Miami Worldcenter Group hosts private dinner to showcase plans for Downtown Miami’s transformation.

By George Alpizar

In a bid to revamp Downtown Miami, Miami Worldcenter Group held a dinner reception on April 5, 2008, to provide esteemed guests with a first look at how Miami Worldcenter will redesign and restore Downtown Miami.

The 49th annual Inter-American Development Bank conference in Miami partnered with Miami Worldcenter Group to invite international, national, and local business leaders to dine at Il Gabbiano. While enjoying fine Italian cuisine, guests were able to catch a glimpse of what executives at Miami Worldcenter Group have in mind for Miami’s future, a vision that entails a live-work-play environment they hope will become the new center for Miami.

Executives Art Falcone, Marc Roberts, and Nitin Motwani sponsored the event with guests including IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno; General Anthony Zinni, former commander in chief of U.S. Central Command; Mack McLarty, former White House chief of staff for President Clinton; City of Miami Mayor Manny Diaz; City of Miami Commissioner Marc Sarnoff; Ernesto de la Fe of Morgan Stanley Latin America; GMCVB President Bill Talbert; and Jorge Arrizurieta, chairman of the IDB 2008 Miami Host Committee.

The Miami Worldcenter team has secured nearly 30 acres of land near the American Airlines Arena with hopes to convert Downtown Miami into a master-planned urban environment. They believe that Miami lacks a place where people can take a leisurely stroll in a friendly, pleasant area. Miami Worldcenter Group’s plan includes creating space for offices, hotels, retail, entertainment, education, housing, and civic space located inside aesthetically pleasing buildings and lively parks that will all culminate into a sector of Miami that will propel this city into a truly global metropolis.