Transformative MPC’s On Tap In South Florida

Miami World Center is one of the largest developments underway anywhere in the United States.

Three of the most highly-anticipated developments on the way in south Florida are master-planned communities that will feature a range of mixed-use options in transit-oriented neighborhoods. Representatives from all three projects attended the Urban Land Institute’s Florida Summit in Miami to provide some more details on their exciting new projects.

Miami World Center is one of the largest developments underway anywhere in the United States. It spans roughly ten city blocks and serves as a sort of bridge between the central business and arts districts in downtown Miami. Ground was broken on Phase 1 last year, and that phase alone will deliver an extensive amount of development.



Phase 1 was funded by $2 billion in private investment, and will feature a residential component that will include a 470-unit luxury condominium building, over 1000 market-rate rental units, and a Marriott Marquis World Convention Center Hotel that will include 1,800 rooms and an absolutely massive 600,000 square feet of convention space. The retail component is known as a ‘retail paseo,’ and will feature 450,000 square feet of high-end retail, food and entertainment. Nitin Motwani, managing principal of Miami Worldcenter Associates, was a panelist at ULI’s Summit.

“The challenge with these urban mixed-use projects is that you have to get the vertical as well as the street right,” he shared. The development is extremely transit-friendly as its located just a block away from the new MiamiCentral transit station. 

Also in Miami, Swire Properties will deliver the Brickell City Center, a 5.4 million square foot mixed-use project in the financial and banking district. Brickell will feature two luxury condo buildings, two Class A mid-rise office towers, and a luxury hotel. An open-air, four-story shopping center that will feature a carefully curated mix of shops is scheduled to be open in November. 

“We’re sort of halfway there,” said panelist Stephen Owens, the president of Swire Properties. 

A little north of Miami will be another MPC known as Metropica, which will be delivered by KGH International. The developer has its sights set on eight luxury condo towers that will include nearly 2,000 units upon completion. The project is located near Sawgrass Mills, one of the more heavily-trafficked outlet malls in the nation, which will make the retail component challenging, but KGH doesn’t sound too concerned. 

“Shopping malls are in trouble, so it has to be about the experience. You’re going to a restaurant or to the movies, and as a consequence, you’re going shopping,” said KGH president and CEO Joseph Kavana. 

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