Article Courtesy of The Miami Herald
By JOE CARDONA
Published September 27, 2009
Everyday we ride, drive, walk and jog by them without a word. They stand as a pathetic reminder of a recent past where avarice prompted delusions of early retirement, ownership of multiple beachfront homes and a perpetually bulging stock market portfolio.
How did our city become a museum of sleek, modern and predominantly empty condos?
Political apathy, a history of rampant corruption and little corporate oversight of market forces opened the floodgates to the mess we're in today.
Developers from far and wide eagerly descended upon South Florida a decade ago with new visions of what our city should look like. Miami has a notorious history -- for better and worse -- of falling in love with everything foreign. These ``carpetbaggers'' joined forces with greedy, shortsighted locals and commenced their master plan to revamp the skyline with little care for urban planning, the local economy or the city's history.
At one point, a developer planned to dwarf the Freedom Tower by erecting a condo onto its annex claiming that that part of the building had no historical significance. We are a city that is easily hoodwinked into thinking that conditions are always better somewhere else. The irony is that Miami is one of the most unique, diverse and exciting places in America. Yet the city is constantly looking to reinvent itself as something it is not.
At the height of the construction frenzy, the Magic City was wowed with swank, South Beach-themed parties chock-full of beautiful models and lined with lavish ice sculptures. Conversations at these well-attended affairs highlighted what the city should, could and would be. Because of our transient, ever-changing population we are sometimes void of institutional memory, and thus yesterday's zany, ill-fated plans seem plausibly wonderful today.
Local politicians prematurely drooled over future tax revenues and basked in the uptick in employment stats. Banks seemed strong. A new branch appeared in every strip mall. I assumed the business plans for these new projects that were changing the facade and culture of my city must have been legit if they were scrutinized by the same lenders who had gone through my business proposals with a fine-tooth comb.
To keep pace with the mad real-estate orgy, folks in the 'burbs decided to join in, buying and selling property quicker than it took for the ink to dry on the property deed. ``Flipping'' homes became a South Florida pastime. Encouraged by cable reality shows and persuaded by unscrupulous brokers, many middle-class, coupon cutters were now property speculators.
Conditions were ripe for the perfect storm. The rise and fall happened in a decade yet unfortunately the effects will be longer lasting than Hurricane Andrew.
Property values have plummeted, the sale of new homes is puttering along after a screeching halt and construction workers are begging for jobs. Meanwhile, in the throes of this economic tempest, taxpayers were saddled with a performing-arts center that they don't attend and a yet-to-be built baseball stadium that likely will be infrequently visited and significant salary hikes for downtown bureaucrats.
I often wonder if our politicians live in the same city as we do? If they do, shouldn't they have considered the laws of supply and demand?
So as we live amid these hollow, cement behemoths in ``Empty Condo Land,'' and people wonder who should be held accountable? Certainly there must be someone to blame.
South Floridians live a quaint form of civic escapism. Spurned on by decades of corruption scandals involving elected officials, police chiefs, members of the School Board, union heads and politically appointed administrators at the airport and port of Miami -- to name a few -- Miamians have forfeited their stake in local affairs.
Sadly enough, the fault rests on us.
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