About the Oak Avenue garage
Weekdays, there is a sign and an employee at the gate telling people that the only people allowed in are those with monthly decals but really, there isn't even any room for the decal holders. If we're lucky, there is one or two spots all the way on the top floor out in the sunshine.
The Miami Parking Authority sold the garage to David Martin, head of the Terra Group. He paid a lot for it - overpaid, in fact - $16 million or so. I didn't know the MPA could sell their parking garages. And that is what has a lot of people upset.
I always resent the ad agencies and HealthSun who are the ones taking up the spaces along with the construction workers and bank workers from Coconut Grove Bank, but it's not their fault, they pay to park there, they're not getting it for free. I guess if a guy buys a garage, he can do what he wants with it, but you would think they could fit some cars on in the bank lot and make some sort of other arrangement with the construction workers.
Ironically, parking in that areas of the Grove seems to be disappearing as more and more is needed. For years I parked at the Coconut Grove Bank lot. I liked it there, but now that is taken over by development and that's one less place for people to park. Now the garage is a problem. Perhaps they can add spaces. People who work at the garage are always blocking and saving spaces with orange cones. For whom? And there are about a half dozen legitimate spaces that are blocked, maybe for safety reasons. People do drive around those corners like they're on a race track.
This is a big reason why we need a trolley, which I know is in the works. I know I would use it and not need the parking spaces, freeing at least one up, and I am sure a bunch more spaces would be available by others who would trolley-it to work, too. But in the past we were always telling people how many parking spaces were available in the Grove. But in reality, today they are not available.
posted by Tom Falco at 5:00 AM
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11 Comments:
It's probably a "done deal" considering Marc Sarnoff is in on the negotiations.
Tom,
I'm lost how you reach the conclusion that David Martin "overpaid" to buy the garage. He doesn't strike me as someone who would "overpay" for anything, especially a parking garage close to the two major condo projects that he and his father are building in the Grove, and that will eventually - if not immediately - need as many parking spaces as possible.
I have to laugh now at how Bruce Turkel and the Bernardo Fort-Brescia not only believe they've been screwed, but how all of this was done in a way that kept them in the dark, especially since both of them no doubt feel that they are entitled insiders from their years of smooching Commissioner Sarnoff's but.
Yes, it was Art Noriega at the Miami Parking Authority who did the sale, but given his relationship to Sarnoff you can bet that the Commissioner not only was asked to sanction the deal, but that he was kept abreast every step of the way, and therefore folks like Turkel and Fort-Brescia have every right to feel that they were thrown under the bus.
As Robert Levine, the attorney rightly points out, the MPA was devious enough to do this deal without requiring that Martin provide any written conditions to provide a record of what the promises he supposedly made.
Folks continue to stick their heads in the sand, but I tell everyone now that unless they get out and vote for someone - anyone - other than Teresa Sarnoff, the screwing that people have gotten over the last 8 years will be looked back in the years to come as "the good old days."
al crespo
Sweet to collect money from businesses and then build scarce parking garage to rich and connected folks. Very sweet.
The Mayfair garage (the one you enter by the Improv) is never full, except during the Arts Festival...
There seems to be plenty of excess parking in the area near the Oak Ave Garage. There needs to be more parking in other areas like south Grove near Commodore Plaza.
"There needs to be more parking in other areas like south Grove near Commodore Plaza."
You mean like Coconut Grove Playhouse Parking Lot?
Anon@ 1:20.. Right, The Grove Playhouse Theater, a perfect parking lot still "Waiting for Godot", or the brand new Dinner Key Marina Mansion, a $3 Million exclusive facility for boat owners that will always be practically empty. Go figure.
Also highly recommendable: Trailer-Trash Toilet rollers Parking Lot.
(Under construction right now at Kennedy park: 3 adorable roller-trash models available!).
Isn't the building where Bruce turkel's office is up for sale? Next to the health sun building.
Considering the sheer number of workers terra group needs to build their projects it probably comes out as a great deal for them to buy an entire garage when weighed against renting spots for 2 years. Once they finish construction they can recoup investment via the parking revenue.
Terra will build a condo on top of the garage
It was sold at $113 a Square foot
How much did it cost to build the Oak Avenue garage?
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