Mouth of the Miami River Mouth of the Miami River Details: 3.5" x 5.5" (9 x 14 cm) Stock #: Miami River | City of Miami Headquarters | Adler Group Two bidders step up to buy Miami administrative headquarters building on river Site is zoned for up to 1,574 residential units June 21, 2016 02:25PM Print The city of Miami’s Miami River headquarters Two companies have reportedly entered the running to buy the city of Miami’s administrative building on the Miami River, which it’s vacating in hopes of finding a newer and larger home. The city began shopping its three-acre riverfront property at 444 Southwest Second Avenue as far back as last summer, according to the Miami Herald, looking to trade-up for larger and more modern offices, or have a developer renovate the current building through a purchase and lease-back arrangement. Its most recent move to get the deal done was hiring commercial broker CBRE in March to help market the property. Now, two companies have submitted bids by the Monday deadline, according to the Herald.

Lancelot Miami River LLC, headed by Adler Group’s President David Adler, and Panther Capital LLC, which lists its managing members as Aaron Adler, Jason Adler and Lawrence Adler. Rachel Schapiro, an Adler Group spokesperson who’s related to David Adler, told The Real Deal that the other team is totally separate from the Adler Group. The bids are sealed so both teams’ plans are yet unknown. Adler Group is developing a 36-story Nexus Riverside tower next door with 462 rental units. City officials previously said the administration has outgrown its current offices and is looking to move into a Class A office building measuring 375,000 square feet within city limits. The 3.15-acre site is prime territory along Miami River, which has seen a surge of interest from developers seeking affordable waterfront land as sites in neighborhoods like Sunny Isles Beach and Miami Beach become both scarce and expensive. An Argentinian family has revived plans for the Epic East site at the mouth of the river, and the Chetrit Group is gearing up to launch sales for its $1 billion mixed-use project nearby. CBRE’s marketing material says the site is zoned for up to 1,574 residential units.

[Miami Herald] — Sean Stewart-Muniz New York Real Estate News Daily Updates South Florida Real Estate News Daily Updates Los Angeles Real Estate News Daily Updates Touring Miami River With Dr. Paul George - Miami Beach 411 Touring Miami River With Dr. Paul George Tweet ABOVE: The neck cranes upward inevitably at the mouth of the river, where towering high-rises, courtesy of Miami’s recent construction boom, flank either bank of the river’s Downtown stretch. It’s only five and a half miles, but the Miami River is full of so many interesting tales, it takes three hours to hear them all. I’m born and raised in Miami and I never paid much mind to that winding body of water downtown – except of course, when I’ve had to stop in traffic for a drawbridge – but after taking a tour of Miami’s birthplace I realized something important: to know the river is to know the city. One of the best ways to become acquainted with the river is to take a boat tour with Dr. Paul George, history professor at Miami-Dade Community College and historian for The Historical Museum of South Florida. This year, Dr. Paul George celebrates his 20th anniversary giving tours for the museum. Dr.

Paul George is no ordinary tour guide. A noted scholar, he’s what I’d call a walking encyclopedia of all things Miami. His passion and enthusiasm for the topic is readily apparent and it’s a pleasure to hear him speak. During our three-hour tour he only took one 15-minute break; he knows what has happened and what’s currently going on in every nook and cranny of the river! Our tour began at Bayside Market Place in the morning with about 60 guests on board the Island Queen. The boat is comfortable and the ride is smooth. It’s a short sail from the bay to the mouth of the river. The river really isn’t a pretty place – not in a Mickey Mouse tropical South Beach sort of way. The website of a popular riverfront restaurant calls it an “industrial wasteland.” But for my buck, it’s probably one of the most interesting areas of town and one definitely worth exploring. THE RIVER TODAY Many of the freighters on the river are recycled European vessels. The Miami River spans five and a half miles from Biscayne Bay to Miami International Airport.

The Miami Canal, which extends further west, was dredged between 1909-1912, but is not the original river. Everywhere you look, you see evidence of maritime culture: freighters, tugboats, houseboats, commercial fishing fleets, lobster crates, luxury yachts, sailboats and even derelict craft stand out on the river. All these vessels share a relatively narrow body of water: 90 to 150 feet of is considered navigable by federal standards, although some spots on the river can be as wide as 225 feet. Traffic jams are common. The captains of commercial and pleasure crafts must wait there turn for rising drawbridges – no less than 10 of them the entire length of the river. All this traffic is a good thing, though – it spells big bucks for the local economy. The river is a busy port with thirty-two private, international shipping terminals handling over $4 billion a year in cargo.

(The “port” area of the river technically begins around 27th avenue and stretches about 1 mile west.) Cargo companies from over 50 Caribbean ports of call prefer the river to the Port of Miami because their ships are better suited to handle the shallow drafts, shorter seawalls and types of cranes available on the river. As well, the river’s port facilities are more affordable. According to a 2005 Biscayne Bay Economic Study, this “working river” represents a flow of cash for the city: “waterborne commerce on the Miami River generated $805 million in output, $406 million in income, 6,700 jobs and $44 million in tax revenues in Southeast Florida.” With numerous boat yard facilities, the river is also a stop for many a boat in need of maintenance. Every time a mega-yacht cruises in for service, it generates $385,000 in local economic input. Tugboats are a familiar sight on the river. They help the huge freighters navigate in and out of the waterway. One of numerous businesses servicing watercraft on the river.

One of 10 drawbridges on the river, approaching Merril Stevens Dry Dock Company. Stacked up and ready to go. Everything above the ship’s hull is a little extra cargo put in at the captain’s discretion. Megayacht repairs generate megabucks for the local economy. The river is home to commercial fisheries and lobster fleets. THE FUTURE LOOKS GREEN The river was not always polluted; fresh water flowed from the Everglades through a series of rapids on the river’s north fork; the “fall” dropped about six feet over the course of about 450 feet. Freshwater springs also bubbled up in numerous spots along the river. Over time, Miami’s population and industry increased. Poor sewage management, as well as chemical run-offs from surrounding terrain, polluted this once pristine body of water. Today, the river is undergoing a massive dredging project by the Army Corps of Engineers, which will not only clean up the water, but also provide greater depth for freighters. The $88 million project is scheduled for completion this year in October and will restore the designated 15-foot depth of the federal navigable channel. Those few extra feet make all the difference in the world for the economy and the environment.

At 15 feet, freighters will be able to fill their cargo holds to 100% capacity and traverse the river even in low tides. The increase in trade and commerce means more local employment. The Merrill Stevens Dry Dock Company, which has been repairing yachts on the river since 1923, is privately funding an expansion of its service areas for larger boats and is implementing a “green” initiative to use energy-conserving solar panels. The dredging not only creates depth for navigation but also removes contaminated sediments. With a cleaner floor, the river will not push pollution further out into the bay during hard rain. A proposal is in the works for the first biodiesel fuel manufacturing plant on the river. The fuel would be made from the oil-rich nut of the Jatropha plant, as well as recycled vegetable oil from restaurants. Potential customers for biodiesel would be the river’s own shipping terminals, as well as cruise ships calling in at the Port of Miami and Miami-Dade County buses. Currently, the State of Florida imports %100 of its diesel fuel. Not all the industry on the river is marine-oriented. Our tour ended where a scrap iron recycling factory meets the train tracks.

The factory grinds away noisily twenty-four hours a day, turning landfill material into reusable metal. According to Dr. Paul George, China is the factory’s biggest customer. The scrap iron recycling factory. Obviously, industry is extremely significant on the “working river,” but the rest of the river – stretching from the port area to the mouth, is being developed as a “living” river. It’s refreshingly eclectic, with riverside parks, quaint (if sometimes rickety-looking) homes, historic residences and rising, brand new condominiums built close up to the river’s edge. There are a total of nine parks off the waterway. E.G. Sewell was the most scenic I saw on the tour. Lush and green, the park is the former garden of wealthy snowbird and botanical enthusiast Gen. Samuel C. Lawrence who planted palms and trees in the late 19th century. Some of those royal palms have survived hurricanes and still stand today. The Miami River Greenway is a long-term improvement project advocated by the Miami River Commission. Some sections of it are completed and others are about to break ground.

The Greenway represents a 10-mile pedestrian pathway on either side of the river, as close as possible to the seawalls, wherever feasible. Quaint houses abound in the historic neighborhoods of the middle river. E. G. Sewell park and its royal palms. A picturesque, miniature sailboat. IN THE BEGINNING How far we’ve come! North bank of Miami River, as seen from Gilbert’s wharf (Miami, Fla.), 1884. Credit: Ralph Munroe Collection, Historical Museum of Southern Florida. The Miami River is clearly evolving as a mixed-use community, but it’s the river’s deep past that really captures the historical imagination. People have been living, working and playing at the river’s edge for at least a couple thousand years! Juan Ponce de Leon first set eyes on Biscayne Bay in 1513 and spotted a Tequesta Indian village on the river’s shore. The Miami Circle – an archeological site that dates back to at least 750 B.C. —is all that remains of Tequesta culture. You can see a statue that pays tribute to the Tequesta on the Brickell Bridge, humbly dwarfed by surrounding high-rises.

(The irony never ceases to nudge me whenever I drive by.) The area between the mouth of the river and southeast 2nd Avenue reads like a who’s who of Miami pioneers. In the 19th century, when Florida became part of the United States, the Seminole Wars brought soldiers to the river and Fort Dallas was established near the bay. (Today, a city park called Fort Dallas is at the site of Bijan’s restaurant at the base of the Riverwalk metromover station.) Namesake William Brickell came to the river in the 1870s when he began establishing trading posts. Julia Tuttle, the “mother of Miami,” brought land here in 1887. It was Julia who convinced Henry Flagler to extend his East Coast Railway to the Miami River, where the latter built a luxury hotel called the Royal Palm on the northeast bank. Flagler cleared land and began construction of the hotel in 1896, the same year his first train arrived and the city of Miami was founded.

At 680 feet long and five stories high, the grand hotel boasted 450 rooms, a ballroom, elegant furnishings, electricity, ice and elevators – not the kind of amenities usually available in the wilderness! Such pomp and circumstance in the middle of a mosquito-infested swamp seems only fitting considering the skyline today. Behemoth towers and giant ships overtake this dynamic body of water in nothing less than a dramatic flourish. Cruising by the mouth of the river is something every Miami lover must experience in person. Bijan’s Restaurant, site of Fort Dallas Park. The yellow clapboard house was actually built by Henry Flagler in 1897 and moved to this location from S.E. 2nd street in 1980. In 1925, barracks from Fort Dallas were moved to Lummus Park further down the river. The Miami Circle (the white spot in front of the Icon development, seen here under construction and practically toppling over into the river) is all that remains of this important archeological site. Plans are underway to convert the site into a public park that will be part of the Miami River Greenway. Construction everywhere. Hi-rise residential development along the lower river.

RIVER TRIVIA Just below I-95, the site of Tent City, where refugees from the Mariel boatlift lived in temporary shelters. During the tour, Dr. Paul George regaled us with many colorful stories about the river. Here are just a few … In 1980, hundreds of Cuban refugees who fled via Mariel lived temporarily next to the river under Interstate-95 in what was known as Tent City. Allapatah was fertile farmland even as late as the 1950s. Former Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista owned a home on the river in Spring Garden. (Today it’s a pink house with a pool in the back, the view of which is somewhat obscured by trees.) Gertie Walsh’s famous brothel serviced many a wealthy businessman, visitor and politician in the 1930s, including William K. Vanderbilt and John D. Hertz. The U.S. Army shut down brothel operations during World War II. (Probably much to the chagrin of its aforementioned clients!) The Fleischer Brothers, known for their animation work as creators of Betty Boop and Popeye, opened a studio along the river in 1938.

There they produced their famous Superman series of shorts, the first of which was nominated for an Academy Award. Tourist attractions in the early days included Alligator Joe, a reptile wrestler who plied his trade in the 1890s and around 1910. Musa Isle, a mock Seminole Indian village, opened in 1919. In the mid-1800s, the Ferguson family had a prosperous arrowroot factory from a mill powered by water damned up from the river’s rapids. They used coontie, a native plant, to make the starch. East Coast Fisheries was established in the 1930s. Now abandoned, it was once a thriving family business. TOURING THE RIVER The Island Queen at Bayside Market Place. The affable Dr. Paul George. The Historical Museum of South Florida offers three different Miami River experiences throughout the year (2008/09 season), all guided by Dr. Paul George.

The Miami River Boat Tour September 28, January 31, April 11 and May 17 Cost: $39 museum members $44 non-members The tour starts at 10 am at Bayside Marketplace and ends at 1 pm at the same location. Advance payment and registration is required. I recommend you arrive at dockside by 9:30 so you can get a good seat on the open-air second level of the boat. Sit starboard first, as Dr. Paul George discusses the north bank going upriver and the south bank returning back to port. Downtown Architecture and Miami River Walking Tour November 15 and January 17 Cost: Members $20 Non-Members $25 This tour covers downtown and strolls by sites near the mouth of the river. The tour meets at 10 am in the lobby of the museum and ends at 12pm. Miami River Architecture December 6 Cost: Free This is not a tour but a free presentation by Dr. Paul George and Dr. Elliot Salloway of Miami River photos, both old and new on, 10am – 12pm at the museum.

For information and reservations on all activities, call 305.375.1621, Monday through Friday, 8:30 am to 3 pm (or leave a message at anytime). The Historical Museum of South Florida is located at 101 West Flagler Street in Downtown Miami. Municipal parking is available at the multi-story garage on 50 N.W. 2nd Avenue. Take the second level skywalk to the museum and bring your parking ticket to the reception desk – discounts are available for museum visitors. MIAMI RIVER INFORMATION & RESOURCES No serious Miami history buff should go without reading Donald C. Gaby’s The Miami River and Its Tributaries (ISBN: 0-935761-04-7). An easy read, the book is chock full of facts and is available at the museum store. To learn more about political, environmental and other issues affecting the river today, visit the Miami River Commission’s website . The commission is a watchdog, advocate and clearinghouse for the river. Download the Miami River Commission’s map (PDF) for information about Greenway areas and parks that are completed and open (see the legend for the dotted green lines).

My favorite public-access walk is the one starting at the bay at the mouth of the river. RESTAURANTS & SEAFOOD MARKETS ON THE RIVER Casual: 55 SW Miami Avenue Rd (305) 373-1770 This seafood restaurant features a bar under a huge Banyan tree. Bijan’s on the River 64 S.E. 4th Street (305) 381-7778 Quaint boathouse atmosphere, located on the Fort Dallas Park site, with easy access from Riverwalk Metromover station . Finnegan’s on the River 401 SW Third Avenue Party place: complete with swimming pool, jacuzzi, boating dock and riverfront bar. Fish Houses and Markets: Casablanca Seafood Bar and Grill 404 NW North River Drive (305) 371-4107 García’s Seafood Grille and Fish Market 398 NW North River Dr.

(305) 375-0765 Miami River Lobster and Stone Crab Market 135 SW South River Drive (305) 345-9070 Market only. Stone crab available only in season. Upscale: 315 S Biscayne Boulevard, Miami, FL 33131 (305) 358-5900 River view seating available, located at mouth of river across from Miami Circle. The Capital Grill Google Map of Miami, Florida, USA - Nations Online Project About Miami and Miami Beach Satellite view showing Miami and its suburbs, second largest city (after Jacksonville ) in southeastern Florida , USA . The city is located at the mouth of the Miami River at Biscayne Bay on a plain between the Everglades and the Atlantic Ocean. Aerial view of Downtown Miami. Image: Ron Reiring What is today known as Miami has its beginnings in the 16th century as a tiny settlement. In 1567 the Spanish founded a mission in the area to pacify the hostile Tequesta Indians who had inhabited the area for at least 2,000 years.

An Indian village of hundreds of people dating to 500–600 B.C. was located at the mouth of the Miami River. After Florida was sold to the United States the area consisted of only small settlements to the end of the 18th century. Miami only emerged in the 19th century when the railroad reach the town in April 1896. Today Miami is Florida's second largest city with a population of about 441,000 people (in 2015). It is the largest city within the Miami metropolitan area (Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach), which is the largest metropolitan area in Southeastern USA with 6 million people. Port of Miami is located in Biscayne Bay, it is the world's largest cruise ship port, and the headquarters of many of the world's largest cruise companies. Miami points of interest: Miami is best known for its tropical weather, its beaches, the Miami nightlife and it is one of the hottest spots in the gay and lesbian universe.

The city is home to many entertainment venues, theaters, museums, and performing arts centers like Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, home of the Florida Grand Opera, the Knight Concert Hall, the Ziff Ballet Opera House, and the Carnival Studio Theater. The city is also known for its annual three-day Coconut Grove Arts Festival, now stylized CGAF, formerly admission free, now it costs $15 per day, it is promoted as one of Florida's premier outdoor festivals for art, food and live music. Places: Freedom Tower (historic place with a contemporary art museum), Miracle Mile (pedestrian-friendly destination), Museum Park (venue for large-scale events), Key Biscayne (island), Venetian Pool (historic public swimming pool) Museums: Museum of Contemporary Art - MoCA (see What Happens When Politics of Class and Culture Collide), Lowe Art Museum (first art museum in South Florida run by the University of Miami), Frost Art Museum ('Miami's Best Museum', Latin American and 20th century American art), Pérez Art Museum (contemporary art) Wolfsonian-FIU (museum for industrial-design), HistoryMiami (largest history museum in Florida).

Theater: Olympia Theater (former atmospheric theater now an entertainment center), Tower Theater (movie theater with style), Just the Funny (comedy shows) Parks: Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden (a 83-acre tropical botanic garden), Miami-Dade Zoological Park and Gardens (largest and oldest zoological garden in Florida), Bayfront Park (Miami's city park in Downtown), Jungle Island (zoological park on Watson Island), Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park (protected area on Key Biscayne), The Kampong (botanical garden with tropical fruits), Montgomery Botanical Center (palms and cycads) The coastal resort city of Miami Beach with its Art Deco District, is located east of Miami on a barrier island between Biscayne Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. Just zoom in (+) to see Downtown Miami, from there to the north east is Miami Beach, built on a stretch of islands along the northern part of Biscayne Bay. Miami's port is at Dodge Island.

The page shows a city map of Miami with expressways, main roads and streets, zoom out to find Miami International Airport (Wilcox Field) ( IATA code : MIA) located about 5 mi (8 km) by road west of Miami's central business district. To find a location use the form below. To view the map, click on the "Map" button. To find a location type: street or place, city, optional: state, country. Local Time Miami: Friday-January-20 2017 01:41 Standard time zone Eastern (EST): UTC / GMT -5 hours Daylight Saving Time (EDT) in use from the second Sunday in March, ends on the first Sunday in November; time zone offset: UTC/GMT -4 hours φ Latitude, λ Longitude (of Map center; move the map to see coordinates): , Google Map: Searchable Map of the City of Miami and Miami Beach, Florida, USA.

City Coordinates: 25°47′16″N 80°13′27″W Map Help [ show ] to pan the map click on the respective arrow on the pan button or click on the map and move your mouse/pointer to drag the map around (pan). to Zoom in +, or Zoom out – use the zoom buttons; or double click on the map to zoom in. Map Type Control Buttons; To switch between various map types click on this buttons: Click the Map button for a street map, this button holds the option for Terrain, it displays a physical map with topographical details. Click the Satellite for a satellite image; with the option to switch Labels (names, borders, roads, business, etc.) on and off, for a combination of satellite image and street map. The "Pegman" symbol offers the switch to Google's street view, the 360-degree, panoramic street-level imagery. To enjoy street views, grab pegman with your cursor and hoover over the map, when street view is available parts of the map will change to blue, drop pegman there and you might have a lot of fun within unimaginable boring landscapes. One World - Nations Online .:.

let's care for this planet Made to improve cross-cultural understanding, global awareness, and cultivating a cosmopolitan consciousness. More Evidence Of Tequesta Civilization Unearthed Near Miami River | WLRN More Evidence Of Tequesta Civilization Unearthed Near Miami River The Third Avenue Circle, pictured with archeologist Ray Skinner and FIU archeology student Adrian Espinoza Credit Nathaniel Sandler Two months ago, twelve dump trucks bursting with dirt and fill from a downtown Miami construction site made their way to the Everglades Outpost, an animal rescue facility in Florida City. Barbara Tansey, the facility’s owner and overseer is slowly sifting through the remnants looking for clues. Though volunteers occasionally come to help, at some moments the elderly Tansey is entirely on her own, tirelessly sifting in hopes of revealing any artifact. It should be mentioned that twelve truckloads is an insane amount of dirt. Henry Flagler, one of Miami’s most ambitious early twentieth century developers, placed most of that dirt downtown to level out the natural bedrock under the city and expand the borders of his vast property. The land is being taken away from an archeological dig on Third Avenue, right off the mouth of the Miami River.

The excavation is being led by South Florida archeologist Bob Carr, who undertook the well-publicized first Miami Circle site that was uncovered in 1998. As the fill is removed, you can see the lines of orange dirt, delineating the earth that Flagler deposited from Jupiter Florida via his famous railroad. Fill line showing orange dirt that Henry Flagler shipped in from Jupiter. Credit Nathaniel Sandler What Carr and his team have uncovered at the going Third Avenue dig site, where plans for an upscale movie theater are in motion, is of great historical significance, with artifacts and remnants spanning thousands of years of Miami history. In 2005, on the north bank of the Miami River across from the original circle, a second Miami Circle was found. The discovery went relatively unnoticed, though there were some mentions in the press. The second circle, dubbed the “Royal Palm Circle” did not garner the vast attention that the first did. At the time, Carr and his team worked on the Royal Palm Circle site until the economy caused the developer to tighten it’s funding across the board. Both the archeological dig and the development itself were tabled until recently.

The project is called the Metropolitan Miami Complex, and includes multiple buildings in the downtown area including an entertainment complex with the aforementioned upscale movie theater. The developer is MDM Development Group in collaboration with the O’Neal group, whose executive team includes former Miami Heat star Shaquille O’Neal. This part of the development is located in one of the last vacant lots in downtown Miami. Work has since resumed and the archeological discoveries have proven wonderfully fruitful. Of great interest is the uncovering of a third circle cut into the limestone, which allows Carr and his team to infer that the circles were living spaces for the native Tequesta. The third circle also assumes proof of a well-developed Native American civilization in ancient downtown Miami. Carr, author of Digging Miami , states there “is another [third] circle cut into the downtown bedrock in addition to a well which appears to be from the Royal Palm Hotel and a freshwater natural spring in the middle of downtown Miami.” It is an exceptional discovery, and Carr says that, “for the first time there is a settlement pattern along the shores of the Miami River and Biscayne Bay.” Post holes of the Third Avenue Circle. The team uses PVC to mark each hole.

You can see at the bottom of the photo what the holes look like without PVC inside. Credit Nathaniel Sandler The most distinct evidence of this third circle at Third Avenue is the existence of multiple post holes bored into the limestone bedrock and arranged in a circular fashion. The team believes that holes were resting places for wooden posts that would allow the Tequesta to create shelter. They are currently digging up and running tests on the midden found in the holes. Midden is carbon archeological evidence of domestic life, which can consist of anything from wood, skin flakes, to shells, to animal bones and more. The difference between this third circle and the first more famous Miami Circle is the lack of large stone basins. When initially discovered there was some confusion as to what the initial Miami Circle actually was. This extraordinary find seems to be able to clarify, Carr suggests. It seems that the Miami Circle may have been a more important dwelling, possibly religious in nature, where as both the second Royal Palm Circle and now the Third Avenue Circle are potentially more standard domestic abodes. Fascinatingly, the team also uncovered what appears to be the original shoreline of the Miami River in the limestone bedrock, mere feet away from the Third Avenue Circle.

The Tequesta probably lived on the banks of the water. Carr and his team believe this to be the original shoreline of Biscayne Bay at the Miami River. Credit Nathaniel Sandler Proof of a flourishing Tequesta village, and the original shoreline, are not the only thing the dig has revealed. Carr’s team has unearthed thousands of artifacts dating as far back as 500 B.C. all the way up to the Royal Palm Hotel, built by Henry Flagler in 1897 and torn down in 1930. There was also a freshwater well, pulling from a natural spring underneath Downtown. Freshwater well, believed to be from the Royal Palm Hotel. Credit Nathaniel Sandler On the far northwest end of the plot, Carr’s team found the outer foundation of the Royal Palm Hotel itself. There are steps leading out of what Carr claims is the ballroom outside to the patio. The steps walking out of what was once the Royal Palm Hotel, much like Henry Flagler once did, are amazingly intact and it is a chilling and inspiring discovery. There are also piles of brick arranged in what appears to be a patio leading out to what would have been a garden space.

Original steps out of the Royal Palm Hotel ballroom that were most likely walked by Henry Flagler himself. Credit Nathaniel Sandler The City of Miami, for its part, is aware of the dig and making sure the developer is following every protocol found in Chapter 23 of the city code , which deals with historic preservation and archeological standards. The developer has already completed the approval and permitting process. According to Luciana Gonzalez at the Historic Preservation Office for Miami, MDM was approved for a Major Use Special Permit in 2005-2006 under the condition that "all efforts will be made to fully document and to preserve [any discoveries] when possible." Most importantly the developer has agreed to build a private park with public access, which will include the Royal Palm Circle on display and an interpretive plaza. Though the Royal Palm Circle will need to be relocated around 40 feet, the plaza will allow visitors to learn about the lush and diverse history of the mouth of the Miami River, and how the Tequesta lived. There has been no decision made on what will happen with the foundation of the Royal Palm Hotel or newly discovered Third Avenue Circle. Any artifacts found will go to History Miami .

On the edge of the Everglades, Tansey continues to sift through the mountains of dirt from the site on weekends in hopes of picking up anything the dig might have missed during such a massive operation. "So far," she states, "we have found a 1909 nickel and some round musket balls that might be from the Seminole Wars. We've got a long way to go." For More information about Bob Carr and his team, please visit their website . If you are interested in helping Barbara Tansey sift through the remains of ancient Miami, please visit the Everglades Outpost website . | Miami Herald Order Reprint of this Story The Miami River — once a polluted, industrial backwater known as a favored route for smugglers — is today teeming with developers who want to build on what is practically the city’s last remaining waterfront land. “It’s the new waterfront for Miami,” said Nelson Stabile, a principal at the developer Integra Investments, which invested in two vacant river lots during the recession and flipped them at a profit of more than $21 million last year.

“If you want to be near the urban core of Miami, it’s becoming impossible to find waterfront properties.” Near the delta where the river meets Biscayne Bay, developers plan to build ultra-luxury condo towers with units at multimillion dollar price points rivaling waterfront Brickell and Miami Beach. Further inland, large mixed-use projects and rental buildings are being designed for locals amid the boatyards, shipping terminals and bait-and-tackle shops of what has long been a “working” river. The latest residential project, called One River Point, is an ambitious venture to bring ultra-luxury living as far west on the river as it has ever been. The project’s two 60-story towers will be designed by internationally known architect Rafael Viñoly Shahab Karmely, founder of New York-based KAR Properties, paid more than $60 million last year to assemble three vacant parcels on the river’s north bank west of the Miami Avenue Bridge near the existing Mint, Ivy and Wind condo towers. Compared to other global cities including New York, London and Hong Kong, land in Miami is still cheap, even if it may not feel that way to local developers, Karmely said.

&nbsp; The 350 units at One River Point, Karmely said, will rival those on the beach for luxury and design with 10- and 12-foot ceilings, large terraces that are one-third to one-half the size of the unit’s interior, and views spanning the river, bay and city skyline. They will range from $850,000 to $12 million, with penthouses priced even higher. Units will start at $850 per square foot — higher than the average price in Brickell for new construction (about $620 per square foot) but slightly lower than the $870-per-foot average price in Miami Beach. “The old view was that if it’s luxury, it has to be on the sand,” Karmely said. “But today, luxuries are urban. We are moving Miami’s center of gravity to the west.” The towers will include the amenities that have become standard for Miami’s wealthiest residents: poolside café with butler service, private club with a media room and cigar lounge, and building concierge. Private elevator landings and a robotic parking garage are also planned, along with an 85-foot waterfall near the site’s public riverwalk.

The project, which has an address at 24 SW Fourth St., is scheduled to open in 2018. One River Point’s second phase, on two lots set slightly back from the river, are slated to include a hotel, less-expensive condos, rental apartments and retail. LONG TIME COMING The changes up-and-down Miami’s historic waterway have been a long time coming, river-watchers say. Other American cities, including San Antonio, Savannah, Pittsburgh and Chicago, have turned their rivers into meandering, walkable neighborhoods with commercial and residential districts. But Miami’s 5 1/2-mile river was for many decades an afterthought to the beach and bay, used mainly by fishing boats and shallow-draft, Caribbean-bound cargo ships laden with cars, bicycles and piles of clothes. “The Miami River should not be a deserted wasteland or a condo canyon,” said Horacio Stuart Aguirre, chairman of the Miami River Commission, a partially government-funded advisory and oversight board for the river corridor.

“It should be a city within a city, a mix of everything, and that’s what we’re getting now.” In Miami’s last real estate boom, glitzy condo towers went up near the river’s mouth, including Ugo Colombo’s Epic Miami Hotel and Residences — home to the pricey sushi restaurant Zuma — and the Related Group’s One Miami. West of the Miami Avenue Bridge, a more industrial area, rentals and trendy lofts proved popular. More than 7,000 residential units were built during that time, according to the Miami River Commission. City planners and urban design enthusiasts began to hope the new projects would create a pedestrian link along Miami’s disjointed river, as zoning rules generally require developers to keep at least 25 feet of riverfront land open as a public park. Then the downturn derailed South Florida’s housing market. Projects stalled, units were left empty and the riverwalk remained a scattered string of green oases broken up by warehouses and vacant lots. But today, with the economy flowing once more, the rush for the river is back on, as prices for beach and bayfront land have soared beyond the reach of many developers. In response, builders have been snapping up the last riverfront plots.

“People are looking for secondary areas with water that are still good to develop,” said Iñigo Ardid of Key International, which built two condo towers on the river during the last cycle. “And the river is nice for high rises because it has a long, open corridor for views.” Major recent land deals include the $125 million that the family of Argentine grocery store magnate Alfredo Coto paid last year for a vacant property at 300 Biscayne Blvd. Way, a record price for a property of that size south of Washington, D.C. Coto’s plans for the site are unclear. Another standout was the Related Group’s $104 million purchase of the office tower at 444 Brickell in late 2013. (Related has said it plans to build three towers on the site, called One Brickell, with 1,200 units.) The Miami River Commission says that a total of about 4,000 units are slated for development over the next few years, along with new hotels, restaurants and a mega-yacht marina.

The promise of Brickell City Centre, a $1 billion mixed-use project with luxury shopping that is under construction between Southeast Sixth Street and Southeast Eighth Street on South Miami Avenue, is also luring developers to the river’s mouth. Further west, between I-95 and the Second Avenue Bridge, the New York-based Chetrit Group has brought together a cluster of south-bank lots for nearly $100 million. Chetrit plans to build four high-rise towers with more than 1,600 residential units on the 6.2 acre property just to the southeast of Jose Martí Park. They must first seek city approval for a Special Area Plan, a public-private partnership that will allow them to rezone the residential area for a higher density of units. In exchange, the developers have said they will make at least $21 million worth of improvements to the popular public park and the riverwalk. “We are trying to create an urban park which is inspired by our neighbor Jose Marti Park,” said Kobi Karp, the project’s architect.

“We have some large, luxury penthouses but the majority of units are for people who want to have urban living next to the river, next to Brickell City Centre and right across the bridge from the downtown Miami.” The project will be named after its location: Miami River. Retail, restaurants, office space, a hotel and several boat slips are also planned. And on the north bank, near the health district around Jackson Memorial Hospital, another developer is planning something new for the river: a shopping center with market-rate rental apartments. The project, dubbed River Landing, will be on the site of the old Mahi Shrine Auditorium, a long-time event space that was demolished last year. It is located near Miami-Dade criminal courthouse. “The health district is a massive market that has limited services,” said developer Andrew Hellinger, a real estate attorney who oversaw the construction of the Marquis Miami luxury condo on Biscayne Boulevard when he was head of Leviev Boymelgreen’s Florida operations.

“We’re filling a gap in the retail and the restaurants.” The $300 million, eight-acre project will include a five-story shopping mall with 426,000 square feet of space for national and local retailers, a supermarket, and several restaurants. Also planned are two apartment towers with a total of 475 units. “Miami’s whole geography is shifting west because Brickell and the Biscayne corridor are becoming so dense and unaffordable,” said Hellinger, who is now CEO of his own firm, Hellinger Penabad Companies. “And this area is a perfect rental market because of all the staff who rotate in and out of the hospital and the medical school and the courthouse.” Rental rates for the apartments haven’t been determined yet. Hellinger said he plans to break ground later this year, pending city approval of a building permit. NEW KIND OF RIVER The river is also playing host to a fast-growing, waterfront restaurant scene. “Transitional areas in cities are very hip,” said Suzanne Amaducci, a lawyer at Bilzin Sumberg who has worked on several land deals on the river. “Think of the Lower East Side and the Meatpacking District in New York. They used to be taboo.

Now they’re cool. They feel like an adventure.” Locals and visitors alike are already familiar with several riverside eateries. Garcia’s Seafood Grille and Fish Market on NW North River Drive has been a local staple since it opened in 1966. Next door, Casablanca Seafood Bar & Grill is another popular local hangout. But upscale newcomer Seaspice (which opened at the end of 2013 as Seasalt and Pepper) has also found a home amidst the tug boats and fishing trawlers of the working river. “I grew up in England and in most cities that I’ve visited, the river is the lifeline of the city,” said Maryam Miranda, the restaurant’s owner. “People thought we were crazy, but the location of how close we are to Brickell, to downtown and I-95, it naturally felt right to do something here.” Others clearly see the same lure. SushiSamba, which has locations in Miami Beach and Coral Gables, and Duck & Waffle, based in London, are planning to move to a funky, four-story riverfront building near the Flagler Street bridge.

“The new restaurants are transforming the river into a riviera and a nightlife hotspot,” said Carlo Melo, co-owner of the Melo Group, which is developing the building and has also built residential properties in Edgewater and near I-95. Across the street, the Melo Group developed a market-rate rental tower called Flagler on the River that opened last year. Rents are about $1.60 per square foot at the tower, compared to nearly $3 in Brickell “The area was abandoned 10 years ago,” Melo said. “It was very unsafe. But it’s different now and the building was totally leased in two months. People are looking for more affordable housing near the downtown.” ‘UNDER SIEGE’ But some residents of Spring Garden, the river’s historic single-family neighborhood, say they are worried about encroaching development. “We do feel like we are under siege because of the development that’s happening all around us,” said Ernest Martin, a member of the Miami River Commission who has lived in Spring Garden for 40 years. “The giant new condos keep marching out west.

They are encircling us with high rises that shouldn’t be so close to a single-family area.” Martin, who also sits on Miami’s planning and zoning board, said the neighborhood may consider setting up a special taxing district to fund guard gates that can prevent traffic from cutting through its streets. Another neighborhood in the area that could see changes is East Little Havana, an enclave of affordability in a city of rising rents . “Eventually the people who move into the river condos will need restaurants and retail and the other services that come along with a residential neighborhood,” said Jason Katz, vice president at the real estate investment firm Aztec Group. “The one place I can see becoming a Williamsburg to Brickell’s Manhattan is that East Little Havana area. It could be a really fun, vibrant neighborhood but the values are going to go up and people are going to get priced out.” Katz brokered the $8.6 million sale of the Miami River Inn last month to Avra Jain, the developer who rejuvenated the Vagabond Motel in the MiMo district.

Development may creep further west along the river as time goes on, said John Spencer, CEO of a river boatyard called Spencer Boat Company that would have closed down during the recession without a major investment from a Turkish company. But Spencer said his dry dock — which repairs little wooden dinghies, 180-foot yachts and everything in-between — isn’t being threatened by the new projects. “I like the new restaurants and shops because they will give the boat crews somewhere to go,” Spencer said. “And some of the people doing the development are my customers.” “We all have to co-exist here on the river,” he added. “There’s a place here for all of us.” History of the Miami River The Miami River is where it all started. In 1998, a developer trying to build a condo tower on the south bank of the river’s mouth had his plans spoiled when workers uncovered an ancient village that had been home to the Tequesta, a Native America tribe, as long as 2,000 years ago. That site is now the Miami Circle. Another village was found on the river’s north bank last year and has also been preserved.

The Tequesta were still living in the area when Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de León sailed into Biscayne Bay in 1513. Later, European traders and missionaries established outposts near the river. In the 19th century, a plantation was founded on it north bank. But it wasn’t until Henry Flagler brought the Florida East Coast Railway to the Miami River in 1896 and built the Royal Palm Hotel near its mouth in 1897 that development took off. Trade boomed and docks, warehouses and boatyards went up along both banks. In 1909, the Miami Canal was built to connect the river to Lake Okeechobee and drain the Everglades, causing swamp muck to muddy the river’s once-clear waters. As development picked up, pollution became a major problem as untreated sewage poured into the river. Saltwater, trash and chemicals made their way into the water, too. The toxins and boat propellers decimated the river’s population of manatees. The five-and-a-half-mile river remained a blighted but industrially important area for several decades after World War II.

Then, in 1985, Miami’s police department made national headlines when a gang of corrupt cops were revealed to have caused the death of three drug dealers on a boat in the Miami River. The police officers had boarded the boat intending to steal as much as $35 million worth of cocaine. After being beaten, the panicked smugglers jumped overboard to escape but drowned in the river’s filthy waters. The practice of ripping off drug dealers turned out to be widespread among Miami’s finest. Ultimately, more than 100 cops were arrested in one of the nation’s most infamous police corruption scandals. But by the 1990s, when two federal grand juries criticized Miami’s polluted river for being a “cesspool,” city and state leaders had had enough. The Miami River Commission was formed in 1998 by state legislators to manage development along the river. In 2004, the commission helped push through a four-year, $89 million dredging project that made the river more accessible to cargo ships and cleaned up its polluted bottom.

The river is in better shape now, although still far from fully recovered, and the commission has also secured funding for a $20 million cleanup job on one of Miami’s most polluted waterways, the Seybold Canal. The fecal-matter-and-toxin-infested canal is a 2,000-foot stretch of Wagner Creek, a tributary that feeds into the Miami River. As the river, which except for a small portion in unincorporated Miami-Dade County is located entirely in the city of Miami, has been nursed back to health, residential developers have returned, following in the footsteps of the Tequesta and Flagler. Meanwhile, the western reaches of the river, further away from the prime real estate at its mouth, remain an important commercial and industrial area. Long a center of small-scale, consumer-good trade with the Caribbean, the river may also become a useful staging point for commerce with Cuba. Source: Miami River Commission RIVER LANDING: Andrew Hellinger plans a mixed-use development at 1500 NW North River Dr. WALTER MICHOT MIAMI HERALD STAFF An aerial rendering of the planned Miami River development near Jose Martí Park by the New York-based Chetrit Group.

Kobi Karp Architecture & Interior Design 1 of 3 Miami Riverside Center | 444 Southwest 2nd Avenue Print The city of Miami’s Miami Riverside Center The city of Miami is hoping to sell Miami Riverside Center, its current administrative headquarters located on valuable land along the Miami River, all while finding a new building to move its offices. Now, the city has hired brokerage CBRE to make it happen. The brokerage announced Tuesday that it will be marketing the 3.15-acre site at 444 Southwest 2nd Avenue for sale on behalf of the city. An asking price was not released. Zoned for up to 1,574 residential units, the property is primed for redevelopment. The Miami River corridor has gained new attention this cycle as developers seek out cheaper alternatives to the scarce waterfront land markets in Miami Beach or Sunny Isles Beach. Just last week, an Argentinian family submitted plans for a 70-story residential tower at the river’s mouth, and New York’s Chetrit Group is in the midst of developing a $1 billion mixed-use project not far away. “Both Mayor [Tomás] Regalado and the city’s department of real estate recognize the tremendous value of selling this asset.

The potential to expand economic development at the existing site and solve the city’s operational need for a new facility will greatly benefit the city of Miami,” said Department of Real Estate Director Daniel Rotenberg in a statement. As part of its move, the administration is looking to score a new Class A headquarters within city limits, according to a release. Robert Given, CBRE’s vice chairman, said in the announcement that the administration realized it didn’t need to have its building on prime waterfront real estate. The city would also consider a leaseback of its current building for up to three years, CBRE said. New York Real Estate News Daily Updates South Florida Real Estate News Daily Updates Los Angeles Real Estate News Daily Updates City of Miami - Economic Initiatives The Miami River The Miami River Area The Miami River and its surrounding neighborhoods have become magnets for all kinds of energy and activity over the last couple of years. Private sector developments along the River are at an all time high, and are expected to grow significantly in the years to come. Floridaï¿½s State Legislature created the Miami River Commission in 1998 and is the official clearinghouse for all public policy and projects related to the Miami River.

The Commission has become an important ally to the City in optimizing the extraordinary resources ï¿½ historic, cultural, economic, environmental and recreational ï¿½ of this unique waterway. The Department of Economic Development serves as the liaison to the Miami River Commission. A 1999 report funded by the Miami River Commission revealed that the Miami River is Floridaï¿½s fourth largest port in terms of dollar volume of trade, and handles about $4 billion in cargo on an annual basis, with shipments to 29 nations and territories of the Caribbean basin. River businesses participating in that study generated about $216 million in revenues and contributed nearly $20 million in local property taxes. The study also showed that marine-related industries now provide 1,200 jobs to local residents, amounting to a payroll of approximately $35 million. With this level of activity running through the heart of the city, Miami stays closely involved with the on-going initiatives that affect all aspects of life along the River. Current efforts are detailed below.

Miami River Infill Plan The City of Miami joined forces with Miami-Dade County and the Miami River Commission to take a comprehensive look at conditions along the River and create a unifying land use vision for the Miami River and its neighborhoods. With funds from the Miami River Commission, the Florida Department of Community Affairs, the County and the Empowerment Zone Trust, the Miami River Urban Infill Plan is intended to serve as a strategic blueprint, a broad planning guide and an action plan, to steer land use and growth along this important regional waterway. The River Commission has approved the plan, and it now awaits review by City and County. River Corridor Economic Study Among the recommendations set out in the River Urban Infill Plan, a comparative economic study and market analysis of the various commercial sectors and land use is seen as a critical element to completing the road map to the future along the River. This study, funded and led by the City, will emphasize the marine industry and will devise specific recommendations, strategies and tools to boost redevelopment and investment. This study, together with the River Urban Infill Plan, will form the basis for the creation of economic incentives and other appropriate measures to support growth along the River.

Extensions of the Miami River Walk & the River Greenways Plan In another arena, the City Commission adopted, in principle, the Miami River Greenways Plan in May 2001. This effort was spearheaded by the Trust for Public Land and the Miami River Commission, and builds upon a Cityï¿½s program that was begun in the 1970ï¿½s to develop a system of promenades along the River and Biscayne Bay. The Miami River Greenways system is a series of pedestrian and bicycle paths linking parks, neighborhoods and activity centers along both sides of the River. Since the Cityï¿½s approval, the plan has now moved into preliminary design phases, with consultants preparing schematic drawings of the greenway route from I-95 west to 12th Avenue. Even before the Greenways plan was funded, the City had worked with river stakeholders and the Trust to continue the construction of river walk segments that began with the James L. Knight Center.

In fact, since 1995, the City has been designated to receive several grants from the State and County totaling over $4,150,000 to build River Walk segments near Jose Marti Park, Lummus Park and the Flagler Street Bridge. Engineering and design for these projects are in progress or will be coming on line shortly. We now have a pending application for an additional $1,000,000, matched by Knight Foundation through the Trust for Public Land, for a bike path component in East Little Havana. "Lummus Landingï¿½ (Riverside Redevelopment Project) ï¿½Lummus Landingï¿½ is another project that combines quality of life improvements in the form of a river walk, public plazas and boat slips, with the economic potential to create additional commercial activity of the River. Located on River Drive, across the street from Lummus Park (where the Pioneers Club used to sit), the City is currently overlooking the construction activities that are under way.

Backed by an economic study of the Riverside district that was finished in 2000, the City eventually plans to seek a private entrepreneur to develop marine-related retail establishments, a restaurant, or possibly a fish market to serve the Riverside neighborhood. River Dredging Perhaps the biggest project on the River is the federal, state and locally funded Miami River Dredging project. It is certainly the most expensive at $80 million, according to the estimate devised by the lead agency, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. With Miami-Dade County as the local sponsor, the City is a full financial partner in this project, contributing up to 25% of the non-federal share, with assistance from the Florida Inland Navigation District. This project is expected to pull about 500,000 cubic yards of sediment from the Riverï¿½s navigational channel. The City and County are also looking into the potential of asking the Corps to dredge areas outside the federally designated channel, from bank-to-bank and tributaries. The State of Florida has issued a conceptual water quality permit and the Project Cooperation Agreement between the County and the Corps in being finalized in Washington.

The Army Corps of Engineers has approached this major dredging project with a great deal of flexibility in the areas of funding, process and technology. With so much going on along the Miami River, even just from the Cityï¿½s perspective, this waterway is extremely important to our community, the region and the state. Related sites

Question: The city of Miami, Florida, is at the mouth of which river?
Answer: Miami River