A development is heading to the Miami River. The area is no stranger to construction projects, and very soon, the start of a new concept for the area is hoping to be the one that reshapes the landscape of the river. NBC6’s Sophia Hernandez gives us an inside look at the Riverside Wharf.
The Wharf Miami was all the rage when opened in 2017. What was supposed to be a pop-up space became a fixture on the Miami River.
It invigorated the commercial area, but in 2023, the space closed.
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WATCH HEREDespite the shutdown, the owners of the venue, Breakwater Hospitality, knew more was possible. They hope their new plan will stick and reshape the landscape of the Miami River.
Pranav Bhakta with Driftwood Capital, a commercial real estate investment firm that is a partner in the project, says they were brought on to help imagine the new concept for the space called Riverside Wharf Entertainment District. It's one of many construction projects featured in NBC6's What's Being Built Here series.
The plans features a waterfront complex that spans 1.35 acres which includes one tower that is an 8-story, 165-key hotel.
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“We decided Hyatt and the dream brand they acquired…was a good opportunity for a brand in that market,” shared Bhakta.
A second tower will house a day club and a two-story nightclub. Special zoning allows the nightclub to stay open and serve alcohol until 5am. There will also be two specialty restaurants, event spaces and hotel meeting spaces.
Grounding it all is the newly imagined, permanent Wharf.
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“And that is going to be the heart and soul of the new Riverside Wharf Entertainment District because that is where we are going to infuse community and F&B concepts with local chefs and restaurateurs and have that no veto policy again and curating little spaces that anyone can enjoy in any point and time,” Bhakta explains.
The project will cost roughly $350 million, according to the developers.
They plan to break ground Summer 2025 and complete the complex by 2027.
Local businesses in the area like Garcia’s Seafood would be incorporated into the plan, according to Bhakta who says the Riverside Wharf hopes to keep true to its roots.
“We are going to again activate that space to be like there’s the longing of the old Wharf and river and the industrious that happened there. And, this is the new age of that right. But we don’t want to get rid of all the things that that river supplied,” Bhakta explained.
Bhakta shares that the property is in an opportunity zone, which allows for funding through a federal program that allows investors to invest for deferred capital gains, with the intention that you are revitalizing the area you are building in and creating new jobs. The property is also in a TIFF area which allows it to be financed through EB5 financing.
Bhakta added the project will also be funded through Breakwater Hospitality, Driftwood Capital, and Merrimac Ventures.
“We have three solid partners that are putting in their own equity into the deal and then we are bringing in quality opportunity investors into the deal, and then we are doing traditional senior financing, and we already have a bank that is very interested,” Bhakta explained.
