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BUILD THEM AND THEY WILL COME

Miami deserves its place next to Shanghai and Dubai. More important, it deserves our confidence. The bubble is not latex but stainless steel.

BY WILLY BERMELLO

Mega economies, one fueled by people and the other by barrels of oil, have propelled cities such as Shanghai and Dubai to the top tier of world-class cities in the 21st century. Both cities, one at the center of the world's fastest growing economy and the other in the heartland of the world's largest petroleum reserves, share an uncommon characteristic: There are more construction cranes than traffic lights; and, although the unparalleled growth has outpaced infrastructure services in many instances as well as the growth-management efforts to properly support and service this growth, all experts agree that the future of these emerging world-class cities is ahead of, not behind, them.

World city

Halfway around the world, Miami, the most international U.S. city outside of New York, is going through a similar transformation but without the oil or zillion people. This has some economists and bankers worried.

Lately, there has been more written about the ''condo bubble'' than the weapons of mass destruction during the Iraq war. There is a relationship in both phenomena: If you say it often enough, you actually start believing it, and soon enough you're on your way toward a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Miami is a great world city, and there is no going back. Build them, and they will come.

Just consider the following five points:

' Other than Chile and Colombia, every mayor economy in South America has taken a turn away from democracy, sparking wave after wave of flight capital and migration of the professional and entrepreneurial classes to their ultimate destination: Miami.

' In comparison to other U.S. cities such as New York, San Francisco, Chicago and Washington, D.C., Miami still offers an attractive price-point advantage. Along the Brickell corridor, new waterfront condominium properties average between $450 to $500 per square foot. Only a few Miami Beach projects have broken the $1,000-per-square-foot ceiling, which in New York City today would be considered ``affordable.''
U.S. gateway

' Until the day that Fidel Castro falls and Cuba opens to worldwide trade and commerce, Miami will continue to be the Singapore of the Americas, serving as the place of choice for business exchange and the center of trade and commerce for the Caribbean Basin and Central and South America. Hence, Miami's positioning in the Western Hemisphere buttressed by excellent transportation and communication hubs such as Miami International Airport and the NAP of the Americas, make Miami the choice city for FTAA and forums for world and business leaders. More visitors entered the country through Miami last year than through any other city.

Further, the American Airlines hub in Miami today has a total of 248 flights (208 American Airlines and 40 American Eagle) fully recovering from the pre-9/11 days when American Airlines had 184 flights a day in Miami. No other U.S. city compares in this category.

' Miami is hot, hot, hot. The news clips of cocaine cowboys, the Mariel boatlift and the McDuffie riots have been replaced with the beautiful skyline of CSI Miami; with Miami and Miami Beach becoming the preferred hangout for wealthy urbanites, recording artists, movie stars and sports celebrities. J Lo, Ricky Martin, Gloria Estefan, A-Rod, Shaquille O'Neal and Lenny Kravitz all have one thing in common: Miami.

Safe harbor

' With the volatility of capital markets and in spite of last year's increases in the Federal Reserve's borrowing rates, which will continue their upward but moderate adjustment throughout the year, real estate continues to still be a safe harbor for investors, whether it be equity or the purchase of a condo in South Florida, where doubling of your investment in less than two years is commonplace. If you have euros or British pounds, then you buy with a built-in 30 percent to 40 percent discount.

Miami deserves its place next to Shanghai and Dubai. More important, it deserves our confidence. The bubble is not latex but stainless steel.

Willy Bermello is a Miami architect and developer.