Hyatt Hotels Corp. and Gencom, the Miami-based luxury hospitality and residential developer, have received the green light to develop a mixed-use project in downtown Miami, which currently houses the Hyatt Regency Miami hotel and James L. Knight Center.
The Miami City Commission voted 5-0 in approval of the lease agreement between the City and the joint venture, led by Hyatt and Gencom, for Miami Riverbridge, a privately funded project expected to bring $1.5 billion in benefits over its lease term for the city, among other benefits.
Hyatt and Gencom have proposed to redevelop the Hyatt Regency Miami hotel. The redevelopment will include a reimagined, upscale hotel with 615 rooms, over 1,500 residential apartments, premium meeting space and open-air public space along the Miami River.
The proposal seeks to amend and restate the ground lease to include, without limitation, an extension of the lease renewal term from 45 to 99 years. The partners will ask the City of Miami Commission this summer to place a referendum on the November 2022 ballot asking voters to green-light the revised ground lease and proposed development.
Hyatt and Gencom will start finalizing construction plans with the City over the coming year. Construction of the Hyatt Hotel is scheduled to begin in 2025.
“Miami Riverbridge, which earned 64% approval from voters last November, will activate the Miami riverfront, improve access and walkability, and meet growing demand for housing, hotel rooms, and meeting space in Miami. The privately-funded redevelopment is also expected to create as much as $1.5 billion in new revenue through city taxes, fees and ground rent that can fund city-wide priorities over the term of our lease,” a statement from Hyatt and Gencom said.
Gencom has been on a spending spree of late. In June, the company acquired a majority stake in The St. Regis Chicago, which opened in May.
THREE-TOWER DESIGN
Designed by Miami-headquartered Arquitectonica, the project will have three towers offering panoramic views of Downtown Miami and Biscayne Bay.
Towers one and two will have 61 floors and feature 682 multi-family apartments, a 615-room Hyatt Regency with more than 100,000 square feet of event space and 264 serviced apartments. These two towers will be connected at the top by a sky bridge, which will have an upscale destination restaurant and lounge 700 feet over the city.
Tower three will rise 1,049 feet high, making it among the tallest buildings in South Florida, and have 860 residential apartments.
The three towers will sit on top of a podium structure, which will house 190,000 square feet of Class A meeting space and accounts for a 50% expansion of the capacity presently available within the James L. Knight Center.
The podium will also feature 12,000 square feet of space for F&B and retail, 1,100 parking spaces and 20,000 square feet of coworking space. Outside, more than 50,000 square feet of new public space will act as a bridge between the Miami Riverfront and the family-friendly dining venues within the development.
“This proposed redevelopment represents a strategic opportunity to thoughtfully reinvest in the Downtown Miami community, which we have proudly been a part of since Hyatt Regency Miami opened its doors in 1982,” said Pete Sears, Americas group president, Hyatt.
IMPROVED ACCESSIBILITY
Hyatt and Gencom aim to improve access in and out of the property as well. A big arrival and drop-off area will be developed within the development to ease vehicular congestion in the surrounding streets.
The venture will complete an essential part of the Miami Riverwalk, which will create a riverfront promenade spanning over 480 feet. These developments are anticipated to create seamless connectivity with Biscayne Bay and Bayfront Park to the east and Metromover’s Riverwalk station to the west.
The development will include an upgraded pedestrian bridge, offering covered connectivity to the Metromover’s Knight Center Station.
There will be designated four zones for bike parking.
Additionally, the partners are looking for the activation of a ferry dock along the riverfront, which is currently used by ferry service between Downtown Miami and Miami Beach.