South Florida by the numbers: Miami Mega-Projects edition

Faena House rendering
Faena House rendering

“South Florida by the numbers” is a web feature that catalogs the most notable, quirky and surprising real estate statistics.

Pick whatever “big” cliché you like. Bigger is better…go big or go home…bigger than life…they all apply to the flurry of massive “mega-projects” that are poised to collectively redefine Miami’s downtown core, as well as its international identity. Ranging wildly from the visually artistic (Miami Beach’s Faena District) to the dazzlingly futuristic (Resorts World Miami) to the grandly comprehensive (Brickell City Centre), these behemoths will offer residents and visitors a vast array of first-rate residential, retail, dining, and lodging options once (if?) they are completed. Every day seems to bring a new morsel of news about these enormous developments, so let’s get up to speed with this month’s edition of “South Florida by the numbers.” (How’s that for a big finish?)

$1.05 billion
Development cost of Swire Properties’ under-construction Brickell City Centre, a mixed-use project that will offer more than 565,000 square feet of shopping and entertainment, two residential towers, a 263-room hotel, wellness center and office space. Saks Fifth Avenue was the first retailer to sign on at the project. [South Florida Business Journal]

 

42
Number of luxury condominiums already sold at the Faena House – including a $50 million duplex. It is one part of the Miami Beach-based Faena District, which will cover six city blocks and include a 169-room hotel, shopping mall, arts center and high-end condos. Faena recently hired two New York hospitality veterans to oversee the hotel operations and finances as it prepares to open in 2015. [WSJ]

 

9-0
Result of a recent City of Miami Commission vote in favor of the developers of Miami Worldcenter, a “city within a city” planned north of downtown. The 30-acre project’s web site claims it will offer 1 million square feet of retail space, 600,000 square feet of convention space, more than 7,000 parking spaces and 1,800 hotel rooms. The vote came after the developers eased commissioners’ concerns that the project’s special zoning plan (which would partly enclose some streets) might limit public access across the Park West district. But the developers committed to having several streets and a pedestrian mall remain open around the clock. [Miami Herald]

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1 million
Square footage of a “super tower” that will house office space, hotel rooms and residences at the MiamiCentral project in downtown Miami. The future All Aboard Florida railway station is being planned as a “destination” location, encompassing about three million square feet on more than nine acres of land. [Curbed]

 

$236 million
Price paid by Genting Group in 2011 for the former Miami Herald headquarters along Biscayne Bay, where the $3 billion Resorts World Miami project will eventually be developed. (Genting has also purchased surrounding properties, including the Omni Mall, and announced plans for a luxury casino with multiple towers, stores and an elevated beach and lagoon.) The Malaysia-based company has lobbied hard, but unsuccessfully, to allow full casino gambling in Miami. The developers recently had some easements removed from the site, with the goal of building a large public walkway along the bay. [Miami Today]

 

This column is produced by the Master Brokers Forum, a network of South Florida’s elite real estate professionals where membership is by invitation only and based on outstanding production, as well as ethical and professional behavior.