SPOTLIGHT

MIA Taxis into the Lead

Miami International Airport set a record for passenger traffic in 2022, crossing the 50 million threshold for the first time and surpassing Orlando International’s total. MIA reported 50.6 million passengers last year: 29.3 million domestic travelers and 21.3 million international. Domestic travel is surging but international travel, while growing, is still below pre-pandemic numbers. Orlando International Airport reported 50.2 million total passengers last year: 44.6 million domestic and 5.5 million international.

ENTERTAINMENT

• The Miami office of Doodles, a leading web3, media and entertainment brand featuring NFTs valued as high as $1 million each, announced that the company will acquire animation studio Golden Wolf, which will collaborate with artist Burnt Toast to create original narrative content. Doodles received $54 million in venture capital funding.

HEALTH CARE

• The Lung Center at the Miami Transplant Institute, an affiliation between Jackson Health System and UHealth, has a new 25-bed intensive care unit in the UHealth Jackson Critical Care Pavilion at Jackson Memorial Hospital.

INFRASTRUCTURE

• Nearly $170 million from the American Rescue Plan will help finance infrastructure resiliency upgrades in Miami-Dade, including $9.1 million for flood resiliency in the Auburndale neighborhood, $10 million for adaptations in the West Avenue neighborhood of Miami Beach and $10 million for protecting a coastal regional wastewater treatment plant from sea-level rise and storm surge.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

• NFL quarterback Tom Brady, who last played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, is the keynote speaker for the eMerge Americas annual conference in Miami Beach April 20-21. Paul Judge, tech entrepreneur, investor and managing partner of Panoramic Ventures, also will be featured. eMerge Americas is a venture-backed platform working to make Miami a global tech hub.

REAL ESTATE

• Dallas-based Stream Realty Partners is opening an office in Miami. Greg Katz, executive managing director and partner, will lead the office.
• John Huguenard, co-lead of industrial capital markets at JLL Capital Markets, has relocated to Miami from the firm’s Chicago office. Huguenard specializes in industrial investment sales for institutional and corporate clients and for private owners of real estate. JLL reports vacancy in the industrial market has hit an historic low and will remain below 2% for the foreseeable future, while rent growth has increased 60%.

FINANCE

• OneMain Financial has pledged $25 million to support minority banking at Miami-based Sunstate Bank and at First Independence Bank in Michigan, both of which operate in underserved communities. Sunstate has five branches in Miami-Dade and 70 statewide.
• L’Attitude Ventures has closed a $100-million fund focused on investing in early-stage startups led by Latino founders of U.S.-based companies. Partner Laura Moreno Lucas calls it the largest fund focused on Latino entrepreneurs in the U.S. She is leading the effort “to catalyze the most entrepreneurial yet undercapitalized cohort in the U.S.” along with partners Sol Trujillo, Gary Acosta, Kennie Blanco and Oscar Munoz.

TRANSPORTATION

• During a visit to Miami by a Bahamian delegation, Port Miami signed an agreement with the Bahamas Port Department to exchange information and assist on technical maritime matters, including port security, sustainable maritime practices and crew and passenger safety.