According to some, City of Miami Mayor Manny Diaz is a rat. Apparently one of the definitions of a rat is a person who “throws people out of their homes”. This is according to members of The Laborers Union who accuse him of doing just that and actually displayed a twenty foot inflated rat at the recent UC Conference of Mayors in Washington D.C. Clearly this has to do with the issue of gentrification. In all due fairness, the city is not exactly tackling this important issue. What these protestors fail to realize is that the city is not kicking anyone out. Rather, new and existing landlords in prosperous urban areas are deciding to make money off of their investments. Can you believe it? These legitimate land owners are doing something positive with their real estate investments. What an outrage! And, to make matters worse, their plans are boosting property values throughout the city.
The real problem is that Mayor Manny Diaz is sitting at the helm of what is fast becoming one of America’s biggest boomtowns. So, the theory goes, if you do well, you get hated on. This theory apparently holds true for the City of Miami as well. Time Magazine and Congressman Tancredo’s recent Miami-bashing fiasco is evidence of that.
The truth is that everything is Manny the Rat’s fault. Miami being a center of International trade is also the Rat’s fault. It is obvious that the Rat is also to blame for the crystal clear warm waters that lure millions of visitors and thousands of real estate investors to Miami each year. That’s not mentioning the attractive year round warm weather which the Rat dictates as well. That animal is out of control!
C’mon haters, cut the mayor some slack. Or, don’t. The end result will remain the same. Miami will continue to boom. Random ignorant observers will continue to hate.
Jorge Perez is the quintessential hotshot developer. He’s not just educated in Urban Planning and Development, but in fact, graduated Suma Cum Laude and attained his Masters degree in the discipline. It should be rather clear to most that Mr. Perez is the foremost developer in Florida and arguably one of the most preeminent in the country. 
to Colombia—where they had successful business interests. His ambitions led him to C.W. Post College and then the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. In this case, it seems clear that his studious efforts proved extremely useful in helping him maneuver in a tightly contested and pressure-ridden field. His track record indicates a steady increase in quality and project scopes—from affordable housing to redefining luxury multi-family housing.
Jorge Perez fostered and facilitated the building boom in Sunny Isles with his Ocean’s I, II, III, and IV projects. Still, he is redefining the small yet filthy rich municipality. There are those nostalgic buffs who may consider his Sunny Isles projects to have been historically corrosive—having diminished the charming and affordable seaside family vacation town. Objectively speaking, there is some element of truth to this, since Mr. Perez certainly did not help preserve the older quaint Sunny Isles, but as is expected with such a visionary, Mr. Perez’ attention is fixed on the future. As of late, he has endeavored to partner up with the Dezers in Sunny Isles with the three-phase Trump Towers project—a sign of the classic “if you can’t beat em’ join em’” cliché.
Street in South Beach. His Portofino Tower, Murano, Murano Grande, Icon, Yacht Club, and Apogee developments have all but monopolized the area’s identity. In other words, his building designs and amenities have drawn a specific type of buyer—a certain affluent and typically wealthy one. These buyers have become the fabric of the neighborhood’s demography; helping turn what was once a backwater into one of the more exlcusive and valuable neighborhoods in the city. His SoFi buildings have become the skyline for the area. And all of it boils back down to Jorge himself; his intentions, his planning, and his ability to execute his developments. One man’s actions can define a city or at least a neighborhood as in the case of Sunny Isles and South Point. Importantly, Jorge Perez has been intuitive enough to take full advantage of a neighborhood’s potential by building big, in bundles, and with architectural consistency. Most of his South Point developments have been designed by Sieger Suarez. The reasoning behind this could be as simple as their designs sell, or it could be that through an urban development standpoint it fostered uniformity without them seeming to be replications of one another (for that, Sieger Suarez gets credit). If he hired a different firm for each building in the same neighborhood then the result might be a messy mélange of buildings, the result of which would hinder the neighborhood’s aesthetic identity. On the other hand, there are those that would disagree with the aforementioned notion claiming that such exclusive architectural involvement would create a homogeneous urbanism. 
Importantly, and most excitingly, his latest efforts have been focused on the urban core of Miami. This is where Mr. Perez’ true legacy may be defined. After all, the entire metropolitan area revolves in orbit around the urban core. Through an urban development standpoint, the CBD or urban core is the most important area to develop in. In consideration of Miami’s emerging status as a truly urbanized city, Jorge’s major downtown efforts are of immense importance. In fact, his downtown projects are his most ambitious to date. Interestingly, these projects have been confined to Brickell Village and the CBD. He has not ventured north of the I-395 into Uptown. In fact, he has not even ventured into Parkwest. In Brickell, he has three massive multi-phase projects: 500 Brickell, Icon Brickell, and the Plaza. In the CBD, he has his Loft I, II, and III developments along with the two phase One Miami development. It is worthy to note that although there is a significant amount of new development in the CBD, One Miami and the Loft I were among the first to be topped off. That can only mean one thing: Jorge Perez had his eye on the ball first. 50 Biscayne will soon follow suit as the building is almost topped off.
nearby competitors. Unlike South Point, where he had almost no competition, and Sunny Isles, where the beachfront town rested on the fringes of the urban sphere of influence, downtown is saturated with new development and much of it is being built by billionaire developers with massive ambitions and capital resources. The reality is, however, that Miami and the surrounding areas are Jorge’s turf and has been for quite some time. He has helped define it and will have a competitive edge because of this fact. His operation is entrenched, his connections are vast, and his reputation is paramount. His name will be appreciated and considered revered by posterity. He is known for his innovative partnerships, for example, his joint ventures with Phillipe Starck for Icon South Beach and Viceroy in Icon Brickell. And now, he is venturing to develop in NYC, Las Vegas, and Atlanta, among other places. His reach is no longer limited to Miami’s sub-tropical sphere, but Miami is still his nursery, and will be the recipient of his greatest projects.
Post Script: 
Boom or Bust: Miami 