Karim Alibhai

Founder and Principal, Gencom

Alibhai’s Gencom is a major player in luxury hotel development, with $8 billion in assets under management and spread over properties including the Ritz-Carltons in Coconut Grove, Key Biscayne and Bachelor Gulch in Colorado, along with the St. Regis Chicago, among others. 

Gencom’s first Ritz-Carlton development, in Key Biscayne in 2000, was among the hospitality brand’s first residences and helped pioneer the trend of luxury hotels offering condos. Gencom is amid work on Hyatt Miami Riverbridge, part of a mixed-use redevelopment of the James L. Knight Center and the adjacent hotel. The firm partnered with Hyatt in 2022 on plans for the three-tower complex. Plans include a 615-key Hyatt hotel with 264 branded residences, 190,000 square feet of convention space and 12,000 square feet of restaurant and retail space. Construction is expected to start in 2026. 

That’s not all the firm has on its plate, either, with Gencom set to become a corporate poster child of the New York-South Florida connection that often inspires references to Miami as “The Sixth Borough.” Indeed, Alibhai looks set to test his talents in Manhattan this year, with a recent deal to acquire the Ritz-Carlton Central Park from Westbrook Partners and Korea Investment Corp.

–– Kate Hinsche