By Oscar Pedro Musibay

High gas prices and the credit market meltdown have largely caused the perfect storm for car dealers. Two sites in south Miami-Dade County are now on the market – and as many as 12 may soon join them, one brokerage says.

Colliers Automotive Real-Estate Services Group, run by Coral Gables-based Colliers Abood Wood-Fay, is marketing the Auto City General Motors dealership across from The Falls.

Brokerage President Mike Fay said there are 12 other dealers in Miami-Dade and Broward that are interested in selling their sites.

Auto City is also looking to sell its 4-acre site at South Dixie Highway and Southwest 305th Street in Homestead.

Both sales are part of a consolidation strategy. Operations are being moved into the Saturn dealership at Southwest 200th Street and South Dixie Highway. All the GM brands will be under one roof, said CB Richard Ellis Senior VP Paco Diaz, who is marketing GM’s site at 305th Street.

Industry analysts have seen the writing on the wall for some time. Global business advisory firm AlixPartners reported in a May study that the weakened dollar, higher manufacturing costs and a slowdown in auto sales were conspiring to turn 2008 into one of the auto industry’s toughest years. The study predicted a drop-off of 1 million units for the year. Consumers were also switching from trucks and SUVs to smaller, lower-margin vehicles, resulting in less revenue for the automakers.

As a result of consolidation trends, the remaining dealers are not likely to weigh in to pick off their competitors. But, Colliers has no shortage of interest in the site near The Falls.

The GM property, at 13401 S. Dixie Highway, covers 5 acres and is being marketed for sale at $23 million. That’s a far cry from the 4 acres GM owns to the south, which has a list price of more than $4 million.

Colliers senior director Owen Cone said the price for the parcel across from The Falls is justified because of its proximity to Palmetto Bay and Pinecrest, two of Miami-Dade’s wealthiest enclaves. The high volume of car traffic that frequents the area also adds great value, specifically for anyone seeking to develop retail.

Cone said the ideal redevelopment would be a vertical retail complex like Dadeland Station, which features a handful of big boxes, including Best Buy and Target. He is currently in negotiation with three potential buyers. Cone would not comment on whether Jeff Berkowitz, developer of Dadeland Station and another similar project on South Beach, was in the running.

Diaz also sees the retail potential for the GM site he is marketing in Homestead. He said the 4-acre property is zoned for the city’s highest density, which would make it suitable for a mixed-use commercial project. It’s also in a high-traffic area where two shopping centers, one anchored by Publix and another by Sedano’s, are located.

Colliers is helping to broker the sale of Coral Gables Lincoln Mercury, at Ponce de Leon Boulevard and Bird Road, to commercial developer Hines. Hines has the property under contract, confirmed Judy Zeder, a real estate agent with Esslinger Wooten Maxwell. She would not talk price or provide other details, referring questions to Jay Ziv at Colliers. READ MORE!

By DARCIE LUNSFORD

For four days in October, Miami Beach will be the global epicenter of the real estate industry.

More than 5,000 real estate developers, brokers, bankers, investors, architects, lawyers, planners and politicians are expected to attend the Urban Land Institute’s annual fall meeting at the Miami Beach Convention Center, Oct. 27-30. This is the first time the high-profile industry conference has been held in metropolitan Miami. It’s also likely to be the area’s largest business gathering of the year.

“It is certainly a big deal for South Florida,” said Miami real estate lawyer Neisen Kasdin, chairman of ULI’s local arrangements committee. “Arguably, this is one of the most important real estate gathering in the world.”

He said the conference, held previously in cities such as Las Vegas, Denver, San Francisco and New York, draws executives from the world’s top development companies, sovereign wealth funds, investment houses and architecture firms.

“Just to have all this global real estate and land development fire power in Miami all at one time is unprecedented,” Kasdin said. “I am sure that there will be marriages made, and deals will come from this meeting.”

At the heart of the discussion and programming is the financial crisis pummeling real estate, banking and rest of the economy.

“We have redone the whole meeting to react to it,” said Richard Rosan, president ULI Worldwide. The fall meeting is the 400,00-member Washington, D.C.-based think tank and industry group’s biggest event.

Rosan said many sessions would focus on understanding, navigating and surviving the real estate meltdown and financial collapse.

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volker, former Mexican President Vicente Fox, former assistant U.S. Secretary of State James Rubin and his wife, CNN correspondent Christiane Amanpour, are among the high-profile speakers.

The conference also promises to be an economic shot in the arm for the South Florida.

ULI officials in Denver, which hosted the event in 2006, estimated that conference attendees spent at least $4,000 on the trip.

“That is probably a very conservative estimate,” said Michael Leccese, executive director of ULI in Colorado. “This group tends to wine and dine and fill up the best restaurants in town.”

That conference drew 6,200, generating $24.8 million in economic bang. South Florida attendance is expected to be slightly lower, though, due to the current economic pressures on businesses and government agencies, ULI executives said. READ MORE!