The developers of the $350 million Riverside Wharf along the Miami River scored a nine-figure construction loan from a regional bank for the 200,000-square-foot mixed-use project.
Driftwood Capital, Merrimac Ventures and MV Real Estate Holdings secured $145 million in construction financing from Arkansas-based Centennial Bank to fund the vertical construction of the waterfront nine-story, two-tower project at 114 Southwest North River Drive, according to a news release.
Riverside Wharf will include a 167-room Dream Hotel, 30,000-square-foot nightclub, a rooftop pool and day club, a 12,000-square-foot event hall and 16,000 square feet of restaurant space, with completion targeted for fall 2028. The project was designed by Jon Cardello of CUBE 3 Architects, with Gensler handling construction documents and ICrave overseeing interior design.
Plans also call for the revival and expansion of Breakwater Hospitality Group’s The Wharf Miami, a public riverwalk, a new seawall and a pop-up location for Garcia’s Fish Market, a nod to the area’s fishing heritage.
Led by Emi Guerra and Alex Mantecon, Breakwater Hospitality operates the The Wharf Fort Lauderdale on the banks of the New River, JohnMartin’s in Coral Gables, Regatta Grove in Coconut Grove and PIER 5 at Bayside in downtown Miami, both along Biscayne Bay.
Mantecon is also managing partner of MVREH, one of the project’s developers alongside Dev and Nitin Motwani’s Merrimac and Driftwood, led by Carlos Rodriguez Jr.
The Wharf Miami closed in September 2023 after a near six-year run to make way for the mixed-use redevelopment, which was approved by Miami voters in an August 2022 special election. The 30,000-square-foot site comprised seven bars, five food concepts and 185 feet of dock space. It also hosted events and live music, including a February 2023 Chase for Business event featuring Joe Jonas of the Jonas Brothers, with JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon in attendance.
The Wharf’s next mixed-use chapter joins a wave of hospitality-focused concepts reshaping the Miami River corridor, as developers, investors and operators look to turn the downtown waterfront into a larger dining and entertainment destination.
Hospitality veteran Nicola Siervo and House Kiki’s Roman Jones inked a 15-year lease for 7,900 square feet along the Miami River, paying $70,000 a month for their restaurant joint venture, Mercante Ristorante & Piano Bar. Jones also signed a 20-year lease for 20,000 square feet nearby to open S&L, a steak-and-lobster restaurant, at the former Captain Tom’s Seafood location, with percentage rent expected to exceed one million dollars annually.
The operators of the famed Mila, Riviera Dining Group, renovated the third and fourth floors of its restaurant and lounge Casa Neos this year, dedicating the fourth floor to members of its MM Members Club.
Riverside Wharf’s development partners have extensive South Florida portfolios.
Driftwood Capital and its affiliates have transacted on more than $5 billion in hospitality assets and own and operate multiple local hotels. MV Real Estate Holdings has developed projects including the East Coast Building and The Wharf Miami, as well as Altis Ludlam Miami and Ludlam Trail Towers. Merrimac Ventures has completed more than $3 billion in projects and has a development pipeline exceeding $5 billion, including Bungalow East Residences, Waldorf Astoria Residences Pompano Beach, The Crosby and 600 Miami Worldcenter, and the Watson Island redevelopment.
Centennial Bank is an active commercial real estate lender, with nearly $2.8 billion in real estate construction and land loans and $5.9 billion in commercial real estate loans as of June 30, according to its latest balance sheet filed with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. The loans account for 35 percent of the bank’s total $24.6 billion in assets.
Centennial has also financed a range of South Florida developments, including a $117 million construction loan for Immocorp Ventures’ The District at Northwood in West Palm Beach and $67 million for CREI Holdings’ Li’l Abner III workforce housing project in Sweetwater.
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