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A crew installs the ‘Big Orange’ at the Hotel InterContinental in downtown Miami for the annual New Year\u2019s tradition sending the character to the top of the tower.<\/p>\n
Miami Herald File<\/p>\n
A landmark downtown Miami hotel best known for the neon Big Orange on New Year\u2019s Eve and for hosting Super Bowl and college football teams has been sold to an investment firm that owns the plush Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne.<\/p>\n
Real estate development company Gencom said on Friday that it has purchased the InterContinental Miami, the waterfront 34-story hotel that stands where Biscayne Bay and the Miami River meet and at the southern flank of Bayfront Park.<\/p>\n
Gencom teamed up with Miami-based White Bridge Capital to buy the 652-room downtown landmark at 100 Chopin Plaza, a short walk to Brickell just to the south. In the other direction, it\u2019s an easy stroll to Kaseya Center or the P\u00e9rez Art Museum. PortMiami is a short drive as is Wynwood and Midtown.<\/p>\n
Strategic Hotels & Resorts sold the hotel. The price wasn\u2019t disclosed.<\/p>\n
Alessandro Colantonio, chief investment officer at Gencom, said in an interview with the Miami Herald on Friday that his company has no plans to make major changes to its newest hotel, which was built in 1982 as downtown was undergoing a renaissance.<\/p>\n
The number of rooms will stay the same, he said, and the InterContinental Miami will continue to be a hotel. Asked if the new owners would consider adding private condos or residences to the property, he firmly said no. That\u2019s moving away from a trend that Gencom itself started at the Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne over two decades ago and other developers have followed in recent months.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s great real estate,\u201d the executive said, explaining what drove the purchase. Additionally, \u201cthe seller has done a good job with the asset,\u201d Colantonio told the Herald.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere won\u2019t be any major remodeling,\u201d he said, but \u201ca little more targeted renovation, likely in the public spaces.\u201d<\/p>\n
The InterContinental is also a short walk from a major Gencom project in development. The Miami Riverbridge is more than a $1.5 billion joint venture with Hyatt to redevelop the Hyatt Regency Miami and James L. Knight Center near the Brickell Avenue bridge.<\/p>\n
Gencom also has the 115-room Ritz-Carlton Coconut Grove that it acquired in December 2025.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe already know the market,\u201d Colantonio said. \u201cMiami continues to show resiliency,\u201d<\/p>\n
He cited the people who keep traveling to Miami, the professionals who continue moving here and the Brickell corridor that continues to develop.<\/p>\n
The downtown Miami purchase would be Gencom\u2019s second InterContinental-branded hotel after acquiring the one in New York Times Square in 2025<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s backed by a good brand,\u201d said the Gencom executive, who noted the hotel would continue with the same management. \u201cThere were a list of factors for the purchase.\u201d<\/p>\n
A crew installs the ‘Big Orange’ at the Hotel InterContinental in downtown Miami for the annual New Year\u2019s tradition sending the character to the top of the tower. Miami Herald File <\/p>\n
This story was originally published October 30, 2026 at 7:33 PM.<\/p>\n