When Related Group CEO Jorge Perez gave $20 million in much-needed financing to the Miami Art Museum, in addition to $15 million worth of art, he never expected a negative reaction. But the Miami Herald noted that the renaming of the museum, which will now be known as the Jorge M. Perez Art Museum of Miami-Dade County, has drawn much criticism.

Critics point out that it was taxpayers who voted to fund a $100 million expansion of the museum in 2005, and who will be continually called upon for support in future maintenance of the cultural institution. [more]

New York-based First Market Properties has acquired the mortgage on a 35,000-square-foot retail condominium at the base of the Marina Blue condominium tower on Biscayne Boulevard in Miami. The original balance on the mortgage was $10.14 million, but no other financial terms were disclosed. “The retail segment of Marina Blue has enormous potential because of the dynamic changes taking place in the neighborhood,” said Aaron Kurlansky, senior vice president at FMP. The space is near the future site of the Miami Art Museum in the area called Museum Park. — Alexander Britell [more]

Miami in 2020

With a series of new projects underway, from the Genting Resorts World project to the just-announced My Brickell development, downtown Miami is readying for the next construction surge. One existing Miami condo project, Vizcayne, released a photo last week of the Miami skyline of 2020, complete with Resorts World, developer Swire’s Brickell CitiCentre project and the new Miami Art Museum, which is slated for completion in 2012. — Alexander Britell [more]

The new Miami Art Museum, inspired by the onetime maritime village off the coast of Key Biscayne called Stiltsville, is beginning to take shape, as is a new donation drive, according to the Miami Herald. “The campaign has really been in the family,” said Leann Standish, MAM’s deputy director for external affairs. “I think our individual donors are engaged again because the building is coming out of the ground.” [more]

Miami Art Museum

Miami-Dade County Commissioners voted to sell up to $200 million in bonds that would be used to help jumpstart various development projects, including the Miami Art Museum and the Miami Museum of Science and Improvements. Among the other public works projects that may benefit from the bond sale include affordable housing construction and upgrades to libraries and parks. The bond sale will be through the county’s $2.93 billion capital improvements program known as Building Better Communities, which was approved by voters in 2004. Opponents argued that the real estate climate has changed things since that time, and that the county should not be taking on any more debt. [Miami Herald]  [more]

The new $200 million home of the Miami Art Museum is set to break ground today, timed to the arrival of the Art Basel crowd, with actual construction beginning in about two weeks. The museum will replace a barely used park with a cultural centerpiece for downtown Miami, a plan that has been plagued by doubts about its feasibility. Six months ago, county officials certified that the museum had met the conditions for release of $100 million in voter-approved bonds for construction. City officials are still reviewing plans for the museum structure. [Miami Herald]

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A rendering of the Miami Art Museum

Construction on new buildings for the Miami Art Museum and Miami Science Museum could begin soon, with environmental remediation underway at the building site. The new buildings, known as Museum Park, will take roughly $20 million to develop and will create 1,700 new jobs, experts say. Construction on the art museum building — whose size was not immediately clear — is set to begin in November, with a projected 2013 opening date. The planned 250,000-square-foot science center is set to break ground in late 2011, with an unveiling set for 2014 Jack McCabe, a principal with McCabe Consulting & Research, said that Museum Park could help out the flagging residential real estate market. “If the museums are going to employ a lot of people with decent paying jobs, then it could be a boon to that area’s rental market,” he said. [GlobeSt.]

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The planned Miami Art Museum at Museum Park

The City of Miami has approved a plan to fund the remediation of eight waterfront acres at Museum Park, the future home of new Miami Art Museum and Miami Science Museum facilities. The art museum is eligible for $100 million in proceeds from county bonds, and has raised $45 million in private donations for its new building, which is scheduled for completion by 2013. The science museum is eligible for $165 million in bonds for its planned 250,000-square-foot project, which will have an aquarium, planetarium and interactive exhibits and is slated to open in 2014. The remediation of the land is expected to begin within weeks, according to the city’s Omni Community Redevelopment Agency, which voted to approve the financing. TRD

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