Snook Season Closed in Gulf Waters

Snook is open to harvest in Atlantic state, federal and inland waters, including Lake Okeechobee and the Kissimmee River, through May 31, closing June 1.

Both the Atlantic and Gulf will reopen for recreational snook harvest Sept. 1.

Snook are one of the many reasons Florida is the Fishing Capital of the World. Snook may be caught and released during the closed season. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) encourages anglers to handle their catch carefully to help the fish survive upon release. Proper handling methods can help ensure the species' abundance for anglers today and generations to come. To learn more about fish handling, visit MyFWC.com/Fishing and click on “Saltwater,” “Recreational Regulations” and “Fish Handling.”

Learn more about recreational fishing at MyFWC.com/Fishing by clicking on “Saltwater” and “Recreational Regulations.”

Financial exec sells his Wellington estate for $17.45M

3346 Grand Prix Farms Drive (Inset: Andrew Ziegler)

Andrew Ziegler, a financial honcho who founded the money-management firm Artisan Partners, just sold his sprawling horse farm in Wellington for $17.45 million.

Ziegler's estate covers nearly seven acres of prime turf in Palm Beach County's horse country at 3346 Grand Prix Farms Drive. It has stalls for 35 horses, a “grand prix” field and two arenas.

As with most equestrian estates in Wellington, the horse areas totally eclipse the living quarters in terms of size. The compound has a lounge for the owners, two apartments for horse groomers, each with two bedrooms, and a deluxe three-bedroom apartment for a property manager.

County records show Ziegler paid $16 million for the farm, which is broken into two parcels, in 2006. He even renamed the estate Artisan Farms at the time after his quickly growing company.

Now, less than a year after announcing he was stepping down from his position of chairman at Artisan, he's sold the estate for a $1.45 million return. It was originally listed for $19 million in January with Carol Sollak of Engel & Volkers, according to listing site Redfin.

The buyer is a Delaware company called H5 Stables. It financed this purchase with a $10 million loan from Texas Community Bank. Alejo Pedroza signed the loan documents as manager of the company.

Ziegler co-founded Artisan with his wife Carlene in Milwaukee roughly 22 years ago. The firm has since grown into a financial heavyweight with $97 billion worth of assets under its management as of March 2016, according to its website.

Though he stepped down as chairman in July 2015, Ziegler retained a position as lead director of Artisan's board, according to a report in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

The Wrap: California governor tells Rick Scott to get serious about climate change, long-shuttered Miami Gardens hospital heads to foreclosure auction…& more

Florida Governor Rick Scott (Credit: Gage Skidmore)

1. California governor tells Rick Scott to get serious about climate change [Miami New Times]

2. Long-shuttered Miami Gardens hospital heads to foreclosure auction [SFBJ]

3. Is there ever a good reason for setting up a shell company? [Miami Herald]

4. Couple building Palm Beach manse named in Philadelphia FBI drama [Palm Beach Daily News]

- Sean Stewart-Muniz

Bal Harbour Shops revamps expansion plans sans Village Hall

Bal Harbour Shops rendering

Bal Harbour Shops has revamped its $400 million expansion plan with a different configuration that does not include the Village Hall site, after the luxury shopping center's owners failed to win village approval for their original proposal last month.

The latest design has at least 50,000 square feet of less space, eliminating the addition of about 10 to 20 luxury boutiques, Matthew Whitman Lazenby, president and CEO of Whitman Family Development, which owns and operates Bal Harbour Shops, told The Real Deal.

On April 13, the village council deadlocked 2-2 on the sale of the current Village Hall site, which was part of Bal Harbour Shop's original plan, first proposed several years ago.

The new expansion plans, filed with the village on Friday, still include the first Barneys New York flagship store in the Southeastern U.S., significant upgrades to longtime anchor tenants Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue, and new luxury boutiques and restaurants for the 51-year-old upscale shopping center, Lazenby said

But it is now designed to be built entirely on land already owned by the Bal Harbour Shops, including the site of the former Church by the Sea, purchased for $30 million by Whitman Family Development in February.

Rendering of Bal Harbour Shops

“Our department stores - Neiman Marcus, Saks and Barneys -those sizes are all fixed…,” Lazenby, told TRD. “What is trimmed down is the amount of boutique space that we offer, so there is 50,000 to 60,000 square feet of boutique space over three levels that we can now no longer build because the plans no longer include Village Hall.” That equates to 10 to 20 stores, he said.

The initial version of the enhancement plan called for Bal Harbour Shops to give nearly two acres of land to Bal Harbour in exchange for the 1/3-acre beneath the existing Village Hall. It also called for Bal Harbour Shops to fund and build a new Village Hall.

Village Mayor Martin Packer and Assistant Mayor Patricia Cohen voted against the Village Hall proposal, stopping the plan from moving forward and prompting the Whitmans to dust off previous plans created that exclude the Village Hall component.

Matthew Whitman Lazenby

With the revised plans, what was previously calculated as a $120 million public benefit package, including the two acres of land and cash contribution, is reduced to about $50 million, Lazenby said.

But the proposal, which requires village approval, still includes expanded vehicle entryways/exits, wider sidewalks and increased landscaping/tree canopy around the shopping center on 96th Street and Collins Avenue.

In March, Bal Harbour Shops LLC sued Cohen and the village in Miami-Dade Circuit Court, alleging she is violating Florida's public records law because she has failed to turn over text and email messages on her personal electronic devices in which she may have negatively discussed the luxury mall's expansion plans, which the assistant mayor opposes.

Last month, Whitman family attorney John Shubin told The Real Deal that there is some evidence Cohen's opposition may be connected to her personal relationship with Jackie Soffer, who oversees Turnberry's retail, hospitality and office divisions, including Aventura Mall, a Bal Harbour Shops competitor. Soffer, who, together with her family owns Turnberry Associates, is also married to Craig Robins, founder and CEO of DACRA, developer of the Design District, which also competes against Bal Harbour Shops.

Lazenby told TRD that he is continuing to pursue litigation, and that it would be up to a judge to decide if Cohen should have voted on the previous proposal. He said there is video evidence of Cohen passing notes to the mayor during the village council meeting.

“That process will play itself out,” Lazenby said. “There is evidence of Sunshine Law violations and clear evidence of bias.”

Northwest Florida Redfish Limit Lowered to One Fish

The recreational red drum daily bag limit in the northwest red drum management zone (Escambia County through Fred Howard Park near Pasco County) will be lowered from two fish to one fish per person starting Sunday, May 1. All other red drum regulations remain the same, including the eight fish vessel limit.

Florida's iconic red drum fishery has a high economic and social value in northwest Florida and is managed for abundance statewide in order to ensure a quality angler fishing experience.

In the past year, stakeholders have expressed concerns that red drum populations have declined in parts of the Panhandle since 2013, the final year of data included in the most recent stock assessment.

This change is a precautionary conservation measure. Staff will continue gathering public input on red drum populations and management statewide and the Commission will consider whether this region-wide bag limit reduction is appropriate as a long-term management measure when it reconvenes in June at Apalachicola.

Staff are also collecting public input in the northeast region of Florida, where stock assessment population estimates indicate numbers may have seen a decline at the conclusion of the assessment period (2013). The stock is still exceeding management goals in that area.

Most expensive condo in Sunny Isles hits the market for $35M

Regalia Beach Developers are giving a new meaning to the phrase “beach house.”

A two-story unit at the Sunny Isles Beach tower hit the market for $35 million, making it the most expensive listing currently in the city.

The 17,015-square-foot unit takes up the entire third and fourth floors of Regalia, a 39-story condominium tower at 19505 Collins Avenue. When completed this summer, it will include six bedrooms, six full bathrooms, two half-bathooms and a pool bath, according to a press release. Rose Marie Minio of ONE Sotheby's International Realty is listing the two-story unit.

The fully furnished unit was designed by Charles Allem, who also designed Regalia's interiors, and features onyx, leather and lacquer finishes, a custom stone and glass wine cellar with room for 600 bottles, and a 2,000-square-foot entertainment and game lounge with a billiard table and home theater. It also includes 6,500 square feet of terrace space.

Last summer, the developers took out $27 million in financing for the beach house and penthouse, and filed a notice of commencement for the interior buildout. C1 Bank is the lender. Both units were previously listed at a lower price unfinished and unfurnished, Kevin Venger of Regalia Beach Developers told The Real Deal.

“We find that buyers spending $20 million to $40 million prefer a turnkey unit versus taking on the logistics of a project of that magnitude,” Venger told TRD.

At $2,057 per square foot, the turnkey condo also includes a sun deck, summer kitchen, wraparound terrace, glass-faced pool, staff quarters, a spa with a steam and Hammam room, massage beds and Jacuzzi, and two master bedrooms with drop-down ceiling TVs and midnight bars.

Regalia was completed in 2014 and developers have sold more than 90 percent of its units. Remaining units include a nearly 17,000-square-foot penthouse, priced at $40 million, and a 5,515-square-foot condo on the 18th floor, priced at nearly $12 million. The tower has six pools, a spa, cabanas, a fitness center, yoga studio, children's playhouse, a chef's kitchen and a champagne bar and wine cellar.

Last month, a Miami law firm sued the project's original developers and one of their creditors in Miami-Dade Circuit Court over unpaid attorney fees totaling more than $1 million at Regalia.

Forbes first reported the $35 million listing.

Could traffic lights for mobile-addicts ever make it to the US?

A texter using the German crossing signal

From the New York website: There's nothing worse than a sidewalk texter, looking down, typing away and slowing down the flow of pedestrian traffic. Well, in Germany, instead of yelling at cellphone users to move (NYC style), they are actually accommodating mobile addicts with special LED traffic lights in the pavement.

The southern German city of Augsburg recently installed traffic lights into the pavement so that pedestrians using their cell phones need never look when crossing the street.

The city is reacting to the tragic incident of a 15-year-old girl who was fatally hit by a tram when texting. The lights flash red when there is traffic so that those too busy to actually look around themselves can safely cross, according to the Telegraph.

“It creates a whole new level of attention,” said a spokesman for the city, according to German publication N-TV.

There is a lot of infrastructure in dire need of an upgrade in NYC, so it is very unlikely that this would ever happen here. So for now, it looks like New Yorkers can just keep using their shoulders to tell texters what's what. [Telegraph] –Christopher Cameron