Newgard formally joins Miami Worldcenter project

Added to the massive Miami Worldcenter development is a planned multifamily component, The Real Deal has learned.

Newgard Development Group has filed new plans with the city of Miami for a mixed-use tower within Worldcenter, according to a press release. The tower, previously reported as a hotel or condominium development, will be apartments, sources told TRD.

The city of Miami granted site plan approval in May for the first phase of the 27-acre mixed-use development.

News of the partnership with Newgard comes as developers settle pending lawsuits against the project. This week, developer Art Falcone settled a lawsuit with former commercial broker, now investor, Edie Laquer. And earlier in June, Grand Central Lounge and the Omni/Park West Redevelopment Association, which fought Miami Worldcenter through lawsuits for months, voluntarily dismissed their suits against developers.

“Miami Worldcenter is in the final stretch of the planning and approval process, with construction set to begin in the third quarter of this year,” Nitin Motwani, managing principal of Miami Worldcenter Associates, said in the press release.

Worldcenter will include a $750 million Marriott Marquis hotel and adjacent expo center, residential tower Paramount Miami Worldcenter, and a 765,000-square-foot retail component, the latter of which will be developed by the Forbes Company and Taubman.

In a Goldman Sachs report dated June 11, analysts said competition from Brickell City Centre, which has its own major retail component a few miles away, prevented Worldcenter from being a “slam-dunk development.” That, coupled with their late start on “significant pre-leasing,” lead the Sachs analysts to believe Taubman has “the potential to not go forward with (sic) World Center.”

“The teams at Forbes and Taubman are seeing strong interest among brands looking to establish a presence in downtown Miami and that excitement will only intensify as construction goes vertical in the coming months,” Nate Forbes, managing partner of the Forbes Company, said in the press release. “Retailers are gravitating toward Miami Worldcenter’s accessibility, architectural design and strong sponsorship.”