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OMNI AREA REVIVAL

2011-10-03T13:35:00.000-04:00

ewalker@MiamiHerald.com In the three months since the Genting Group announced plans for a resort on the bayside site of The Miami Herald, the once sleepy Omni area has turned into an epicenter for downtown Miami’s redevelopment. The transformation of the area — with the Arsht Center for the Performing Arts as a centerpiece of a vibrant entertainment district — appears to be happening in a larger and faster way than anyone could have imagined. In addition to Genting’s vision for Resorts World Miami plans are in the works for a mixed-use development at 1400 Biscayne Center by Espacio USA and a new Publix Super Market opening next year at 17th Street and Biscayne Boulevard. “The energy you feel on the Boulevard hasn’t been felt there for a long time,” said Alyce Robertson, director of the Miami Downtown Development Authority. “It’s a really exciting change for an area that’s been under the weather for so long.” Leading the way is the Malaysian conglomerate that spent $236 million in May for the 13.9-acre Herald site and is now vying for control of the Omni Center with the recent purchase of one of two bank notes on the distressed property. Genting also has bought small parcels along Biscayne Boulevard across from the Omni and west on Northeast First Avenue and Northeast 15th Street. And most players in the area’s real estate market believe the Asian giant isn’t done shopping. Many property owners said they’ve been approached by prospective buyers who could be Genting representatives, considering the company has been working the acquisitions quietly. Genting declined requests to discuss its recent purchases, only confirming through a Miami spokesman the Omni note purchase. A clearer sense of the company’s vision is expected later this month when Genting unveils its master plan for the Miami Herald site, being designed by Miami’s Arquitectonica. The Malaysian firm’s hunt for more land is driving up real estate prices along Biscayne Boulevard west to North Miami Avenue. From small parcels by private owners to the Primera Iglesia Bautista church and the Miami-Dade County School Board parking lot, the area is teaming with land ripe for a revival. A year ago, tracts in the Omni area were offered for $40 to $60 a square foot – and few were selling. These days, prices are as high as $200 a square foot and more for waterfront property, local real-estate brokers say. The group that last month sold Genting a site across the street from the Omni now occupied by a Checkers burger joint reaped $16.25 million for the 2.38 acre property it had owned since the 1960s. During the boom it was under contract to a developer who got approval for a high-rise condo tower, but then defaulted in April 2006. “The perceived value of that property has gone up and down over the many years we’ve had it,” said Henry Block, the managing partner of the investment group for the 1650 Biscayne property. “We felt like this was a fair price in today’s market. The time was right.” Realtor Suzanne Hollander, who has two listings in the area, has seen a significant increase in interest after news that Genting is looking beyond the Herald site. Hollander has the church at 1790 NE Second Ct. on the market for $1.9 million and an assemblage of land in the 1700 block of Northeast Second Avenue that includes the S&S diner, all listed for $3.7 million.Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/09/09/2399196/omni-area-enjoying-revival-spurred.html#ixzz1Zk0v4C2C

Icon Brickell 1/1 for Lease

2011-10-03T12:51:00.000-04:00

2/2 @ 500 Brickell Condominium for Lease

2011-10-03T12:50:00.000-04:00

Green Diamond Miami Beach $549,000 Condo 1BD 2BA

2011-08-02T14:52:00.000-04:00

News

2011-08-02T13:46:00.001-04:00

HSBC today said it would cut 30,000 jobs (more than 10% of its workforce) by 2013 and sell nearly half its retail bank branches in the U.S. (HSBC already announced a deal to sell 195 U.S. branches to First Niagara Bank for $1 billion). The bank wouldn't disclose where layoffs were coming from, but said it would continue hiring in Brazil and Mexico. To put HSBC's announcement in plainspeak… The bank is giving up on the U.S. and shifting its focus to Latin America.

We expect this trend to continue. And as we've said in the past, it should be bullish for Miami real estate. We think Miami real estate will boom because of an influx of wealthy Latinos and (more important) gambling. In the June 22 Digest, we noted the latter trend is beginning…

The world's largest casino company, Genting Berhad, is spending $236 million for a 14-acre site on the water in Miami. The company plans to invest $3 billion in a casino-resort on the site. Says Genting Berhad CEO KT Lim: "I believe Miami is destined to become one of the greatest global cities in the world. With planes now able to fly nonstop from Singapore and Hong Kong, Miami will soon connect Asia with the Americans."

Last Friday, real estate research firm DQNews released bullish numbers for Miami. June home sales surpassed the year-ago level for the seventh consecutive month. And the median home price there fell slightly, down 10% from June 2010, marking the 45th consecutive month in which the median price has fallen year-over-year.

In June, 9,857 new and resale houses and condos closed escrow (including Miami-Dade, Palm Beach, and Broward counties). June sales rose 1.4% from the prior month and 6% from a year ago.

But the biggest increase comes in the high-end market… 103 houses and condos sold for $2 million or more last month, up 21.2% from May and 27.2% from a year earlier. Also, in the second quarter of 2011, buyers purchased 10,500 square feet of livable space for $13.2 million in the Continuum on South Beach – one of the beach's best buildings. That's an average of $1,257 per square foot.

Miami real estate prices are currently down around 50% from the 2007 peak. And it looks like the area is finding a bottom.