Four Miami business leaders have announced the founding of the Town Square Neighborhood Development Corporation, a group that will oversee the development of Miami’s Arsht Center District. The group is citing New York’s Lincoln Center as one of its models for development. “We came together a year ago with the goal of ensuring that the landscape of the Arsht Center District neighborhood evolves into a vibrant [one] supportive of what has become Miami’s cultural entertainment heart,” said Armando Codina, chairman of Codina partners. [more]

City commissioners have delayed the implementation of the massive zoning code revision known as Miami 21 for three months, opening the door to alterations and major changes to the plan. New Mayor Tomás Regalado sought the delay, continuing his opposition to former Mayor Manny Diaz’s pro-development stance. Regalado’s delay is mainly aimed at increasing public input for specific projects, a goal of the activist group Miami Neighborhoods United. The organization sought amendments to Miami 21 to allow this provision when the plan was being shepherded through the political process. The code now becomes effective May 20, 90 days later than its original Feb. 19 date. [Miami Herald]

Outgoing Miami Mayor Manny Diaz oversaw a huge boom in the city’s development, and put ambitious plans for the future in place. But the subsequent collapse of the construction industry and plunge in the real estate market casts a shadow on his major achievements. Those include prodding developers to create a new urban neighborhood, Midtown Miami; and the successful, though bitterly debated, push for a new baseball stadium, a new downtown park and museums, and a port tunnel in his second term. He also revived a historic-preservation program, creating several new historic districts and protecting modern architectural landmarks like the Bacardi buildings. [Miami Herald]

Tomás Regalado, the longtime city commissioner whose campaign platform centered on putting a stop to what he has called wasteful spending on large public projects, won a sweeping victory in Miami’s mayoral race yesterday. He had attacked Mayor Manny Diaz, who was not up for reelection, on development initiatives like downtown highrises and a new baseball stadium in Little Havana, many of which were backed by his opponent, Joe Sanchez. Residents bought into Regalado’s promise to shift the focus from “inefficient projects tailored to fill the pockets of the affluent,” granting him nearly 72 percent of their votes Tuesday. [Miami Herald]

Miami commissioner Tomás Regalado, now the front-runner in the race to succeed Mayor Manny Diaz, thinks the city needs a break from rapid development. Regalado recently criticized the Mayor’s plans for parking garages at the new baseball stadium in Little Havana, and Miami 21, the overhaul of the city’s zoning code, though both passed. Critics say the candidate, a 13-year veteran of city politics, has little in the way of constructive plans, despite his critiques of major projects over the last eight years. [Miami Herald]

After years of delays, the $1 billion Port of Miami tunnel project got the official go-ahead today when city officials announced its financial closing. Now that the city of Miami has delivered a $50 million letter of credit for its share of the project, construction can finally begin. The next step is manufacturing a giant tunnel boring machine, to be built over the next 10 to 12 months. The machine, which will dig through soft limestone to 100 feet below the shipping channel where cruise ships typically dock, will also assemble panels of reinforced concrete to create the tunnel’s walls. The cost of the machine is estimated to be between $20 million and $50 million. Once complete, the tunnel should help defray downtown traffic from cargo trucks that currently have no direct route from the area expressways to the seaport. Construction is slated to last four to five years, with the tunnel opening to traffic by 2015. [Miami Herald]

Mayor Manny Diaz’ goal to remake Virginia Key has been put on hold after city commissioners bowed to environmental activists who said there aren’t enough safeguards for the habitat. Parts of the revitalization will go forward, however, including a mountain bike course and a cleanup of a former dumping site. Diaz leaves office in one month. [Miami Herald]  [more]

Miami may yet get a radical rezoning measure approved, but holdout
commissioner Angel Gonzalez wants a plan for the Miami River to be part
of any future deal. Frank Castaneda, chief of staff to Gonzalez, who was absent during the
vote that quashed the controversial Miami 21 plan, said his boss could
support the plan with certain conditions. First among them would be a
corresponding rezoning to allow mixed used development on 25 acres of
riverfront along the 5.5 mile river, located between 18th and 24th
avenues. Gonzalez, now the crucial swing vote would “for sure” vote against
Miami 21 without the riverfront rezoning, his top staffer said. Miami Mayor Manny Diaz recently announced he would be resubmitting
Miami 21 to the Miami City Commission on Sept. 4. A previous attempt to
approve Miami 21 on first reading on August 7 was deadlocked by a vote
of two to two due to Gonzalez’s absence. [more]