Going to the Metrorail? Headed downtown? In an effort to ease traffic congestion in Palmetto Bay, a new driving alternative began Monday, June 11. During morning and evening rush hours, a free Park & Ride will operate at Holy Rosary – St. Richard’s Catholic Church (SW 77th Avenue and 152 Street) to and from the Dadeland South Metrorail station.
Two of the new iBus shuttles will run continuously from 6:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. and from 4 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. using the Miami-Dade County Transitway to avoid lots of traffic and red lights.
The Village, along with County Commissioner Daniella Levine Cava, kicked off the new service with coffee, donuts and even handed out 20 free one-day Metrorail passes to the first riders during the first week.
I rode on the first bus with a few early risers and excited commuters. Bonnee Binker was on the bus challenging her adult son Brian to use the I-Bus to get to work.
“I live on the northern end of Cutler Bay and work in Coral Gables so I usually sit in traffic for more than an hour,” explained Brian. “I was excited to know Palmetto Bay wanted to help. Today, it looks like this might cut my commute in half or more. The solution is getting cars off the road.”
Erin was with her mom Heather, heading to the New World School of the Arts in Downtown Miami. They were thrilled to have a free and fast way to commute to school.
On board were Councilwoman Karyn Cunningham, Mayor Eugene Flinn and County Commissioner Daniella Levine Cava. “I did get the legislation passed to allow the iBus onto the Transitway and I am so happy we can now offer this to frustrated commuters,” explained Cava.
Resident and activist Peter England put together the initial meeting with Holy Rosary-St. Richard.
Café in Pinecrest Community Center
The Pinecrest Community Center, on Killian Drive right next to Pinecrest Gardens, offers an ever-increasing array of great classes and physical spaces. Until now, you could get almost anything there, except a bite to eat.
A concession area was part of the master plan and subsequent construction plans approved by Village Council between 2014 and 2016. That vision is about to become reality with the opening of Elia Pinecrest, a 70-seat café that will offer light fare Mediterranean food with Greek influence, slated to soft open around the end of June. The grand opening will be mid-July.
Elia means olive in Greek and the Greek owner explained, “I’m very, very excited! The moment I saw the place, it came into my mind that this was a great fit,” explained restauranteur Dimitris Harvalis. “We make everything fresh. Salads with dressing created on-site. It’s light, healthy and refreshing food with high nutritional value. We’ll be serving breakfast items, wraps, sandwiches, bowls, smoothies and desserts.”
Pinecrest Mayor Joe Corradino said, “We’re excited about the near-completion of the expansion of our community center which now will include this great new amenity. Together with the new café, these gathering spots are part of what makes the Pinecrest Gardens complex the hub of our community.”
Real Estate Update
As of June 17th, the Pinecrest market remains soft. Homes listed over $1M are at 20 months of inventory, indicating a Buyers’ market. A healthy $1M+ market has 6-9 months of supply.
Did you know that partnering with a Realtor® to search for and purchase a home costs you nothing? It’s not using one that really costs a lot. No matter where you live, let me assist you with local expertise, realistic expectations and guidance to get you to wherever ‘next’ is. It’s easy to get started at miamihal.com/myvalue.
Hal Feldman (MiamiHal) is a Realtor with RE/MAX Advance Realty. You can contact him with your story ideas or real estate questions at www.MiamiHal.com, Hal@MiamiHal.com or www.facebook.com/MiamiHal.
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