A condominium tower that is now underway as part of the sprawling Miami Worldcenter complex is scheduled to open in 2026 with no rental restrictions, letting residents rent out their units to tap into Miami's already strong — and still growing — hospitality and tourism industries.
Merrimac Ventures and Aria Development Group started construction on the 600 Worldcenter high-rise at 600 NE First Ave. The 32-story tower is being financed through a $95 million construction loan from Banco Inbursa that was secured last month.
The complex is set to feature 606 units ranging from 407-square-foot studios to 830-square-foot two-bedroom units with prices starting in the $400,000s. The units come with no rental restrictions, meaning owners can rent them out on vacation rental websites such as Airbnb and Vrbo.
The ability of owners to rent out units contributed to heightened demand at the sold-out tower, Nitin Motwani, managing partner of Merrimac Ventures, said in email to CoStar News. While other parts of the country and some areas of Florida have started to restrict short-term rentals, Miami condominiums are increasingly showing off their lack of rental restrictions — an attractive offer to second-home buyers or investors.
"We’re seeing increased demand from buyers who want to live in Miami most of the time and still have the flexibility to rent out their units at their leisure," Motwani said in a separate emailed statement to CoStar News.
Miami Worldcenter is a $6 billion master-planned development that covers around 10 city blocks in downtown Miami’s Park West neighborhood. OneWorld Properties, led by CEO Peggy Olin, is managing sales and marketing for 600 Worldcenter.
The project is the second-largest development of its kind in the country after New York’s Hudson Yards and is being developed by Miami Worldcenter Associates. The group is led by Motwani, Falcone Group CEO Art Falcone and Los Angeles-based CIM Group.
New Neighborhood
Upon completion, the master-planned neighborhood is slated to include 11,000 residential units, 600,000 square feet of office space, 100,000 square feet of public and green spaces, and 300,000 square feet of retail space.
The developers recently launched a $240 million municipal bond offering through the Wisconsin Public Finance Authority to "help defray the cost of the improvements made in the district," a spokesperson for Miami Worldcenter Associates told CoStar News in an emailed statement.
Merrimac Ventures is working alongside Related Group on The Crosby, a 450-unit condo that “sold out at a record pace in just a few short months,” Motwani said. Condos like 600 Worldcenter, Related Group's NoMad Residences in the city's popular Wynwood arts district, and the recently announced The Rider by locally based Rilea Group in nearby Midtown all advertise the ability to rent out units.
While South Florida has always been a strong tourist destination, the sector has grown in the aftermath of the pandemic.
The area's year-round warm weather, alongside new and existing attractions including a growing culinary scene — and Florida’s only two-star Michelin restaurant — as well as music festivals, major sports teams and international attractions such as the recently added Formula One and well-established Art Basel continue to draw domestic and international crowds.
“Downtown Miami’s tourism market has grown tremendously on a global scale — hotels are full, restaurants are packed and there’s an increased demand for short-term rentals steps away from the best Miami has to offer,” Motwani added in his statement.