyers have

continued to impact design trends

especially in Miami. Today’s luxu-

ry buyers have high standards and

expectations. They want their liv-

ing space to conform to their

lifestyle, rather than having to

adjust their life to their living

space. Today’s world is quickly

evolving in terms of the conflu-

ence of design, lifestyle and tech-

nology. Miami’s developers con-

tinue to take notice and pivot to

meet the market demands.

For professional advice on all

aspects of buying or selling real

estate, please contact me at

[email protected] or

305-960-2575, or come by the

office at 355 Alhambra Circle, 9th

Floor, in Coral Gables.

Notice of Public Budget Meeting

For legal ads online, go to http://legalads.miamidade.gov

NOTICE IS GIVEN that a Public Budget Hearing will be held by the Miami-Dade County Board of County Commissioners on Thursday, September 3, 2015, at 5:01 PM, regarding the County’s Budget and proposed millage rates for Fiscal Year 2015-16. The hearing will take place in the Commission Chambers, located on the Second Floor of the Stephen P. Clark Center, 111 N.W. First Street, Miami, Florida 33128.

All interested parties may appear and be heard at the time and place specified.

Miami-Dade County provides equal access and equal opportunity and does not discriminate on the basis of disability in its programs or services. For material in alternate format, a sign language interpreter or other accommodation, please call 305-375-2035 or send email to [email protected].

HARVEY RUVIN, CLERK CHRISTOPHER AGRIPPA, DEPUTY CLERK

OMNI & MIDTOWN REDEVELOPMENT DISTRICTCOMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCIES

PLEASE ALL TAKE NOTICE that a Board of Commissioners Meeting of the Omni &

Midtown Redevelopment District Community Redevelopment Agencies is scheduled to

take place on Thursday, September 10, 2015 @ 12:00 p.m., or thereafter, at Miami City

Hall, 3500 Pan American Drive, Miami, FL 33133.

All interested persons are invited to attend. For more information please contact the Omni

& Midtown CRA offices at (305) 679-6868.

#22695 Pieter A. Bockweg, Executive Director

Omni and Midtown

Community Redevelopment Agencies

BY CARLA VIANNA

The former principal of NorthMiami Senior High, who was re-cently removed from school staffafter publicly siding with a whitepolice officer in a racially sensi-tive subject, has been relocatedto the Miami-Dade County PublicSchools North Region Office.

There, Alberto Iber will con-tinue carrying his title as highschool principal, although hewon’t belong to any particularschool staff. His salary remainedthe same, said John Schuster, apublic schools spokesman.

Mr. Iber is now a “principal onspecial assignment,” meaning hewill be tasked with a variety ofadministrative duties, includingassisting other high school prin-cipals when needed, Mr. Schustersaid. There are four region of-fices within the county (north,west, south and east), and eachemploys teachers on special as-signment, directors and a regionalsuperintendent.

Mr. Schuster could not con-firm whether the position is tem-porary.

Mr. Iber was removed fromhis position at North Miami whenhe publicly defended white po-liceman David Eric Casebolt, whowaved a gun at black teens out-side a community pool in

McKinney, Texas.“He did nothing wrong,” Mr.

Iber commented on a story postedon the Miami Herald website. “Hewas afraid for his life. I com-mend him for his actions.”

The comment, which displayedMr. Iber’s Facebook picture,name and title, was removedwithin a few hours but not beforegaining the community’s atten-tion – and subsequent backlash.

Superintendent AlbertoCarvalho released a statementsaying “Insensitivity – intentionalor perceived – is both unaccept-able and inconsistent with ourpolicies,” and said that schoolemployees are “held to a higherstandard.”

Daryl Branton, who was viceprincipal at North Miami duringMr. Iber’s tenure, replaced him ashigh school principal on July 15.

BY CATHERINE LACKNER

A proposal to put a $240 mil-lion maritime center – whichwould include convention space,a hotel, a yacht marina and re-lated facilities – in the southwestcorner of PortMiami could pump$76 million into county coffersin lease payments and taxes over10 years.

Miami-Dade’s Trade andTourism Committee is to take upthe proposal of Miami YachtHarbor today (8/27). Countystaff recommends approval, andif the committee agrees, thecounty commission must rule.

The three-phase complexwould cater to the maritime in-dustry, said Opal Jones, an eq-uity partner in the project, whichis being steered by MITC-2015,a Florida corporation that hasRene Lacomb of West PalmBeach and Jean Claude Verite ofMiami as principals.

The hotel would serve cruiseand mega-yacht crews and temptpassengers to stay in Miamilonger, while the conventioncenter would become the pre-

mier showcase for new mari-time concepts, Ms. Jones said.Repair and refueling stations,duty-free shops, restaurants andother uses would serve the ma-rine industry, she added.

“Crews need places to stayand eat. We’re growing the eco-nomic pie for everybody; wejust want a slice before we serveit up.”

The deal is complicated, andwould require MITC-2015 to

move the site’s current lease-holder, the non-profit MarineSpill Response Corp. (MSRC),to another part of the port. Cityof Miami officials would have toapprove because of provisionsunder which the city gave theport to the county in 1960.

MITC-2015 would sign a 45-year lease with the option torenew for another 45. It mightobtain more land: MSRC hadoriginally leased 8.69 acres in

1991, but in 2007 gave back2.35 acres to the county.

In the new deal, MITC-2105might be allowed to lease anddevelop both MSRC’s currentland and the returned parcel. “Wewould love to have the entirepiece,” Ms. Jones said. The firstphase could open 18 monthsafter permitting, she added.Broward-based Tutor Periniwould be the construction com-pany.

Miami-Dade would pay noexpenses connected with the dealand the rent MITC-2015 offersis $400,000 more than what

MSRC is paying, she said.The southwest parcel is

sought-after. A 2011 port mas-ter plan said commercial usescould be allowed, giving rise torumors that the county wantedto put office buildings or otheruses there.

In early 2014, then-PortMiamiDirector Bill Johnson and Char-lotte Gallogly, president of WorldTrade Center Miami, met withofficials at AmCham Shanghaito present a timeline for develop-ing 48 acres in six phases.

If it had gone forward, theplan would have added 300,000square feet of retail, 4.6 millionof office space, 1.2 million ofhotel space, and nearly 1 millionof residential.

Later that year, a group ofinvestors led by soccer legendDavid Beckham proposed a sta-dium for the site, which Miami’sDowntown Development Au-thority endorsed, saying officebuildings there would unfairlycompete with property ownersdowntown.

“We are in line with every-thing they wanted in the masterplan,” Ms. Jones said Monday.“We’re asking to negotiate withMSRC, and simultaneously withthe county, for the property.”

FINANCIAL TRENDS WEEK OF THURSDAY, AUGUST 27, 201512 MIAMI TODAY

Carlos Fernandez-Guzman: “Markets...have taken it for granted that [the increase] was going to happen.”

Ripples from China, Greece swaying globalized Miami

Manuel Lasaga: The local economy will feel repercussions if China’s instability weakens global growth.

Our financial institutions treat Fed rate hike as fait accompli

Photo by Maxine Usdan


BY CARLA VIANNA

Although Greece’s debt cri-sis and China’s volatile stockmarket are phenomena occur-ring thousands of miles away,Miami’s increasingly globalbusiness and financial commu-nities feel the ripple effects ofissues toying with the globaleconomy.

While the contagion effect byGreece may be minimal, China’sups and downs are felt world-wide.

“It’s not what happens inGreece, it’s what happens af-t e r , ” sa id Tom Ba lcom,founder of 1650 Wealth Man-agement, a private wealth man-agement f irm. “Are othercountries going to leave also?Who absorbs the loss, andhow will that affect the mar-kets?”

Mr. Balcom spoke of fearssurrounding a Grexit, or a Greekwithdrawal from the eurozone.However, since Greece is sucha tiny part of the currency union,direct impact would be mini-mal, local economists postu-lated.

The Greece economy is actu-ally as big as that of the Miamimetropolitan area. The Euro-pean country’s gross domesticproduct was about $282 billionin 2013, while the Miami metroarea had a GDP of $281 billion,fact-checking site Politifact re-ported.

“The effect is psychological,”said James Cassel, chairman and

co-founder of Cassel Salpeter& Co., an investment bankingfirm. “The Greece economydoesn’t have a direct relation-ship with South Florida.”

China on the other hand is theworld’s second-largest economy,and its increasingly volatile stockmarket coupled with the recentdevaluation of the Chinese yuanhas shocked markets across theglobe. Fears that China’seconomy is slowing have sparkedheavy selling in all markets, theWall Street Journal reported. It’sbeen a tumultuous week for theUS stock market, which plunged

Monday and felt a spot of reliefTuesday.

“Some of these currencieshave an effect on the real estatemarket,” Mr. Cassel continued.“The weak Euro might meanless Europeans buying in SouthFlorida.”

There’s a push from devel-opers in Miami hoping to attractChinese investors, perhaps tocushion an expected Europeanand South American slowdown.Miami – often referred to as asafe haven for internationalmoney – may attract flight capi-tal from those in China uncom-

fortable with the long-term pros-pect of the economy and Chi-nese government’s reactions toit, Mr. Cassel said.

As the Chinese currency isadjusted or manipulated, he said,it will affect both the purchas-ing power in the US and itsexport potential. When the dol-lar is strong against the yuan,the US can buy more Chineseproducts but it also stunts USexports, he explained.

On the flip side, he said, theUS economy is strengthening,so more product will be ab-sorbed domestically.

“To be overly concerned abouta market that was up 150% andis now down 50%, to me, is alittle bit naive,” said senior in-vestment strategist Jonathan Hillwith Gibraltar Bank about theChinese market.

“The recent turmoil is unwel-come, but we have been con-sistent in anticipating this hikein volatility,” read an email Mr.Hill sent to his investors andclients last week. The email callsthe situation a “short-term dis-ruption” and points out that tra-ditionally light summer-tradingvolumes can leave markets vul-nerable to “outsized swings,”which is common in July andAugust.

Ultimately, the Chinese slow-down can affect the growth ofinternational trade and invest-ments with South Florida’s threemajor partners: Central America,South America and Europe, saidMiami economist ManuelLasaga. Repercussions will fur-ther spill over to the localeconomy if China’s instabilityaffects global growth, he said.

Mr. Lasaga points to the lackof transparency in how the Chi-nese economy is faring in themidst of its apparent slowdownas a reason for increased vola-tility in the market.

“I do think China shouldcontinue to grow 6% to 7%this year,” he said. “It’s stillgoing to add momentum to theglobal economy,” but the mo-mentum will be slower thananticipated.

BY CARLA VIANNA

The Federal Reserve’s policy-setting meeting last monthhinted that the anticipated rateincrease is on its way, althoughexactly when the Fed will touchrates was left up in the air.

While federal officials con-tinue discussing whether theeconomy is ready for a rateadjustment, local financial in-stitutions are already function-ing on the assumption that anincrease is soon to arrive, saidCarlos Fernandez-Guzman,president and CEO of PacificNational Bank.

“I think for the most part, themarkets all around – not just thecommunity banking sector –have taken it for granted that[the increase] was going to hap-pen,” Mr. Fernandez-Guzmansaid. “We are all acting in ourpricing and forward-pricing asif the 25-basis-point increasewill happen, but now we’re be-ginning to think that that may bepostponed.”

In preparation for the rateincrease, which would raise thenear-zero rate for the first timein nearly a decade, banks haveadjusted their loan pricings, Mr.Fernandez-Guzman said.They’ve edged their loan pric-ing upward according to whenthose loans will mature, aimingto take advantage of higherrates.

“That happens fairly quicklywhen you start to get a feelingthat rates are going to rise,” hesaid.

Banks are leaning towardfloating-rate loans, also knownas variable loans, in which ratesare flexible. The interest rate ona variable loan, as opposed to afixed-rate loan, can be adjustedmore frequently and subse-quently be priced at the new,higher rate once the Fed changesthe rate environment.

“They want to be able to re-price their assets, their loans, ata higher rate, and also they’relooking now for people to golonger on CDs, or Certificate of

Deposits,” said Tony Villamil,founder and principal of TheWashington Economics Group.In other words, banks are try-ing to lock in deposits at today’srates.

“On the asset side, the loanside, they’re trying to shortenthe loan duration so they can re-price at a higher rate. Because ifyou have short-term loan, andthe Fed moves up, by time thoseloans come due, [banks] canprice it on the higher rate.” Mr.Villamil said. “They would like

to see more variable loans thatmove with the Fed.”

When the Fed raises interestrates, a corresponding increaseis expected for prime rates,mortgage rates, car loan ratesand money market rates. Al-though the economy’s improve-ment was noted by federal offi-cials during the July meeting,economic data weren’t suffi-cient to move forward with arate increase.

“Most judged that the condi-tions for policy firming had not

yet been achieved, but they notedthat conditions were approach-ing that point,” the meeting min-utes read.

The Federal Reserve’s maingoal is to stabilize and maintainbalance within the US economy.One factor officials take intoconsideration when raising ratesis inflation, which has yet toreach the Fed’s 2% target.

“Some participants expressedthe view that the incoming in-formation had not yet providedgrounds for reasonable confi-dence that inflation would moveback to 2% over the mediumterm and that the inflation out-look thus might not soon meetone of the conditions establishedby the Committee for initiatinga firming of policy,” the min-utes read.

Although the decision for arate increase is being made on ameeting-to-meeting basis, Mr.Fernandez-Guzman said bankswill continue to anticipate thechange.

A survey by the National As-sociation of Business Econom-ics showed 77% of respondentsbelieve the Fed will raise rates,but only 37% believe it will hap-pen as soon as next month, theAssociated Press reported.

“[The Fed’s] intent has beenvery definitively stated: We aregoing to raise rates. Timing willdepend on economic data,” Mr.Fernandez-Guzman said. “It’sgoing be very difficult for us tosay it’s not going to rise, solet’s back off on these deci-sions.”

FINANCIAL TRENDSWEEK OF THURSDAY, AUGUST 27, 2015 MIAMI TODAY 13

Commodity prices vital to our South America trade partnersChina’s weakness rebounds here

“It is a matter of to what extent Latin America is affected by what goes on in China,” said Manny Mencia.

“As commodity prices decline, they export less. They buy less from the US,” explained Tony Villamil.

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BY CARLA VIANNA

Miami’s international trademay weaken in coming monthsdue to plummeting commodityprices, which slid to a 13-year-low this month, according tothe Bloomberg Commodity in-dex. As of Tuesday, commodi-ties slightly edged back upward.

Miami’s major Latin Ameri-can trade partners such as Bra-zil, Colombia and Peru are com-modity export-driven econo-mies, whose growths are slowedby falling prices.

“As commodity prices decline,they export less,” said TonyVillamil, founder and principalof The Washington EconomicsGroup. “They buy less from theUS. There’s less trade flow.Commodity prices are very im-portant for the economy inSouth America.”

China, a global driver of com-modity prices, is suffering aneconomic downturn with thebulk of financial scares tran-spiring within recent weeks. AsChina buys less raw material toproduce its own products, theLatin American countries rely-ing on commodity exports losetheir biggest market. All eyesare watching China’s volatilestock market and the devalua-tion of its currency. Fear of aglobal setback crept into stockmarkets around the world, all ofwhich continued to plunge as ofMonday.

Commodity prices were hurtagain by the weakest Chinesefactory data since the globalfinancial crisis. Oil had the long-est run of weekly declines inalmost 30 years, while copper,nickel, zinc, aluminum, tin andlead also fell, Bloomberg re-ported.

“Commodity prices, exclud-ing oil, are down 40%,” Mr.Villamil said. “There might bemore financial capital comingin, but we will see less actualtrade and visitor activity.”

Origin exports, or goods pro-duced in Florida and sold abroad,were down 1.5% year-to-datecompared to last year. US ex-ports were down more than 5%,said Manny Mencia, senior VPof the International Trade &Business Development division

of Enterprise Florida Inc.“We are outperforming the

nation,” Mr. Mencia said. “Weare less dependent on the Chi-nese market.”

So far this year, trade be-tween Florida and China hasdeclined about 5%. It’s an indi-rect effect, Mr. Mencia ex-plained. The strengthening dol-lar hinders the purchasing powerof countries in Latin America,which affects Miami’s south-bound trade. A stronger dollar,on the other hand, increases theUS’s ability to purchase fromother countries.

“From the perspective of LatinAmerica, the US is now onceagain reemerging as an excel-lent alternative market,” Mr.Mencia said. “The country inLatin America that is feeling thehangover of the commoditydownturn in China the most isBrazil. Nevertheless, it looks asif most of our traditional mar-kets in Latin America have re-covered to an extent.”

Florida’s exports to Chile(15%), Peru (10%) and Mexico(26%) are all up through Junecompared to the same periodlast year, according to data col-lected by Enterprise Florida.Central American and Carib-bean countries that don’t relyas much on commodities areperforming better than averagefor those areas in terms ofgrowth, Mr. Mencia said. Bra-zil and Colombia, however,Florida’s largest and third-larg-est markets, are not keeping upthe pace.

More than two-thirds of SouthFlorida’s international trade iswith Latin America, Mr. Menciasaid. Aside from exports andimports, Miami provides an es-timated $30 billion worth of ser-vices to other countries.

“So, it is a matter of to whatextent Latin America is affectedby what goes on in China,” Mr.Mencia said. “Imports fromChina are a little bit off [forFlorida]. Exports to China aresomewhat down. The big dealis how it’s affected and how itmight continue to affect somemajor exporters of commodi-ties in Latin America, first andforemost Brazil, but also Co-lombia.”



TODAY’S NEWS WEEK OF THURSDAY, AUGUST 27, 201514 MIAMI TODAY

Public Notice

For legal ads online, go to http://legalads.miamidade.gov

NOTICE IS GIVEN that a meeting of the Miami-Dade County Board of County Commissioners is scheduled on Tuesday, September 1, 2015, at 9:30 AM, in the Commission Chambers, located on the Second Floor of the Stephen P. Clark Center, 111 N.W. First Street, Miami, Florida, wherein, among other matters to be considered, a public hearing will be held on the following proposed ordinances/resolutions:

Ordinances and Resolutions:

providing for the upgrade of street lighting services at a combined estimated capital cost and first year rate increase cost of $230,000.00

’The Christine E. Lynn Rehabilitation Center for the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis at UHealth/Jackson Memorial’’

‘’José Milton Way’’

approving, adopting and ratifying non-ad valorem assessment rolls, rates and assessments for the street lighting Special Taxing Districts in Miami-Dade County, Florida, for the Fiscal Year commencing October 1, 2015 and ending September 30, 2016

special assessment district rates for Special Taxing Districts, including

special taxing districts for the fiscal year commencing October 1, 2015 and ending September 30, 2016Security

Guard Special Taxing Districts in Miami-Dade County, Florida, for the Fiscal Year commencing October 1, 2015 and ending September 30, 2016

Multipurpose Maintenance Special Taxing Districts in Miami-Dade County, Florida, for the Fiscal Year commencing October 1, 2015 and ending September 30, 2016

acceleration of Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department projects for the consent decree and Capital Improvement Program; amending Ordinance No. 14-77 to eliminate sunset provision and provide for automatic renewal on a yearly basis

calling Special Election in proposed Lake Hilda Multipurpose Maintenance Special Taxing District for the purpose of submitting to qualified electors residing in such Special Taxing District, for their approval or disapproval

calling Special Election in proposed Special Taxing District for the purpose of submitting to qualified electors residing in Lake Patricia Multipurpose Maintenance Special Taxing District, for their approval or disapproval

approving significant modification of Building Better Communities General Obligation Bond Program Project No. 241 – ‘’Unincorporated Municipal Service Area – Future Multi-Use Facility’’ to reduce its allocation by $1,500,000.00 and addition of new Project No. 353 – ‘’Biscayne Shores & Gardens Community Center’’ to be funded with $1,500,000 of surplus funds from Project No. 241

granting petition of Interlaken Community Development District to expand the boundary of the district established by Ordinance No. 11-101

Muhammad Ali Boxing Center

Orestes “Minnie” Miñoso FieldOrdinances creating and establishing Special Taxing Districts and Resolutions adopting preliminary assessment rolls for:

Grand Floridian Estates Multipurpose Maintenance and Street Lightingadopting preliminary assessment roll

Grand Floridian Estates Multipurpose Maintenance and Street Lighting Special Taxing DistrictLake Hilda Multipurpose Maintenance

approving, adopting, and confirming preliminaryLake Hilda Multipurpose Maintenance

Special Taxing DistrictLake Patricia Multipurpose Maintenance Special Taxing District

adopting preliminary assessment rollLake Patricia Multipurpose Maintenance Special Taxing District

Walden Townhomes Street Lighting Special Taxing Districtapproving, adopting, and confirming preliminary assessment roll

Walden Townhomes Street Lighting Special Taxing DistrictFlagler Station North Multipurpose Maintenance and Street Lighting Special Taxing District

approving, adopting, and confirming preliminary assessment rollFlagler Station North Multipurpose

Maintenance and Street Lighting Special Taxing DistrictJesus Subdivision Street Lighting Special Taxing District

Jesus Subdivision Street Lighting Special Taxing District

All interested parties may appear and be heard at the time and place specified.

The proposed ordinances listed below will have a Second Reading to be considered for enactment by the Board at the time and place specified above.

South A Municipal Advisory Committee created to study the possible Incorporation of a Municipality in the South A Area

South B Municipal Advisory Committee created to study the possible Incorporation of a Municipality in the South B Area

amending Article XXXI of the Code to locally adopt the spirit underlying the principles of the convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women, an international treaty; amending Section 2-477 of the Code to authorize the Commission Auditor to gather data regarding economic development, health and safety, and education of women in Miami-Dade County; amending Section 2-269 of the Code to authorize the Miami-Dade County Commission for Women to analyze such data and to report to this Board

amending Section 12-27 of the Code to Special Elections for General Obligation Bond Referendum elating to the Rules of Procedure of the Board of County Commissioners; amending Section 2-1 of the

Code; requiring the County Mayor to provide a written social equity statement regarding any proposed County Ordinance and place such statement on an Agenda with the proposed Ordinance prior to public hearing on the Ordinance

amending Section 4-7 of the Code, eliminating requirement that air ambulance rates be established by Miami-Dade County

The County Commission’s ability to consider enacting the foregoing ordinance is contingent upon the Metropolitan Services Committee, at its August 26, 2015, meeting, forwarding the ordinance to the Commission in accordance with the Commission’s Rules of Procedure.

All interested parties may appear at the time and place specified.

A person who decides to appeal any decision made by any board, agency, or commission with respect to any matter considered

[email protected].

F I L M I N G

I N M I A M IThese film permits were issued last

week by the Miami-Dade County Depart-ment of Regulatory & Economic Resources’Office of Film and Entertainment, (305)375-3288; the Miami Mayor’s Office ofFilm, Arts & Entertainment, (305) 860-3823; and the Miami Beach Office ofArts, Culture and Entertainment-Filmand Print Division, (305) 673-7070.44 BLUE PRODUCTIONS INC. California. TentativelyRock and a Hard Place. Turner Guilford Knight Correc-tional Center.HIGH NOON PRODUCTIONS LLC. Denver. Quinceanera.Countywide, Miami Beach citywide, UnincorporatedMiami-Dade County.Community Films. Culver City. BSCA. Greynolds Park,Greynolds Park Golf Course.Mesquite Productions Inc. Homestead. Bloodline Sea-son 2. Mesquite Production Inc.Sharp Entertainment. New York. 90 Day Fiancé. Fire/Rescue Headquarters.Cinemat USA. Doral. Talia’s Kitchen. Española Way/Plaza De Española.Waka TV. Dublin. Vogue Williams Wild Girl. Training &Treatment Center.Glickman Media. Sunny Isles. Voices for Children PSA.Miami-Dade County Children Courthouse.Paragon Production Services Inc. Miami Beach. BabsonCollege. Countywide, Miami Beach citywide.

The Omni Community Redevelopment agency owns the studio facility.

EUE/Screen Gems setto open city film studio


BY CATHERINE LACKNER

The Florida Film & TelevisionCenter, a studio facility that hasbeen in the planning stages since2011, is set to open next month,said Chris Cooney, chief operat-ing officer of EUE/Screen Gems,which has been contracted to runthe complex. The Omni Commu-nity Redevelopment Agency ownsthe facility at 50 NW 14th St.

“We’re now in range for a mid-September opening,” though anactual date has not been set, Mr.Cooney said. When it is, an offi-cial grand opening will be an-nounced, he added.

Formerly called the Miami En-tertainment Center, the complexwill house two sound stages of15,000 square feet and about12,000 square feet of office andstorage space, along with editingsuites.

Construction cranes have liftedpre-fabricated walls into place tosupport the roof, which was raisedto a height of 50 feet, considereda crucial production requirement.

EUE/Screen Gems, based inNew York City, operates film stu-dios in Atlanta and in Wilmington,NC.

“Miami and South Florida offertremendous crews, a great popu-lation of content and idea people.But what was missing was a facil-ity that would handle the big ideas,”Mr. Cooney said when the con-tract was signed.

EUE/Screen Gems Studiosleased the building for 10 yearswith an option to renew for ninemore, and is to pay $100,000 per

year and 11% of gross sales inexcess of $750,000 once it is upand running. The agency will re-imburse EUE/Screen Gems up to$11.5 million in development costs.

EUE/Screen Gems’ Wilmingtonstudio is the largest productionstudio in the US east of California,with 10 sound stages comprisingmore than 150,000 square feet,according to a redevelopmentagency release. Since 1985, morethan 350 film, television and com-mercial projects have been shotthere.

The Atlanta studio complexcontains 10 stages in 138,000square feet of production and flexspace. It has hosted more than 20scripted television shows and fea-ture films since it opened in 2010.

Miami Today: Week of Thursday, August 27, 2015

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