Genting’s prime Miami property attracts bids topping US$1 billion

A PRIME waterfront Miami parcel put up for sale by Genting has attracted five offers exceeding US$1 billion, according to the broker, potentially setting a record for such property.

The 15.5-acre (6.3-hectare) site, the former home of the Miami Herald newspaper, is one of the largest undeveloped tracts along the city’s waterfront. Genting, a Malaysian gambling giant, began marketing it late last year. 

Michael Fay, the broker at Avison Young in Miami who has the listing, declined to name the bidders, but said they were mix of international and domestic parties. Potential uses include office space for financial firms, high-end condos or an entertainment destination. The highest bid was just under US$1.5 billion. The company plans to narrow the field to three before making a final decision in the coming weeks.

“If we get what we hope to achieve, this could be the highest price paid for any development site in the country,” Fay said in an interview.

Genting intends to invest the proceeds in its resorts, including possibly an expanded hotel and casino complex at its Resorts World slot-machine parlour next to the Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, New York. The company is vying for one of three new downstate casino licences in New York.

Genting, which owns casino resorts in Malaysia, Singapore and the US, acquired the Florida property and some nearby real estate for about US$236 million in 2011. It had unsuccessfully sought a casino licence from the state, and once announced plans to build six towers, a mix of hotel and residential units. BLOOMBERG