As the debate grows over potential casino resorts in Miami-Dade County, one group has been silent so far: the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce. But that could change soon, as a committee prepares to take a vote regarding the casino plan, according to the Miami Herald. “I talk to people all over who say, ‘I know you guys are in favor of it,” said Chamber CEO Barry Johnson. “I say, ‘whoa, whoa, whoa.’” A bill going around a Chamber committee would give conditional approval to a proposed casino law if racetracks and jai-alai facilities were given the same games as the new resorts. 3 Comments
Posts Tagged ‘greater miami chamber of commerce’
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A recent foreclosure lawsuit against Holly Real Estate’s headquarters marks another stage in the company’s downward spiral, a collapse precipitated by massive litigation against CEO William Holly. Branch Banking & Trust filed a $3.3 million foreclosure lawsuit against Holly, his real estate company, Minnie Minorca, and business partner Robert McCammon earlier this month over the company’s 10,760-square-foot building at 370 Minorca Avenue in Coral Gables. The property was purchased in 2006 for $3.5 million. Several recent projects have been caught in the credit crunch and market collapse, triggering at least 13 lawsuits against the top executive and 2007 recipient of the Entrepreneur of the Year Award from the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce. [SFBJ]
Some South Florida hotel owners may unload their properties even after the traditionally busy winter season begins because room rates are so low. The tourism and business travel trade has plunged so precipitously in the last two years that some owners may not be able to make the economics of the hotel business work any longer. Rising costs aren’t matched by high-end revenue streams, they said. “We’re achieving the room rates we achieved in 2004 and 2005,” said Stuart Blumberg, president and CEO of the Greater Miami and the Beaches Hotel Association. “Spending $500 or $600 for a room, it’s not there anymore.” It may be three or four years before owners of Miami-area hotels regain the record room rates they enjoyed in 2007, Blumberg said. [more]
The Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce will look at the downtown condo
market today in a session titled “Downtown Housing: An Honest
Appraisal.” Panelists include Alicia Cervera-Lamadrid, CEO of Related
Cervera Realty Services; Alyce Robertson, executive director of the
Downtown Development Authority of the City of Miami; Ronald Shuffield,
president of Esslinger-Wooten-Maxwell Realtors; and Peter Zalewski of
Condo Vultures. Miami Herald business writer Monica Hatcher will
moderate. The event takes place at the Greater Miami Chamber of
Commerce on 1601 Biscayne Boulevard at noon. Registration and lunch begin
at 11:30 a.m. Tickets are $30. [more]South Florida’s economic recovery will start ahead of the rest of the
state, but Florida’s statewide recovery will still be six to nine
months behind the rest of the country. Economist Tony Villamil of St.
Thomas University told the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce that high
unemployment and the collapsed property market will make it tougher to
move to a positive business cycle. He said that planning ahead requires
people to head for professional fields such as space market planners,
climate-change forecasters, solar fuel developers, holographic game
developers, customer knowledge-mining specialists and renewable energy
entrepreneurs. [more]
