1,000 HOMES COME AVAILABLE FOR TOURISM IN CUBA THANKS TO AIRBNB

I predicted that the major tourism surge from the U.S. to Cuba would come by cruise boat, mainly because there just weren’t enough hotel rooms there. While I still think that is true, the “hotel” inventory just grew dramatically thanks to Airbnb. They are the American online home rental service. It is a really cool thing since I think it will really allow visitors to have a much more authentic visit, really seeing how people live and getting a feel for their culture. This can be done much more effectively in someone’s home than a hotel or cruise ship. While it has only been a few months, Airbnb is part of a growing number of American companies who have already established business relations in Cuba. IDT Corp out of New Jersey established the first direct calls between the countries. Netflix and Mastercard are there as well, albeit in limited capacity at this point given the existing restrictions. I think once you crack open the door of capitalism it is awful hard to shut and control. How quickly will this happen here? Depends a lot on the removal of the embargo and the sponsorship of terrorism designation. That looks like it is about to be lifted within the month and then we will see what happens in the Senate. It is fair to say that this has a lot of momentum and with all the problems happening in the world now this could be a rare diplomatic victory for the U.S. It is within our sights now, so close to happening. I cannot wait to visit there and hope that the Cuban people will get the opportunity for freedom they so badly deserve. There is a lot at stake here indeed, much more than just money. As always thanks for reading and have a great day.

Airbnb offers Cuba lodgings in major US business expansion

http://www.wsvn.com/story/28700694/airbnb-offers-cuba-lodgings-in-major-us-business-expansion

PLOT OF LAND NEARLY THE SIZE OF RHODE ISLAND ON SALE IN FLORIDA

I really love living in Florida. Every day I wake up I am thankful for being able to live here. One of the things that always strikes me is the raw beauty of the nature we have. Between lizards, insects, birds, etc. there is rarely a dull moment out West where I live. And there is so much undeveloped land, wherever you look out West, it is sort of comforting. Nonetheless I was shocked to see this article, about the largest contiguous tract of undeveloped private land East of the Mississippi River, going on the market for sale. The size is 560,000 acres, which is nearly the size of Rhode Island. It is expected to bring $1 billion dollars or more when it finally sells. It is located on the gulf coast just south of the Panhandle in Northern Florida between Tallahassee and Gainesville. It is owned by the Foley Timber and Land Company and largely consists of forest now. Prospective buyers are expected to include real estate investment trusts, pension funds, university endowments, and sovereign wealth funds, all of whom are attracted to stable long term investments like timberland. I have never heard or seen of a plot of land this size being sold, anywhere. It is amazing to think about how big it is and all the possibilities that it will become. How fast will it happen? It will be very interesting to see and I promise to let you know as soon as a buyer is announced. As always thanks for reading and have a great day.

560,000-Acre Swath of Florida Land Going on the Market

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/02/business/dealbook/560000-acre-swath-of-florida-land-going-on-the-market.html?_r=0

HOW DO YOU BEAT CLIMATE CHANGE? RAISE UP

“The only tried and true solution to combating rising seas levels is to rise with it,” said Eric Carpenter, public works director for the city of Miami Beach. Does it sound crazy? Makes a lot of sense to me and I bet it is the most viable and cost effective way to battle the rising water levels. Already Miami is raising its lowest roads and sidewalks 1.5 – 2 feet. More from Carpenter, “There’s a very real possibility that the entire city’s infrastructure – roads, buildings, parks – will need to be elevated an extra 2, 3 or even 4 feet over the next 100 years.” Now you start to see just how serious this problem is facing South Florida. And make no mistake about it, it is the entire region not just Miami. But Miami does have it worst given their low sea level so it makes sense that they are starting the process of how to deal with it sooner than later. But the building codes everywhere will have to be changed and if it happens soon enough we will be ready when it happens. There is a lot at stake here, not the least being flood and home insurance premiums, which are already the highest in the nation. You will be hearing a lot more about this in the coming years as politicians face this new reality and start planning and budgeting accordingly. If they can do it in Holland we can do it here. Look at Key West for a closer example. As always thanks for reading and have a great day.

An Idea To Mitigate Rising Seas In Miami Beach: Lift The Entire City

http://wlrn.org/post/idea-mitigate-rising-seas-miami-beach-lift-entire-city

SOUTH FLORIDA HAS BECOME THE 5TH LEAST AFFORDABLE PLACE TO LIVE IN THE U.S.

Sorry there was no photo associated with this article. It always makes me wonder, every time I see the announcement of another new multifamily development (which happens almost daily these days), how can they all be geared towards luxury buyers? I mean are there really that many people out there looking to spend over a million dollars for a high rise apartment in South Florida? I think the jury is still out on that one but the affordability market study is truly alarming. What it shows clearly is that home prices are outpacing wage growth, resulting in making South Florida the 5^th least affordable place to live in the U.S. The list reads number 1 is S. Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles, New York and then South Florida. It just can’t be sustainable and really leads you to wonder when it will all blow up again. Our housing market is tough to figure out because there is so much foreign capital, like the other least affordable markets, and it is affected by things that take place in other countries. It seems like it is too much too fast again, but the banks are being way more cautious this time around. And so are the developers so maybe this time will be different. This cycle will last at least another 2 years so we can see where we are then, hopefully still building and not realizing that we overbuilt (again). As always thanks for reading and have a great day.

Homes hard to afford in S. Florida

http://www.polinpr.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/PB-Post-3261.pdf

MIXED USE PROJECT TO REPLACE GOLF COURSE IN WEST PALM BEACH

I told you that one of the endangered species of a hot market was the golf course, along with trailer parks, and this is a story about one of these. You see these types of properties have huge tracts of land and when times are good there is no question that more money can be made by redeveloping the project. The main ingredient is always residential, and that is usually paired with retail and sometimes office space as well. In this case, The Patriot Golf Course, along Congress Avenue and Palm Beach Lakes Blvd., will transformed into the Sea Palm Resort. The new property will feature 94 single family homes, a 4 story hotel that will have 102 rooms, 48 condos and a 5,000 square foot spa. Before long this 119 acre golf course will be a thriving mixed use development that will be beautiful to look at. I really call this kind of development progress, and it is a win win deal in my opinion for both the developer and the City, who will see their tax coffers rise with the deal. Expect to see many more deals like this come together over the next 24 months. Golf is out for sure and development is back in a huge way. Land is just too valuable again to be used for golf and trailer parks and the banks are lending again. As always, thanks for reading and have a great day.

West Palm Beach approves golf course conversion project

http://www.mypalmbeachpost.com/news/news/local-govt-politics/west-palm-beach-approves-golf-course-conversion-pr/nkcpk/#39dab9d7.3711057.735698

WEST PALM BEACH CONSIDERS SKYWAY TO ASSIST PEDESTRIANS ON OKEECHOBEE BLVD.

This is sort of a funny one, but has some serious issues as well. For years the restaurants and merchants at City Place have waiting for the hotel across the street. They imagined it bringing thousands more customers through their doors. Now it is getting very close to opening and they just realized that it is really difficult and dangerous to cross the street to get there! SO, in part thanks to a 1,500 person citizen’s petition (all business owners at City Place?), Palm Beach County is now discussing with the traffic engineers and Florida Dept. of Transportation about the possibility of building a walkway over Okeechobee Blvd., the 8 lane street. This is something that if adopted, could be seen in many other instances in several different cities throughout the region. The trend towards walkability is running hot now and many cities are looking for ways to make that happen. There is an amazing and comprehensive plan being hatched now for the Cypress Creek area (now rebranded as Ft. Lauderdale North or Uptown) that you will be seeing soon. They will be turning the 8 lane Cypress Creek Rd. into 2 four lane roads to increase access for pedestrians. One can only hope that all the cities are looking at each other for ideas and that they can take the best of these and implement them all over the South Florida region to create a standard of walkability. Aside from the improved safety and aesthetics, there is a significant health benefit involved, getting people more exercise. And it gets more cars off the road, helping the environment. What is not to love? As always thanks for reading and have a great day.

Skywalk over Okeechobee Boulevard at CityPlace could become reality

http://www.mypalmbeachpost.com/news/news/local/skywalk-over-okeechobee-boulevard-at-cityplace-cou/nkZqm/#5a1fa52e.3711057.735698

ABACOA TOWN CENTER SELLS FOR $5.1 SIGNALING REBIRTH OF AREA

Abacoa Town Center finally changed hands for an amazingly reasonable number of $5.1 million dollars, which comes to just over $55 per square foot. While it is 30% vacant, at this number the new local owners could afford to do deals at very aggressive numbers and still make money. I think that the timing might finally be right for this special little area that comes alive every March for spring training baseball for a 5 week period every year. The new movie theater/bowling alley is going to open this year, making it the only thing of its kind in the area. It will surely draw families and people looking for entertainment. A new 350,000 square foot shopping center is going to be built across the street. Jupiter’s first brewing company, Civil Society Brewing Co., will be opening there this year. But more important than anything else, the 300 apartment Allure is opening, bringing badly needed population here to support the businesses at Abacoa. Finally, there is the new 128 room Courtyard Marriot, allowing for possibilities of more tourism other than the spring training crowd. This is a great little area with what I think is a perfect mixed use community. It is safe, quiet, close to the highway but will never have thriving businesses until you have enough people living there to support them. After all these years I think it is finally coming together and I couldn’t be happier. As always thanks for reading and have a great day.

Abacoa booming, but will people come?

http://www.mypalmbeachpost.com/news/news/abacoa-booming-but-will-people-come/nkbWN/#db211d36.3711057.735698