$2 billion face lift for miami city centre

Photo: miamiworldcenter.com

Worldcenter began life as a building-by-building plan for a 10-block project, but grew into a larger concept that took two years to be approved, Nitin Motwani, managing principal of developer Miami Worldcenter Associates, told Bloomberg.

Since then, though, the financial crisis struck, sending projects around the country into limbo. Miami was no exception. Now, though, the market is thriving, with demand soaring from both overseas investors and, most importantly, local buyers, who are increasingly able to climb back onto the housing ladder.

At the Centre of the doughnut, though, is a hole - and Worldcenter intends to fill it.

The project will rejuvenate Miami's city Centre, which has until now been overlooked in previous building booms, with homeless people in tents descending upon the vacant lots for shelter.

The development will span 27 acres and will be home to almost 1,000 luxury condos and flats, not to mention copious retail space, from a Macy's and a Bloomingdale's store to a Marriott Marquis hotel

How can another mixed development catch buyers' eyes, though, in an already built-up city? Developers CIM Group, Falcone Group and Centurion Partners will be looking to court younger buyers, the kind of people who cycle to work and live nearby.

"People have been putting their toe in the water and are seeing you can live in the downtown core," says Alyce Robertson, Executive Director of Miami’s Downtown Development Authority. "It’s typically a younger demographic, between 20 and 40. Some of them are dropping cars in a car-centric Miami. That is a very big deal."

To attract the younger clientele, Worldcenter's developers are investigating ways to widen their sidewalks to allow space for bikes, while also considering the integration of Metromover, a free overground rail service that offers free Wi-Fi to passengers.