Driftwood Capital and Merrimac Ventures Secure $145M for Miami Riverfront Hotel Project

A venture led by Driftwood Capital and Merrimac Ventures has closed a $145 million construction loan from Centennial Bank for Riverside Wharf, a $350 million mixed-use project on the Miami River in Downtown Miami. The development will include a 167-room hotel across two nine-story towers at 114 Southwest North River Drive, near the First Street Drawbridge and Interstate 95.

Beyond the hotel, the roughly 200,000-square-foot project will add a 30,000-square-foot nightclub, a 12,000-square-foot event hall and about 16,000 square feet of restaurant space, along with a replacement for the Wharf outdoor bar that previously occupied the site. Moss Construction is the general contractor, and completion is targeted for fall 2028.

To complete the capital stack, the developers have raised $15 million through the EB-5 immigrant investor program, against a goal of $60 million, according to a representative for the team. The 1.3-acre site is owned by MV Real Estate Holdings, which remains a partner, and the City of Miami. Voters approved a 50-year ground lease extension in 2022, and the agreement requires a publicly accessible riverwalk and a new seawall.

For developers and lenders, the deal shows continued capital flowing into downtown Miami waterfront hospitality, with EB-5 funds filling a meaningful gap in the stack.