Miami’s wealthy have failed the Frost Museum of Science

Seemingly everyone in Miami loves the idea of a world class science museum downtown but few are willing to pay for its construction, except for public officials using taxpayer money and the Frosts.

The Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science would be a showcase for wonder and innovation in the heart of the city. In the middle of building the $305 million project, the non-profit ran out of cash. It burned through $160 million in county funds and it’s not asking for another $45 million up front instead of over time. The suggestion that a community redevelopment agency should direct its property tax funds to the museum instead of building facilities for low-income residents (what else is new?) has drawn controversy.

In a city inundated with cash and frequented by many of the world’s wealthiest people, hardly anyone has stepped up to make a significant donation to this project. I’ve heard from countless developers building downtown that the Frost Museum would be a great draw and benefit their projects. Condo investors see it as another amenity for the neighborhood, one they don’t have to pay association dues for. Many downtown retail and hospitality business owners expect it to attract more visitors.

Then why are so few of them cutting big checks? Do they expect to reap all the benefits without contributing to the cause?

The Frosts are by far the biggest donors with $45 million followed by the Knight Foundation with $10 million. If this were New York or Boston or Washington, D.C., there would be a long list of headline making donors after that. The fact that there’s not, really says something.

People come to Miami and buy real estate, expensive clothes, meals from celebrity chefs, and six-figure cars. Corporations and investment funds are paying record prices for Miami property, from apartment buildings to retail strips. They rarely make a true investment for the good of the community, which is what this museum is all about.

People like to brag about Miami being on the cutting edge of STEM, the next city on the rise. In reality, we’re playing catch up with other regions of the country when it comes to science. The Frost Museum could inspire a generation of local scientists, maybe even creating some jobs that actually pay enough to afford living here.

Is anyone going to step up and invest in Miami’s future?

Sometimes return on investment isn’t measured on a balance sheet. 

New Wynwood could price out hipsters who made it thrive

In Miami real estate, you either sprint or fall on your face. There's no such thing as steady growth. So goes the case with Wynwood.

Creative planning by artists and local investors transformed the neighborhood from empty warehouses into a district with stunning street art, popular restaurants and bars and emerging retail.

It's expected that property values would grow to reflect the promise. Instead, many recent deals have given Wynwood higher valuations than established retail markets in wealthy areas, such as Coral Gables and Las Olas in Fort Lauderdale.

My print edition centerpiece in the South Florida Business Journal explores where the neighborhood is heading.

The fear of many is the higher property valuations will lead to expensive rents that will price out the artists and local businesses that made Wynwood so successful. I interviewed several property owners that said they would keep key local groups like Panther Coffee and artists, but they're investing tens of millions of dollars because they expect a substantial return from new tenants. Will those big money tenants change the hipster character of Wynwood? Can they sell enough goods to justify $80 per square foot in rent?

Certainly, the new zoning that Miami could finalize for Wynwood will increase the ability of developers to build apartments, condos and hotels there. They're targeted the young, creative professional class. However, it's important that homes in Wynwood are priced below those in areas such as downtown, Brickell and Edgewater. Construction costs aren't going to differ much between those neighborhoods so Wynwood developers will need to find a way to be less expensive for residents.

I'll tell you this about Wynwood, bring it up to any real estate professional in Miami and they're either all in or they won't touch it. There's no such thing as middle ground, or a steady pace, in Miami.

What LeBron’s departure says about Miami

Beyond the sports and the economic impact of LeBron James leaving the Miami Heat, it says something significant about the way people view Miami.

In his Sports Illustrated article, LeBron said Miami was like a “college for other kids” and he’ll always think of Miami as a “second home.” His heart is in Northeast Ohio. That’s home.

No matter how much he won in Miami, no matter how much money he made here, no matter how much the Heat fans cheered him, no matter how much he enjoyed riding his bike outside in January (not as much fun in Cleveland), Miami was never LeBron’s home. It’s a place to party, to work, and to make money.

That would describe how  many people see Miami and, perhaps, the rest of South Florida. People can live here for decades and still feel allegiance to their home cities, or countries.

I’m not talking just about sports, which is obvious by all the New York Jets jerseys at Dolphins games. Whether it’s foreign politics, TV shows beamed in from other countries, or donating to far away causes, it seems that everyone in South Florida has their mind someplace else. They’re worried about Venezuela, Israel, Cuba, New York, but not what’s going on down the block.

So what if the streets flood with every afternoon shower, they're laying off cops and closing libraries? This isn't my town!

Part of Miami’s appeal is what’s fueling the condo boom. People love to have second homes here, like LeBron. They want to experience Miami, perhaps send their kids here for a few months or years. Win a few rings, buy and flip a few condos. Then it’s back home.

South Florida benefits financially from all of that for sure. But it’s not the same as having people who truly care about this place, who will spend time and money making it better and helping the people who really do call it home.

I have great (and not so great) memories of growing up on the Space Coast but Broward County is my home now. Besides, it’s not easy to root for the Orlando Magic these days, right?

Want to check out some of my sports fiction writing? Try my new short story Medical Martial Arts.

Marlins thumb their nose at Miami and embarrass baseball

Florida Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria  hoodwinked Miami-Dade County politicians into financing his stadium and then he faked out baseball fans with the mirage of fielding a legitimate major league team.

The Marlins’ fire sale trade to Toronto essentially rids of the team of all the players making more than chicken scratch (by pro athlete standards). After being thrifty on salaries for years, Loria boosted payroll to $100 million this spring when the Marlins opened their new stadium. The team was a bust. Attendance was the lowest for any new MLB stadium of the past two decades. 

So Loria has reverted to his cheapskate ways. This trade would leave the team with a 2013 payroll of about $19 million. Most of that is owed to pitcher Ricky Nolasco in the final year of his contract, so you can bet the man with the most wins in Marlins history is next on the trade block.

Loria must have figured that if you’re going to be in last place, you might as well finish last with a resounding thud. And be terrible while spending the bare minimum to field a team. Anybody willing to play for coupons?

It’s not like Loria needs fans in the stands. Thanks to revenue sharing across MLB teams, the Marlins have a set stream of dollars flowing in. The stadium can be a ghost town and he still makes millions as long as he doesn’t overspend.

But what about putting out a competitive product for the taxpayers who funded your stadium? What about drawing thousands of fans to Little Havana and revitalizing the neighborhood with all the reinvestment that would follow?

Empty promises. I can’t think of a team that’s done less to deserve the support of its community.

What I would make Miami Art Museum do for $35M

What’s with all the bellyaching over Related Group’s Jorge Perez asking the Miami Art Museum to take on his name in exchange for a $35 million donation? A recent CBS4/Miami Herald poll found that 54 percent of local residents said it was a bad idea. I don’t think the new name, the Jorge M. Perez Art Museum of Miami-Dade County, is all that outrageous considering the amount of money he’s giving them. Is a little name change really too much to ask in exchange for a small fortune? 

Now if that was my donation, we’d be talking some major changes over there.

Not like I have $35 million to throw around, but if I did, the art museum would have to consent to my list of demands to get my cash. I’d insist on it being named The BRIAN BANDELL Museum of Super-Awesomeness (and art) of Miami. Yes, my name in all caps is part of the contract, thank you.

Now about those exhibits. If this museum is truly to reflect my monumental donation, then I want no less than 20 percent of the exhibits to be Bandell family portraits and pictures of me posing as scifi movie characters. And I’m not talking about the exhibits hidden behind the trash cans. I want prime wall real estate, with bullet proof glass, 24/7 security and eternal spotlights. 

Got a problem with that? Thirty-five million dollars.

What else does that buy? How about the right to make this museum truly super-awesome? I plan to turn over to the curator the following list of must-buy items that my donation shall procure:

-          The toy car that the late Ryan Dunn lodged in his anus in the movie Jackass.

-          The glass mirror that Lindsay Lohan snorted cocaine off of.

-          The stained Monica Lewinski dress.

-          Vials of fat liposuctioned from celebrities, with labels ie: Heidi Montag’s thighs.

-          The microphone Rick Perry used when he made his inspiring “I can’t remember” speech.

-          The blue speedo UFC fighter Dennis Hallman wore into the cage before getting his ass kicked.

-          A wax sculpture of Hank the Angry Drunken Dwarf.

-          The rubber hand that wresting legend Mae Young “gave birth” to on WWE television after getting “impregnated” by Mark Henry.

-          A wall-spanning photo essay on the training regimen of Major League Eating’s superstars.

-          An entire wing dedicated to the passionate lovemaking of humpback whales.  

Now that’s a museum I would visit! It would be worth every penny, yes, all 3.5 billion of them. 

Compared to my list (albeit imaginary), I don’t think Perez is asking the museum for too much. After all, this is South Florida, where entire universities and hospitals are named after their biggest donors. 

On second thought, maybe I should donate my pretend $35 million to a university instead. Does the BRIAN BANDELL School of Sheer Genius have a nice ring to it?