HomeMy WebLinkAboutWWNRD-1 ResumesDavid Lombardi — Bio
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David moved to Miami Beach at the age of 7 in 1973 and hQ Ye J a[0 0tthereever since.
David graduated from Miami Beach High in 1983 and attended Miami Dade College and
then FIU. At the age of 22 he and his wife opened a popular restaurant on Arthur
Godfrey Road called 415t Street Eatery and operated for four years before selling and
going into real estate sales. He and his wife of 28 years reside on Sunset Island # 1.
David Lombardi opened Lombardi Properties in 1999 as a full -service brokerage focused
on high end residential properties on Miami Beach. He had been working as a realtor for
other companies since 1993.
In 2000 David began investing in Wynwood a former manufacturing area located just
over the bay and just North of Downtown Miami immediately adjacent to the Design
District. The scale of the buildings and the width of the street and sidewalks felt perfect
for creating a "pedestrian friendly" atmosphere. That atmosphere coupled with the
presence of a few exhibition spaces back in 2000, gave David a vision of what Wynwood
could be: a "living/working artistic community" in the City of Miami. In 2001 Lombardi
Properties Offices moved into a former storage warehouse in which a cool build -out with
cobalt blue plexi-glass partitions and a ping pong table were incorporated. Also in 2001,
David took an old 1926 textile building and made the areas first live/work lofts on the
upper floors. The units averaged 2,000 square feet and were an instant success. The first
tenant in the building was world renowned artist Sandro Chia.
In 2002 David began a series of art happenings labeled "Roving Fridays in Wynwood"
where the work of many local artists were shown and an open bar, a live band and a
fashion show by a local young designer would entertain the crowds. The idea was to
promote any vacant spaces and get people from the residential areas comfortable with
coming to Wynwood at night. It was the impetus of what is now "The Second Saturdays"
which is the monthly gallery walk that regularly draws 15,000 people.
In 2003 David dreamed up the idea of building a live/work project where the artists
could take an ownership stake in the neighborhood. The 36-unit project called Wynwood
Lofts was specially designed for creatives and artists with 12-foot-high ceilings, large
entry doors, a freight elevator and huge windows for natural light. As a condominium,
the artists were able to buy and ensure they would stay no matter how much
"gentlefication" took place. Through much difficulty in trying to get the project financed,
the building was -completed mid 2005 and was a smashing success. The project made a
net profit of $2 Million Dollars.
In December of 2006 while attending a breakfast during the Miami Beach Art Basel fair,
the idea of filling a need for art storage in the area came to David. After doing intensive
research and hiring the finest consultants from the art insurance world, Museo Vault
was designed and built ground up and opened in November 2008. It has been
recognized by such major art insurers as AXA and Chubb as being the finest facility of its
kind in the country.
Also in 2008 with the help of a few dedicated neighbors, David helped create the
Wynwood Arts District Association which had over 135 paid member businesses they
employed private security to patrol their streets, they produced a marketing map that
was distributed locally and internationally, and they had created wynwoodmiami.com to
further market the area. They also began an initiative called "The Women of Wynwood"
employing women from the Lotus House homeless shelter to clean their streets and
were recognized by then City Commissioner Mark Sarnoff who awarded them $100,000
to continue those efforts.
In 2014 David, along with seven other dedicated property owners helped create the
Wynwood Business Improvement District. David sits on the seven members board where
they have an annual budget of $750,000. David and his fellow board members recently
drafted and enacted the Wynwood NRD, which is a new zoning overlay for the district to
increase the allowable dwelling units per acre to 150 instead of a previous 36. This will
further the original vision David began in Wynwood to make it a truly live/work district
for the creative class. His sons Daniel and Brian have now joined Lombardi Properties
and are very involved in strategic planning and future developments.
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DAVID POLINSKY I
David Polinsky, Ph.D. is an engineer, reap estate
developer/builder and local community change agent. He
holds a Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering from Cornell
University, a Master's Dogree in Financial Risk Management
from Simon Fraser University in Vancouver and Ph.D. in
Mechanical Engineering from the University of California,
Berkeley, After co-fownding and running a high-tech company
in the Silicon Valley . for 20 years, he moved to Vancouver,
Canada, From there he developed affordable housing, and
luxury town -home styles lofts in West Hollywood, California. In
2011, he moved back to Miami where he has been assembling a
portfolio of live/work development sites in Wynwaod as well
as serving as a DireoTW of the Wynwood Business
Improvement District an,4 ' Chair of its Planning and
Transportation Committee. :,His aspirations are to build art -
infused, boutique eornmerciai/residential projects that serve as
a model for smart infill development in Wynwood and beyond.