The 2008-2011 market crash that left construction cranes dangling above Miami’s unfinished towers and unbuilt outer-suburban communities more-or-less came to a halt in 2010, marking the beginning of a recovery. Unlike that earlier condo boom when increased developments and prices in the outer banlieues mirrored the inner urban core (places like Downtown, Brickell, Edgewater, Coconut Grove, and South Beach) much more closely, suggesting that buyers previously wanted to live out there as much as in here, the core quickly took off and the suburbs did not.
The formerly-neglected Miami River has seen incredible action in the last two real estate cycles, with literally billions of dollars trading hands and thousands of new units coming to market in buildings like One Miami, Flagler on the River, and Icon Brickell. Since the year 2000, the lower river (the section between Spring Garden and Biscayne Bay), including properties up to a single block inland, has seen $7.3 billion in recorded sales, with almost all of it ($7.08 billion to be exact) concentrated in the blocks between Biscayne Bay and I-95. In 2010, the most lucrative year in the river’s history, $1.089 billion in sales were made.
The University of Miami’s annual Real Estate Impact Conference, was held earlier this month at Brickell’s Four Seasons Tower, and topics revolved around trends in the commercial and retail and market, the rise of the Millennial generation, and technology’s real estate dominance in this cycle and the future, both through new construction and estate data and analysis.The University of Miami’s annual Real Estate Impact Conference, was held last month at Brickell’s Four Seasons Tower, where topics revolved around trends in the commercial and retail and markets, the rise of the Millennial generation and their impact on real estate, and technology’s increasing dominance in this cycle and the future. READ ON FOR A FULL VIDEO REPLAY >>
Liquor and tobacco licenses have exploded in Wynwood, Miami’s most famous arts district, and Midtown Miami, its more yuppie-ish conjoined twin, over the last six years by a whopping 877%. This is a significantly higher increase over the 174% average across Miami, and a major indicator of the direction the two neighborhoods are growing, according to data compiled by Gridics. Between I-95, NE/NW 20th, Biscayne Boulevard, and I-195, 66 alcohol and tobacco licenses were granted since January 1st 2010 for restaurants, bars, and other establishments like Sugarcane on Midtown Boulevard, and Gramps on NW 24th Street. Wynwood even has a microbrewery scene. Three out of those 66 licenses are tobacco permits. Expired permits are not included.
Some Miami gallerists and even artists are bucking the traditional pattern of art district gentrification, where artists and galleries find big, cheap places to rent, move in, jazz up a neighborhood, then move out when their rent is inevitably increased beyond affordability. These people are now buying their next spaces. Three of Miami’s leading galleries, Emerson Dorsch, Gallery Diet, and &gallery purchased spaces along one street, NW 2nd Avenue in Little River/Little Haiti, and are transforming that drag into a new and permanent arts neighborhood.
By recording ten years of Flickr photo geotags and drawing lines between them, Mapmaker Eric Fischer has used the Flickr API to create The Geotagger’s World Atlas, a beautiful map of the most photographed places in the world. Aside from comparing global cities (the map of London is a beauty), his map shows what Flickr users find most interesting about Miami through clusters of lines.
Centered on miles of condo towers stretching up and down Biscayne Bay, the Downtown Miami skyline visible today is an incredibly recent creation. For almost forty years the tallest tower in Florida was the Dade County Courthouse, a 28 story granite monument of a building on Flagler Street and NW 1st Avenue.
The Federal Government is about to blow open the secretive gates behind which many of Miami’s priciest real estate deals are made, exposing the real owners behind many anonymous limited liability companies (LLCs).
Jugofresh is a homegrown Miami juice bar famously known for their organic, cold-pressed juices that can hit $12 a bottle, smoothies, and health foods. Jugofresh has rapidly expanded throughout South Florida since its outset only three years ago, opening 10 storefronts (several at various Whole Foods supermarkets through a recent partnership), and one new headquarters, with two more stores on the way, and no signs of slowing down. Matthew Sherman, CEO and founder of Jugofresh, was first to Miami’s cold-pressed juice scene, strategically opening his first location in 2012 in the budding Sunset Harbour neighborhood, paving the way for yogis and Flywheel junkies alike.
Jugofresh is more than just a juice bar, however. It’s obvious that above all, the company is selling an experience — from the moment you walk in to the moment you leave and post a photo of your açaí bowl on Instagram (Jugofresh has become so Instagram-worthy, Beyonce couldn’t even resist). Toting around a bottle of juice from Jugofresh has become one of Miami’s “luxury status symbols.” Branding is clearly a major part of their success, all part of the plan to #raisethevibe and to get Miamians to #drinkmadjuice.
The company’s rapid expansion has demonstrated Sherman’s commitment to the company’s branding through savvy real-estate moves and a strict attention to design and detail. It has served to strengthen and reinforce the Jugofresh experience; they are often praised for producing store designs just as fresh as their juices. This achievement can be attributed to Sherman’s dedication to this trademark, making known on several occasions that it’s important for the storefronts to be inviting and mirror the neighborhoods they inhabit. The first store in Sunset Harbour was designed by Allison Almeida, Stephanie Tatum, and Robert Gallagher (founder of Gallagher/AP, and former Vice-President of Interior Design at Oppenheim Architecture + Design) reported Gallagher. In a conversation with Gallagher, he mentioned that the design was mostly “client-driven” with Matthew “playing around with very out-of-the-box concepts” (one being a “theatrical” display of produce and juice-making). The final concept was determined as a “grab-and-go” storefront to accommodate the needs of the urban, dense neighborhood, allowing for ease and efficiency, as well as room for storage.
Jugofresh used Architect Allan Shulman and his firm, Shulman + Associates, as the Interior Designer and Architect for their stores in Wynwood, South Beach, and Coral Gables. Their ambitious headquarters in Lemon City, also designed by Shulman + Architects, has recently completed Phase I, which houses a kitchen and their corporate offices. Phase II was to be an elaborately designed 22,000 square foot addition with a hydroponics lab, commercial and juicing kitchens, office space, a 500-square-foot yoga studio, and vertical garden. According to Shulman + Associates, these plans will not come to fruition.
Jugofresh has a “commitment to natural organic materials and high-tech production,” two things that don’t always go together.
As stated on Shulman + Architects’ website, the design for the company concentrates on “transparency as both a way to reveal how the juices are made, and as a way to make the stores more public.” His stores feature reclaimed wood, luxurious white marble, and stainless steel finishes to showcase the “commitment to natural organic materials and high-tech production.” The stores also feature graphic wallpaper by Flavor Paper “used extensively to introduce color and depth, a nod to the complexity and flavor of the company’s juices,” all contributing to a sustainable, cool, clean ambience, pleasing the aesthetically-inclined juice drinker. As for each store, you’ll have to stop by and experience it yourself. Not only is this interesting design-wise, but it’s also a clever marketing strategy.
So, what’s next for Jugofresh? There were reports of a new store opening on 7501 Biscayne Boulevard. Matthew Sherman recently released a statement to The Real Deal, however, indicating that they were unable to dedicate the time and effort to this store. According to The Real Deal, Sherman bought the property in June 2013 for $960,000, and two years later, he sold it to Alexander Karakhanian for $1.4 million, making a solid $440,000 profit. Sherman told The Real Deal that Jugofresh may become a tenant of this property in the future.
Jugofresh’s increasing popularity and heaps of press has turned their stores into destinations, which help to attract residents and tourists to their neighborhoods, arguably paving the way for more commercial investment. With a couple stores opening soon, a fruitful partnership with Whole Foods, and host to many community-wide events, it appears Jugofresh has successfully convinced Miami to #drinkmadjuice.
Jugofresh Headquarters Expansion, by Shulman & Associates
Jugofresh Headquarters Expansion, by Shulman & Associates
Jugofresh Headquarters Expansion, by Shulman & Associates
Jugofresh Headquarters Expansion, by Shulman & Associates
Jugofresh Headquarters Expansion, by Shulman & Associates
Jugofresh Headquarters Expansion, by Shulman & Associates
Jugofresh Headquarters Expansion, by Shulman & Associates
Jugofresh Headquarters Expansion, by Shulman & Associates
Jugofresh Headquarters Expansion, by Shulman & Associates
Jugofresh Headquarters Expansion, by Shulman & Associates
Jugofresh Headquarters Expansion, by Shulman & Associates
Jugofresh Headquarters Expansion, by Shulman & Associates
Jugofresh Headquarters Expansion, by Shulman & Associates
Jugofresh Headquarters Expansion, by Shulman & Associates
Jugofresh Headquarters Expansion, by Shulman & Associates
Jugofresh Headquarters Expansion, by Shulman & Associates
