Miami building managers said that "several leases are in the works" to fill commercial spaces in the Marlins Park garages, "including a deal with an 8,500-square-foot Irish pub called The Tilted Kilt," according to Kathleen McGrory of the MIAMI HERALD. Miami City Commissioner Frank Carollo made a pitch to create "an entertainment district in the city-owned parking garages that flank the stadium." Critics said that the plan "is a mismatch for Little Havana, a working-class residential neighborhood." Carollo "blames the sagging real estate market for stalling the leasing process." Carollo: "Plus we expected the Marlins to be doing a lot better going into the playoffs." McGrory noted the garages' leasing agent, Mindy McIlroy of the Terranova firm, is branding the project "The Shops at Marlins Park." Miami Parking Authority CEO Art Noriega, whose company manages the garages, said, "The plan was to really focus the leasing on more restaurant and entertainment venues. We want to make it more of an entertainment area than a grocery store area." Noriega also said that Miami is "in final lease negotiations with the Subway sandwich chain." Miami River Commission Chair and commercial real estate broker Horacio Stuart Aguirre "believes the garages will end up attracting an urgent care clinic or an immigration attorney because there is a market for those services in the neighborhood" (MIAMI HERALD, 8/20).
POLITICAL PUNCH: In Miami, Patricia Mazzei wrote the "incumbent Miami-Dade commissioners who defeated challengers backed by Norman Braman in last week's election had powerful friends" battling the wealthy Miami auto magnate, including the Dolphins and Marlins. Braman targeted four commissioners "up for reelection who voted for the $634 million Marlins ballpark." A union group "funded in part by the Dolphins and Marlins staged two protests at Braman's auto dealership and one near" his home (MIAMI HERALD, 8/18).
