FYI Miami: March 26, 2015

NEW LINKS TAKING WING: Twice-weekly Aerolineas Argentinas flights linking Miami and Córdoba, Argentina’s second-largest city, are among a cluster of new flights planned through Miami International Airport. The new service on Saturdays and Sundays begins July 4. Other new flights include service by both Aeromexico and American Airlines to Monterrey, Mexico, to begin soon; Thomas Cook Airlines direct service linking Miami and Manchester, England, starting in May; American Airlines flights to Frankfurt, Germany, starting in May; and links between Miami and Vienna via Austrian Airlines starting in October.

RECREATION ON KEY: A new recreation business is opening on Virginia Key after Miami commissioners approved a five-year lease of a city-owned site at 3801 Rickenbacker Causeway. Virginia Key Outdoor Center LLC was deemed the top proposer for the recreational support facility. Minimum rent the first year is $750 a month and 5% of gross revenues up to $500,000 and 10% of gross revenues in excess of $500,000. For the second year, the monthly rent rises to $1,000 and 10% of gross revenues up to 500,000 and 12% of gross revenues in excess of $500,000. Operations are to include bicycles, canoes, kayaks, paddleboard with instruction, equipment rentals and guided tours. Ancillary uses may include support services, sales of related merchandise, and snacks and refreshments. Prohibited are motorized boats, motor bikes, jet skis and jet packs. The city is providing two pre-fabricated buildings joined by an elevated deck totaling 2,056 square feet and an outdoor storage area, and an area for parking.

A NEW CRA? The Miami River Commission is considering asking Miami-Dade County to include river improvements as a beneficiary of a proposed Orange Sports Complex Community Redevelopment Agency, or CRA. County commissioners have deferred action calling for a study of the new CRA, bounded by the river, Flagler Street and Northwest 22nd Avenue. County officials floated the idea of a CRA as a way to fund land buys for a soccer stadium for David Beckham’s Major League Soccer team and the University of Miami, adjacent to Marlins stadium in Little Havana. The idea included CRA funding to extend the Metromover from downtown west toward the ballpark. River commission officials may want to get a share of funding from the proposed CRA for such river improvement projects as the public riverwalk.