Showing posts with label Forest City. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Forest City. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

The "Creative Class" theory takes it on the chin: Joel Kotkin comes not to praise Richard Florida's notions of the economic dynamism of the Creative Class in urban environments, but rather to bury those ideas under cold hard facts and scrutiny, even while some critics say the theory was always too elitist and patronizing to begin with; "the creative class doesn’t have much in the way of coattails”



bigthink·YouTube Channel: Big Think Interview with Richard Florida, the director of the Martin Prosperity Institute at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management. What are the factors in creating a successful economic recovery and what are the public policy. He brings up the South Florida housing market at the 10:28 mark. Uploaded April 23, 2012. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqesiFaXg7s


The Daily Beast
Richard Florida Concedes the Limits of the Creative Class
by Joel Kotkin 
March 20, 2013 4:45 AM EDT
The so-called creative class of intellects and artists was supposed to remake America’s cities and revive urban wastelands. Now the evidence is in—and the experiment appears to have failed, writes Joel Kotkin.
Among the most pervasive, and arguably pernicious, notions of the past decade has been that the “creative class” of the skilled, educated and hip would remake and revive American cities. The idea, packaged and peddled by consultant Richard Florida, had been that unlike spending public money to court Wall Street fat cats, corporate executives or other traditional elites, paying to appeal to the creative would truly trickle down, generating a widespread urban revival.
Read the rest of the essay at:

I last wrote about Richard Florida when his book Who's Your City: How the Creative Economy is Making Where to Live the Most Important Decision of Your Life 
came out.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cj1OpiBRNsg

I not only purchased a copy for myself, but after a few days of reading it, also purchased a copy at the then-Borders in Aventura and mailed it to my my niece in Maryland who was then weeks from leaving for her freshman year at Washington & Lee in Virginia, where her younger sister is now still at UVA in Charlottesville, one of the country's really great cities to live in and visit.


His May 27, 2008 appearance at Google HQ at Mountain Vista was one I taped for a number of friends. You can also watch it online at:


Transit Miami blog
Miami’s Suburbs in the Sky 
by Craig Chester
May 17, 2012 

Are the mega-condos of Brickell the key to urban vitality and innovation or are they just cul-de-sacs in the sky? In a keynote speech during the 20th Congress for New Urbanism in West Palm Beach, author Richard Florida challenged the idea that the “rush to density” will unlock and release the potential of our cities.
Read the rest of the post at

I was originally going to write a comment there the day the post above came out but I never actually sent it after writing it, though I did share it with some friends around the country who are also interested in urban planning and design/
Transit Miami 
-----

http://www.creativeclass.com/richard_florida

His essays at The Atlantic on urban theory:
http://www.theatlanticcities.com/authors/richard-florida/

http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/02/11/3228539/urbanist-richard-florida-on-miami.html


Deconstructing Richard Florida
By Ian David Moss
April 27, 2009
http://createquity.com/2009/04/deconstructing-richard-florida.html

Friday, December 16, 2011

Despite the MILLION$ at stake, Hallandale Beach City Comm. DOESN'T do simple due diligence, but DOES cave-in to Forest City/Village at Gulfstream Park

Above, artist rendering of The Village at Gulfstream Park retail project, and, below, the sign as posted in May of 2008 and seen on U.S.-1, with the Gulfstream Park Racetrack grandstand in the distance. May 2008 photo by South Beach Hoosier.


The letter below was sent to the Hallandale Beach City Commission and City Manager Mark A. Antonio on Wednesday the 14th, prior to their 5 p.m. City Comm. meeting, and was written and signed by myself and my friend, Hallandale Beach civic activist Csaba Kulin, who will be making some news of his own next week.

For you readers out in the blogosphere, wherever you are, it's a bit of a follow-up to my post yesterday about the efforts of the folks at The Village at Gulfstream Park and their parent, Forest City to get out of complying with the mitigation requirements that were placed on them in order to get the city and Broward County to sign-off and give their final approval for the Village project many years ago.

That post was titled, No surprise given what I've told you here: A "challenging retail leasing environment" at Village at Gulfstream Park according to Forest City's execs

That vote by the city was prior to Keith London, Anthony A. Sanders and Alexander Lewy were elected to the HB City Commission.

Along with their various hired guns and minions, they showed-up for the December 7th HB City Commission meeting determined to persuade the Commission that they should modify those requirements thru amendments.

#12 A. A Resolution of the City of Hallandale Beach, Florida, Accepting Amendments to the Village at Gulfstream Park Plat ( This Resolution is a result of Application# 10-12-PR by Gulfstream Racing Association, Inc.) (Staff: Development Services)(See Backup) CAD#029/04 (Staff Report, Supporting Docs)


The City Commission, in my opinion, operating largely out of woeful ignorance -even more than usual- caved-in and made some terrible decisions that night that most citizen taxpayers of HB STILL know nothing about, all these days later, given that ZERO members of the South Florida news media bothered to attend the meeting, which as you regular readers of this blog know, is NOT exactly a new trend in general in terms of covering local government.

That's particularly true in HB, where the city remains one of the area's perennial laughingstocks in the media due to what its elected officials and administrators have actually said and done over the recent past, much of that due to the buffoonish and jaw-dropping antics of former HB Commissioner and 2012 candidate William "Bill" Julian.

Trust me, well-informed and attentive news reporters and columnists are as rare around Hallandale Beach as Three Wise Men and a Virgin -at any time of the year.

This news media blackout came despite the fact that they were talking about well over $10 Million in changes, not to mention, a change in sound public policy to... what exactly?
The City Commission vote was 5-0.

The Broward County Commission is the ultimate authority on whether or not these modifications desired by Forest City and the Village will be made, and next week, I hope to find out when their public meeting will be scheduled in the new year so that I can mention it here and make sure that everyone is aware of the fact that this is NOT a DONE DEAL.

I also should let you know now that as of today, it's my plan to post this same letter in the next few days with some accompanying photos documenting what Csaba and I have written, so that those of you far from these sub-tropical shores can see for yourself how completely inept and inattentive the folks running things on both sides of U.S.-1 were and remain.

So, all that said, this is what was actually sent to the HB City Commission and City Manager on Wednesday:

Honorable Mayor, Vice Mayor, City Commissioners:


Christmas came early this year for Forest Cities, Gulfsteam Park Race Track & Casino and the Village at Gulfstream Park, LLC.
Under the Christmas tree were at least three gifts worth about $17 Million, collectively, courtesy of the citizen taxpayers of Hallandale Beach, delivered by you, our elected City Commission.
This action comes after an approximately $15 Million gift/loan under TIF about two years ago.
As is so often the case with important issues at Hallandale Beach City Hall, the debate and then votes on the issue took place just before Midnight, when most HB citizen taxpayers were fast asleep.

Why no continuance to a reasonable time?

The City entered into what both parties agreed at the time was a reasonable Development Agreement (DA) about six years ago, and the Developer, eager to get started on the project, agreed to it, anxious to change the dynamic and image of the property make it a destination attraction.
Now, six years later, the Developer wants to renegotiate the uncompleted portions of the DA, claiming changed economic conditions.

While we all want the property to succeed and become a source of both pride and profits, our primary concerns today in writing are that Hallandale Beach taxpayers' best interests are protected, and believe that should be your paramount concern, too.
Simply put, you have completely dropped the ball.

The Developer’s main argument for modification now has been that “economic times” have changed since 2007.
While we agree that the economy is not one that any of us likes, your answer in response to them should have been that, as a starter, to be one of modification based on revisiting these issues 5-10 years from now, with time-certain dates for doing so.

Economic activity and spending may indeed be much better in the future than currently, and then those requirements could be re-examined for their suitability, but simply waving the white flag NOW is NOT a strategy that best represents the short-term and long-term financial and Quality-of-Life interests of Hallandale Beach taxpayers.

For the record, we came up with the $17 Million size of gift by using your own consultant, Mr. Paul Lambert’s number for the Transportation Mitigation relief portion.
For the Affordable Housing relief, we have used our own recent experience with Highland Park Village (HPV), Mayor Cooper’s estimate of the expected subsidies needed to sell the units in HPV, and Paul Lambert’s own admission that $50,000 per unit is closer to reality than VGP’s offered $5,000 per unit.

A developer is obligated to have 15% of the total units to be built be “affordable/workforce” housing units.
While developers traditionally try to have some or all the affordable housing units located off-site, we believe these units should be dispersed among the rest of the 85%, not displaced west of the Mississippi River.
This is a community, not an Indian Reservation.

Additionally, we believe that the amount of money offered ought to be the price difference between a market-priced unit and an affordable/workforce-priced unit.
Based on the City’s recent experience with Highland Park Village, we know that it will take $50,000 dollars or more to make a market-price unit an affordable and desirable housing unit.
You can use the same logic for the other two properties the City owns to come up with the dollar amount needed to complete.
The cost per unit subsidy ought to be very similar to HPV.

After all, what good are units that nobody wants?

Based on these calculations for the 225 affordable/workforce housing units the VGP is obligated to build over time, the City’s CRA should have received roughly $11,250,00 (at $50,000 per-unit), not the measly $1,125.000, ($5,000 per-unit) that you all agreed to last Wednesday night.
That is a $10,045,00 gift to the Developers, money that more appropriately should be going to the City’s CRA at some definite time in the future, as the 1,500 housing units were actually built and ready for purchase.

It was extremely distressing to city taxpayers that on such an important issue, some of you were and are remarkably uninformed about the facts, and the $5,000 contribution per-unit mentioned by Broward County toward affordable housing.
We firmly believe that financial number is the “floor,” NOT the “ceiling” for contributions.

We are quite confident that Broward County would NOT object if the Developers were prepared to contribute $50,000 dollars per unit to the City's CRA, an opinion that we will soon be sharing with the Broward County Commissioners and staff as they deal with this subject, too.

The elimination of the off-site 500-car parking garage saves the Developer $5,000,000, and while we agree that such a garage is not needed at present, absent requirements that this issue be revisited at some definite point in time in the future, how do we know what the situation and need will be five or ten years from now? This is the very definition of short-sighted and self-defeating.

As best we can figure, the elimination of the Tri-Rail shuttle service saves the Developer $200,000-$250,000 per year.
While it may or may not be needed at this time, why agree to give it up entirely at this time, not knowing the future demand?

And more to the point of your collective oversight and accountability, or rather the lack of it on Wednesday night, where is ANY PROOF that the general public even knows about the Tri-Rail shuttle, as there is no posted schedule anywhere at the Super-Stop, and there is NOTHING in their newspaper promotions which specifically mention it.
NONE of you seem to have actually visited the Super-Stop, despite how close it is to your office, one block away.

In fact, many of not most of their own employees DON'T even know about it, including the security personnel who patrol that particular area, as recent conversations we've had with them have proven time-and-again.
They didn't know what we were talking about!

You can hardly expect unaware consumers to use a so-called service that the Developer themselves adamantly refuse to properly promote or feature, and you should wonder yourselves why they have done this if they really want to increase their number of visitors.
They seem entirely oblivious to this -and so do you.

And what do HB taxpayers receive in return for giving up these two major Transportation mitigation requirements?
Well, we get to relocate the City's mini-bus stop from behind City Hall to the Super-Stop.
What a deal!

If the Developer was truly interested in increasing the visitors to their property, that should have been done for free to the residents as soon as the Super-Stop was completed in January of 2010.
There should have been a little ribbon-cutting ceremony, but instead, that aspect of the mitigation was NOT completed on time -in time for the beginning of the racing season- as were many of the adjoining areas, and we have photographic proof of the Developer's inability to meet reasonable deadlines. Among other things...

And yes, that would be the same bus Super-Stop that has never really been properly maintained by the Developer the past two years, as anyone who uses it regularly could tell you.

What could possibly explain your collective failure -and that of the City Manager and his staff- to stay on top of such a simple thing, located only one block from City Hall?
There's really no excuse.

We remain profoundly disappointed in the way that this entire matter has been negotiated, presented to the citizen taxpayers of this city, and resolved -near Midnight.

We are quite confident that Broward County's Commissioners and their professional staff will take a much more nuanced look at the facts on-the-ground in determining whether or not this change is appropriate and in the community's best long-term interests, or whether it would be more appropriately revisited at agreed-upon time-certain dates in the future.

You can rest assured that this issue and the way that it has been mis-handled by you and the City Manager's staff, will NOT fade away in the coming months.
Quite to the contrary, it will be a subject that ever more residents of this city will become angry about as they learn the true facts of your White Flag strategy.

Thursday, December 15, 2011

No surprise given what I've told you here: A "challenging retail leasing environment" at Village at Gulfstream Park according to Forest City's execs

Above, entrance to Gulfstream Park Race Track & Casino and The Village at Gulfstream Park retail complex on Hallandale Beach Blvd., Hallandale Beach, FL.
December 7, 2011 photo by South Beach Hoosier.

Many of you who are regular readers of this blog have no doubt wondered why I haven't yet taken the opportunity to write anything about the recent 'Opening' two weeks ago of the new season of racing at Gulfstream Park Race Track & Casino, as well as comment on what I've heard and observed of late there and with The Village at Gulfstream Park retail complex, and their parent, real estate developer Forest City.
I know this because you've contacted me to ask as much.

I have quite a lot to say, actually, and have been sitting on some troubling information for a bit, waiting for some more shoes to fall, even while I've already attended a few hours worth of races the past two weeks.

Mostly, though, I've been patiently biding my time waiting to see what actually transpires at Hallandale Beach City Hall -directly across the street from the racetrack and the retail complex- where the developer and their myriad minions and flacks, along with other interested parties, have, unfortunately, tried to use the current sour U.S. economy like a cudgel against the best long-term financial and Quality-of-Life interests of the HB community.

These well-paid forces have tried their best to persuade the elected City Commission to waive or modify mitigation requirements the city and Broward County required them to agree to in writing in exchange for the developer getting their desired final approval for the giant retail complex, as well as their long-term housing plans for lots of pricey condos on the HB side of the property.

(Property which, lest you forget, also extends south into the City of Aventura and Miami-Dade County, where the powers-that-be keep the entrance/exit on N.E. 213th Street closed with barricades. The adjoining sidewalk entrance onto the property is STILL full of dangerous potholes and loose wires as they have been for YEARS. And did I mention yet that it was STILL the very picture of pitch-black at night, as it has been for -wait for it- YEARS?
That area is a litigation disaster waiting to happen, but STILL they do nothing.)

I'll have more to say about all of that over the next few days, but until then, please mull over the following news directly from the mouths of the upper echelons of developer Forest City.

The following is an excerpt from an email I sent out on December 9th:

Highlight of Forest City Enterprises CEO Discusses Q3 2011 Results - Earnings Call Transcript



Let me take a moment to address the other primary impairment, the Village at Gulfstream Park and Hallandale Beach, Florida, where we recognized a $34.6 million impairment in the third quarter. The lease up of Gulfstream began during the death of the recent recession and has continued through what remains a challenging retail leasing environment, particularly for new properties.

Our house wares, home furnishings and restaurants at the Gulfstream have done well, but our fashion tenants have struggled and we are actively working to remerchandize the center to match the demands of the market. Repositioning that component of the center will require additional investment. Also the original construction loan for this equity method property matures in September of next year. The uncertainty of the repositioning, together with the standard of the loan required us to impair our investment.

Long term we continue to believe in the strength of the market and will focus on repositioning the asset to meet the needs of the market. We also have additional future entitlements at the site that we can activate when economic conditions and the performance of the center improve.

Well-informed people I know tell me that many of the owners of the struggling retailers at the Village are already taling about fleeing toute-de-suite in the coming months when their rents get jacked-up in the new year as their current leases end.
And you thought the Dolphins and the City of Hallandale Beach were badly mis-managed...

One last thing to consider: despite their millions and resources, do you know what Magna Entertainment/Gulfstream Park has actually told the residents and business owners of Hallandale Beach about their intentions for having at least some night racing next year -which I support in theory- since I last wrote about the subject here on the blog?
NOTHING.
Nothing at all.

They still send their PR rep, Suzanne Friedman, across the street to HB City Commission meetings once in a while to paint an optimistic portrait of the doings on the east side of the street, but in her defense, she is NOT empowered by top management to actually level with everyone here about the truth of the matter.
So what's the plan?
What's the plan?

Well, they won't say, despite the fact that it would have a tangible -maybe even severe- effect on the ability of HB residents to actually get around and navigate thru the city at night on the evenings racing takes place, given that there is only one street in the entire city that has east-west capability throughout most of the city -over-loaded Hallandale Beach Blvd.

Yes, the street that is the north-side entrance and exit for Gulfstream Park and the Village, right next to the sign at the top of this post.

But then Magna Entertainment is STILL having problems launching their new website, which was supposed to already be up and running: http://www.stronachgroup.com/
As of today, December 15th, it still reads, "Site Launch Fall 2011."

Well, facts are facts and Winter officially starts one week from today.
Draw your own conclusions.

Thursday, September 1, 2011

More posts are forthcoming about what a mess Magna & Forest City have made of Gulfstream Park & The Village of Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach

Above, the U.S.-1 & S.E. 3rd Street entrance to Gulfstream Park Race Track & Casino and The Village at Gulfstream Park retail complex, Hallandale Beach, Florida. August 13, 2011 photo by South Beach Hoosier.

In response to all the MANY curious emails I've received since the horse racing season closed here in the Spring, from both overseas readers of the blog as well as ones here in South Florida and environs, yes, there will be more blog posts here in the coming weeks about what a mess I believe Magna Entertainment (MEC)/The Stronach Group & Forest City have made of the opportunity they had with Gulfstream Park Race Track & Casino and The Village of Gulfstream Park retail complex.
Not that there was ever any doubt about my doing more posts on them, but...

Above, the U.S.-1 & S.E. 7th Street entrance to The Village at Gulfstream Park retail complex, Hallandale Beach, Florida.Hmm-m-m... is an upscale, outdoor shopping center in South Florida during the oppressively humid summer swelter of South Florida as hot or as wet as you can imagine? Yes. "And yet they built it that way on purpose?" Yes, again.
August 13, 2011 photo by South Beach Hoosier.

I must admit that I'm continually surprised at how many people living quite a distance from me and the facilities in Hallandale Beach ask about how the facilities are doing; are they getting any better/worse?; and are there any known plans to make some drastic changes there that will make it more appealing to consumers.
Yes, lots of disappointed people that, like me, want the facilities to succeed, but are dumbstruck at how very poorly things have been planned and manged thus far.

Here's a hint: Meet the new boss, same as the old boss...
If you thought the new crew would usher in a new era of common sense AND smart, savvy strategic marketing -or even JUST common sense- you are very much mistaken.
Not that you would know that from the paucity of South Florida's news media's coverage of Gulfstream Park.

As my friends and colleagues in the area know, I genuinely want the facilities to succeed, really I do, since it's better for everyone in the community if the facilities offer a good entertainment value for the dollar, one that that the public enjoys and is willing to spread through positive word-of-mouth advertising, the best kind there is for what they're offering up.

But just because I'm on record with wanting the facilities to succeed -NOT necessarily the not-too-bright corporate principals behind it- is no reason why I should avert my eyes from what's right in front of me.
What anyone paying close attention to details -and in particular, details that matter- and which positively or negatively affect consumer behavior and psychology would notice and remark upon.
In this case, it's NOT in a positive way.


Above, the Hallandale Beach Blvd. & S.E. 10th Avenue entrance to Gulfstream Park Race Track & Casino and The Village of Gulfstream Park retail complex, Hallandale Beach, Florida. Storm clouds are brewing in more ways than one. (And do you see what I do?)
August 13, 2011 photo by South Beach Hoosier.

Seriously, at times, to use a perhaps over-used metaphor here on the blog, they're like a dog chasing its tail.
Sort of funny at first before you grow tired of the one-act nature of the comedy that ends with a whimper instead of a happy ending.

Here's a quick bit of free advice: Instead of worrying about extending the hours that certain of the bars in the complex can serve alcohol -the subject of last week's Hallandale Beach Planning & Zoning Advisory Board meeting, which I blew-off attending- so they can continue serving until 6 a.m., how about giving normal consumers, non-bar flies, some fun and reasonable entertainment choices on weekdays between 6 & 10 p.m.
Is that really too much to ask?

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Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Their own worst enemy: Big problems lie ahead for Gulfstream Park if they continue keeping HB community in the dark, esp. re night racing

Above, the sign of advertising infamy, the Gulfstream Park Race Track & Casino sign that tells you that you are about to get close to the Twilight Zone of Marketing in South Florida, where multi-million dollar companies act like hapless Elementary School PTAs in the 1960's, wasting resources and opportunities left and right.
As I've mentioned in this space many times before, this sign
facing southbound U.S.-1/Federal Highway from the intersection of U.S.-1 and Hibiscus, is at one of the premier advertising spots in all of Broward County, yet this sign has NOT been illuminated at night in over THREE YEARS.
This proves that having access to millions of dollars and amazing resources doesn't make your company intelligent or wise or prescient.
Just poorly managed.

Below, the same sign from a slightly lower angle, with the Race Track complex visible above the shrubs. You'll immediately notice that the green spotlight on the left is completely missing, leaving only the brace in the ground, as it has been for about a year. The spotlight on the right is complete, but STILL broken three years later.
I was going to run photos of this that I took last weekend, when I was also taking shots of the infamous Hallandale Beach red-light camera one block away.

Instead, I've chosen to post these two photos that I shot of the sign on August 16th, 2010.
Nothing has changed.
And I do mean nothing!
August 16, 2010 photos by South Beach Hoosier
Their own worst enemy: Big problems lie ahead for Gulfstream Park Race Track & Casino if they persist in playing their stealthy games in Tallahassee with legislators and lobbyists while continuing to keep the Hallandale Beach community in the dark about their plans for night racing.

If they thought South Floridians already DON'T care about them...

So, do you recall how I recently mused out loud in this space that the geniuses over at Gulfstream Park Race Track were their very own worst enemies?

Sure you do!


In case you didn't... it's here, from February 14th:

Magna's bankruptcy, Frank Stronach, Gulfstream Park to be topics of Hallandale Beach City Comm.'s closed meeting Wednesday; night racing at Gulfstream

http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2011/02/magnas-bankruptcy-frank-stronach.html


I went on a bit about their terrible management of their world-famous facility, whether in dealing with aesthetics, customer service, public safety or their perfectly dreadful marketing, wherein every move they seem to make seems worse than the last one, which can only make the folks at Forest City Enterprises more angry that they are tied together with Magna.
Above, August 16, 2010 photo by South Beach Hoosier of the Forest City Enterprises trailer at the northwest corner of the Gulfstream Park parking lot, with that neglected Gulfstream Park sign on the other side of the palm trees.


Above, December 14, 2010 photo by South Beach Hoosier.

So, if you thought having a sign on
U.S.-1 that you don't illuminate at night for the tens of thousands of drivers passing by every day is dumbfounding, how do you feel about their sign on the Aventura side of the property, on U.S.-1/Biscayne Blvd. facing N.E. 215th Street, where for AT LEAST two weeks between Thanksgiving and mid-December, in the heart of holiday shopping advertising, they had a sign that had... wait for it... NOTHING on it?
Above, the sign as it appeared on December 12th, 2010, with nary a persuasive letter to be found.
It's beyond dumbfounding, it's marketing suicide.


But for two weeks, while the shops and restaurants at Village at Gulfstream were open and screaming for shoppers, Magna & Forest City put their worst face forward. How can you make money for your shareholders if you don't even try to compete?

Oh, by the way, only one of the spotlights on this sign has worked since Spring of 2010.
Plus, well, there are other self-evident problems here that Magna is either ignoring or blind to but which your faithful blogger noticed right away.
More on that soon...



Above, December 14, 2010 photo by South Beach Hoosier
South Florida's lack of concern or interest in Gulfstream Park is best illustrated by the fact that roughly 20 hours after the Miami Herald went online with the story below on Friday the 25th, not a single person who'd read the article even bothered to leave a comment, pro, con or otherwise.
And here we are five days later, and there is STILL nobody interested enough to say anything.

That's about as real a sign of lack of relevance as one could find.


Concerned Hallandale Beach residents who've been paying close attention, like myself and many of the people I interact with everyday in all sorts of places, the very people who have to deal first-hand with the traffic that the track produces, are getting angry at Magna's close-mouthed tactics and lack of forthright communication with the public.

Occasionally trotting their PR person, Suzanne Friedman, across the street to Hallandale Beach City Hall to make nice and exchange meaningless blather to her bosom pals on the HB City Commission at their meetings -
as she is scheduled to do Wednesday morning- and just once-in-a-while at that, is NO SUBSTITUTE for their management's adamant refusal this far to level with the citizens who would most directly be affected by any future plans of theirs, including occasional night-racing.
(If you didn't already know, Gulfstream has been considering having twilight racing for the last six Fridays of the season, after Daylight Savings Time kicks-in soon, from March 18th to April 22nd, with a first post time around 3 p.m. But all the racing has to be finito by 7 p.m.
)

Magna has plenty of space at their facility to convene a large public meeting for all interested parties, in and out of the city, for them to finally do the right thing.
So what's preventing them from doing so?
Is it sheer stupidity, risk-averse management, complete clueless-ness...

Refusing to tell the truth about their plans and continuing to act like they can do whatever they want to do, with absolutely no negative consequences, is the road to ruin for them, as it will not only cost Magna the community's trust, short-term and long-term, but revenue as well.
http://www.midevelopments.com/

-----
Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/02/24/2084652/gulfstream-now-says-it-wants-year.html


Gulfstream now says it wants year-round racing

Gulfstream only intensified its dispute with Calder, which said Tuesday that it is considering year-round racing starting in July.

By Jim Freer
, Miami Herald Writer
February 25, 2011

A dispute between South Florida’s thoroughbred tracks intensified Thursday when Gulfstream Park said it plans to have racing year-round during the 12 months beginning July 1.
That is the latest salvo in a battle that began early this year when Gulfstream and Calder Casino & Race Course each told Florida racing regulators of plans to hold races in December 2011. For more than 20 years, Calder has been the only South Florida thoroughbred track to have racing in December. Gulfstream’s announcement Thursday came two days after Calder said it is considering year-round racing from July 1, 2011, to June 30, 2012.
The tracks have until Monday to submit their 2011-12 race dates to the Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering, which gives automatic approval.
Gulfstream hopes to settle the dispute by Monday and avoid head-to-head racing, Tim Ritvo, the track’s vice president for racing, said Thursday.
He said that Frank Stronach, chairman of Gulfstream and its parent MI Developments, will meet Friday in Louisville, Ky., with Bill Carstanjen, chief operating officer of Churchill Downs Inc., the parent company of Calder.
As of Thursday, both tracks plan to race head-to-head at least on Saturdays and Sundays starting July 1.
Barry Rose, a trainer and owner with horses stabled at Calder, said there is widespread concern about how that would impact the tracks and the state’s racing industry.
“There are only so many wagering dollars available, and it would be hard for both tracks to maintain the same kind of purse level if they race head-to-head,” he said.
Gulfstream, in Hallandale Beach, traditionally holds races from early January through late April. Calder, in Miami Gardens, races the remainder of the year.
Gulfstream, with winter racing, has larger purses. It expects that December would be a strong economic month — if Calder is not running. In its strongest response, Calder announced Tuesday that starting Saturday it will not allow Calder-stabled horses back onto its property if they run in non-stakes races at Gulfstream during that track’s meet that runs through April 24. That will cost Calder-based owners some anticipated race revenues over the next two months and make it hard for some trainers to pay stable workers, Rose said.
Calder imposed the restrictions to help ensure that it “will have a healthy horse population” when it begins its race meet April 25, especially if it runs year-round, the track’s president, Austin Miller, said Tuesday.
Calder vice president John Marshall said Calder has to consider its cost of being the only Florida track open year-round for stabling and training.
On Wednesday, Gulfstream said that by Saturday it will have about 200 temporary stalls for horses that are vanned from Calder to race at Gulfstream and are not allowed back into Calder.
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http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/02/28/2090957/gulfstream-calder-settle-dispute.html Miami Herald
Gulfstream, Calder settle dispute over race dates in December
By Jim Freer, Miami Herald Writer
March 1, 2011
Local racing Track Dates Calder 7/1/11-12/2/11 Gulfstream 12/3/11-4/8/12 Calder 4/9/12-6/30/12 South Florida’s thoroughbred tracks resolved a scheduling dispute Monday, with changes that include Gulfstream Park rather than Calder Casino & Race Course holding races most of this December.
Gulfstream said it will start its next season Dec. 3, 2011 and race during the remainder of December in a meet that will end April 8, 2012.
For more than 20 years, Calder has been the only South Florida thoroughbred track to have racing in December.
On Monday, Calder announced that it would end its 2011 season on Dec. 2 — one day before Gulfstream opens. That will avoid a rare situation in which two neighboring tracks have races on the same days.
Calder on Monday also said it will begin its 2012 season April 9, adding two mid-April weeks during which Gulfstream traditionally has held racing.
The tracks’ announcements, made separately, ended a dispute that started over the attractive December dates and escalated last week when both said they planned to race every week during the 12 months beginning July 1, 2011.
Officials of the two tracks declined comment Monday when asked about negotiations that led to their new schedules, and on whether Calder received any money in an adjustment in which Gulfstream is gaining December at least for one year.
However, last Friday, top officials of Churchill Downs Inc. (Calder’s parent company) and MI Developments (Gulfstream’s parent company) began a weekend of meetings and phone calls. On Saturday, Gulfstream president Steve Calabro said “we’re working on it,” when asked about efforts to resolve the dispute and avoid head-to-head racing.
On Monday, the two tracks met their deadline to file final dates with the Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering for the 12 months beginning July 1, 2011. Florida Thoroughbred tracks pick their race dates with automatic approval from that regulator.
Sam Gordon, president of the Florida Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association group of trainers and owners said he was not aware of any financial arrangements between the tracks.
“Maybe they both realized how costly it would be, and maybe someone blinked,” he said. “We’re glad that both sides took our recommendations and will not race head-to-head.”
With the dispute settled, Gulfstream will continue its season through April 24. Calder will then have racing from April 25 through Dec. 2.
Gulfstream will hold a race meet from Dec. 3 through April 8, 2012.
Calder will race from April 9, 2012 until June 30, 2012.
If the tracks had raced head-to-head, trainers and owners would have “been in a difficult position of having to choose and take sides,” said Bill White, one of the leading trainers at Calder who also races at Gulfstream.
“This was a dispute between the tracks, and they were using us as leverage,” he said. “It is great that this is over and we can focus on our business of putting on a show and winning races.”
There also were concerns among trainers that there would not have been enough wagering dollars to keep revenues at normal levels at either track or enough horses to fill races.
In a statement, Calder vice president of racing John Marshall said Calder and Gulfstream running head-to-head “would mean the end of the South Florida racing circuit and deny local horsemen the chance to make a living as they currently do.”
In a statement, Gulfstream vice president of racing Tim Ritvo said he expects the addition of December racing “will enhance our stakes schedule and the overall quality of our product.”
He added that Gulfstream believes the change “is in the best interests of South Florida racing.”
Gulfstream’s annual schedule includes the Florida Derby, which is on April 3 this year.

Monday, September 14, 2009

Hallandale Beach City Hall: "FREE AND OPEN TO PUBLIC" What, no cash bar?; The European Club, Gulfstream Point and 2010 budget come under scrutiny

056.JPG
Looking east at the middle of the Village at Gulfstream Park on U.S.1 and SE. 7th Street.
Notice the graffiti on the bottom of the Forest City sign?
It's been there for WEEKS,

A future blog post of mine this week will concern all the graffiti along HB roads that is continually ignored by the city and FDOT, particularly along HBB and on U.S.-1 opposite somnolent HB City Hall. (Shocker!)
Going north from the Aventura line, almost every street light pole has graffiti on it, some more than others.

------------------
"FREE AND OPEN TO PUBLIC"
What, no cash bar?
HB's Stealthy City Hall Will Pretend to Care
What You Think This Week

Sunday September 13th, 2009
9:15 p.m.

This was actually one of the easiest emails I've written because when HB City Hall makes so many screw-ups in one week, all I have to do is point them out and get out of the way.

Be sure to see the previous email at the bottom to learn more about who's behind Gulfstream Point.

Based on the city's toothless shopping cart ordinance, which continues to be ignored on a daily basis by Code Enforcement, just like they ignore other obvious violations for months and years at a time, in my opinion, that Dept, needs to be privatized toute-de-suite!

All photos below from September 7th, 2009 by South Beach Hoosier
---------------
The first item below was added to the city's website calendar since
Wednesday morning, since I
actually copied and pasted the whole calendar then to an email page so I'd have it handy
and searchable.

What does it say that City Manager Good and Mayor Cooper care so little what you think and about your input that they don't even give you one week's notice about this?

Have any of you seen even ONE sign, anywhere in the city promoting Monday's event?
I haven't and neither have you -there aren't any.

Meanwhile, PAL, as usual, has its signs -for this weekend's antique sale at the Cultural Center- on the medians along the major roads, esp. HBB, which NO other group in town can use.
Nope, just PAL

Here's the city's website calendar as of Saturday afternoon:
http://www.hallandalebeachfl.gov/CurrentEvents.aspx?vm=0
Go ahead, John and Jane Q. Citizen, click the
"More Information" link and see what you get.


City Manager/City Commission Forum - Sep. 14
FY 2009-2010 CITY COMMISSION PROPOSED BUDGET

Where: City Commission Chambers
When: 6:00 P.M.
Cost: FREE AND OPEN TO PUBLIC
[ More Information ]
----------------
As you can see, after clicking, you get no
more information than you already had,
below

http://www.hallandalebeachfl.gov/CurrentEvents.aspx?EID=2383
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Title: City Manager/City Commission Forum
Date: September 14, 2009
Description: FY 2009-2010 CITY COMMISSION PROPOSED BUDGET
Address: 400 South Federal Hwy
City Commission Chambers
Hallandale Beach, FL 33009
View Maps: Google | MapQuest | Windows Live | Yahoo!
Location: City Commission Chambers
Hours: 6:00 P.M.
Contact: 954-457-1340
Cost: FREE AND OPEN TO PUBLIC




Hallandale Beach
400 South Federal Highway
Hallandale Beach, FL 33009
954-458-3251
---------------
City Manager Good's proposed city budget is at:
http://fl-hallandalebeach.civicplus.com/DocumentView.aspx?DID=1205

---------------
re 9/16/09 HBCC meeting at 7:30 pm re Gulfstream Point (918 S. Federal Hwy.) and Broward County library lease

Doesn't the city or Gulfstream Point have to legally put up public notice signs for this?
There weren't any there as of Thursday.
(There also were no signs outside the library, as other cities would require to be posted on a lease that was ending that was coming before a commission.
Zero
!)


Gulfstream Point is the proposed tall, skinny and ugly office project north of the Steak & Shake on U.S.-1 that I first wrote about on August 22nd, that will also include a hotel element.

Yes, TWO hotels within a block of the Aventura border/countyline on what is, essentially, one large block on U.S.-1, just steps from the Hampton Inn.


But the real kicker, of course, is that it's across the street from the southern-most entrance to the
Village at Gulfstream Park, which means it'll be a traffic nighmare for HB and Aventura residents,
since as I can tell you from personal daily experience, there are already so many U-turns and near-collisions
there in that one block stretch as it is, right now.


And at night -shocker!- it's very, very dark owing to the street lights that only work occasionally.

When I spoke to someone at Development Services in person at HB City Hall days the day after my Aug. 22nd email (below), and asked when Gulfstream Point would be coming up before the City Commission for further action,

I was told probably not until the end of the year, and maybe not until early next year.
And here we are three weeks later!


This was printed in the
Herald on Sept. 6th.



-------------
re 9/15/09 HBCC meeting at 5:05 pm re city budget

Yes, the map of the city is upside down!
This was printed in the Herald on Sept. 6th.
Announcements: Miami City and Public Notices - City of Hallandale Beach

-------------
re 9/16/09 HBCC meeting at 7:30 p.m. city recycling program, lot maintenance
Once again, the map of the city is upside down!

This concerns the future of ugly and poorly-maintained development lots, such as The European Club
.
What an eyesore!


My blog post on this topic Wednesday will have photos and video of what a mess it is similar to the below,
and other examples throughout the city.

This was printed in the
Herald on Sept. 6th.
------------------




094.JPG
The empty financial black hole that is The European Club is mocked by the Westin Diplomat and the
Trump Hollywood in the horizon on A1A. Looking NE from the p.o.v. of Hallandale Beach Blvd. and Three Islands



?ui=2&view=att&th=123b5d2b697af0dd&attid=0.1&disp=attd&realattid=ii_123b5d2b697af0dd&zw
Many of these advertising panels have been on the ground or torn for MONTHS
And the long pipes next to the sidewalk don't
add much to the ambiance, either.
It cries out poor management and proper lack of supervision by both the developer and the city.


112.JPG
Once upon a time, what The European Club was supposed to look.


113.JPG
Don't you love their open door policy?
But the gate doors are actually supposed to be locked and secured to prevent vandalism, criminal mischief and, oh right, fires, like to those wooden pallets that have been on the lot for YEARS.



114.JPG
?ui=2&view=att&th=123b5d5d3a93b055&attid=0.1&disp=attd&realattid=ii_123b5d5d3a93b055&zw
These last two photos highlight the fact that the HB City Commission already passed an ordinance a few years ago regulating shopping carts that quickly became the butt of jokes on the Internet.

This shopping cart on Three Islands, just a few steps from the driveway of a HB Fire Station, has been in the
same exact spot for AT LEAST three weeks.

So tell me, why would you expect the city's ordinance about the maintenance of development lots to be any better enforced if they ALREADY ignore what's right in front of them?
--------------

re 9/16/09 HBCC meeting at 7:30 pm
re Water and Wastewater Impact Fees

This was printed in the
Herald on Sept. 6th.




---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Michael Butler
Date: Fri, Aug 21, 2009 at 2:47 PM
Subject: Re: What and where is
Gulfstream Point Hotel and Offices? Any idea?

David, its a pencil thin highrise, already approved by the city commission.
the platting must be done, or the city could be sued.

On Aug 21, 2009, at 2:39 PM, Hallandale Beach Blog wrote:

I've never heard of it and when I do a Google search, this press release is the only reference to anything with the actual name Gulfstream Point Hotel and Offices.
How in the world can that be?

Is it this property?
www.hallandalebeach.org/DocumentView.aspx?DID=1113 which is north of the Steak and Shake restaurant on U.S.-1, just north of the countyline?
I was at this HB P&Z meeting in April and because it was a plat, apparently HB's policy is to NOT require a public notice sign for the public to become aware of the change, a public policy that I think ought to be changed to allow for maximum scrutiny.

I even swung by there before the meeting started to see if there were any signs and took photos of the sheer nothingness.

Have you seen this yet?
http://www.thevillageatgulfstreampark.com/images/inserts.pdf
I'm curious whether the traffic numbers cited are accurate.

Meanwhile...
Magna Entertainment Creditors Allowed to Sue Chairman
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601082&sid=aDZ9U8v5fDTM

It's mentioned in the last paragraph below.
------------------
http://www.newswiretoday.com/news/55948/