Expert Realty - South Florida Real Estate Blog

For approximately $1.34 billion you too can save the Everglades. At least that’s what Governor Charlie Crist is suggesting the state do, despite its already depleted budget. According to the Sun-Sentinel, Crist plans for the state to buy 181,000 acres from U.S. Sugar Corp. and use the area to establish a waterway from Lake Okeechobee to the Everglades.

The plan was originally suggested in June, but it has now been amended to allow the corporate giant to “keep its sugar mill, citrus plant and other assets it needs to stay in business,” the Sentinel said. This will, in turn, save almost 2,000 employees from losing their jobs.

If approved, the South Florida Water Management District will have to borrow most of the money. Taxpayers from all 16 counties will bear the brunt of this debt, since the present financial disaster has done a number on our financial reserve.

The vote for this proposal is scheduled for sometime early in December.

If you are searching for celebrities in South Florida, you often times know exactly where to go.  The first thing that comes to mind is South Beach and Ocean Drive, where celebrities sightings are a daily happening if you are in the right place at the right time.  You may also think of Star Island, Fisher Island, or Palm Island, where many celebrity homes in Miami can be found, including that of Gloria Estefan, Sean “P-Diddy, Rosie O’Donnell, and the former Miami Heat player, Shaq.

But Miami is not the only location in South Florida that you can spot celebrities living day to day.  Palm Beach County recently marked a purchase from celebrity Bruce Springsteen, and surprisley this Florida home purchase is not oceanfront!  Instead, Springsteen reportadley purchased a home in an equestrian community in Wellington called the Equestrian Club Estates.  This Palm Beach gated community features homes nothing short of what you would expect from a “celebrity home”, with a 6,000 square foot layout that is jaw-dropping.   Springsteen’s daughter is also an active equestrian student, which may have been a majority of the motivation to purchase this home.  Residents in Equestrian Club Estates are conveniently located next door to the home of the Winter Equestrian Festival, so there is no need to travel to far for this wonderful event for equestrian enthusiasts! 

On December 13, 2008 at 6:30 p.m., beginning at the New River and Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway in Fort Lauderdale and ending in Lake Santa Barbara in Pompano Beach, The Winterfest Boat Parade will commence.

All those who are interested in participating, must register their vessels by December 8th.  There will be several places to view this spectacular boat parade including Hugh Taylor Birch State Park in Fort Lauderdale. Two levels of seating will be offered; public and reserved seating. Public seating is free and it is recommended that you come prepared with your own blankets and chairs for self seating, and reserved seating is $20.00. There is also a $2 park entry fee.

For those who wish to view the parade by boat, set anchor by 4pm so that you can avoid bridge closures. If you’re viewing the parade by boat, you can anchor your vessel at New River Cut, just South of Bahia Mar and the Western portion of Lake Santa Barbara.

The park will be accessible solely by shuttle bus, which departs at Holiday Park off Federal Highway in Fort Lauderdale.

Comedian-actor Jim Belushi will be the grand marshal for the event. Jim Belushi and the Sacred Hearts Band will perform on stage at Hard Rock Live, December 12th.

It’s always cute to hear a child excitedly list off the thing they wish to be when they grow up, but when children like 10 year-old Jonathan Pierre, a student at North Miami Elementary, exclaims his desire to become a nuclear scientist, sometimes it hits a little close to home.

Pierre, like a large percentage of people living in and around the area, speaks English as a second language.  In Miami-Dade County alone, there are over 200,000 students that speak Spanish or Haitian-Creole at home, and about 51,000 students enrolled in English as a Second Language classes.  This means that while there are some children that may be struggling over a difficult lesson in one of their classes, there are just as many that have to overcome that obstacle in addition to figuring out what all of it means.

Designed as a method to help those with the mastery of the language and the average student’s curriculum, a research project hosted by the University of Miami called “Promoting Science among English Language Learners,” or P-SELL, has been working alongside teachers in various schools for over five years.

Combining hands on experience and lessons in English, Spanish, and Haitian-Creole, the program’s main initiative is to provide a better understanding of the content being taught alongside the material.  What began as a program in six schools in 2004 slowly expanded due to academic improvement.

Last year alone, Peskoe Elementary, an active participant of the program, had students meeting the standards on the science portion of the FCAT move from 12 percent to 23 percent–a new school record.  At North Miami Elementary, one third met the fifth grade science standards compared to the 13 percent that met them in 2007.

“In many cases, when I explain the ideas behind the lesson to them in Creole, even if it’s only for one minute, and then I switch back to English, I’m able to get them to connect,” teacher Marc-Antoine Léveillé from North Miami Elementary said. “If there is no connection, I may lose them,”

While there are hopes that the curriculum could be picked up by a commercial publisher, an immediate concern is funding.  The $5 million grant from the National Science Foundation runs out next year, leaving the program with a short amount of time to find other grants and private donors.

So far, P-SELL has been making steady improvements and an impacts on the schools themselves, that it would be sad to see students like Jonathan Pierre or 11 year-old Rodelle Destine from Peskoe Elementary not light up with a fervor about their future the same way that other children often do.

”Sometimes, I know the words in Creole first,” said Rodelle. “It’s good, too, because I can go home and tell my parents about my science class.”

The University of Miami Hurricane football fans and students are with high hopes this weekend, as they will be enjoying “sitting on top” of the ACC division.  With an intense win over Virginia Tech this past weekend,  Miami was able to add another notch to their belt, putting them on a 5 game winning streak, and great hopes for a shot at the ACC Conference Title.  And a Maryland victory over North Carolina, tomorrow, November 15th, would set a clear path for Miami to the Championship on December 6th.  Miami Hurricane fans are sure to be watching closely this weekend.

Miami will be taking on Virginia Tech once again, on the enemies home ground, next Monday, November 17th.  It is projected to be yet another close battle, not much different than that which we saw earlier this week.  But with the adrenaline pumping through their veins, the Hurricane players are ready for another victory.

Remember when you used to have to go to Miami or Palm Beach for the best cuisines? Well, now you don’t have to travel that far. Ft. Lauderdale is opening up two new restaurants by two notable chefs.

Chef Todd English is opening up his new restaurant, da Campo Osteria, this Thursday. The restaurant features authentic Northern Italian cuisine. The restaurant will be located in the il Lugano Hotel and Residences. The address is 3333 NE 32nd Ave., Fort Lauderdale. You can call 954-564-4400 for more information.

Chef English established himself in 1989 with the opening of his restaurant Olives in Massechusettes.  He’s opened up many more restaurants throughout the year and has published three cook books.

Chef Johnny Vinczencz of Ft. Lauderdale’s Johnny V is scheduled to open up his new restaurant, Smith & Jones Bar and Grill on Wednesday.  Why the name? The chef says he thought of obvious American names for the restaurant. Smith & Jones will be located at 1313 E. Las Olas Boulevard in the old Louie Louie spot. The restaurant offers American comfort food at not more than $20 a plate.

Ft. Lauderdale is proof that you don’t have to drive far to get the best food at an inexpensive price!

In other areas of the country, fall marks the beginning of dropping temperatures, changing leaves, and a nearing holiday season.

Although daily highs are still well into the mid-to-upper 80s, South Floridians can still enjoy the season’s annual activities typically enjoyed by Northern states. This includes the autumn hayrides.

Enjoy an old-fashioned hayride through Quiet Waters Park in Deerfield Beach, followed by a campfire where you’ll melt your marshmallows to make delicious s’mores. The fee is $3 per person, which includes the hayride and a bag of s’mores fixin’s, along with the park’s usual gate entrance fee of $1.50 per person. Additional refreshments, like hot dogs, hot chocolate, Gatorade, and more s’mores fixin’s, are available for an extra fee.

The event will take place December 6th, 2008, and January 3rd and February 7th of 2009 from 6:30 P.M. to 8:30 P.M.

This upcoming Friday, November 15th, marks America Recycles Day.  Deerfield Beach is getting in the spirit offering a free movie complete with green popcorn and green music.

The Public Works Facility (401 SW 4th Street) plays host to the event on November 14th from 7:00pm to 8:15pm.  Before the movie, great eco-friendly suggestions will be made to help people be more aware and active in ‘green’ efforts.  The movie is called “The Story of Stuff” and opens a window into American consumption and its impact on the environment.  Questions and discussion are encouraged after the movie.

Thanks in part to Cheryl Miller, Deerfield Beach’s recycling specialist, the city boasts a 60% recycling rate.  Considering that the county recycling rate is only 23%, Deerfield Beach has right to be proud.  Still, every city has room for improvement.  By 2020, a Florida law requires that 75% of all discarded material be recycled, so the time to change is now.

Some recycling payoffs are immediate!  Starbucks will be offering a free cup of coffee all day to anyone who vows to recycle.  The coffee will even be served in a free mug made completely from recycled products; get one while they last!

On November 15th, America Recycles Day will offer an environmental education workshop at the International Fishing Pier (200 NE 21st Avenue) from 8:30am to 9:30am.  The workshop will cover everything in between natural resources, waste reduction, and composting.  More information can be found by calling 954-480-4454.

Why not take some time and learn a little more about what you can do to help our environment?  Right now, there is only one planet we can live on, and I’d like it to last as long as possible.

The Fashion Mall in Plantation used to be a thriving mall filled with well-known stores. Now, it is a dead building in a flourishing city.

The mall is now months away from a new project: to turn this dead zone into a residential and retail property. The project is estimated to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars, and may take up to five years to complete.

The new owners of the mall have decided to construct as many as 590 residential units including four free standing retail buisnesses. The Old Macy’s and Lord & Taylor buildings will be demolished to make way for the new project.

The Fashion Mall opened in 1988 and tried to prosper for many years. In 2003, the focus of the mall was to design a string of home decor shops and to include a Muvico into the mall.  The popular movie theater was supposed to go into the mall by the beginning of 2004, but the Muvico deal fell through, and thus the plans for the home decor shops.

June 2008, the mall announced that a movie theater was going to be built, starting the beginning of its rebirth.  The theater will have a balcony, reserved seating, eateries, child-care facilities and valet parking, similar to the Muvico in Boca Raton.

The Miami Metropolitan Zoo’s Amazon and Beyond Exhibit has been in the making for four years and will finally be ‘unleashed’ this upcoming December 6th.  About $50 million has been spent on this 27-acre exhibit which will feature otters, lizards, crocodiles, snakes, frogs, birds, monkeys, invertebrates and fish (in a tremendous 50,000 gallon aquarium), all of which are native to the rain forest.  In total, there will be 600 animals from 100 species on display.  An interactive feature found in the exhibit will be a touch tank with awe inspiring stingrays.  Oh, and two jaguars, Reina and Palenque by name, will a pinnacle in the exhibit.

These endangered cats came to the Zoo last year from Houston and Massachusetts, but have been in quarantine ever since.  Reina is three years old and currently weighs 109 pounds and Palenque is two years old and currently weighs 121 pounds.  The pair will be the largest animals in the exhibit.  In the wild, these majestic animals lived throughout Central and South America and all the way up to southwestern United States before human intervention put them on the endangered species list.  Reaching up to 250 pounds and having fangs like railroad spikes, the cats are one of the most dangerous in the world and one of the largest cats in the Western Hemisphere.

Reina, a female, and Palenque, a male, recently underwent a tail to nose examination to be sure they were in top medical condition and have been moved into their new habitat.  This gives them a month to get comfortable before visitors start pouring in.  Their habitat, by the way, is pretty luxurious from the big cat perspective.  The expansive two room habitat, connected with overhead walkways, features sparkling streams and glass-walled swimming tanks.   You see, jaguars are one of the few water-loving cats.  Their menu consists of a sort of equine Spam, with added chunks of raw horse meat which is leaner than cattle.  These two pampered kitties barely have to lift a paw, their meals being delivered right to them.  What a life!

So far, the pair seem to like their new home though they are currently separated.  When the time is right, barriers will be removed so Reina and Palenque can coexist, hopefully very fondly.  The cats are part of a worldwide captive-breeding program which strives to generate a healthy and protected population of the species.

You don’t want to miss out on seeing these remarkable creatures.  Plus, it is always great to peel the kids away from electronics and bring them to enjoy some Miami recreation that is natural, educational, and enjoyable.