Wynwood Walls is a collection of six privately owned warehouses that flank previously abandoned land used for junk storage and garbage in the urban core of Miami. In creating Wynwood Walls, the building facades were transformed into canvases and the open land area was converted to a gallery floor. The result is an outdoor “museum of the streets” by developer and placemaker Tony Goldman of Goldman Properties. It is one of the largest concentrated public displays of world-class street art, including more than 30 major works of art on giant wall canvases produced by internationally acclaimed artists from more than 15 countries. The Walls surround and encompass 1.65 acres of land that now provide multiple areas for the public to enjoy, free of charge. The Wynwood Walls is the primary catalyst behind the transformation of Wynwood into one of the hottest new creative and culturally significant neighborhoods in the United States.
The Walls now stand as the heart of the neighborhood and the destination for locals and tourists alike. After only a few years of development, Wynwood has transformed into one of the most walkable, creative, and exciting experiences in the Miami area. Wynwood has been rated one of the coolest neighborhoods with an exceptional street scene by many well-regarded sources such as Vogue, Forbes, and Cushman & Wakefield.
The New World Center concert hall has helped usher in a new development model, turning the traditional concert hall — with its orderly rows and grand décor — inside out. Establishing new connections among architecture, technology, education, and culture, the Frank Gehry-designed glass-and-steel box contains the free-flowing theater space, while the front facade doubles as a 7,000-square-foot (650-m²) projection wall, displaying concerts and video art to patrons in an adjacent 2.5-acre (one-ha) urban park. Known as the Miami Beach Soundscape, this outdoor venue brings classical music and performance to an audience beyond the formal environs of most symphony halls.
A 205-acre multiuse business park consisting primarily of attractively designed warehouse/distribution buildings. The project also includes a 300,000- square-foot power retail center and a 100,000-square-foot retail/office center providing space for smaller users. The project is heavily landscaped and designed to much higher standards than most warehouse projects of its kind.
A public/private mixed-use development featuring unique architectural details, a six-level garage, and street-level retail space in the historic art deco South Beach neighborhood of Miami Beach, Florida. The exterior of the facility is laced with a curved and gridded fiberglass trellis and irrigated planter boxes with three types of native foliage. The trellis pattern represents horizontal waves reminiscent of the nearby ocean. Various living vines are planted along the facade, enveloping the garage in tropical greenery.
A 350,000-square-foot, three-level shopping center located on an urban infill site next to the Dadeland North Metrorail Station in Miami, Florida. Developed as a joint venture of the Berkowitz Development Group, the Metro-Dade Transit Authority, and the Green Companies, Dadeland Station occupies 7.25 acres and is built on the site of a former surface parking lot that had served the metrorail station. The center contains five big-box retailers, which occupy 97 percent of the space. The remaining space, 9,500 square feet, is occupied by small shops and restaurants located adjacent to the pedestrian link between the station and the shopping center. Two levels of parking are provided for each retail level, satisfying the large tenants’ need for ample parking
The Courtyards of Delray is an infill project containing 32 three-story townhouses on a 1.12-acre (0.45-hectare) site in downtown Delray Beach, Florida. The debut project for development firm New Urban Communities, the Courtyards was the first new residential construction in the downtown area in many years. The project’s design was intended to encourage neighborhood interaction within three interior courtyards, but is also open to the surrounding streets. It lies only half a block from the shops, entertainment, dining, and recreation offerings of Delray Beach’s Atlantic Avenue. The success of the Courtyards of Delray, as measured by rapid absorption rates and a design that has been widely emulated throughout south Florida, has helped New Urban Communities establish itself and build more, larger-scale projects.
The Walk at University is a multiphase, mixed-use, pedestrian-friendly renovation and major expansion that has transformed two city blocks of aging office and retail buildings and vacant land in suburban Coral Springs, Florida, into a thriving “Main Street” property. The 18-acre (7.2-hectare), 240,000-square-foot (22,296-square-meter) project effects a sense of place along University Drive, a heavily traveled thoroughfare. It includes almost 110,000 square feet (10,219 square meters) of office space and more than 130,000 square feet (1,207 square meters) of retail and restaurant space, with Barnes and Noble and 11 restaurants and outdoor cafes serving as entertainment anchors. The Walk’s architecture and streetscape weave together two new, three-story office/retail buildings with three renovated existing structures Including two office/retail buildings and a retail arcade. While the existing buildings were rarely more than 70 percent leased, The Walk is now 95 percent leased. The city of Coral Springs has named Amera Corporation as master developer in a public/private partnership to create a 3.3 million-square-foot (306,570-square-meter) livable downtown district just north of The Walk.
Built by WCI Communities, Inc., Evergrene is a sustainable residential development in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. This 363-acre (147-hectare) development currently has 615 single- and multifamily residences, and will add 385 more by 2007. The project is characterized by a strong emphasis on the area’s natural resources: 163 acres (66 hectares) are devoted to wildlife habitat and recreational open spaces. Many of the homes are arranged around a 36.5-acre (14.8-hectare) recreational lake and newly created wetlands. The emphasis on nature is echoed by WCI Communities’ commitment to sustainable development and green building practices. WCI offers homebuyers a range of environmentally sensitive features, such as those that increase energy efficiency and improve indoor air quality.
The 1450 Brickell project is a 35-story, 586,000-square-foot office building located at the southern gateway to the Brickell business district in downtown Miami. The building consists of a 35-story tower adjacent to a 13-story parking garage with a rooftop garden, and features spectacular water and city vistas. The building is the second phase of a two-phase mixed-use project, the first phase being a 36-story apartment building. The office building is LEED Gold certified and has been designed using impact-resistant blue glass that can withstand, without imploding, the force of large projectiles hitting the windows, as well as winds approaching 300 miles per hour, a key feature in this hurricane-prone location.
