SPOTLIGHT

Underwater Art Project

Miami Beach is getting a new cultural attraction: The ReefLine, an underwater public sculpture park, snorkel trail and artificial reef about 900 feet offshore. The project — designed by OMA architect Shohei Shigematsu, under the artistic direction of Miami-based curator Ximena Caminos and in collaboration with scientists at the University of Miami — will be seven miles long and feature installations by multiple artists, including Leandro Erlich and Ernesto Neto. The first mile is to be completed in December, in time for Art Basel Miami Beach.

EDUCATION

• Hialeah native Madeline Pumariega is the new president of Miami Dade College. She succeeds Eduardo Padron, who retired in 2019 after leading the school for 24 years. Pumariega, previously provost of Tallahassee Community College and a former chancellor of the Florida College System, played basketball as a student at Miami Dade College, where she was later a coach and professor. MDC has more than 165,000 students across eight campuses.

REAL ESTATE

• Melo Group plans to complete a 1,042-unit apartment project called Downtown 5th this summer in downtown Miami.
• New York-based Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance and the Comras Company of Florida have formed a joint venture to create an open-air marketplace on the western edge of Miami’s Design District.

HEALTH CARE

• Gauge Capital sold Miami Beach Medical Group to Boca Raton-based Sun Capital for more than $500 million. The medical group has 19 clinics in Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and Polk counties.
• Baptist Health South Florida co-led a $34-million investment in Boston-based COTA, a health-tech company that uses data to improve cancer care and drug development.

TECHNOLOGY

• The Center for Black Innovation, a Miami non-profit that supports black tech entrepreneurs, received $2.1 million from the Knight Foundation, Surdna Foundation and Comcast NBC-Universal.
• Miami-based Papa, an app that connects seniors with young people for companionship and help with daily tasks, leased new office space downtown.
• The University of Miami’s Herbert Business School has partnered with education technology company 2U to create a 24-week online training program in financial technology for local professionals. The UM FinTech Boot Camp plans to enroll about two dozen students for its first cohort this month.
• Miami startup Cast.AI, whose platform allows business clients to work across different cloud services, raised $7.7 million in seed funding.
• Miami-based coding educator Ironhack partnered with online marketplace OfferUp to provide $250,000 in scholarships to expand access to Ironhack’s coding boot camps to women and others underrepresented in the tech industry.
• Ireland-based Everseen, which makes anti-theft technology used by retailers, leased space in Miami for a research and development office with about 30 workers.

HOSPITALITY

• LIV nightclub owner David Grutman has teamed with pop star Pharrell Williams to transform a city block on Washington Avenue in South Beach into the Goodtime Hotel, a seven-story, 266-room hotel with a recording studio and retail and dining space.

NON-PROFITS

• Jodi Mailander Farrell will lead the Everglades Foundation’s fundraising efforts as vice president of development. She previously was assistant vice president of advancement at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami.

TRANSPORTATION

• Southwest Airlines began flying out of Miami International Airport, with flights to Baltimore, Chicago, Houston and Tampa.

COVID-19 UPDATE

• Miami-based Ryder System paid $30 million in one-time bonuses to nearly 30,000 front-line employees in December in recognition of their work during the pandemic. Full-time employees received $1,000; part-time employees received $500.
• Miami used about $3.6 million in COVID relief money to distribute grocery store gift cards worth $250 each to families in need. The city also distributed $5 million in grants to help small businesses and non-profits cover their expenses.
• Coral Gables offered relief grants of up to $50,000 to small businesses in the city.
• Former Miami Heat star Chris Bosh was named dean of the Drone Racing League Academy, an effort by the league to provide STEM education virtually to young people during the pandemic. The academy teaches the science behind drone racing via video games, digital panel sessions and live-streamed celebrity guest lectures.

 

Read more in Florida Trend's February issue.
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