Portman-Led Team
The Portman CMC development team consists of Miami-based CMC Group, led by Colombo, Atlanta-based Portman Holdings, Bal Harbour-based Whitman Lanzenby Properties, and Montreal-based Cirque du Soleil.
Portman would be the master developer. Colombo would develop the residential component and Whitman Lanzenby, a subsidiary of the company that owns Bal Harbour Shops, would do the retail element. Cirque du Soleil would create a permanent facility in the district for shows and performances, according to a city report.
Portman and CMC would be the primary investors while all the team members would provide a "significant and meaningful proprietary equity capital," according to the report.
Portman CMC is considering different financing options. One calls for the development group to own and finance the hotel, retail, residential, entertainment and parking components; the city would own and finance the convention center expansion and the civic facilities. Part of the financing would come from bonds backed by the Miami Beach Resort Tax, tax increment funding and $55 million to be provided by Miami-Dade County.
Miami Beach voters on Nov. 6 approved an increase in the resort tax by up to 1 percent. The increased resort tax, also known as a bed tax, could bring the city about $8.5 million to $9 million in additional revenue a year.
Times Square Ties
South ACE includes New York-based Tishman Hotel & Realty LP and Miami Beach-based UIA Management, led by Wennett.
Tishman was active in the revitalization of Times Square. It brought the Westin New York hotel, the E Walk retail complex and the InterContinental New York Times Square hotel to the once hard-scrabble crossroads of Midtown Manhattan.
UIA's portfolio includes the acclaimed 11 11 Lincoln Road project.
Tishman and UIA would be the primary equity investors in the project. Additional equity would come from institutional investors like MetLife, Prudential, Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs.
They would seek to finance each project independently "to maximize ground rent to the city," according to the city report.
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