Terra and Turnberry Tap Balfour Beatty As GP For Grand Hyatt Miami Beach Convention Center Hotel — PROFILE Miami
Two of South Florida’s premier real estate developments groups, Terra and Turnberry, have selected Balfour Beatty as the general contractor for the new Grand Hyatt Miami Beach Convention Center Hotel. Located at the intersection of 17th Street and Convention Center Drive, the 17-story, 800-room hotel will serve as the central anchor of the Miami Beach Convention Center District, steps away from the beachfront, hundreds of shops and restaurants along Lincoln Road, the New World Center, the Bass Museum, and the Fillmore Miami Beach. Early site work at the property is now underway, with vertical construction anticipated to start this year and be completed in 2025.
“A project of this magnitude and significance requires the best in-class team and we are thrilled to have Balfour Beatty onboard leading the construction efforts,” said developer David Martin, CEO of Terra, and Jackie Soffer, Chairman and CEO of Turnberry. “The firm’s extensive experience pioneering new technologies and transforming communities through smart infrastructure aligns with our goal to deliver a hotel that will transform the City’s convention center campus into one of the most desirable meeting and convention destinations in the world.”
Headquartered in Dallas with full-service offices throughout the U.S., Balfour Beatty is a leading commercial construction company with a portfolio of high-profile projects including terminal expansion projects at Jacksonville International Airport, Florida International University Student Academic Success Center, the W hotel in Fort Lauderdale, Loews Sapphire Falls Resort at Universal Orlando, Paseo de la Riviera in Coral Gables, and Greater Fort Lauderdale Broward County Convention Center among others.
“This is a beacon development for Miami Beach,” commented Scott Skidelsky, Balfour Beatty president in the Southeast. “Balfour Beatty’s national operations started its roots in South Florida and being a part of the community is a point of pride for our company. Being chosen to construct this icon project means the world to our project team who are some of the best builders in the industry and they are all so excited to work with our stakeholders to make this an incredibly successful build experience.”
Development of the Grand Hyatt comes as Miami Beach and South Florida solidify their position among the world’s most visited destinations. According to a recent report by the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau, 15.9 million overnight visitors and an additional 8.3-million-day visitors totaling 24.2 million came to the area in 2021, matching the total volume of tourists seen pre-pandemic in 2019. Furthermore, visitor spending rebounded, and tourists spent an estimated $19.2 billion, an increase of 8% over 2019. In 2022, Miami-Dade County hotel occupancy from January through October was up 10% over the previous year, a total of 72.2% occupancy – the sixth-highest occupancy in the country in major markets – with an average daily rate of $251, which is 18.8% higher than 2021.
“The Grand Hyatt Miami Beach will be a great addition to the local hotel landscape,” said Wendy Kallergis, President & CEO of the Greater Miami and the Beaches Hotel Association. “Miami Beach has a broad range of hotel options – from luxury brands, meetings, leisure, independent and boutiques – but there has long been a need for a conference hotel that maximizes the impact of the newly-renovated Convention Center. The Grand Hyatt’s 800 rooms will meet this demand, and it comes at a time when meeting planners around the world are looking at Miami Beach for their upcoming conferences, conventions, and trade shows.”
