Miami Worldcenter advances on several fronts

Miami Worldcenter, one of the largest private urban real estate developments in Florida at the heart of downtown Miami, is advancing on several phases for its 27 acres of office space, retail, residential and hotel, with the addition of a new site and the completion of its 80,000-square-foot retail building.

Miami Worldcenter – a $4 billion mixed-use project, developed by Miami Worldcenter Associates, which is led by Principal Art Falcone, CEO and chairman of Falcone Group, and Nitin Motwani, managing partner, in partnership with real estate and infrastructure, operator, lender and developer CIM Group – just added to its portfolio the 24,000-square-foot development site known as The Miami Link, at 33-55 NW Sixth St., a block away from the Brightline Miami Central.

The buyer, a joint venture between Aria Development Group, Mr. Motwani and Merrimac Ventures, purchased the property for $17.5 million. The seller, the International Longshoreman Association, is the largest union of maritime workers in North America, representing more than 70,000 dockers on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts.

The adjoining corner parcel, at 600 NE First Ave., was also acquired from a separate seller increasing the assemblage to 34,800 square feet, according to a press release by Colliers, the transaction representatives.

The Miami Worldcenter’s mixed-use development zoning district is one of the most sought-after zoning codes, said Mika Mattingly, Colliers executive managing director. It allows for up to 1 million square feet of development and a density of 700 residential units. “It’s a developer’s dream.”

Aria Group and Merrimac are planning a condominium project with more than 600 units, which is to be named 600 Miami Worldcenter. The project “already has significant demand for presales,” which are led by OneWorld Properties, according to the press release.

In addition, Miami Worldcenter announced completion of its “Jewel Box” retail building, with 800,000 square feet of retail and restaurants, between Seventh Street Promenade and World Paseo pedestrian streets, directly west of the upcoming 351-room citizenM Hotel and north of the completed luxury apartment tower Bezel Miami.

The addition of the building would advance the Miami Worldcenter portfolio to have approximately 255,000 square feet of retail space. Some of the stores now open or soon-to-open include Sephora, Lululemon, Savage X by Fenti, Ray-Ban, Posman Books and Lucid Motors. Some restaurants and entertainment concepts are to include Bowlero, Sports & Social, Brasserie Laurel, El Vecino Eateries, and Chicago’s steakhouse & seafood eatery Maple and Ash.

Miami Worldcenter, as a mix-use development, envisions a completed 300,000 square feet of retail, restaurant and entertainment space, with three completed residential towers, including Paramount Miami Worldcenter, a 60-story tower with 569 residential units; Caoba Miami, a 43-story building with 444 rental units; and Bezel Miami, a 43-story building with 434 units.

Construction is also underway for the 52-story Miami World Towers, which is to have 550 apartments; Legacy Hotel & Residences, a 50-story mixed-use tower with 310 residences atop a hotel, and about 50,000 square feet of medical offices; and the second phase of Caoba Miami, adding an adjacent 40-story tower with 420 apartments, according to a press release.

More planned residential projects within Miami Worldcenter would include “The Crosby, a 450-unit condominium, developed by Related Group and Merrimac Ventures; a mixed-use residential and commercial development by Abbhi Captial; a residential development by New York-based Naftali Group; and a three-tower mixed-use project by The Witkoff Group, with up to 2,000 residential units and 550,000 square feet of office, and 50,000 square feet of retail space,” according to the press release.

Miami Worldcenter’s retail streets, World Square, is to be a 20,000-square-foot outdoor public plaza and park with pedestrian-friendly sidewalks with retail, restaurants and entertainment.

Additionally, Miami Worldcenter’s $5 million public art initiative seeks to turn the nearly 10 blocks the development dominates into a “permanent outdoor art museum,” which would feature contemporary art works in the form of large-scale murals, paintings and sculptures by artists including Nina Chanel Abney, Woody De Othello, Viktor El-Saieh, Nick Cave, Trenton Doyle Hancock, Hernan Bas, Serge Toussaint, Zadok Ben-David and Franz Ackermann, said the press release.

“What is fantastic about Miami Worldcenter is that it’s a completely mixed-use center,” said Ms. Mattingly. “Also, the entrance to Brightline is on Sixth Street, which is one of the main thoroughfares of Miami. Having the Brightline right [there] will bring so much connectivity, which never existed before in Miami.”