TALKING MIAMI’S ‘VICE’
FOR all the antidevelopment sentiment in our southern suburbs, there’s an historic site for sale that has locals begging for a knockdown/rebuild.
While many bemoan the loss of our kitschy motel culture – think Pink Poodle and the El Dorado – when it comes to the Miami Motel, it seems residents have their hammers ready.
Look, there are plenty of examples where this city has allowed developers to pave paradise, but we should also acknowledge that, sometimes, these developers also manage to save paradise.
And this could well be one of those opportunities.
Residents on social media say this blue-chip location squatting on the corner of the Gold Coast Hwy and Riviera Rd in Miami has become a black mark on the suburb.
With cheap rates, this accommodation house has attracted a long-term clientele at odds with their up-market neighbours.
But now it’s for sale – at just a shade under $2m. While the selling agent admits presentation of the property can be a challenge, he says the potential is huge.
With a low-medium height density, the 10-unit motel could be redeveloped to offer commercial space below and apartments above.
Although, according to one resident’s reaction on the Miami Residents Group page, expectations are not that high: “Let’s hope the new owners burn it to the ground.”
More common, however, was the sentiment that even a “can of sardines high-rise” would be preferable to the current building.
But how long will that attitude last?
It’s interesting to watch this situation – and suburb – develop. Literally. Because for those who have been here for a decade or more, this is a similar narrative to that of Palm Beach.
That suburb was once considered a social scourge with its needle exchange and welfare offices before the grip of gentrification took hold. But now that the township is tidy and pricey, it’s the developers who have become public enemy number one.
Never mind the fact that they were the ones who helped transform the streets from scary to safe.
While I acknowledge that overdevelopment is not a positive for Palm Beach, not all development is negative either.
Meanwhile, Miami is a suburb still caught between two demographics. While single dwellings are fetching exorbitant prices from buyers with a keen eye on location and potential, the old motels and mediumdensity apartments scattered along the Gold Coast Hwy have become a haven for anti-social behaviour.
While residents may say they prefer new development to old ills, the legacy of Palm Beach proves that history is soon forgotten. No one bemoans the loss of the needle exchange, just the “charm” and “character” of days gone by. But there is another problem at play here.
What happens to our Miami Motel dwellers?
As they are chased out of yet another suburb, where do they go from here?
Most Gold Coast residents would say they support affordable housing … they just don’t want it in their neighbourhood.
And the fact is that we can’t keep lumping specific socioeconomic groups together. Whether a “millionaire’s row” or a ghetto, neither is beneficial for a community.
In fact, research shows that a city benefits most when the rich and poor literally live side by side.
“An increasing amount of data shows that location matters just as much as income in determining a child’s likelihood of escaping poverty. Children from lowincome families who move to more affluent suburbs are more likely to graduate from high school, attend college, and have jobs than their peers who stayed in the city,” according to an article in The Atlantic.
We need to secure individual properties, not entire buildings or even suburbs, if we are to find a palatable solution to our affordable housing problem. This current situation of “us” and “them” can’t continue.
Low-income housing as offered by the likes of highway motels past their prime are not working – not for their neighbourhoods and not for the residents.
It’s time to develop a new solution.