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Miami-Dade Business Briefs - Feb. 2009
» Wachovia has filed for foreclosure on the completed 42-story Wind by Neo condo on the Miami River, developed by Lissette Calderon’s Miami-based Neo Epoch.
» Asia America Equity Exchange, which connects Chinese investors with companies in the Americas and vice versa, opened its first U.S. office in Miami; it is a partner of China Beijing Equity Exchange, a Chinese state-owned asset-trading agency.
» Condo developer Related Group formed Related Asset Advisors to act as a consultant and financial adviser to other developers, and possibly as a construction lender.
» Diagnostic test and instrumentation maker Ivax Diagnostics signed an agreement with California-based Lin-Zhi International to market and sell the company’s line of drug tests in the U.S. and Europe.
» Carnival Corp. (NYSE-CCL) and Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE-RCL) lifted fuel surcharges on all of their brands for North American cruises departing this year or next year. Also, Carnival filed a $100-million lawsuit against Rolls-Royce, alleging the company sold defective propulsion systems for its Queen Mary 2 ship; other cruise lines have also sued over the Mermaid pod propulsion system.
» The city launched a $500,000 program that will offer forgivable loans of up to $7,500 for homeowners at risk of foreclosure. The loans will be forgiven if buyers live on the property for 10 years.
Miami-Dade —
The county passed ordinances requiring lenders to maintain vacant homes in unincorporated Miami-Dade even before they finish the foreclosure process. The commission is requiring a county building and zoning inspection and public report on foreclosure sale properties.
» The county’s first elected property appraiser was chosen in a December runoff, when Pedro J. Garcia won out over former state lawmaker Gwen Margolis.
» The school board approved Superintendent Alberto Carvalho’s plan to cut $89 million from the budget.
» New I-95 express lanes, which run from downtown Miami to the Golden Glades interchange near the northern county line, began charging tolls on all vehicles using the lanes, except hybrids and registered carpools.
Miami Beach —
» Developers Lionstone Development and Fortune International pulled the plug on the planned Ritz-Carlton Club and Residences.
» Mount Sinai Medical Center reported that it expects an $18.5-million operating loss for 2008 and a $19.7-million loss for this year. In 2007, the hospital reported a loss of $8.9 million.
» Morgans Hotel Group opened its Mondrian South Beach condo/hotel. In November, lenders extended Morgans’ debt on the property to a 2013 maturity date, from August of this year.
Miami Shores —
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation chose the Juvenile Justice Center at Barry University’s School of Law to lead the Florida effort for its newly created Models for Change Juvenile Indigent Defense Action Network, which it rolled out in four states. The school is using the foundation’s $100,000 grant to partner with the Miami-Dade Public Defender’s Office.
