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Serving the communities along the Biscayne Corridor, including Arch Creek East, Bay Point, Bayside, Biscayne Park, Belle Meade, BuenaVista, Design District, Downtown, Edgewater, El Portal, Hibiscus Island, Keystone Point, Miami Shores, Morningside, North Bay Island,North Miami, Oakland Grove, Palm Grove, Palm Island, Sans Souci, Shorecrest, Star Island, Wynwood, and Venetian Islands
www.BiscayneTimes.com
Volume 7, Issue 5July 2009
By Christian Cipriani
By Christian Cipriani
Cover photo by Silvia Ros Illustration by James Dougherty
CALL 305-756-6200 FOR INFORMATION ABOUT THIS ADVERTISING SPACE
All those vacant lots in Edgewater? We have plans for them!
All those vacant lots in Edgewater? We have plans for them!
Dreams
Dreams
Dirt
Dirt
&
 
&
F
ew areas along the Biscayne Cor-ridor blossomed so brightly, thensuffered so deeply from the recentbuilding boom and bust as Edgewater.But Edgewater isn’t like most neighbor-hoods. Less than
fi
ve years ago, thissmall waterfront enclave was at the heartof Miami’s “Manhattanization” — aprojected home to more than 6000 newluxury lofts and condos, and a hip, freshdestination for young professionals andMiami Beach exiles.Real estate developers, a number of whom had no experience building high-rise condominiums (or much of anythingelse), swarmed over the low-rise neigh-borhood, gobbled up apartment buildings,evicted tenants by the hundreds, anddemolished what was already a rare com-modity in Miami: affordable housing.In one sense, the frenzy of activitywas understandable. Geographically
Continued on page 14 
 
14 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com July 2009
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OVER 
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TORY 
Continued on page 15 
the area couldn’t have been more prom-ising. Edgewater extends from roughlyNE 15th Street to the Julia TuttleCauseway, and from Biscayne Bay toNE 2nd Avenue — precious bayfrontproperty central to every major destina-tion in the county.But in another sense, the transforma-tional dreams made little sense. Edge-water was one of Miami’s poorest areas.Its streets were narrow, some of them sonarrow two-way traf 
fi
c was impossible.Public transportation for thousands of new residents was woefully inadequate.Infrastructure fundamentals like watermains, sewers, and storm-water runoff systems were old and crumbling.None of that dampened the aspira-tions of developers who envisionedtowering condos with alluring nameslike Onyx, Ice, Quantum, Blue, Aria.Advertising campaigns promised anurbane, sophisticated lifestyle
fi
lled withgorgeous people, classy restaurants, andtree-shaded promenades.But the gentri
fi
cation of this work-ing-class, predominately Caribbeanand Latino community, once known asMiami’s
fi
rst suburb and dotted with wa-terfront mansions and quaint bungalows,never materialized. The grandiose fantasywas vaporized by the collapse of the realestate market. Today the neighborhoodis a patchwork of half-
fi
lled condos, ahandful of up-and-coming shops andrestaurants rubbing elbows with aging,down-market businesses — and many,many vacant lots.Many millions of dollars’ worthof dirt now lies fallow, from oversizedparcels whose owners abandoned majordevelopment plans to a smattering of mini lots popular for illegal dumping.Depending on how you count them, thereare somewhere around 50 vacant lots inEdgewater. Some are fenced; most arenot. All of them, however, have potential,and they invite creative thinking aboutthat potential. They are an imagineer’sequivalent of the painter’s blank canvas.As a resident of Edgewater, I’vedone my share of daydreaming aboutwhat might become of all these vacantlots. And now, thanks to the power vestedin me by
 Biscayne Times
as its RealEstate Potentate, I can wave my wandand make dreams come true, at least
fi
guratively. I carefully surveyed myneighborhood, consulted with everyonefrom civic activists to urban planners,and conjured some solutions.
MARKET FORCES
1776 Biscayne Blvd.
Having sat vacant since a developerin Houston shelled out $5.6 mil-lion for it back in 1996, thisis one of the few lots where Idon’t have a mere suggestion,but rather a Draconian decree.This
must 
become a high-end grocery store — and at83,000 square feet it
can
. Mostneighborhood residents are alltoo aware that Publix and Price Chopperleave a lot to be desired. (Note to MiamiShores readers: Our Publix is
nothing
 like yours.) A Publix GreenWise market— or better yet a Whole Foods — wouldoffer an attractive alternative for healthyeaters, luring foodies from the luxurycondos on Bayshore Drive all the way upto NE 36th Street. A neighborhood thateats well lives well.
BETTER HOMES 
421 NE 22nd St.; 418-446 NE 22nd Terr.;413 NE 23rd St.; 513 NE 23rd St.; 601 NE 23rd St.; 516 NE 26th Terr.; and more
Some of these parcels, like 513 NE23rd St., are already prepped for develop-ment; others are the home of ill-fated proj-ects like Loft 26, down the road at 516 NE26th Terr. Together they are worth millions.These and similar lots are ideal placesfor novel solutions to multifamily hous-ing, such as low-rise “Mat Buildings.” Aconcept that traces back to Le Corbusier’sVenice Hospital design, Mat Building isa style of interconnected, modular archi-tecture in which living units are linked bycommunal courtyards (similar to Moroccanhousing). Coupled with a wider range of unit prices, the Mat style would encourageresident interaction — something Edge-water’s diverse population needs. From a
Dirt & Dreams
Continued from page 1
222358844777434334488888882
 A marina at the 28th Street inletcould also be a pick-up point for a water taxi that shuttles residents tothe Upper Eastside, downtown,and Coconut Grove.
 
July 2009 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com 15
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OVER 
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TORY 
planning standpoint, the effect of mixingincome levels in close proximity tends tobene
fi
t an area more than isolating peopleinto groups.Two large lots, one of them wa-terfront, at the foot of NE 32nd Streetwould be ideal for mixed housing, andwould be especially attractive by virtueof their proximity to a major commu-nity park just to the south. (See GREENDREAMS below.)
BAYFRONT BENEFITS
The NE 28th Street Inlet 
Public Marina:
At the dead-end of NE 28th Street a developer from Aven-tura owns both the north and south lots,while another owns the waterfront lotson the north side of NE 27th St. The restof the vacant space around the inlet isowned by the City of Miami. With onlythree major stakeholders — one beingthe city, which could provide
fi
nancial in-centives for the private owners — there’sboth the space and means to create amodest public marina. Rental slips, a baitand supply shop, a café, boat and jet skirentals — the works. This would liven upEdgewater’s midpoint and give residentsa real reason to visit the waterfront.
Water Taxi:
A marina could alsobe a pick-up point for a water taxi thatshuttles residents to the Upper Eastside,downtown, and Coconut Grove. Thisidea was the subject of a design classtaught at the University of Miami byarchitect Ricardo Lopez. “The bay isMiami’s greatest physical asset,” saysLopez. “The Biscayne Water Trolleywould offer solutions to a number of issues: more transit options, reducingfuture congestion, enhancing parks,increasing property values, and more.”One of Lopez’s students designed awater-taxi station at the end of NE 20thStreet that included docks and a
fi
shmarket, essentially extending MargaretPace Park north into the bay and creat-ing brand-new reasons for residents topatronize the area.
Kayak and Canoe Launch:
Whilewe’re at it, let’s create an offshoot of the marina on the vacant parcel sixblocks north (640 NE 34thSt.) by offering a launchramp for man-poweredwatercraft. Set up a rustic,open-air kiosk that rentscanoes and kayaks (andsells kites!), and also leasesstorage space for privatelyowned paddle boats, andsoon residents will be flocking tocheck out the spoil island east of NE22nd Street, take off on Biscayne Bayadventures, or just laze away a fewhours on the water in the sunshine.
GREEN DREAMS
Edgewater has a couple nice greenspaces, but that’s about it. Thereis, of course, the one major park — Margaret Pace Park, behind Cité.Then there’s Martell Park, a diminu-tive pocket of green for humans anddogs behind Blue Condominium onNE 36th Street. Otherwise the neigh-borhood is one big concrete jungle.We need
much
more green space, andall the shade we can get.Richard Strell, head of the Neigh-borhood of Edgewater Association of Residents (NEAR), believes that greenspaces can soon be created on thecheap: “Even more lots may becomeavailable in the coming years for pur-chase from the county due to unpaidproperty taxes. If empty lots like theseare for sale at bargain-basement prices,the city could purchase them for bothmini and full-size parks.”
Major Community Park
Waterfront lot between NE 30th Ter-race and NE 31st Street 
Dirt & Dreams
Continued from page 14
Continued on page 16 
 SUPPORT OUR
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1 - UPSCALE GROCERY2 - MODULAR HOUSING3 - WATER SPORTS4 - PUBLIC PARKS5 - INDIE CINEMA6 - SONESTA HOTEL7 - COMMERCIAL SPACES8 - COMMUNITY GARDENS
8
(c) 2008 Google Imagery, Digital Globe, Sanborn, Florida Department of Environmental Protection, GeoEye, Tele Atlas 
 A few movie screens, some uniqueconcessions, and a combination of independent and mainstream releases,and people would line up, guaranteed.
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