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ATR USA sales director Paolo Tabacco, Silver Airways Executive Vice President Kurt Brulisauer, Silver Airways and Seaborne Airlines CEO Steve Rossum, and ATR Vice President for Sales in the Americas Pier Luigi Baldacchini

New Silver Airways aircraft

Silver Airways has begun regularly scheduled flights aboard its new ATR-600 series aircraft. The first ATR aircraft was christened “Mile Marker Zero” in honor of the iconic Key West landmark. The ATR-42-600 aircraft, with seating for 46, will offer quicker direct flights to more short- and medium-haul leisure and business destinations in both domestic and nearby international markets.

 

Luxury rentals opening at Pines City Center

Terra has begun leasing for its newest luxury rental development, Pines Garden at City Center with rents starting at $1,645 for a one-bedroom apartment. The 387-unit residential community is part of Pines City Center, a 47-acre master-planned village in Pembroke Pines. The two phases of Pines City Center will comprise approximately 300,000 total square feet of lifestyle-oriented retail, entertainment and restaurant space alongside residential apartments.

 

Blitzing the coffee scene

Retired NFL linebacker Stephen Tulloch has opened Circle House Coffee at 727 NE Third Ave. in Fort Lauderdale’s Flagler Village neighborhood. Beyond coffee-related fare, Circle House offers breakfast, lunch and dinner items, pastries, doughnuts, pies, cakes, wine and craft beer. It is open 6 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday-Saturday and 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays.

  [caption id="attachment_31181" align="alignnone" width="486"] The Groundbreaking of the Parker Playhouse Renovation and Expansion on Thursday, April 11, 2019 at Parker Playhouse in Fort Lauderdale.[/caption]

Parker Playhouse starts renovations

The Broward Center for the Performing Arts has broken ground on the $27 million renovation of the Parker Playhouse in Fort Lauderdale’s Holiday Park, which will get a new lobby, private donor and premium lounges, a signature bar area and new equipment. The stage will be named after JM Family Enterprises, which gave $1 million. The lobby guest services area will be named after Bank of America, which donated $500,000.

 

Quarterdeck moves

The Quarterdeck on Cordova Road in Fort Lauderdale closed on April 21 and was scheduled to move into its new location, 1035 SE 17th St., within a couple of weeks. The old location opened in 1966 as a Big Daddy’s Liquor Store and Lounge and became the first Quarterdeck when Paul Flanigan purchased it from his uncle, Joe Flanigan.

 

Vice President of Marketing for the Florida Hemp Trade and Retail Association Jeff Greene; Green Roads co-founder Jimmy Tundidor, Director of New Markets Elana Perdeck and co-founder and President of Sales Danny Perdeck with UF/IFAS research team members Sean Campbell, Brian Pearson, Zach Brym and Roger Kjelgren.

Hemp is back

In addition to its inaugural $1.3 million private sponsorship, Green Roads of Deerfield Beach has donated certified hemp plants to the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. The pilot program, which brings hemp plants back to Florida after a 70-year absence, will see if industrial hemp can be a successful crop in the state. Homestead is one of the test locations.

 

Presidential Aviation adds Learjet 40

Presidential Aviation has added a Learjet 40 to its managed fleet of aircraft at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport. The six-passenger jet has a range of more than 1,800 miles with a speed of over 465 mph.

 

Dwyane Wade with executive chef Angelo Massanova at Casa D’Angelo

D Wade is in the house

Four days after scoring a triple double in his last NBA game, likely NBA Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade dined at chef Angelo Elia’s Casa D’Angelo restaurant in Fort Lauderdale. On the menu for Wade was burrata (imported burrata cheese, vegetable caponata, parma prosciutto) and branzino (served with artichokes, lemon and capers and roasted potatoes).

 

Block Ellert joins Compass

Carolyn Block Ellert has joined Compass Florida’s Development Division as managing director. She was previously CEO and founder of Premier Sales Group. Block Ellert is the founding and presiding chair of the Master Brokers Forum’s Broward/Gold Coast chapter.

 

City Furniture makes green promise

City Furniture announced plans to become carbon neutral in its operations by 2040. The goal encompasses the company’s showrooms, warehouses, offices and delivery fleet. The company already has 240,000 square feet of LEED-certified showroom space, and is converting its fleet of delivery trucks to run on compressed natural gas. “By 2040, we plan to run many showrooms on renewable energy, which will offset our electric use,” President Andrew Koenig said. In-house recycling equipment annually keeps 6 million pounds of cardboard, plastic and Styrofoam waste out of landfills.

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To look at the history of the Miami River, is to look at the history of Miami itself.

According to historian Jerald T. Milanich, the world “Miami” is a derivation from “Mayaimi,” which referred to the vast size of Lake Okeechobee. (Another interpretation is that Miami means “sweet water.”)

Spanish explorers who visited Miami in 1743 mentioned “Maymies” or “Maimies” living in the area. The Miami Circle, just east of the Brickell Avenue bridge over the river, is believed to be 1,700 to 2,000 years old and built by the Tequesta Indians.

The unspoiled Miami River was a wild splendor. It was formed when water from the Everglades spilled over a rocky ledge four miles up the river, creating rapids.

The arrival of the Florida East Coast Railway in Miami in 1896 was great for development, but also started the era of pollution and dredging for the river. The rapids were destroyed in 1908 and a rush of silt and muck flowed down the river when the Miami Canal was completed in 1912, according to The Miami River and its Tributaries, by Donald C. Gaby. In the 1950s, 29 lines dumped raw sewage into the river.

The river’s bad reputation hit a crescendo in 1985, when three bodies were spotted floating in the cargo area on the upper river. More than a dozen rogue policemen had raided the freighter Mary C, seizing some of the 350-400 kilos of cocaine on board. Scared smugglers jumped into the river and three drowned.

Movements to save the river had started in the 1960s, but progress was slow. In the 1990s, two federal grand juries criticized local leadership for the lack of progress. Finally, in 2008, a $89 million dredging project increased depth to a consistent 15 feet and removed pollutants in the river bed.

Developer Lissette Calderon, who is this issue’s cover subject, knows the river well. After she was born, she and her parents lived in an apartment building along the river at the site of the Miami Circle. The circle was rediscovered when apartment buildings were being demolished.

Calderon was a pioneer in reestablishing the river as a great place to live with her Neo Lofts projects in 2002 near Flagler Street. She eventually added two more Neo projects on the river.

After a second stint with Related Group, Calderon bought River Oaks Tower & Marina, a troubled apartment project that is getting a big makeover under the name Pier 19. Some of the city’s most high-profile developments are sprouting along the river now, including the eight-acre River Landing Shops and Residences with 528 apartments and Miami River Walk, which plans 700 apartments.

Calderon recognizes that the Miami River is still a working river. The upper river is lined with freighters that largely serve the Caribbean. A 2017 report by the county estimates $1 billion in goods are shipped via the river annually. There is the potential to double the amount of freight the river can handle, according to the Miami River Freight Improvement Plan.

The river is now also a place for restaurants and bars as well. On Northwest River Drive, I’ve recently had pizza at Crust and seafood at Garcia’s Seafood Grille. I also popped into Kiki on the River and saw the crowd whooping it up as the wait staff danced on the bar.

It’s great to see the reason Miami was founded is now back to life, balancing a better ecology and residential development with strong commerce. Kudos to Calderon and other developers for enhancing Miami’s original treasure.

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To look at the history of the Miami River, is to look at the history of Miami itself.

According to historian Jerald T. Milanich, the world “Miami” is a derivation from “Mayaimi,” which referred to the vast size of Lake Okeechobee. (Another interpretation is that Miami means “sweet water.”)

Spanish explorers who visited Miami in 1743 mentioned “Maymies” or “Maimies” living in the area. The Miami Circle, just east of the Brickell Avenue bridge over the river, is believed to be 1,700 to 2,000 years old and built by the Tequesta Indians.

The unspoiled Miami River was a wild splendor. It was formed when water from the Everglades spilled over a rocky ledge four miles up the river, creating rapids.

The arrival of the Florida East Coast Railway in Miami in 1896 was great for development, but also started the era of pollution and dredging for the river. The rapids were destroyed in 1908 and a rush of silt and muck flowed down the river when the Miami Canal was completed in 1912, according to The Miami River and its Tributaries, by Donald C. Gaby. In the 1950s, 29 lines dumped raw sewage into the river.

The river’s bad reputation hit a crescendo in 1985, when three bodies were spotted floating in the cargo area on the upper river. More than a dozen rogue policemen had raided the freighter Mary C, seizing some of the 350-400 kilos of cocaine on board. Scared smugglers jumped into the river and three drowned.

Movements to save the river had started in the 1960s, but progress was slow. In the 1990s, two federal grand juries criticized local leadership for the lack of progress. Finally, in 2008, a $89 million dredging project increased depth to a consistent 15 feet and removed pollutants in the river bed.

Developer Lissette Calderon, who is this issue’s cover subject, knows the river well. After she was born, she and her parents lived in an apartment building along the river at the site of the Miami Circle. The circle was rediscovered when apartment buildings were being demolished.

Calderon was a pioneer in reestablishing the river as a great place to live with her Neo Lofts projects in 2002 near Flagler Street. She eventually added two more Neo projects on the river.

After a second stint with Related Group, Calderon bought River Oaks Tower & Marina, a troubled apartment project that is getting a big makeover under the name Pier 19. Some of the city’s most high-profile developments are sprouting along the river now, including the eight-acre River Landing Shops and Residences with 528 apartments and Miami River Walk, which plans 700 apartments.

Calderon recognizes that the Miami River is still a working river. The upper river is lined with freighters that largely serve the Caribbean. A 2017 report by the county estimates $1 billion in goods are shipped via the river annually. There is the potential to double the amount of freight the river can handle, according to the Miami River Freight Improvement Plan.

The river is now also a place for restaurants and bars as well. On Northwest River Drive, I’ve recently had pizza at Crust and seafood at Garcia’s Seafood Grille. I also popped into Kiki on the River and saw the crowd whooping it up as the wait staff danced on the bar.

It’s great to see the reason Miami was founded is now back to life, balancing a better ecology and residential development with strong commerce. Kudos to Calderon and other developers for enhancing Miami’s original treasure.

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