South Dade project sets up 2021’s first fight over Urban Development Boundary
MARCH 10
Developers want to expand Miami-Dade County’s Urban Development Boundary past farmland just south of the Florida Turnpike near Homestead to build an 800-acre commercial complex.
The project, dubbed the “South Dade Logistics and Technology District,” comes from developers Stephen Blumenthal, Jose Hevia, and others. It sets up a clash between builders touting economic growth and enviTurnpike ronmental groups warning of more suburban sprawl and traffic.
Approving the project would require county commissioners to move the invisible line known as the “UDB,” a growth barrier that divides land reserved for farming and Everglades from property suitable for housing developments, office buildings, shopping centers and other urban staples. Moving the UDB requires a two-thirds vote.
The proposed project sits north of Southwest 268th Street, between 107th Avenue and 122nd Avenue. The northern boundary is the extension that connects Homestead with the expressway.
An economic impact study submitted by the developers to the county’s planning division predicts 5,000 jobs on the property when it opens, and the project’s advocates are pitching it as a way for residents to find work nearby and “reverse traditional commuting routes.”
“Increasing the amount of industrially designated land in the southern portion of the County ... would provide much-needed employment opportunities for the area’s under-utilized workforce,” consultant Andrew Dolkart wrote in the economic impact study.
A spokesperson for Blumenthal and Hevia said the developers weren’t available for interviews. Blumenthal is a partner at Coral Rock Development, and Hevia is founder of Aligned Real Estate Holdings.
Another study submitted by the developers says traffic is already bad enough in the area that U.S. 1 and other nearby roads will hit capacity even without the project.
The study by Langan Engineering & Environmental Services found nine of the 30 surrounding roadways would be “significantly impacted” from the proposed UDB expansion and opening up the land for development. The application said the developers would pay for improvements to handle the increased traffic flow.
The developers’ application relies on Miami-Dade’s planning staff reversing past conclusions that the county has enough industrial space and vacant land to meet demand through at least 2040, making a UDB expansion unnecessary. Dolkart wrote he “has serious doubt” about the findings. Miami-Dade plans to update its forecast in the coming weeks.
Laura Reynolds, an environmental consultant involved in the “Hold the Line” coalition, said it’s too early to deliver a detailed opinion on the proposal.
Generally, Reynolds said Miami-Dade needs to focus on existing streets, transit systems, sewer infrastructure and other needs within the urban-development zone before looking at unspoiled land beyond it.
“How we could consider continuing to sprawl is really the problem,” she said.
The project would have a 150-room hotel, and about six-million-square feet of office and warehouse space, according to the proposal. The economic impact study filed by the developers said the project would have 5,000 jobs on site during the first phase of about three million square feet. Dolkart said those assumptions assumed most of the project would go to warehouse space, with offices accounting for 10% of the building space.
The land in question sits just outside the UDB, in an “urban expansion” area already designated for development once county planners conclude MiamiDade needs more land for expansion. Developers routinely push to accelerate that finding, while environmental groups resist and encourage construction be focused within the existing boundaries.
The proposed development site is near the Homestead Air Reserve Base. That raised alarms from groups already fighting Miami-Dade over a proposal to bring civilian aircraft to that facility — a move critics worry will open the door to a new cargo operation to serve a budding distribution center in the area, with a FedEx and Amazon facility nearby.
“We’re concerned about the proximity to the Homestead Air Reserve Base . ... It raises lots of questions and concerns,” Reynolds said.
Hevia said the project doesn’t need any changes in air facilities to be successful.
“Our application has nothing to do with, and does not depend upon, any private aviation at Homestead Air Reserve Base now, or in the future,” he said in a statement.
Everyone’s doing it: going pink.
We’re talking about the boys of Miami. And they’re going to one stylist to get the job done.
Maluma’s probably the most famous person the rock the bright mohawk ‘do.
Visitor du jour Scott Disick got his mane worked over, so did Papi Steak restaurateur David Einhorn.
In an Instagram post Wednesday, the mane models all posed on the barber’s page with the caption, “The Papi Cut challenge.”
We’re glad to see these guys pulling off such a feminine color and it’s kind of brightening our otherwise dark days.
Want to emulate these bravely metrosexual men? Luis Andres Rivera, better known as “El Bori Barber” is your go-to.
“I’m proud to offer my customers a wide range of hairstyles, treatments, looks and helpful products that reflect their individuality and personal taste,” he says on his website.
Rivera told Miami.com Maluma asked him for the cut called “El Siete” because it was a big deal in Colombia, his home. The reggaeton star wanted his hair to look special for the Premio lo Nuestro awards last month.
“He asked me for this particular thing, it’s like a street cut that’s big in Medellin,” said Rivera. “Then I started getting DMs from other people wanting it.”
Rivera just changed Maluma’s color to white for his virtual interview with Ellen Degeneres on Thursday.
“He’s a trendsetter,” said Rivera.
Your move, David Beckham
EL BORI BARBER
Where: 1762 W Flagler St., Miami
Info: info@elboribarber.com; 305-5875394.
Prices: The Papi (depending on length) starts at $300.
Half a year after the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain established diplomatic relations with Israel, discreet Jewish communities in the Gulf Arab states are adopting a more public profile. Kosher food is now available. Jewish holidays are celebrated openly. There is even a fledgling religious court to sort out issues such as divorces.
“Slowly, slowly, it’s improving,” said Ebrahim Nonoo, leader of Bahrain’s Jewish community, which recently hosted an online celebration of the Purim holiday for Jews in the Gulf Arab region.
Nonoo is among the founders of the Association of Gulf Jewish Communities, a new umbrella group for the tiny Jewish populations in the six Arab monarchies of the Gulf Cooperation Council. Their goal is to win greater acceptance of Jewish life in the region.
“It’s just going to take a bit of time to seep through before we see a Jewish restaurant or a kosher restaurant spring up from somewhere,” said Nonoo, a former member of Bahrain’s parliament.
Even a modest online gathering like the Purim celebration would have been unthinkable a few years ago, when relations with Israel were taboo and Jews kept their identities out of public view for fear of offending their Muslim hosts.
That changed with last year’s accords between Israel and the UAE and Bahrain. The pacts brought thousands of Israeli tourists and business people to the region and led to a fledgling industry of Jewish weddings and other celebrations aimed at Israeli visitors. Emirati and Bahraini authorities have launched a public-relations blitz to cultivate their image as Muslim havens of inclusion and tolerance for Jews, in stark contrast to regional rivals Saudi Arabia and
Iran.
“A door has been opened,” said Elie Abadie, the new senior rabbi of the Jewish Council of the Emirates. “I think there is more openness and more welcome and enthusiasm for the presence of a Jewish community or Jewish individuals or Jewish tradition and culture.”
The Lebanon-born Abadie, a member of the Association of Gulf Jewish Communities, said he is certain the shift is taking place across the Gulf, not only in the UAE.
The association aims to provide support and services for the small Jewish populations in Kuwait,
Oman, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE. These might include kosher certifications for hotels, restaurants and food products, a rabbinic court and pastoral guidance for religious events like bar mitzvahs, circumcisions and burials.
Their tiny Jewish populations are almost all comprised of foreign nationals who have come to the region for business. Only Bahrain has a rooted Jewish community. Its 80 or so members are descendants of Iraqi Jews who arrived in the late 19th century, seeking opportunity in trade.
The Jewish community in the UAE is the largest, with an estimated 1,000 members. It is also one of the newest, and Abadie said he has to “start things from scratch.”
Only about 200 are active members of the community. The rest, like most Jews in Gulf Arab states, keep a low profile. Given the growing enthusiasm about Jewish life in the UAE, Abadie said he expects that “more of them will kind of come out to the light.”
Everybody, it seems, has at least a drop of Irish blood in their veins on March 17. Chances are your St. Patrick’s Day celebration will involve a glass or three of beer or maybe a shot of Irish whiskey. But you’ve got to eat, too, if you want to wake up with a clear head the next morning.
To that end, we offer two dishes with Irish roots — one savory, one sweet.
The first pairs homemade pork sausages with the classic Irish potato-andcabbage dish known as colcannon. It’s
great for breakfast or, reheated after a long night out, for soaking up whatever alcohol hasn’t yet made it into your bloodstream.
The other is a simple but still elegant two-layer cake flavored with coffee and cocoa. It’s from Galway chef JP McMahon’s new tome, “The Irish Cookbook,” and was inspired by a cake his great-aunt Betty used to make when he was a child. Garnished with toasted walnuts and roasted coffee beans, it’s sure to become a family favorite.
Makes 4 servings
1 (9-ounce) package refrigerated fettuccine 1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
1 (12-ounce) can evaporated skim milk
3/4 cup crumbled gorgonzola cheese (3 ounces) 1/8 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 (5- or 6-ounce) package fresh baby spinach
Cook pasta according to package directions. While pasta cooks, melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add flour; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly with a whisk. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly with whisk. Increase heat to medium-high; bring to boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low; simmer 3 minutes or until sauce thickens slightly, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and stir in cheese, salt and pepper. Combine the sauce, pasta and spinach; toss gently to coat.
Per serving: 384 calories, 21 grams protein, 11 grams fat (26 percent calories from fat), 7.2 grams saturated fat, 50 grams carbohydrate, 80 milligrams cholesterol, 601 milligrams sodium, 4 grams fiber.
Carb count: 3.5.