A rendering of Genting's planned resort

Other interested buyers have reportedly emerged for a swathe of Miami real estate owned by the Miami-Dade School District after interest by Genting has faded, the Miami Herald reported. While Genting was reported to have been the primary suitor for the property in late 2011, the company is focusing on the property it already owns on Biscayne Bay. “Though we initially indicated interest on the School Board properties, we have since decided to move forward developing Resorts World Miami on the nearby Miami Herald site, independent of the School Board land,” said Jessica Hoppe, vice president and general counsel for Resorts World Miami. [Miami Herald]

Jeff Greene

Real estate developer Jeff Greene, who lost a bid to become the Democratic Senate candidate from Florida in 2010, has failed in his libel action against the Miami Herald and the Tampa Bay Times. Greene, who lives in Palm Beach, claimed in the lawsuit that the Herald and what was at the time still called the St. Petersburg Times had defamed him in their portrayal of the history of his real estate deals. [more]

Westpointe Business Park in Doral

The Miami Herald will be moving to the former site of the US Southern Command Headquarters in Doral. The Herald will occupy the 158,265-square-foot building and an adjacent six-acre site, which will house a production facility. The Herald was represented by Blanca Commercial Real Estate in the transaction. “After surveying the market and determining the factors of greatest importance to the Miami Herald Media Company, it soon became clear that Westpointe Business Park offered the perfect  mix of functionality, flexibility and access,” said Tere Blanca, CEO of Blanca Commercial Real Estate. Westpointe Business Park is located at 3511 NW 91st Avenue in Doral. The company will remain at its current location on Biscayne Bay, which was purchased for $236 million by Genting in May 2011, until 2013. — Alexander Britell

After selling its headquarters to Genting, the Miami Herald has been in talks to relocate to the former headquarters of Bertram Yachts. But the South Florida Business Journal reported those negotiations have stalled and probably won’t be restored. [more]

The Miami Herald, whose headquarters were sold for $236 million to Malaysian company Genting earlier this year, has nearly completed negotiations on a letter of intent to purchase the Bertram Yacht headquarters on the Miami River. The site is expected to include operations and all 700 employees at the company. It is located at the corner of NW 21st street and NW 22nd street. [more]

Genting, the Malaysian company that bought the Miami Herald’s headquarters, and just this week announced another land buy nearby, recently flew a host of Miami leaders on a tour of its Asian resorts. Genting is hoping to win approval for a casino at its development on the Herald land. “They’re trying to build community support,” said Jack Lowell, chairman of the Beacon Council, who attended the trip. “They’re trying to get a gaming license from the [Florida] legislature.” Lowell, who declined to name the other leaders on the trip, said he was impressed by the company’s casinos. “It would be a very profitable business, generating a lot of public revenue,” he said. [Miami Today]
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Genting, which purchased the Miami Herald headquarters site for $236 million in May, has bought an additional 3.6 acres west of the property. The Malaysian company paid $30 million for the extra land, which sources say could be used for parking. A group of sellers included former Sony Music executive Tommy Mottola. Genting plans a $3 billion resort at the Herald location, which is directly on Biscayne Bay. [SFBJ]
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International Real Estate Investment Trusts are increasingly looking to downtown Miami for investment, according to a new study by the Downtown Development Authority. “The notion that there were going to be buildings that sat vacant for 10 years never materialized,” said Leo Zabezhinsky, manager of business development & and real estate for the Miami DDA. “All of this positive news is leading some major REITs to consider new development projects.” Several developers, including Genting, which purchased the Miami Herald site, Swire Properties and Espacio USA have taken properties downtown. [GlobeSt]
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Asian companies are behind the two largest commercial projects in Miami this year, with Hong Kong’s Swire Pacific obtaining approval for Brickell CitiCentre, and Genting Malaysia Berhad paying $236 million for the waterfront site of the Miami Herald. The Brickell project is a $700 million plan of retail, hotel, residential and office space. According to Mayor Tomas Regalado, the Swire project will bring in $2 million in permit fees next year, along with $5.5 million in annual property taxes. Regalado visited Taiwan in May, and city officials are planning a trip to Peru in November. In all, overseas buyers bought $447.9 million worth of commercial property in the first half of this year in Miami, according to Real Capital Analytics. “The large-scale projects indicate the interest to stay in the market a significant amount of time,” said Ben Thypin, market-analysis director at Real Capital. “I think of Miami along the lines of a San Francisco or Manhattan.” [Bloomberg]
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Downtown Miami has been making the most noise of late — from the purchase of the Miami Herald site by Genting for a large-scale gaming resort, to the upcoming construction of a new museum nearby. But Miami Beach has its own development on the way, and has the potential to position itself as a major cultural center, according to Stuart Blumberg, the chairman of the Miami Beach Convention Center Advisory Board. [more]