FYI Miami: June 9, 2022

Below are some of the FYIs in this week’s edition. The entire content of this week’s FYIs and Insider sections is available by subscription only. To subscribe click here.

MIAMI WILDS: Miami-Dade commissioners approved last week an extension of the deadline for the county to satisfy conditions of a $13.5 million grant for the Miami Wilds water park, adjacent to Zoo Miami. The local government now has until June 23 to meet the grant conditions. The next steps include the signing of the lease by Mayor Daniella Levine Cava and the environmental assessments required by US Fish and Wildlife Service to be done by the developer before beginning construction. The 27.5-acre park would cost over $100 million and include a lazy river attraction, wave pools, slides of all sizes, kiddie pools, a beach with a shady landscape, a 200-room hotel, 15,000 to 20,000 square feet of retail, and large parking areas.

COLOMBIAN HOMESEEKERS: Colombians, who have been major buyers of Miami-Dade real estate, were the largest group from abroad searching the Miami Association of Realtors’ web for-sale listings in April, the association says. Colombians bought the second-most South Florida real estate among foreign nations last year, 12% of all international buys, the association reported. Three of the top ten global cities searching the web site for homes in April were in Colombia, starting with capital Bogotá. Last year’s largest global purchaser of South Florida real estate was Argentina, buying 13% of all sites purchased from abroad. Argentina was second in April searches on the association’s site. Of international cities searching the site, residents of Buenos Aires were second and those of Buenos Aires Province were third. Last year’s third-largest buyer abroad, Venezuela at 10%, was also third in April searches. The fourth-most searches came from China, followed in order by the Philippines, Mexico, Canada, the United Kingdom, Brazil and Spain.

TEXAS TRANSFERS: Everything is bigger in Texas, including the number of residents searching for homes in South Florida. Texans made more real estate searches on the Miami Association of Realtors’ web site listing homes than residents of any other state in April, the association said. Of the US metro areas searching the association’s web listings, the top was Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth was third and San Antonio was eighth. Last year, Texans were the fourth-largest US group actually purchasing Florida residences. Other states looking hard at South Florida buys in April were, in descending order, California, Georgia, Washington, North Carolina, New York, Virginia, Illinois, Michigan and Ohio. 

MENTAL HEALTH AID: Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed into law a measure that will require school districts to inform parents of additional mental-health resources if students are receiving services.