NEIGHBORHOOD: Downtown Miami

Oh, how the mighty fall. The historic Downtown Miami Flagler Street flagship of our beloved former hometown department store, Burdines, was for years a Macy's after the department store behemoth bought it. Now, it's a Ross Dress for Less.

Although construction renderings made it look slightly less ominous, the actual construction of the new Miami-Dade civil courthouse seems to loom over the elegant older courthouse as it gets closer to completion.

The 1980 roared in Miami. Not only was the city's image and identity transformed in ways both good and bad, mixing global glamour with global intrigue, but the city itself changed physically. In that decade Greater Miami saw a building boom, blending luxury condo towers with avant-garde architecture, new public amenities and institutions, and a flood of stylish, luxury hotels catering to different kinds of travelers than the old beachside hostelries of earlier.

The Dade Commonwealth Building, built in Miami's halcyon 1920s, the year 1927 to be exact, has stood the test of time. Its unique rooftop crenelation, according to historical lore, was due to a hurricane that hit during construction, slicing the building at the eighth floor and causing the builders to just leave it there. Now it's on the market, according to a listing at Loopnet, for a total of $21 million, with permits approved for its demolition with the exception of the first three stories of the facade.

So, you've gotten your vaccine and you're READY. TO. HIT. THE. TOWN. and go to one of those fabulous real estate parties that seem like such distant pre-pandemic memories?

At One Thousand Museum, Dame Zaha Hadid's Downtown Miami tower and the poster-child of Miami's starchitect-designed condo towers, only two of the building's gargantuan 10,000 square foot full-floor units appear to be on the market. And only one of those two has spectacular photography, despite being sold as more-or-less as a white box, for the buyer to do what they will with. That's unit 5701. (The other one, if you're curious, is 5901)

Downtown Miami's Kimpton EPIC Hotel is getting a major renovation, which will include the lobby, hotel rooms, and pool area. The whole shebang will be ready in time for the fall and winter tourist season. Check out the press release, and remodeled guestroom photos, below:

In the first half of the twentieth century, when most postcards were incredible little drawings in vibrant colors of a building, or a city, or a boat, or a scene, or whatever, it seems like there were postcards of everything. Hotels, even small ones that nobody would ever think to make a custom postcard for today, had custom postcards. Downtown Miami, which was vividly documented, is a great example. There were postcards of apartment buildings, offices buildings, restaurants, and department stores. Looking at these postcards, as documented and preserved by Miami street photographer Phillip Pessar, one can take a polychromatic tour of Downtown's streets.

The developers of Aston Martin Residences, the latest in a laundry list of luxurious, automotive-branded towers that have been built in Miami over the last five years or so (We're looking at you Porsche Design Tower) have announced the sale of the first penthouse unit in the building.

The Miami River meanders through the heart of Miami, dividing the twin, skyscraper-strewn districts of Downtown and Brickell before it bends northwest and heads toward Miami International Airport. Planners intend the river to someday have a riverwalk, also known as the Miami River Greenway, running along both sides, much like the one that already exists along the New River in Fort Lauderdale. An idea that has been in the works for decades, the river walk will someday add life and vitality to the downtown core.