The former Miami Herald building officially turned its last page Monday morning, as demolition commenced at the one-time home of the media outlet. The site will eventually give way to a resort and residential complex.
The 14-acre site, purchased for $236 million by Malaysian gambling giant Genting in 2011, will house a mix of condo towers, a 500-room hotel and ground-floor commercial space for shops and restaurants. Genting originally planned to build a mega-resort casino on the property located between MacArthur and Venetian causeways on Biscayne Bay, but squashed its proposal after facing a backlash over the project’s size.
Attempts to change Florida’s gambling law to allow for an on-site casino have been unsuccessful. [Miami Herald] – Kerry Barger