Promotional Video Falsely Claims Miami Building Will Exceed Empire State Building

Miami developers have been making outlandish claims since the founding of the city when they would sell swampland to unsuspecting buyers in other states, only for the buyers to come down and discover their land was worthless for building homes.

The only thing that has changed is now their claims are now being touted on the internet to an international audience in several languages.

Fortunately, the internet also allows us to check their claims out with a few key strokes.

Take the above video that describes how the Miami skyline will look like by 2020. Or as they call it, Downtown’s $10 Billion Mile.

The video was posted on Youtube the day after Christmas by the developers of Vizcayne, the twin towers on Biscayne Blvd. that stand where the historic Everglades Hotel once stood.

You might remember those buildings as Everglades on the Bay, which went into bankruptcy in 2010, going down as one of the biggest condo busts in Miami.

That, of course, is not mentioned in the video where they describe the buildings that currently outline the Miami skyline, then illustrate the buildings that are expected to be built by 2020.

Taller Than The Empire State Building?

The most outlandish claim is that the proposed One Bayfront Plaza will rise higher than the Empire State Building.

It won’t even come close.

When – and if - completed, One Bayfront Plaza (pictured above in an illustration) will include 80 floors and stand at stand at 1,010 feet (or 308 meters for you Europeans).

The Empire State Building (pictured below) includes 102 floors and stands at 1,250 feet (381 meters). And that’s without the antenna spire, which propels it to 1,454 feet (443 meters).

That’s quite a difference to make such a bold statement in their video, which was recorded in English, Spanish and Portuguese, meaning they are banking on South Americans investors who might be willing to throw dollars at a project they believe will surpass the tallest building in New York City.

There’s still no doubt One Bayfront Plaza (pictured above in another illustration), which is scheduled to begin construction in 2014 and completed by 2017, will be an impressive building.

If completed, it will surpass Miami’s current tallest building, the Four Seasons Hotel & Tower (pictured below), which stands at 789 feet.

Will It Even Be Built?

But there have been so many buildings planned that were supposed to surpass the Four Seasons only for ground never to break, we shouldn’t really hold our breath for this one to ever see the light of day.

But if they do go through with their plans, it will not only be the first building in Miami to surpass 1,000 feet, but it will be designed to resemble a sail, which will give it an instant landmark status for years to come.

However, even if they wanted to build it taller than the Empire State Building, the Federal Aviation Administration would not permit it because of height restrictions.

In fact, the initial design proposed for One Bayfront Plaza was for it be 1,180 feet – still not taller than the Empire State Building – and well over the 950-foot height restriction imposed by the FAA for being in the flight path to Miami International Airport.

But the FAA, even though it forced developers to scale back on their design, apparently made an exception to its restrictions and allowed it to surpass 1,000 feet.

And that apparently gave the developers a license to stretch the truth even further.

 

Related Links: • Brickell Rivals South Beach As Hottest Spot To Live, Work And Play • Regulations lifted for developers to allow even more development • Best view of downtown skyline at night? Related Categories: Miami: Local News, Carlos Miller is a featured writer at Miami Beach 411. He also operates Photography is Not a Crime, a blog about photographer rights, New Media and First Amendment issues. See more articles by Carlos Miller. See more articles by Carlos Miller Was This Post Helpful? Please Share It With Others! Tweet

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"Promotional Video Falsely Claims Miami Building Will Exceed Empire State Building"

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