Change
They say that the only constant thing is change itself. Never has this been more apparent to me than on my current trip to Miami. It has been about six weeks since my last trip here, and it almost seems like a new city upon my return. I have an apartment in the downtown section of Miami, which until about a year ago was slightly off the beaten path. I liked that a lot, because I could be in Miami Beach in about ten minutes, but I wasn’t living in a tourist area. The area where I have an apartment is great too, because there are so many restaurants, clubs and attractions that I can walk to. Up until recently, it was an area where many new apartment houses were built about five years ago, but due to the housing crisis, no new construction seemed imminent. I liked it that way, because the area retained a real Florida feel. The view from my apartment reflected this: when I look out I can see many old buildings from the 1950’s that are small scale, many high rises too, and the bay/ocean beyond. All this seemed to change overnight upon my recent return.
Just a few blocks from my building was a huge parcel of empty land that remained empty when the housing crisis hit. It is now being developed by a cash rich company from Hong Kong into a mega complex of office/hotel/condo/retail. It would have made a great park for the neighborhood, but instead will now add more concrete, people, and congestion to this area. Also, in the six weeks I was gone, there are three separate parcels being developed into apartment houses right in front of my apartment’s view. If I am lucky, those buildings will not be high enough to block the best part of my view, which is the ocean background.
Other changes: I shop in a supermarket three blocks from my house in a small scale Spanish style retail complex built about five years ago- the complex houses about thirty businesses including about fifteen restaurants and bars. It is a great human scale place to go for dining and people watching. Now some developer is planning a forty story condo to be built on top of the supermarket- this was an old project stopped only by the recession. It is now going forward, even though the impact to all the businesses and patrons of that complex will be huge: noise and congestion for almost three years. About four blocks from my house stood an empty parcel directly opposite two large condo buildings. It is now being developed even though it will seriously impair the views of both buildings- it is only forty feet from one of them. The oldest nightclub in Miami called Tobacco Road will also fall victim to this new growth; it’s in the middle of the huge new complex being built and will be torn down in about two years when its lease is up.
Much of the new condo construction is now geared to foreign buyers: South Americans and Europeans who pay cash- only about 10-20% of these buyers are Americans. Quite an interesting situation for this American to grasp. Such is the power of change today.
