FINLLY THE TIME IS RIGHT FOR THE METROPICA PROJECT IN SUNRISE

FINLLY THE TIME IS RIGHT FOR THE METROPICA PROJECT IN SUNRISE

We have been waiting for this one for a long time, over 10 years in fact. This is the mixed use project that is to be built in Sunrise just West of the Sawgrass Mills Mall at the northwest corner of 136^thAvenue and Sunrise Blvd. It will have 1,250 condos and apartments, 485,000 square feet of retail space and 150,000 square feet of office space. And that is just in the first 2 phases! There is no detail on the development in later stages of the project. It is a 65 acre site, so I am sure that there is room for more building if this is successful. And that is in question given the proposed pricing of the residential units: from $300,000 to $1,000,000. The argument is who is going to spend that kind of money to live next to the Sawgrass Mills Mall when they could be by the water? We will see. But this Metropica is really the ultimate mixed use community and I really hope it works out. Residents have all of their shopping needs, have access to office and parks, all within walking distance. Yet it is not an urban setting and without all the problems that come with that like crime, traffic, pollution, etc. The project is being built by the original owner, Joseph Kavana, who is partnering with Scott Leventhal. Their company name is The Thrillist Cos. It sounds like they are considering a different name for the project, and other minor details are still being worked out. But finally it looks like this exciting mixed use project will be built, a little mini city next to a mall. I wish them the best with the project and know an excellent real estate broker who can help them with the retail and office space there! As always thanks for reading and have a great day.

Metropica condo sales expected to start this year

http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2014-08-05/business/sfl-metropica-condo-20140805_1_metropica-joseph-kavana-k-group-holdings

ANOTHER LAWSUIT FILED AGAINST JIM BATMASIAN

ANOTHER LAWSUIT FILED AGAINST JIM BATMASIAN

Jim Batmasian was back in the press again, on another wrong end of a lawsuit. This one was brought by the condominium association of Palmetto Place at Mizner Park who contends that Batmasian benefitted from “top city staffers” who made the condo association give Batmasian 100 free parking spaces. The suit is looking for compensation for these parking spaces, and the allegations are putting more unpleasant information into the public eye. For one, it seems like there is a constant struggle between Boca Raton city officials and Batmasian. Batmasian is the largest owner of real estate in the City and as such he pays the most property taxes. Those taxes pay the salaries of the City officials. If he ever decided to not pay them, it would create a difficult situation for those people. Now eventually he would have to pay the taxes or lose the properties, and he would, but not before showing them who the boss was. You get the impression that he likes to throw his weight around with them, and you can see why he feels like he has leverage over them. Specifically, the lawsuit accuses the City “and its staff have gone so far as to fabricate public records, including a land use order… that takes Palmetto Place’s property without compensation,” according to lawyer Robert Hackleman who represents the condo association. This is going to be an interesting one and I will be following it closely. You will be able to read about the results here, as you might have already guessed. As always thanks for reading and have a great day.

Lawsuit alleges Boca developer Batmasian got city favors

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/business/lawsuit-alleges-boca-developer-batmasian-got-city-/ngxfq/

PORT EVERGLADES TO DEEPEN PORT

PORT EVERGLADES TO DEEPEN PORT

Our close coverage of Florida’s port expansions continues with this article. One of the reasons for this is the belief that our economy will be very much positively affected by the widening of the Panama Canal. The area ports are responding to this and preparing for increased traffic and cargo. Right now Port Everglades is 42 feet deep, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has just recommended that it be deepened to 47 feet to accommodate the increased traffic. Broward County sought a depth of 48 feet, and would need to pay for the extra foot. That would cost $18 million dollars. That that seems like a lot but when you see this math you can see why investing in this infrastructure makes sense. The Army Corps calculates that every $1 spent on the deepening project (total cost $370 million) the U.S. will make $2.7 dollars in return over the next 50 years. The conclusion was made that the extra foot of depth did not justify the added expense. It should be noted that Port Miami is dredging to 50 feet. So it is clear everyone is betting on this expansion and putting up millions of dollars in pursuit of more growth. I think it is all going to pay off and that this will be lasting growth. Florida is uniquely positioned between Central America (where it seems like most of the fruit and seafood are coming from lately) and the rest of the U.S. and it is a natural stop for sea based traffic. If we can improve our rail service this could only assist the growth to come. Very exciting stuff and we will be following it closely. As always thanks for reading and have a great day.

Broward to dig deeper at Port

http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2014-08-12/news/fl-port-everglades-dredge-20140812_1_port-everglades-portmiami-u-s-army-corps

REAL ESTATE LICENSING FEES ARE REDUCED

REAL ESTATE LICENSING FEES ARE REDUCED

Do not be alarmed, there was no photo with the article. It happens from time to time, it is just coincidental that there have been some missing photos from the blog articles lately. As you can imagine, this article caught my eye! You really don’t see fees going down very often, and for real estate licenses I cannot remember this ever happening since I moved here in 2001. Back then everyone in the state seemed to have a real estate license regardless of age, expertise or occupation. It was a profession preferred by the transient crowd, a way to make big money without working very hard or long hours. When hard times hit the market, membership in the Realtors Association of the Palm Beaches dropped 31% from 2005 – 2011. Now with the market slowly improving, the number of realtors is growing once again. It is interesting that the state appears to be trying to help the industry with this drop in licensing fees. But don’t forget that lots of people make money from these real estate licensees, who must attend real estate schools, pay taxes on the licenses, and eventually collect sales tax on the transactions they make. Thanks to the state of Florida for the small break, it is appreciated although it will not affect my voting choice. Before long, we might well be back to the boom times where you could find a real estate agent under every rock and mangrove in Florida. We are certainly heading in that direction quickly. As always thanks for reading and have a great day.

Real-estate licensing fees reduced in Florida

http://www.mypalmbeachpost.com/news/business/real-estate-licensing-fees-reduced-in-florida/ngz3F/#fafbbd37.3711057.735463

FLORIDA HAS PLENTY OF SUN BUT LITTLE SOLAR POWER

FLORIDA HAS PLENTY OF SUN BUT LITTLE SOLAR POWER

This is just plain crazy and something that needs changing in huge way. I was in Chicago a few weeks ago and while riding the L train to Wrigley Field to see a Cubs game I saw plenty of solar panels on top of residential and office buildings. It is something you never see in Florida, despite our moniker as the Sunshine State. Why is this?? Because here in Florida and in other states (many of which are in the Southeast) where there is a monopoly on the energy supply, like Florida Power & Light, the utility company pays big money to prevent any competition. No matter how logical, environmentally friendly and efficient it might be. This is another example of politics gone bad, where the rich and powerful use their money to shape the laws to benefit their interests. It is almost funny that not only have they prevented competition from solar, but they have actually succeeded in making it illegal for homeowners to lease solar systems. That is the most common use of solar power, leaving only the option of purchasing it, which is very costly upfront. States in the Northeast like Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey are far ahead of states in the South with rooftop solar panels for homes. I think if enough publicity is shed on this subject the utility companies will be forced to allow more competition which will be good for both consumers and the environment. So please spread the word, and with our help competition will be allowed. Once it is, prices for everything will drop and service should improve. As always thanks for reading and have a great day.

Sunshine State slow to warm up to solar power

http://members.jacksonville.com/news/2014-08-16/story/sunshine-state-slow-warm-solar-power

PORT EVERGLADES: BIG DIFFERENCE BETWEEN 47 & 48 FEET OF DEPTH?

PORT EVERGLADES: BIG DIFFERENCE BETWEEN 47 & 48 FEET OF DEPTH?

An interesting debate is taking place in Broward County regarding the depth of dredging at Port Everglades. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is the authority in these situations, and also impacts federal funding of these port projects. They have just recommended a 47 foot depth for Port Everglades, while Broward County sought a depth of 48 feet. Seems like small change, no big deal right? First of all, let’s talk about the cost of it: $18 million dollars. The 47 foot depth would allow the largest petroleum and container vessels. So what is the issue? It is that megaships with full loads prefer depths of 50 feet to comfortably maneuver. Port Miami is dredging to 50 feet and maybe other ports are concerned that they will be bypassed if they are not deep enough. It could also be a regional competitive thing, like if Miami can do it then we should be able to as well. There is a lot of money and jobs at stake here, $369 million dollars, of which $186 million would be paid by the federal government and $183 million by Port Everglades. You could imagine the prospect of spending all this money to improve the capacity and then it not being adequate to handle the increased traffic. And then the traffic would divert to other ports that can handle it and lose the investment and the existing traffic. The ports and the expansion of it supports 4,200 jobs and 2,200 construction jobs. There will be plenty of more updates on this soon and I promise you will find them here. As always thanks for reading and have a great day.

Port Everglades mulls extra $9 million outlay to dredge to 48 feet

http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2014-08-07/business/fl-port-everglades-dredging-update-20140807_1_port-everglades-portmiami-expanded-panama-canal

LONG VACANT LANTANA WATERFRONT SITE FINALLY TO BE DEVELOPED

LONG VACANT LANTANA WATERFRONT SITE FINALLY TO BE DEVELOPED

I promise it isn’t me! This is the 2^nd article this week I have been unable to get the photo from it, and of course I blame the respective publications. I have a long and impressive track record of using photos with my blogs so I know it isn’t me! I love articles like this about a long vacant or dilapidated site that gets a new life from a developer. This is the definition of a win win deal, with the City of Lantana getting added tax revenues and new homes sprouting where there was nothing but overgrown land and decaying buildings before. But all is not agreed upon yet but looks promising. The plan is to transform the 10 acre waterfront site into 5 buildings, a mixture of 2 story mixed use properties which would be fronting on Dixie Highway and 6 story residential buildings which would be a gated rental community. The plans call for 2 mixed use properties and 3 residential buildings. There will be a total of 319 residential units. Given that there have been many failed deals on this site throughout the years and no other competing plans or bidders, this deal should happen. This is one of the last large waterfront parcels left and it will be very interesting to see how it all turns out. It should be great for the area and it is long overdue. My fingers are crossed but I really don’t think that is going to be necessary here. As always thanks for reading and have a great day.

Lantana waterfront property could develop as retail/residential

http://www.mypalmbeachpost.com/news/news/local-govt-politics/lantana-waterfront-property-could-develop-as-retai/ngypN/#74a094e9.3711057.735459