Selling Miami’s future | Mika Mattingly | Colliers International Urban Core Division | Page 6

COVER STORY

Mika Mattingly enjoys the view from the Biscayne Building, 19 W. Flagler St., which was built in 1925. Moishe Mana
purchased the 14-story, former home of the Bank of Bay Biscayne for $24.5 million in August.

the main train station was located just
northwest of the Miami-Dade County
Courthouse.
The $13 million in streetscape
improvements on his namesake street,
which are starting now in front of the
courthouse and going east over a two-year
period, will have railroad-style gates that
block the street for special events. Traffic
lanes will be narrowed to allow for wider
sidewalks with room for outdoor dining.
Valet stations will replace on-street parking.
A rebirth of passenger service on
Flagler’s railroad will come in the form
of the Brightline high-speed rail service,
which initially will have stops in the
downtown areas of Miami, Fort Lauderdale
and West Palm Beach and ultimately go to
Orlando. The trip to Fort Lauderdale will
take about a half-hour and the trip to West
Palm Beach will take an hour.
“We think of this corridor as the early
lifeline to Florida. Before highways,
people were moving around the state in
Henry Flagler’s investment in rail and

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development from Jacksonville south,”
says John Guitar, senior vice president for
Brightline’s parent, All Aboard Florida.
Brightline’s MiamiCentral station will
serve as a transportation hub with links to
Metrorail, Metromover and eventually TriRail. By next summer, riders will be able to
exit the station on Northwest Third Street.
Guitar envisions the 11-acre
MiamiCentral mixed-use development
as a meeting point for activities such
as a farmers market or for running and
biking groups. Bikes will be allowed on
the trains. Ultimately, MiamiCentral will
have more than 300,000 square feet of
office space, more than 180,000 square
feet of retail and restaurants and a 95-plus
story tower with a hotel, retail, office and
residential.
The first phase of MiamiCentral
includes the 50,000-square-foot Central
Fare, which will have six restaurants
and more than 20 other food and stores,
including a badly needed grocery store.
Bryan and Michael Voltaggio, who

were on Bravo’s “Top Chef,” will open
the signature Monger by the Voltaggio
Brothers. The 10,000-square-foot
restaurant will have three spaces with
separate kitchens that will represent a
fishmonger, butcher and green grocer.
Little Havana’s Azucar Ice Cream
Company will have a location as will
Andres Barrientos and James Bowers,
better known locally as The Hog Bosses.
Richard Hales will bring Blackbrick
Chinese, and Yoleido Galiana will bring
her 20 varieties of arepas at Doggi’s.
“We want to bring brands that represent
Miami well,” Guitar says.
The historic area and the new transit
project should offer synergy – giving
downtown residents and workers more
places to shop and eat while also bringing
in new residents and visitors who can
enjoy the historic area.
“We think of it as somewhat of a
gateway into Miami,” Guitar says. “Our
station and our environment will be one
of the first things they see.” ¿