MIAMI—The news that retired soccer star David Beckham and hispartners have set their sights on Downtown Miami as the preferredlocation for a new Major League Soccer team set off a flurry ofexcitement across South Florida and around the world earlier thisyear. Last month's announcement that the team has selected theFlorida East Coast (FEC) Railway slip as its ideal stadium site hasturned the world's attention to the Downtown Miami waterfront andadjacent Museum Park.

The team's plans call for filling in the submerged slip anddeveloping a privately-funded 20,000-seat soccer stadium amidst anexpanded park encompassing new art and science museums. A publicvote on the proposal will take place later this year but one thingis for certain: Downtown Miami's position in the crosshairs ofDavid Beckham and company has been a marketing goldmine for thecity's real estate sector.

We caught up with John Alschuler, chairman ofHR&A Advisors—the urban planning consultancybehind the Beckham team's vision—to discuss the real estate impactsof the soccer star's proposal, in part one of this exclusiveinterview. Be sure to return to GlobeSt.com's Miami afternoonedition for part two of this discussion.