MIAMI—Now that the City of Miami has unanimously approved the zoning package and development agreement for Miami WorldCenter, plans are unfolding quickly. The $2 billion project's master development team has announced an initial construction timeline for its first phase. Physical site work is expected to get underway in the first quarter of 2015 with vertical construction set to begin in mid-2015.

Miami Worldcenter will occupy 27 acres in the heart of Downtown Miami, making it one of the largest real estate developments underway in the United States. The first phase of the 10-block project will include world-class retail, residential towers, and an expo center with a hotel right beside it.

Miami Worldcenter is a collaboration between Miami Worldcenter Associates and a team of best-in-class development, design, and engineering firms. On the retail front, Forbes Company and Taubman will deliver a 765,000 square-foot shopping mall anchored by Bloomingdale's, Macy's, and complementary dining and entertainment options.

“Miami is now considered a  'global city,' and as a result, there is tremendous interest from both investors and tenants,” Paco Diaz, a retail expert and senior vice president with CBRE in Miami, tells GlobeSt.com. “Accordingly, the vacancy rate dropped to 3.9% in the second quarter of 2014. That's the lowest I've ever seen it in my 38 years in the business Interestingly, most of the development action is in the urban core, where there are four mega- projects under construction and two in the final planning stages that will bring around 1.8 million square feet of new retail to the city.”

On the housing front, a diverse mix of residential offerings will offer about 1,000 units, including luxury residences, boutique condominiums, and market-rate apartments. The 466-unit Paramount Miami Worldcenter condominium, Miami Worldcenter's first residential tower, launched sales in November 2014. Groundbreaking is expected in the second quarter of 2015.

Miami-based MDM Group will develop a new 54-story, 1,800-room hotel and expo center that will feature 600,000 square-feet of meeting and event space. Miami Worldcenter's pedestrian-only promenade, including lifestyle and retail offerings, will connect the hotel to main thoroughfares that lead to the bayfront to the east. MDM expects to begin construction on the hotel and expo center project in the first half of 2015.

Miami Worldcenter will breathe new life into some of the city's most underutilized blocks and improve neighborhood connectivity by creating new links to public transit. Planned street modifications and expanded sidewalks will work to improve pedestrian and vehicle flow between Biscayne Bay, Museum Park, and American Airlines Arena and points west, including Overtown and the Miami River. Direct links to the under-construction All Aboard Florida high-speed rail terminal and the existing Miami-Dade Metromover system aim to encourage the use of mass transit.