Carnival Cruises Staying Afloat Fine During Recession

I imagine being stuck on a boat with a bunch of cruise ship people is bad enough, but recently returning to Miami I was stuck on a plane full of cruise ship people. Pure airline hell: horrendously behaved toddlers, people eating strange smelling food, and quite a few folks who…

NY Times: Midtown in a Slump

We’ve found the predicament of Midtown Miami to be quite interesting for a while now: noting its trouble both here on Riptide and in print. Now the Grey lady is weighing in on the development’s slump in a piece that just went online: “The bankruptcies of Circuit City and Linen…

You Know What The World Needs More Of? Luxury Hotels!

We know Paris Hilton doesn’t have anything to do with the management of the hotel company that bears her family name, but sometimes you have to wonder. In the midst of the latest, greatest depression and economic free fall you might expect any new hotel plans to include cots, a…

Housing Prices Have Dropped 32% In The Last Year

Integrated Asset Services released their latest IAS360 House Price Index, and as you might expect, the news isn’t good. Between January of this year and January 2008 housing prices have dropped a total of 28.4% in South Florida. That’s 29.1% in Broward, 18.8% in Palm Beach, and a whopping 32.3%…

UM Addresses The Impact of Econ Crisis

Nothing is immune to the economic crisis, not even the palm tree’d oasis in Coral Gables known as the University of Miami. After many alumnus expressed their concern, president Donna Shalala sent out a letter to all alum today addressing the impact on UM. Here’s the highlights: UM has made…

Michael Jordan Buys A Humble Three Bedroom in Kendall

After OJ Simpson had to switch his residency to a prison pen, Kendall has been missing a sports star resident to call its own. Well, trading OJ Simpson for Michael Jordan would be a major coup. As first reported by The Palm Beach Post, it seems Michael Jordan and his…

Even Fisher Island Residents Pinching Pennies

Fisher Island is the most expensive zip code and has the highest per capita income of any area in the nation. It is home (or second home) to the likes of Oprah, Florida First Lady Carol Rome, Andre Agassi, and Mel Brooks. Oprah, we hear, is doing just fine during the recession,…

Wyclef Jean’s Foreclosed Mansion up for Auction

Miami’s foreclosure fiasco rages on, and its latest victim is a familiar face. Rapper/producer Wyclef Jean took out a $2 million mortgage to purchase and renovate a Miami Beach spread but failed to keep up on payments, according to the Palm Beach Post’s Jose Lambiet (who apparently doesn’t know much…

Inside the Mondrian

Fresh off the re-opening of the Fontainbleau, Miami Beach is bracing for another hotel ribbon-cutting. The Mondrian quietly opened its doors to guests two days ago, but the official grand opening will take place during Art Basel. The brains behind the design (and naked candy-throwing enthusiast), Marcel Wanders, is interviewed…

Midtown Miami is a Sad Reminder of Crappy Economy

via Shop Midtown When the mega complex of Midtown Miami opened many worried it would stymie the growth of Wynwood’s art scene. How are artists supposed to meditate on all the darkness in the world when there’s a deal on 2 for 1 tube socks just a few block away?…

Green High-Rise Has Erection Problems

About two years ago Chad Oppenheim Architecture + Design announced plans for COR, a revolutionary green high-rise in the Design District. The building would incorporate wind turbines, photovoltaic panels, and solar hot water generation, and feature a hyperefficient exo-skeleton. It was originally supposed to be finished by 2009. Well, not…

A-Rod’s Asking Price? Not With this Market

via TMZ Joan Fleischman isn’t completely gone from The Herald, and is reporting that Alex Rodriguez and his soon to be ex-wife just listed their Coral Gables mansion for $14.876 million. That’s almost $3 million more than what they bought it for in 2004. Even the upper ends of the…

Fisher Island is the Most Expensive Zip Code In The Country

Another month, another overly detailed Forbes list. This one deal’s with the country’s most expensive zip codes, and Fisher Island’s 33109 came out on top this year. The average price for a home on the private island is $3,850,000. The zip also came in fourth on a supplementary list of…

Any One Got $22 Million Lying Around?

via Raising The Roof The view from Apogee’s pent house, soon to be the sight of flag burnings. The penthouse of Apogee South Beach just went on the market for a whopping $22 Million. No joke. $22 Mill. Or, as pinko, Paris-based scum rag The International Tribune points out, only…

Tenth in Foreclosure Isn’t A Stat To Be Proud Off

via Hope Now Owners of one in 62 homes in the Miami area filed for foreclosure in the last quarter alone, which makes the city the tenth hardest hit in the country. Ouch. Sometimes there’s no money left at the end of the month to make your mortgage payment when…