Genting plans hotel atop bus terminal in Miami

Rendering of Genting's proposed hotel atop a redeveloped Miami-Dade bus terminal. (Source: Miami Herald)
Rendering of Genting's proposed hotel atop a redeveloped Miami-Dade bus terminal. (Source: Miami Herald)

Malaysia-based conglomerate Genting Group won preliminary approval of its proposal to build a 300-room hotel on the site of a county bus terminal in Miami’s Omni district.

The transportation committee of the Miami-Dade County Commission unanimously agreed to lease the public property to Genting for 90 years. The full county commission will decide whether to approve the 90-year lease in April.

Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez said in a memo that the pending deal with Genting would produce nearly $55 million in revenue for the county.

The Malaysian company submitted the sole bid in response to a county request for proposals to redevelop the bus terminal and upgrade a Metromover station next to the terminal.

Genting not only would redevelop the bus terminal and renovate the Metromover station but also would build its proposed hotel over the ground-level terminal.

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The company would be able to develop a residential building instead of a hotel if market conditions favored such a switch.

A block-long street, Northeast 14 Terrace, would be permanently closed as part of the proposed Genting project.

Efforts by Genting to build a casino resort in the Omni district on the Miami Herald’s old property along Biscayne Bay have been stymied for years. The company has lobbied unsuccessfully for a state a law that would allow the casino development.

Now the company is working on a plan to build a marina on the bay-front property, which it acquired in 2011 for $236 million. [Miami Herald] Mike Seemuth