Cafecitos, cigars and a chance to experience Cuban culture? These are some of the many facets of a trip to Havana. But being able to use a credit card instead of cash to pay for your trip? Priceless.
Pompano Beach-based Stonegate Bank (NASDAQ: SGBK) issued the first of its MasterCard credit cards for use in Cuba on Tuesday.
The South Florida bank was the first – and so far the only bank to launch a debit card for use by U.S. travelers in Cuba. The bank announced a partnership with MasterCard when it launched the debit cards last year.
That move followed Stonegate’s decision to become the first U.S. bank to establish a relationship with a Cuban bank.
Since President Barack Obama announced the intention to re-establish a relationship with Cuba, Stonegate has been actively increasing its banking ties to the island nation. At the request of the U.S. Department of State, Stonegate agreed to handle the banking for the Cuban government in the U.S., which encompass services such as travel visas and any dealings with embassies in Washington, D.C.
The issuance of a credit card has been a work-in-progress for the last nine months. To commemorate the occasion, Stonegate is offering a limited-edition card featuring a design by Cuban artist Michel Mirabal.
"Hopefully, more U.S. Banks will allow their customers to use their cards in Cuba, thus helping to alleviate the burden on travelers to the island," Stonegate President and CEO Dave Seleski said. "I am very excited to introduce these products which I believe will benefit our corporate clients and provide a meaningful diversified income stream to the bank."
In addition to personal credit cards, Stonegate announced plans to issue corporate, purchasing, payroll and prepaid cards within the next 30 days.
Debit and credit cards certainly allow increased flexibility when traveling in Cuba. However, Cuba and its businesses still need to establish infrastructure to accept debit and credit cards to process sales.
Stonegate is one of the largest South Florida-based banks, with $2.45 billion in assets.
Brickell City Center is a $1.5 billion mixed-use development. Strategically located in the center of the Brickell financial destruct, this is the single largest project currently underway in Downtown Miami.
Brickell City Centrer in anticipated to bring a whole new level of urban living and sophistication to the area
Read more In the File Miami Info
The real estate investing arm of Prudential Financial just paid a whopping $83 million for the 355 Alhambra office tower in downtown Coral Gables.
An affiliate of Prudential Real Estate Investors, which has an asset portfolio valued at $62.6 billion, purchased the 16-story tower through a deed filed Tuesday, according to Miami-Dade County records. The price breaks down to about $168 per square foot.
The seller is AEW Capital Management, an investment management firm that owned the building on behalf of institutional clients. Records show AEW paid $87.3 million for the building in 2008 — about $4.3 million more than its current price.
The tower, at 355 Alhambra Circle, was first built in 2001 and measures 492,820 square feet. A big portion of that square footage is located in the building’s multi-story parking garage, which affords three parking spaces per 1,000 square feet of rentable space, according to the building’s website. The remaining 224,241 square feet is divided into leasable offices. Tenants include Merrill Lynch, Moore & Co. and Spencer Stuart.
This is the second high-profile office purchase in the downtown Coral Gables area to close in December: two weeks ago, a Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management fund paid $119 million for the Alhambra office complex.
Miami-Dade’s biggest brokerages offer a handful of incentives to bring in and keep agents – including high commission splits, online tools and tailored training.
The Real Deal ranked real estate firms in Miami-Dade County by the number of actively licensed agents and spoke to executives about recruiting strategies, commissions and top sales for the year.
Here are the top five:
Beachfront Realty, a tri-county firm based in Aventura, takes the lead in the number of actively licensed agents. Ed Roberts, owner of Beachfront Realty, said the firm doesn’t charge hiring fees and provides a 90 percent commission. “That’s why we’re so big,” he said. “All of our recruiting is word of mouth.”
As of mid-October, Beachfront agents sold 1,052 properties with a combined $1 billion in sales so far this year, Roberts said. He said the firm’s top sale this year was $8.5 million for a unit at the Continuum South Beach.
“In our case, the larger majority is condo sales, developer sales and single-family home sales,” he said.
Keyes, a family owned and operated company, has 11 offices in Miami-Dade County. The full service firm has an in-house mortgage partner, and title and insurance companies. Statewide, Keyes hires more than 1,000 agents every year, targeting both newly licensed agents and, using corporate recruiters, agents from other firms.
Steve Reibel, vice president of recruiting, said that commission splits between the agent and company vary “pending the level of production that associates bring in.” He said it ranges from 60 percent for associates, to nearly 90 percent.
To date, Keyes has more than $2.9 billion in sales volume this year. The top transaction was the sale of a 37-unit condominium building, Harbor Point, at 5000 North Ocean Drive in Riviera Beach for $15 million.
“At the end of the day, it’s about doing more transactions,” Reibel said.
Florida Realty offers agents 100 percent commission with a $400 fee per transaction, according to the company’s website. “We make a little on a lot of people instead of a lot on a few people,” the website reads.
The Miami-based firm has two offices, one in Hialeah and one in the Kendall area.
Juan Baixeras, owner of Florida Realty, could not be reached for comment.
Coldwell Banker recruits anywhere between 200 and 250 agents a year in Miami-Dade, regional senior vice president Duff Rubin said. Rubin said the company uses a tailored quiz that analyzes the skills of potential agents to see if they’re a good match.
“It gives us a look into their weaknesses,” he said.
Rubin would not disclose the company’s commission split policy but said, “We as a company try to be more of a value-proposition brokerage,” including Coldwell Banker’s tools, management and support. “Commission splits are typically based on production. You’re only as good as your production,” he said.
Each quarter, the firm reaches between $1 billion and $1.5 billion in sales, he said. Rubin would not disclose year-to-date earnings or annual earnings.
Coldwell Banker’s most prominent team, The Jills, are involved in a dispute over claims they allegedly altered the MLS to hide listings. Luxe Realtor Kevin Tomlinson allegedly tried to extort Jill Eber and Jill Hertzberg for $800,000, threatening to go public with his claims if they didn’t pay up.
EWM, a Coral Gables-based Berkshire Hathaway affiliate, has eight offices in Miami-Dade.
Ron Shuffield, EWM president, said the firm focuses on full-time hires, both newly licensed and those who have been in the industry. “I think a lot of people don’t realize it’s not a part-time job,” Shuffield said.
“Most people who come to work with us are people who have some kind of connection to the company,” he said. “We’re not doing mass mail-outs.”
Shuffield would not disclose the company’s commission split policy, but said that the tools EWM offers make up for the difference in commission splits.
EWM’s top transaction this year was the $33 million sale of 5800 North Bay Road to Phil Collins. The full service firm is on track to close anywhere from $2.8 billion and $3 billion in sales this year.
China’s Central Bank is moving forward with capital markets reforms that could make it easier for Chinese citizens to invest in South Florida real estate.
The country’s monetary policymakers announced on Friday they may soon allow residents of a Shanghai free-trade zone to buy overseas assets directly – a trial run for the rest of China and part of a broader effort to loosen capital controls.
The move would also open up Yuan-denominated bonds to foreign companies. Chinese citizens currently face tight limits on the amount of money they can invest abroad. Those looking to convert funds from Yuan into Dollars to buy, say, an apartment in Brickell, often have to do so through companies or by smuggling cash to Hong Kong.
The announcement comes despite an uptick in capital outflows from China in recent months, which would normally provide an incentive to tighten capital controls.
In September alone, investors pulled $194 billion from the country, according to Bloomberg. “A lot of people suggested that if the economy slows, if there’s more volatility, the Chinese will drop the reforms,” Andy Rothman, an investment strategist at fund manager Matthews Asia, told Bloomberg.
“I don’t think that’s the way the Chinese government views it. They are not worried about the scale of the outflows.” ISG World, an Aventura-based brokerage, recently partnered with one of China’s top real estate firms that has more than 60,000 agents spread throughout 17 cities.
It’s the latest move in Miami’s real estate market, where eyes have turned to Asia now that a strengthening U.S. dollar has sapped the energy of South American investors.
AutoNation will acquire 12 stores that represent $800 million in revenue.
The Fort Lauderdale-based automotive retailer (NYSE: AN) announced Wednesday that it would buy Allen Samuels Auto Group, which has locations in the Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Corpus Christi,Tyler, Ennis and Waco, Texas markets. Allen Samuels Auto Group has 31 franchises across its stores, including Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, Chevrolet, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz and Sprinter.
Once the acquisition is completed, Texas will represent about 25 percent of total revenue for AutoNation, with 53 stores including 82 franchises and 5,300 employees.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but it is expected to close in the first quarter of 2016.
Since the beginning of 2015, AutoNation has announced purchases that represent $1.7 billion in added revenue. Last month, the company closed a deal,announced in September, to buy a Mercedes-Benz store, an Audi store, and a Subaru and Volkswagen store from Valley Motors Auto Group in the Baltimore market. Another acquisition of 13 stores from Carl Gregory Enterprises is expected to close in the fourth quarter.
Once those acquisitions are complete, AutoNation will have a total of 265 stores and 372 franchises.
"We are pleased to have the opportunity to add 12 stores throughout the state of Texas," AutoNation Chairman, President and CEO Mike Jackson said in the announcement. "This acquisition will enhance our brand mix in the state of Texas. We also look forward to welcoming Allen Samuels' customers and 1,000 associates to the AutoNation family."
The company also reported an all-time record for its earnings per share – at $119 million, or $1.05 a share – in the third quarter of 2015, up 17 percent from the same period a year prior. Revenue totaled $5.4 billion, up 9 percent compared to the same quarter last year.
AutoNation hares were up 1.28 percent, or 75 cents, to $61.76 in morning trading. The 52-week high was $67.50 on April 22. The 52-week low was 53.73 on Aug. 24.
Robert Gorlow, the head of Florida operations for Triple Five Group, revealed new details about the massive American Dream Miami mall and theme park project during a meeting with the South Florida Regional Planning Council on Wednesday.
Gorlow has been working with the developer for two years to build what could be North America’s largest mall and theme park on 225 acres near the southwest corner of Interstate 75 and Florida’s Turnpike in Miami-Dade County. As he prepares to submit a comprehensive plan amendment application with the county for the project in November, Gorlow spoke to the regional planning board members about the scope of the project and showed them a presentation.
Here are 5 new things about the $4 billion project from Gorlow’s presentation:
Size
American Dream Miami would have over 3 million square feet of retail, about 2 million square feet of entertainment and 2,000 hotel rooms. That's larger than the Mall of America in Minnesota. As previously mentioned, the entertainment would include a theme park, the world’s largest indoor ski slope measuring 180,000 square feet, 800 feet long and 16 stories high plus an ice climbing wall, a water park, a giant observation wheel, a submarine lake with marine life such as sharks and manta rays, an Art Deco village with performance halls and a 3,000-seat movie theater, an ice skating rink, a museum, bowling, and mini golf. Gorlow said the previously mentioned sea lion show and residential units would not be part of the project. It would be developed all at once, he added.
Branding
Triple Five Group is seeking a branding partner for the project’s entertainment. Gorlow mentioned DreamWorks and an associated on-site film/TV production studio as a possibility for the project, as Triple Five Group has partnered with DreamWorks for its American Dream project in New Jersey. However, Gorlow said they aren’t in serious negotiations with DreamWorks for the Miami project.
One rendering from Triple Five Group’s presentation has DreamWorks on the side of a building.
Traffic
The developer is working with the Florida Department of Transportation with recommendations to improve the interchange between Interstate 75 and the Florida Turnpike, which was in the works even before this project was announced. The developer wants a new ramp on the interchange so people on Interstate 75 can get on the Turnpike in both directions. It’s also proposed a Turnpike exit at Northwest 170th Street.
“Traffic is important because if the traffic doesn’t work, people don’t come. It’s too crowded and people don’t like it,” Gorlow said. “We have extreme interest in having the traffic be better than anyone would want."
Tenant mix
Gorlow said the retail tenant mix would be very similar to Triple Five Group’s Mall of America, “just about everyone you can think of.” He said there would be over 100 restaurants, with a focus on fine dining.
Water usage
Most of the water for the indoor ski slope and water park will be recycled and retail doesn’t have much water usage. Triple Five Group is in ongoing discussions with the city of Hialeah, which just built a reverse osmosis water treatment plant, and the South Florida Water Management District about water consumption.
Gorlow said the project would probably take four years to open.
Brickell City Centre is a landmark $1.05 billion, 5.4 million square feet, mixed-use development in downtown Miami from Swire Properties, one of South Florida’s leading international developers of real estate known for its $1 billion master-planned development of Brickell Key.
The project’s first phase includes a luxury shopping center, two residential towers, a hotel with serviced apartments, a wellness center and a Class A office building. The project is LEED®-registered for Neighborhood Development – currently one of the largest in the U.S. Sustainability elements include the exclusive CLIMATE RIBBON™, an elevated trellis composed of steel, fabric and a continuous surface of glass that will connect all components of the development and create a comfortable microclimate for shoppers.
As the largest private-sector project currently under construction in Miami, Brickell City Centre is scheduled to begin vertical construction in 2013 with first phase completion scheduled for third quarter of 2015. A second phase of construction will begin in the first quarter of 2016.
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