Metrorail- Why can't they do this? (Miami, Homestead: foreclosures, HOA fees, hotel)

[Coconut1]

I'm not sure Miami 21 is going to make it more urban insanely quick, but we'll see. I need to look more at the plan... I thought it was just new, simplified zoning?

I agree with your ideas, John, but I don't think we're getting any place by telling people to stop. I think it's best to hear concerns, then talk about why they're either not correct, or ways we can help improve them In order to really turn Miami into a world class city, we need to hear everyone, even if they don't agree with us.

[Wild Style]

Here is a link talking about the metrorail extension link

PDF put out by Miami mass transit authority link

planned commuter rail from miami > broward > west palm beach

link

miami 21 link

If you are from NYC then Miami 21 is Miami's version of PlaNYC link

[Wild Style]

Forgot to add the lightrail system that would go from downtown miami to the design district and the Jackson Memorial/Health district area link

Personally I think they should just expand metro mover instead of building yet another mass transit mode of transport.

Here is the baylink proposal which is the light-rail system to run through south beach. Monorail is the cheapest and fastest to deploy and cheapest to maintain long term in terms of train type transport so not sure why they wouldn't think about using that instead but what can you do?! link (http://www.miamidade.gov/MPO/docs/MPO_baylink_present_20040729.pdf - broken link)

[Coconut1]

Hey Wild

Thanks for all the links.

I looked at the Metrorail expansions before. I don't think they're bad, but they're very expensive since they want to elevate it like the current rail is as well as purchase the land.

I like the commuter rail plan, as well as the lease option they're talking about. That's what I'm really a fan of. I think the county needs to focus on tracks already here and how we can utilize them since it seems the grandiose elevated Metrorail plans of 80 something miles, will not be done for a long long time.

Even if the entire commuter rail cannot be done at once, the unused section I keep talking about is ripe for the picking. It would certainly help Miami to get the small section done from the Port almost up to North Bay Village (which is where the active lines start)

I really don't like the streetcar. I don't understand the point in putting in a street car when the rail line is there. If you're below NE 20th St you could walk to either the Metrorail extension, or Metromover. If you're above NE 20th St you could walk to the Metrorail extension... the line gets closer to the coast as it goes up and is only a block away from the proposed Streetcar on NE 2nd Ave. The extension also hits the important places they want to Streetcar to hit, Midtown Miami and the Design District.

If a Monorail is cheapest, fastest and easiest, I have no problem with it. A simple transfer from Museum/Bicentennial Park Metromover over to the Monorail would be easy enough and I guess no different then just extending Metromover across the Bay.

I just don't like the adding of multiple new systems when there are already ones in place. People are intimidated by mass transit at first and allowing them to only have to learn one or two systems is much better and would encourage more ridership then having to learn 4 or 5 systems.

[♥♥PRINC3Ss♥♥]

My question for those that are familiar with this area.

Are those condos in Downtown, Brickell, design district and the Beach still vacant? Are they still being recycled by foreign investors, speculators and drug dealers? From what I have seen they still look empty but I could be wrong.

Until those condos are not owned by people that actually plan to live there the whole year, I don't think we are ready for a change. It's my impression that we simply don't have enough jobs to have full time residents in those areas.

[JohnLee1]

Originally Posted by Coconut1

Hey Wild

Thanks for all the links.

I looked at the Metrorail expansions before. I don't think they're bad, but they're very expensive since they want to elevate it like the current rail is as well as purchase the land.

I like the commuter rail plan, as well as the lease option they're talking about. That's what I'm really a fan of. I think the county needs to focus on tracks already here and how we can utilize them since it seems the grandiose elevated Metrorail plans of 80 something miles, will not be done for a long long time.

Even if the entire commuter rail cannot be done at once, the unused section I keep talking about is ripe for the picking. It would certainly help Miami to get the small section done from the Port almost up to North Bay Village (which is where the active lines start)

I really don't like the streetcar. I don't understand the point in putting in a street car when the rail line is there. If you're below NE 20th St you could walk to either the Metrorail extension, or Metromover. If you're above NE 20th St you could walk to the Metrorail extension... the line gets closer to the coast as it goes up and is only a block away from the proposed Streetcar on NE 2nd Ave. The extension also hits the important places they want to Streetcar to hit, Midtown Miami and the Design District.

If a Monorail is cheapest, fastest and easiest, I have no problem with it. A simple transfer from Museum/Bicentennial Park Metromover over to the Monorail would be easy enough and I guess no different then just extending Metromover across the Bay.

I just don't like the adding of multiple new systems when there are already ones in place. People are intimidated by mass transit at first and allowing them to only have to learn one or two systems is much better and would encourage more ridership then having to learn 4 or 5 systems.

I agree. I don't know what's taking so long. Now that I think about it, I was just doing some research, it's really starting to bug me. And what's up with Miami21, I just checked the site and it said it will start May 20, when I thought I saw before earlier than that . Is Regalado trying to secretely delay it and delay it. I want it to start and I was mass transit to be better, stop SLACKING! and wake UP!

[gixxer1000]

Originally Posted by ♥♥PRINC3Ss♥♥

Are those condos in Downtown, Brickell, design district and the Beach still vacant? Are they still being recycled by foreign investors, speculators and drug dealers? From what I have seen they still look empty but I could be wrong.

As of the end of December 2009 Downtown condos were 74% occupied. Out of 22,079 units 16,415 were occupied. Out of that 16,415 87% (or 14,281) were occupied by full-time residents. They didn't report how many of those full time residents are drug dealers

Considering the current leasing and sales rate I would assume downtown has added about 1,000 people since the beginning of the year. Per DDA and U.S. census reports downtown is currently adding about 3,220 people per year.

Miami Downtown Development Authority

"Following one of the most historic boom-turned-busts in U.S. housing market history, Downtown Miami’s condo collapse has given way to new demand for urban living in an area previously considered to be a 9-to-5 business district. A new Residential Closings and Occupancy study by Goodkin Consulting/Focus Real Estate Advisors has found that 74% of the 22,079 residential units built in Downtown Miami since 2003 are currently occupied. This reflects a 12 percentage-point increase over the 62% occupancy rate reported in a similar baseline study completed in May 2009. Both reports were conducted in partnership with the Miami Downtown Development Authority (DDA).
Downtown Miami’s rising occupancy rate is the result of increased rental activity and new condo sales. The past year has seen an average of 345 new leases executed per month, while the fourth quarter of 2009 saw 350 condo closings per month, marking a 200% year-over-year increase in sales. As a result, the number of unoccupied new condos in the downtown area has fallen by more than 2,600 units since May 2009, with unsold inventory dropping from 8,000 to just over 7,000 condo units over the seven month period ending in December 2009.

The population growth resulting from these trends is positively impacting Downtown Miami’s commercial base: a recent Integra Realty Resources survey of the 50-largest central business districts in the U.S. found that Downtown Miami’s retail vacancy rate of 5.06% is among the five lowest in the nation. These numbers mark a dramatic spike in retail demand over the past 18 months; Downtown Miami’s overall vacancy rate climbed as high as 12.5% in mid-2008, according to CoStar Group.

According to Lewis M. Goodkin, founder of Goodkin Consulting, and Craig Werley of Focus Real Estate Advisors: “Downtown Miami’s residential occupancy growth has outpaced even our own best estimates over the past nine-months. While the aftermath of the condo collapse is still causing financial hardship for developers and their lenders, the resulting affordability has created a community of full-time residents. If occupancy trends persist, Downtown Miami’s existing condo inventory would effectively be eliminated over the next twenty-five months.”

Additional significant findings from the study include:
• Occupancy & sales activity accelerates: The number of unoccupied new condos in the downtown area has fallen by more than 2,600 units since May 2009. To date, 68% of the 22,079 condo units completed since 2003 have sold.
• Primary residents account for vast majority of occupancy: Approximately 87% of the 16,415 occupied condo units are filled with full-time residents.
• Absorption ahead of schedule: If current levels of occupancy growth persist, Miami’s condo inventory would be fully absorbed within 25 months. Sustaining that rate of household movement into the downtown area will be subject to economic recovery.
• Occupancy driving downtown economy: Downtown Miami’s population growth is fueling a dramatic surge in commercial and retail activity, despite the fact that most markets across America are struggling. Recent research conducted by the Miami Downtown Development Authority found that 42 new net retail businesses opened in Downtown Miami in 2009, marking the third straight year that the district has seen 40 or more new net retail outlets open."

[patricemendo]

Originally Posted by JohnLee1

I agree. I don't know what's taking so long. Now that I think about it, I was just doing some research, it's really starting to bug me. And what's up with Miami21, I just checked the site and it said it will start May 20, when I thought I saw before earlier than that . Is Regalado trying to secretely delay it and delay it. I want it to start and I was mass transit to be better, stop SLACKING! and wake UP!

oh JohnLee, calm down. if you're going to live in miami you have to get used to the fact that nothing happens quickly....if you get upset everytime things don't happen on schedule, you're gonna stroke out and find yourself prematurely buried in the city you love so much!

[JohnLee1]

Originally Posted by patricemendo

oh JohnLee, calm down. if you're going to live in miami you have to get used to the fact that nothing happens quickly....if you get upset everytime things don't happen on schedule, you're gonna stroke out and find yourself prematurely buried in the city you love so much!

I am calm, I would just like for the mass transit to be better and for Miami21 to get implemented. I say we (the people actually interested, like Gixxer) to go to the meetings and speak out. If you hear of a John Lee, it's probably me. I'll be one of the few Asians there, probably the only one

[♥♥PRINC3Ss♥♥]

Originally Posted by gixxer1000

As of the end of December 2009 Downtown condos were 74% occupied. Out of 22,079 units 16,415 were occupied. Out of that 16,415 87% (or 14,281) were occupied by full-time residents. They didn't report how many of those full time residents are drug dealers

Dear Gixxer1000 I know you think all of us are high school dropouts, but what you fail to understand is that we are fully aware we live in a Banana Republic where what's on paper rarely match reality until it's too late and some bubble bursts. I wanna hear from real people that actually have seen the area, I wanna know if those condos actually look occupied and also if residents are paying thousands on HOA fees because other residents are letting their properties go in foreclosure.

We all know what hype can do, remember that we just had a housing bubble where shacks in the middle of nowhere were selling for 400k and now are selling for 120k. I personally know dozens of people who are letting their properties go in foreclosure. Please forgive our skepticism.