Taubman Centers could end up pulling out of the massive Miami Worldcenter project, according a Goldman Sachs report.
Sachs analysts said competition from Brickell City Centre, which has its own major shopping component a few miles away, prevented Worldcenter from being a “slam-dunk development.” That, coupled with their late start on “significant pre-leasing,” leads the Sachs analysts to believe Taubman has “the potential to not go forward with (sic) World Center,” as first reported by the Miami Herald.
Taubman and its partner the Forbes Company are on the hook help build the 765,000-square-foot retail component that would make up the base of Worldcenter.
With groundbreaking of Worldcenter’s first phase coming up quickly, and a handful of lawsuits against the project now dismissed, the Sachs report hints that there could still be bumps in the road to completion.
Representatives of Taubman have continued to say that the developer is fully committed to helping build Worldcenter, even in light of the Sachs report, the Miami Herald reported.
“The teams at Forbes and Taubman are seeing strong interest among brands looking to establish a presence in downtown Miami and that excitement will only intensify as construction goes vertical in the coming months,” Nate Forbes, managing partner of the Forbes Company, said in the press release. “Retailers are gravitating toward Miami Worldcenter’s accessibility, architectural design and strong sponsorship.”
The $1.7 billion development, headed by real estate heavyweights Art Falcone and Nitin Motwani, will span 27 acres in the Park West district. Plans include the 470-unit Paramount Miami Worldcenter condo tower, a 429-unit rental tower by developer ZOM, and an 1,800-room Marriott Marquis hotel and convention center. — Sean Stewart-Muniz