Witkoff and Monroe Capital have secured $302.6 million in construction financing for the first phase of a three-tower development at 700 North Miami Avenue — one of the last large undeveloped parcels inside Miami Worldcenter, on the ground once occupied by the former Miami Arena.
The project, designed by Kobi Karp, advances what the developers describe as a major multi-phase program. The financing covers the first tower; two additional towers are planned to follow in subsequent phases. Scope details — height, unit count, program mix, and delivery timeline — were not included in the initial announcement.
The site carries particular resonance in Miami's development history. The Miami Arena opened in 1988 as the original home of the NBA's Miami Heat, serving the franchise until 1999, when the team relocated to what is now Kaseya Center on Biscayne Boulevard. The structure was later demolished, and the parcel eventually fell within the boundaries of Miami Worldcenter's master plan, where it has remained undeveloped as the surrounding district built out over the past decade.
Miami Worldcenter, the large-scale mixed-use development spanning several blocks of downtown near MiamiCentral station, has added residential towers, hotel product, and a retail corridor in phases since construction began in earnest around 2016. The former Arena footprint is among the last remaining significant sites within that program. Per the developers, it is one of Miami Worldcenter's last major undeveloped parcels — making the financing close the first concrete signal of what will fill that block.
Witkoff, the New York-based firm founded by Steve Witkoff, has maintained an active development presence in South Florida across residential and hospitality projects. Monroe Capital, the Chicago-based alternative credit manager providing the construction debt, focuses on middle-market and real estate lending — its participation in a $302.6 million single-phase construction loan reflects the scale of the capital commitment being made on the site.
Kobi Karp Architecture & Interior Design is one of South Florida's more active studios at the high-rise residential scale, with a portfolio spanning luxury condominiums and branded-residence product from Brickell to Sunny Isles Beach — the typology consistent with what Miami Worldcenter has attracted across its development calendar.
At $302.6 million for phase one alone, the commitment is among the more substantial single-phase construction loans in Miami's current cycle. Whether the three towers share a unified program or vary by type — residential, hotel, or a combination — will emerge as permits are filed with Miami-Dade. No groundbreaking date was specified in the announcement.
Filling the former Arena parcel advances Miami Worldcenter toward the completion of its master plan. For a district that has been adding density rapidly, the activation of 700 North Miami Avenue is the beginning of the block's final chapter — and the first indicator of how the remaining Worldcenter sites will be priced and positioned in the years ahead.
