Padel Time
Pickleball may be passe. Miami’s $2-billion mixed-use Midtown Park will feature 11 outdoor padel courts and three children’s courts on two acres in what Rosso Development and Midtown Development say will become “the largest padel club in the United States.” The first phase will be a pop-up followed by a permanent eight-court Racquet & Padel Club at Midtown Park. Padel is played on grass and is described as a cross between squash and tennis.
In the Cove
Bravo Capital Trust is lending SB Development and Hazelton Capital Group $170 million to build Cove Miami, a 40-story condominium that will deliver 134 units ranging from one to four bedrooms on Biscayne Bay in the Edgewater district. Prices range from $1 million to $2 million.
WORKFORCE HOUSING
- The HueHub, a massive Live Local housing development coming to West Little River, signed deals with multiple unions setting aside three-fourths of its 4,000 apartments for firefighters, police, teachers and hospitality workers with rents from $1,300 for studios to $1,900 for two-bedroom units. Each apartment is fully furnished. Developer Pablo Castro sees HueHub as a model for serving long-term housing needs for working families.
TOURISM
- The 2026 World Cup and a new Key West Airport terminal are helping drive new airline routes to South Florida. American Airlines recently added nonstops between Miami International Airport and Rome and will debut flights to Milan this spring. Avelo is launching nonstops between Key West and Hartford later this month while Spirit Airlines started nonstops to Fort Lauderdale last summer. Breeze Airways also has added nonstops between Key West and Orlando, Tampa and Raleigh-Durham.
- The iconic Fontainebleau Miami Beach hotel is repositioning itself as a “family-focused” resort destination, adding water slides and other improvements to the pool area. Work should start in a few months.
- The Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau has tapped rbb Communications as its public relations agency. Rbb knows the hospitality and tourism industry well, representing airlines, cruise lines and tourism boards.
STAR POWER
- The America Business Forum is busting out some star power when it holds its ninth gathering, the first in the U.S., Nov. 5-6 at Miami’s Kaseya Center. Actor Will Smith, global soccer superstar Lionel Messi and billionaire Citadel founder Ken Griffin are expected to speak at the forum, which touts itself as “the main platform where the future is shaped.” Miami Mayor Francis Suarez chairs the Forum, where tickets start at $990 and run up to $4,500. A promotional video for the event showed Suarez walking through the Kaseya Center and, for some reason, through midtown Manhattan.
FINANCE
- Forman Capital loaned $29.85 million to refinance work on Shoma Bay, a 13-acre mixed use development coming to North Bay Village. Shoma Bay will bring 333 condominium units starting at $800,000 in a 24-story tower. The project also includes a Publix and 15,628 square feet of retail space.
DEVELOPMENT
- An aging Miami Beach condominium will be torn down and replaced by a 330-foot luxury tower with fewer units, according to a plan by JDS Development Group CEO Michael Stern. In addition to knocking down the “ultimately doomed” 238-unit Bay Garden Manor, Stern said during a May community meeting, JDS will tear down the Bikini Hostel homeless shelter across the street, relocating residents and replacing it with a small park it's gifting to Miami Beach. Terra has joined JDS in the project.
HEALTH CARE
- The University of Miami Health System (UHealth) is the first in the state to receive the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Magnet with Distinction for safe, high-quality care and the system’s culture supporting its nurses.
REAL ESTATE
- Allen Morris Co. opened a sales center for its three-story, 19- unit Ziggurat condominium and office project, teaming with wine café Chèvre to attract buyers and the curious. Ziggurat will include 100,000 square feet of office space and 19 condominium units starting at $3.4 million.
DATA BREACH
- Baptist Health South Florida informed patients about a data breach that may have exposed their personal information, including Social Security numbers and medical records, the Miami Herald reported. The records were maintained by a vendor called Oracle Health. Baptist Health says its computer systems were not affected.
PERSONNEL
- Frank Longo is Skanska’s new South Florida vice president. The construction and development firm says Longo, a 20-year Skanska executive, will manage projects in Miami- Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, including at Jackson Health.
NOTABLE QUOTABLE
“We can’t ever take public funding for granted. We need to keep showing the value of the arts, the return on investment and the role it plays in the lives of students and families.” — Sammy Gonzalez Ziera, CEO of Young Musicians Unite, after Miami-Dade County announced it was reversing plans to cut $12.8 million in cultural funding and eliminate its Department of Cultural Affairs