Former WeWork CEO Adam Neumann's real estate startup Flow is getting busy at the Miami Worldcenter, the second-largest U.S. project of its kind under construction.
Miami Worldcenter's developers — Miami Worldcenter Associates — released a preliminary bond offering memorandum this month as they seeks to raise up to $243.1 million to fund the project's second phase.
The 776-page bond offering memorandum outlines Flow's plans to develop 19,000 square feet of retail space and 40,000 square feet of office space known as the Block E Promenade, which is currently in the planning phase with completion expected next year. The office and retail projects have a total market value of $36.6 million, according to the offering.
Flow is also working alongside other developers to build Caoba II, a 41-story apartment tower with 420 units and 3,500 square feet of retail space that is scheduled to be completed this year. Caoba II has a market value of $222.8 million, according to the offering.
Bloomberg first reported Neumann's involvement at WorldCenter.
Miami Worldcenter Associates, led by Nitin Motwani as managing partner and Art Falcone as founding principal and includes CIM Group, started building Miami Worldcenter on 27 acres in 2016. Miami Worldcenter Associates inked an economic incentive deal in 2017 with the city of Miami's Southeast Overtown/Park West Community Reinvestment Agency. The tax increment financing deal helped offset the costs of the project's infrastructure upgrades and community improvements.
The deal was amended last year and now provides the developers with 57% of tax increment revenue from the properties through March 2042, according to the bond documents.
“Now that the first phase of Miami Worldcenter is complete and the second phase is underway, our team is issuing bonds backed by the [tax increment financing] package" to help "defray the cost of the improvements made in the district,” a spokesperson for Miami Worldcenter Associates told CoStar News in an email.
The bonds are being issued through the Wisconsin Public Finance Authority, and have so far seen "positive" feedback from investors, the spokesperson said.
The master-planned neighborhood encompassing around 10 city blocks has attracted the interest of around a dozen different developers ranging from club owners like E11even Miami to New York heavyweights such as Naftali Group.
Neumann's Startup
Neumann launched Flow in 2022 after receiving a $350 million investment from well-known Silicon Valley venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. Flow's goal was to revolutionize the apartment industry in the same manner Neumann changed the office world with WeWork but details about Flow remain scarce.
The Miami Worldcenter bond offering documents actually list Neumann's family office, 166 2nd Financial Services, as the developer of the three projects totaling $258.4 million. However, a spokesperson for Miami Worldcenter Associates told Bloomberg that the documents were incorrect and will be updated to show that Flow is the developer.
A representative for Miami Worldcenter Associates declined to comment about Neumann's involvement when reached by email by CoStar News. A representative for Flow and Neumann's family office confirmed to CoStar News the bond offering is incorrect and the projects are being developed by Flow, not the family office.
Job listings on Flow's website include legal counsel, software engineers, architectural designers, construction specialists and property managers.
Neumann has been involved with Miami Worldcenter since at least 2021 when his family office purchased Caoba, a 44-story, 444-unit apartment tower developed by Merrimac Ventures, CIM Group and Falcone Group, according to the bond offering documents. Caoba was 95% occupied at the end of last year, the documents said.
Right now, Flow is developing Caoba's second phase with Merrimac Ventures and Falcone Group.
Neumann settled in the Miami area after being ousted in 2019 from WeWork, the company he helped propel into a multibillion-dollar real estate empire. WeWork filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last year and the proceedings are ongoing.
Neumann sent a letter to WeWork's legal advisers last month with a potential bid to buy the flexible workspace provider out of bankruptcy through Flow.
Updated March 15 to include comment from a representative for Flow and Neumann's family office.