Genting further expands Miami presence

KUALA LUMPUR: Genting Group is further expanding its presence in Miami, Florida several months after it unveiled its US$3 billion Resorts World Miami mixed development project.

Its latest acquisition was in mid-August when it purchased a 17,500-sq-ft plot of land north of downtown Miami for US$1.25 million from former Sony Music executive Tommy Mottola.

The Daily Business Review reported on Wednesday, Aug 31 that Genting’s 42%-owned investment holding company Two Digital, had acquired the property.

Interestingly, the Review said Miami-Dade County property records showed Two Digital had also in August earlier acquired 3.6 acres of mostly vacant land for US$29.4 million.

The 3.6 acres of land is within walking distance from the Miami Herald headquarters building acquired by Genting.

To recap, The Edge FinancialDaily had in June reported that Genting Malaysia Bhd had bought the 13.9-acre (5.6ha) Herald property for US$236 million in northern downtown Miami. The property includes parking lots and the building that houses the Herald, which is owned by the McClatchy Co.

Soon after the acquisition of the Herald property, Genting Group head Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay announced the hiring of Miami-based Arquitectonica to create the master plan for the Resorts World Miami mixed development.

It would house hotels, restaurants, residences, entertainment outlets, retail shops and a convention centre. The initial master plan draft was slated for release end-August.

Meanwhile, the Review quoted Luigi Mercurio, a broker with Esslinger Wooten Maxwell in Miami Beach that Genting's plan to redevelop the Herald site has not yet spurred any significant investor activity.

Mercurio and colleague Jeff Cohen marketed the Mottola property and brokered the Aug. 17 deal. The pair also is seeking buyers for two other Omni area parcels on behalf of Mottola, the Review said.

Resorts World Miami is Genting Malaysia’s second venture in the US after Resorts World New York at the historic Aqueduct Racetrack which is slated for opening by year-end.