$750M Miami Worldcenter Hotel & Expo unveiled

More than 600,000 square feet of meeting and convention space, 1,800 hotel rooms and $750 million.

Developers MDM Group, architects and community partners gathered on Tuesday to reveal plans for the Marriott Marquis Miami Worldcenter Hotel & Expo, slated to be the largest hotel in South Florida when it opens in the fall of 2018.

The expo center fronts the four large, curved towers that are “very dramatic and vertically oriented,” John Nichols, CEO of Nichols Brosch Wurst Wolfe & Associates, told The Real Deal. At night, the horizontal strips on the development will light up. NBWW is the architect on the project.

“Many don’t realize how big it is,” Nichols said, citing the Fontainebleau Miami Beach’s 1,500 rooms.

Exhibit space will include a 100,000-square-foot exhibit hall ground floor, a 65,000-square-foot main ballroom, a 45,000-square-foot junior ballroom, 390,000 square feet of other meeting space, and a 10,000-square-foot, 1,500-seat lecture hall — all for a total of 610,000 square feet.

The hotel will be located within steps of Miami Worldcenter’s shopping mall, which will include a Bloomingdale’s a and Macy’s. The 27-acre development, led by Nitin Motwani and Art Falcone, is within a quarter of a mile of proposed All Aboard Florida and Tri-Rail stations.

“All Aboard Florida is the linchpin,” Nicholas said. “This whole area is going through a massive change. We’re excited to be around it.”

Developers received approval from the city of Miami for the first phase, which will include the 765,000-square-foot mall, the 470 unit Paramount Miami Worldcenter condo tower and a newly announced apartment tower. Miami Worldcenter Associates will begin seeking building permits, with plans to break ground on the first phase later this year.

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“This project is not only transformative to downtown Miami, but to the region as well,” Joe Herndon, director of development for MDM Group, said on Tuesday. “This development rivals, in scope and magnitude, major hotels and convention centers on a global [scale].”

The hotel and expo center will generate the need for an additional 2,400 hotel rooms in the area, Herndon said.

Bill Talbert, president and CEO of the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau, said the development will complement, not compete, with the planned Miami Beach Convention Center renovation and expansion, which includes an 800-room hotel. “These are complementary. Miami Beach has four halls, this has one. There are some folks who want to be in a downtown environment,” Talbert said.

The Marriott brand, he said, “is the No.1 brand in this community. Marriott sells.”

The hotel will offer 1,800 rooms on levels six through 54, and valet parking for 1,094 spaces.

“This property will be distinguished by the fact that it’s a Marriott Marquis, one of our most distinguished brands. When you mention Marriott Marquis to meeting planners, they know what that means,” Tom Papelian, senior vice president of hotel development for Marriott International, told TRD.

The hotel and expo component is expected to create more than 1,300 permanent jobs, $175 million in annual revenue and $14.8 million in annual city and county tax revenue through 2045.

RTKL is the interior design firm for the project, and Coastal Construction Tishman is the general contractor, according to a fact sheet. Coastal Co-President Tom C. Murphy said the company is actively involved in about 20 projects in South Florida, including Faena and Faena House, Surf Club Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences, Porsche Design Tower and Fendi Chateau.