Massive mixed-used project planned for Downtown Miami
One of the most prized pieces of waterfront land in
Florida will soon come alive with Resorts World Miami, a Destination Resort featuring
iconic skyscrapers sporting designs inspired by a coral reef and serving as the
centerpiece of a new three-mile Baywalk that will activate the city’s waterfront. Resorts
World Miami, which represents a $3 billion investment by Genting Group, comprises
approximately 10 million square feet of mixed-use development, making it one of the
largest development projects in Florida history.
“Resorts World Miami will accelerate Florida’s evolution as a global destination at the
crossroads of the Americas,” said Mr. KT Lim, Chairman and Chief Executive of Genting.
“Most importantly, Resorts World Miami will boost confidence in Florida’s economy,
creating 15,000 direct and indirect construction jobs and 30,000 permanent positions on
an ongoing basis, attracting more inbound investment, and substantially increasing the
tax base for the city, county and state.”
Rising from 13.9 acres of bayfront land currently housing the Miami Herald Media
Company, Resorts World Miami is located in the heart of the City of Miami, midway
between Miami International Airport and Miami Beach.
“Resorts World Miami introduces a new vocabulary of architecture to Florida, one that
is inspired by the ocean and Florida’s coral reefs,” said Bernardo Fort-Brescia, Co-
Founder and Principal of Arquitectonica, the world-renown architecture firm based in
Miami. “At Resorts World Miami, building designs echo familiar forms that are part of
our identity, including tropical fish and seashells. When you describe Miami and Florida,
you inevitably come back to the water. We have captured that relationship with Resorts
World Miami’s design.”
Resorts World Miami includes a series of four hotels with a total of 5,200 rooms and two
residential towers featuring 1,000 units. The towers take on sculptural forms that
change from every perspective. Each building is designed with outside balconies
adorned with LED-lit exteriors, creating a jewel-like effect that will illuminate the Miami
skyline each night. The Destination Resort will include a super-luxury hotel, a
contemporary hotel, a convention hotel, and a family hotel, offering a lodging option for
each segment of the market.
The towers sit atop an 8-story podium where guests can immerse themselves in a
double-story, 250,000 square foot luxury retail galleria; more than 50 restaurants,
lounges, bars and nightclubs; a high-tech multimedia entertainment area showcasing
the music and culture of Florida and South America; and 700,000 square feet of
convention and meeting space which includes a 200,000 square foot column-free
ballroom, the largest in the United States. A casino will be included if Florida’s
legislature and governor approve Destination Resort legislation.
Each level of Resorts World Miami is designed with outdoor terraces offering
spectacular unobstructed views of Biscayne Bay, Downtown Miami and Miami Beach.
The podium’s rooftop features a 3.6 acre outdoor lagoon – a size equivalent to 12
Olympic-size swimming pools – and natural sand beaches that will enable guests to
swim from Biscayne Boulevard to the edge of Biscayne Bay, a distance of more than
1,000 feet. Each hotel will also have a private swimming pool.
Resorts World Miami will be the highlight of a three-mile Baywalk beginning at the
Miami River and running north to Margaret Pace Park. The Baywalk will link Bayfront
Park, Bayside Market Place, American Airlines Arena, Museum Park, the Miami Art
Museum currently under construction, the new Miami Science Museum currently under
design, the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts and the Omni Center. All will
be connected by new public spaces and pedestrian, jogging, and cycling paths that will
activate this stretch of partially completed Miami waterfront.
Resorts World Miami has been designed – and will be constructed – in accordance with
all applicable zoning codes and regulations, including Miami 21, the City of Miami’s
comprehensive zoning code. The project has been conceived with an emphasis on
sustainability and LEED-certified solutions, including three levels of below-grade parking.
The Genting Group has a 25-year track record of investing in the United States. Its
history of investment in Florida started 12 years ago when it acquired Miami-based
Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) and spent more than $5 billion building eight new ships
and transforming NCL into the youngest and most innovative cruise line. The Genting
Group currently owns 50% of NCL.
Genting also partnered with Florida-based Universal Studios to build and open the $5.5
billion Resorts World Sentosa in Singapore last year, which includes a Universal Studios
theme park. Within a year, Resorts World Sentosa became the world’s most successful
Destination Resort.
“Resorts World Miami is a continuation of the Genting Group’s long history of investing
in Florida and working with the state’s business community. We are fully committed to
develop Resorts World Miami to maximize the impact of this Destination Resort on
Florida’s economy. Our goal is to transform Resorts World Miami into the most
successful Destination Resort in the Americas,” added Chairman Lim.