Alejandro Arias, Keren Marti, Avra Jain, Carolina Herrera, Luis Gonzalez, Melissa Rose(Photo Credit Brett Hufziger Photography)
On August 20th, CREW Miami (Commercial Real Estate Women Miami) hosted close to 100 guests at its monthly luncheon program titled, “The Renaissance of Hialeah” held at the Four Seasons Brickell.
l to r: Jeff Rennick, Avra Jain, Carolina Herrera, Kevin Michael
The panelists were: Luis Gonzalez, Former Council President, City of Hialeah, Carolina Herrera, Vice President of Land Acquisition of the SE Florida Division of Lennar Homes and Avra Jain, Founder, The Vagabond Group. Alejandro Arias, Associate Attorney, Holland & Knight served as moderator.
The panelists discussed the history and future growth of Hialeah, the sixth largest municipality in Florida. Here are some comments which will be available in length on the News page of CREW Miami’s website:
l to r: Vanessa Estrada, Barbara Carballo, Nathalie Vergoulias, Yvonne Nyakana, Vanessa Abreu
In speaking about misconceptions about Hialeah, Gonzalez commented: “Saying we [Hialeah] are over-capacitated and overbuilt is not really the case. If you look at Hialeah, we have no high-rises. What we have is multi-family complexes, but nothing more than five stories and they’re not all condensed. Hialeah really is a very united city and we’re about family -- a hard working class and now we have added the next generation of working professionals and that’s what we’re trying to obtain and keep.”
l to r: Sara Hernandez, Maria Gongora Juncadella
Commenting on some of the opportunities that Lennar was starting to look at in Hialeah, Herrera stated:
“After the economy downturn and because of the leadership at Lennar, we were lucky and fortunate enough to have cash in hand in order to come in and buy all of these properties from different lenders. Most of our competitors were pretty much out of business, so we knew that this was a great area for us to grow because a lot of younger families did not have options for new homes and wanted to stay close to their family.”
l to r: Alicia Morales, Mabelle Perez, Yvonne Nyakana
When asked what it is about Hialeah that encompasses some of the traits like the MiMO district, Jain responded: “First and foremost it is the leadership. When you want to affect change and have impact, you want to be like minded and so because of that experience we had with leadership, we not only became interested, but became very vested. Their vision is there and the density is there, and they wanted to bring more lifestyle and get young people back. Investment of the adaptive reuse and the curation of the tenants and bringing in the uses means we have to believe in that vision and fund the start up to create that sense of place. Thanks to the leadership that’s why we are getting started and going to stay.”
l to r: Frank Lago, Luis Gonzalez, Alejandro Arias
Recent News
Roslyn K. Berrin, founder of Berrin Realty Inc. donated $10,000.00 the CREW Miami Scholarship Fund. This past May, Berrin received CREW Miami’s first ever Lifetime Achievement Award. The Roslyn K. Berrin Real Estate Scholarship is available to females enrolled as a Junior or Senior-level undergraduate or graduate student with a declared major in a real estate-related discipline, at a university or college located in Miami-Dade County, Florida; and maintain a cumulative GPA of no less than 3.0. (Plus: complimentary CREW Miami student membership and mentor opportunities.)
The deadline to apply is October 1, 2019. Visit CREW Miami’s website to learn more.
l to r: Josie Legido, Cristina Gonzalez, Lili Carson
A Look Ahead
The CREW Miami September Luncheon program titled, “The Wizards of OZ: A Case Study of Opportunity Zones” will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, September 17th at the Four Seasons Brickell.
l to r: Alisha Gravesande, Jacqueline Cruz-Bustillo
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 created tax incentives for investment in areas nationwide known as Qualified Opportunity Zones to spur community development. Join CREW Miami as they host a panel of experts who will dissect and discuss recent Opportunity Zone transactions in our own backyard that demonstrate the complexities and benefits of this new form of CRE investment.
For more information and to register for CREW Miami events, visit: www.crewmiami.org or call (305) 938-0775. Follow CREW Miami on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn @CREWMiami #CREWMiami and on Twitter @CREW_Miami_FL.
About CREW Miami
CREW Miami is an association dedicated to providing a forum for professionals actively involved in the commercial real estate industry, encouraging professional interaction and networking, advancing educational opportunities, and providing a support network for commercial real estate professionals. Since its inception, CREW Miami, which has served the South Florida commercial real estate community for 30 years, has expanded steadily to more than 265 professionals representing over 40 disciplines in our commercial real estate industry. CREW Miami is a member of CREW Network, which is a national organization comprised of almost 12,000 members worldwide in more than 75 major markets, and focuses on influencing the success of the commercial real estate industry by advancing the achievements of women in commercial real estate.
