Adler’s proposal to redevelop city’s Miami River HQ nudges forward

The Adler Group’s proposal to build a nearly half-a-billion-dollar project along the north bank of the Miami River just took another step forward.

The Miami City Commission voted to appoint a special estate counsel for the proposed deal that would have the city lease its riverside headquarters to Adler in exchange for a new building and garage elsewhere. The land lease would in turn allow Adler to build a $465 million mixed-use project on the site, the Miami Herald reported.

Adler wants to build two 36-story towers with a combined 900 apartments, 20,000 square feet of retail space and 150 hotel rooms partially on the 4.3-acre site, in addition to a 1.5-acre parcel it owns.

Last year, Adler proposed a 90-year ground lease with a present-day value of $70 million. In return, the city would gain 3 percent of all gross revenues generated from the development. That means Adler would pay the city an estimated $335 million over the length of the lease.

Adler would also partner with the city to finance and erect a new built-to-suit Class A office building with 375,000 square feet and 1,200 parking spaces at an estimated cost of $125 million. It’s not clear where the new city office complex would be located but three locations have been mentioned: adjacent to the Lyric Theater in Overtown, next to Marlins Park or as part of a massive complex that Adler is building at the Douglas Road Metrorail station.

Residents could vote on the deal in November. Weiss Serota Helfman Cole & Bierman was chosen as the special counsel. [Miami Herald] – Katherine Kallergis