Lawsuits against Miami Worldcenter dismissed

Grand Central Lounge and the Omni/Park West Redevelopment Association, which have fought Miami Worldcenter through lawsuits for months, have voluntarily dismissed their suits against the developers of the massive mixed-use project, The Real Deal has learned.

Sources close to the deals speculate that there may be a confidential settlement, though no details have yet surfaced. The dismissals were “with prejudice,” meaning that Grand Central and the Omni/Park West Redevelopment Association have forgone their rights to pursue litigation in the future.

The suits were first filed by attorney Paul Savage last year. The first was on behalf of Grand Central and the Omni/Park West Redevelopment Association last June, surrounding street closures. The second suit, filed in December, alleged that an entitlement package awarded to the project by the city of Miami, which asked the developers to hire local workers in exchange for zoning exemptions and land use rights, had violated several state laws.

“I don’t have any comment besides the public record,” Savage told TRD on Wednesday.

Grand Central is a tenant on land owned by Miami Worldcenter, and the developers have tried to evict the club before over an alleged violation of its lease.

Despite the litigation, city commissioners approved the incentive package a second time this year, and Worldcenter received approval to break ground on its first phase in the third quarter of this year.

A spokesperson for Miami Worldcenter also declined to comment.

The $2 billion project, developed by a partnership between Art Falcone and Nitin Motwani, will stretch 27 acres northwest of Miami’s downtown when completed.

Its first phase includes a 765,000-square-foot shopping mall developed by the Forbes Company and Taubman, the 470-unit Paramount Miami Worldcenter condo tower, an 1,800-room Marriott Marquis hotel and convention center and a rental tower developed by Orlando-based ZOM with 429 apartments.