Keith Poliakoff, Javier Avino, Andrew Demers, and Josh Levy. Keith Poliakoff of Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr, Javier Avino of Bilzin Sumberg, Andrew Demers of Weiss Serota Helfman Cole & Bierman, and Mayor Josh Levy. Courtesy photos
In South Florida, real estate development is fueled by universal factors like demand, land cost and population growth. Another less obvious driver is passenger trains. Brightline, soon to be renamed Virgin Trains USA, and its older public counterpart Tri-Rail are moving from transportation modes to development incubators. From the get-go, real estate was a major aspect of Brightline as its stations in downtown Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach were planned with new apartment and office towers as well as retail. More of this development tied to stations is expected with proposed Brightline stops in Boca Raton, PortMiami and an unincorporated area west of Aventura. Tri-Rail, which runs on CSX tracks with 18 stops in suburban South Florida, is pushing to expand east on the Florida East Coast Railway tracks used by Brightline. The Tri-Rail Coastal Link project would have 20 to 25 stops filling the gaps left by Brightline's express service. [falcon-embed src="https://images.globest.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=contain/embed_1"] The plan lays the track for a development boom, and South Florida cities and developers are big boosters. "The cities are well aware of the future of transit in South Florida, and they are jockeying for position in order to get one of the coveted stops within their city," said attorney Keith Poliakoff, a partner at Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr in Fort Lauderdale. He represents Hallandale Beach property owner Manhattan Realty Group in talks with the city about a station on Manhattan land. The 4.5-acre parcel paralleling the tracks spans a block southwest of Dixie Highway and Southwest Third Street. "Whether a stop would be a Brightline-Virgin stop or whether that stop would be the Tri-Rail Coastal Link, the cities at this point are positioning themselves as best as possible so that the future does not pass them by," Poliakoff said. Just ask municipalities from the Miami suburbs to Jupiter on the FEC line. One city is in talks with developers to build a terminal and mixed-use real estate development. Many have pinpointed station sites, prepared studies projecting job and population growth to show they are ready for a station and drawn renderings reflecting their views of the future. The activity comes even though Tri-Rail and Brightline have not formalized expansion plans. "We want to be ready for when they do make the decisions on location," said Justin Proffitt, North Miami Beach community development director. "We are trying to take it to the next step and provide the vision to help everyone, including all the agencies and Virgin Trains, to see how a station would work and what the city will do to ensure that the ridership will be there and that the land use surrounding it would be there." The city in May finished a 222-page master plan identifying four terminal locations and transit-oriented development. Developers definitely don't want to miss the train. Bilzin Sumberg is in talks with two developers envisioning a midsize project at a future station in unincorporated Ojus between Interstate 95 and Aventura, said Miami partner Javier Aviño. He declined to identify them. Aside from Brightline, Tri-Rail also wants a stop in Ojus, opening the door to transfers between trains at some stops. Tri-Rail identified possible locations at Northeast 192nd and 197th streets. In Miami, developers of the approved Magic City Innovation District development in Little Haiti and the nearby proposed Eastside Ridge said they could incorporate a train station in their mammoth projects if one of the passenger lines opts to stop there. "There's just a huge desire to have more transit-oriented developments," Aviño said. "It makes perfect sense because you are creating mini-hubs with a combination of live-work-play."

IF YOU BUILD IT ...

If they build around it, will the station come? Nowhere is this variation on the "Field of Dreams" line more applicable than in Hollywood. Tri-Rail has yet to move on its coastal link, yet the city issued a solicitation for developers to build University Station on 2.5 city-owned acres between Fillmore and Polk streets east of North 21st Avenue along the tracks. The city wants a mixed-use project that could accommodate a terminal and asked developers to partner with surrounding property owners on a bigger project. Poliakoff's clients, a partnership of Miami-based residential builder Pinnacle Housing Group and the Saada family, a big Hollywood landowner, are bidding. Some municipalities did their station and transit-oriented development studies in collaboration with Tri-Rail parent South Florida Regional Transportation Authority and the Stuart-based urban planning organization Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council. Delray Beach took a hard look at 1.5 city acres for a station and other new development in an area bounded by Atlantic Avenue, Northeast Second Street, Northeast Fourth Avenue and the tracks. Options vary from minimalist to fully built out. On the conservative end is a plan for four townhouses, a 112-space parking lot and 5,000 square feet of retail, according to an August 2018 master plan. A second option calls for 48 residential units, a 228-space garage, 21,500 square feet of flex space and 5,000 square feet of civic space. A third option calls for 33 residential units, a 146-space lot, 8,500 square feet of flex space and a rooftop garden or pool. A fourth option would stretch beyond city property to add 84 apartments, live-work units, a 254-space garage and 56,000 square feet of flex space. In Jupiter, a station would be south of Toney Penna Drive at Old Dixie Highway. A South Florida Regional Transportation Authority study in 2013 estimated a station could propel the development of 460 homes and 260,000 square feet of commercial development. Palm Beach Gardens in a September 2018 master plan picked a station site on the southeast corner of PGA Boulevard and the tracks at Design Center Drive. About 300 residential units and 10,000 square feet of retail could be built. Beyond the station, new development could rise at underutilized space at surrounding malls. Some of the parking lot at The Gardens Mall could become 250-300 townhouses and apartments as well as a theater measuring 10,000-20,000 square feet. Part of the Legacy Place shopping center could be developed with 150 townhouse and live-work units, 82,000 square feet of commercial space and a 250-space garage. Palm Beach Gardens also found an appetite for hotels, suggesting a 120-room hotel at Downtown at the Gardens and a 500-room hotel on vacant space at Loehmann's Plaza. Also at Downtown at the Gardens, 250-500 residential units and 100,000 square feet of office space could be added. At Loehmann's Plaza, up to 20 townhouses and 175 apartments are options. North Miami Beach originally favored a station west of the tracks at Northeast 163rd Street south of Snake Creek Canal. In a transit development master plan published in May, the city added possible alternatives at Northeast 161st, 159th and 151st streets. The city estimated 280 residential units and a 125-room hotel would be possible depending on the location. A station at 163rd or 161st streets has room for 20-story buildings, but a location on 161st Street would require the relocation of the Humane Society of Greater Miami.

The approved New North Town Center is a ready-made transit-oriented development planned near possible station sites at 159th and 161st streets. It will have 1,700 homes, 260,000 square feet of retail, a 175-room hotel and 120,000 square feet for educational use. Industrial properties would be reused if a station were added at 151st Street.

In its NoMI Station Square study in December 2018, North Miami conservatively estimated 3,000 new units for a station at 125th Street. Renderings show two new low-rise, mixed-use buildings, two residential buildings, a picnic shelter, tennis court and football field. The station could catalyze more six to 10-story mixed-use and residential buildings at MOCA Plaza and the Library Arts District.

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Lidia Dinkova

Lidia Dinkova covers South Florida real estate for the Daily Business Review. Contact her at [email protected] or 305-347-6665. On Twitter @LidiaDinkova.