People driving or sailing past downtown Miami at night routinely admire how developer Daniel Kodsi’s incandescent, 60-story Paramount Miami Worldcenter dramatically transforms the Magic City’s skyline.
The University of Miami Patti and Allan Herbert Business School graduate outfitted the sides of his trademark structure with 13,400 multicolored, light-emitting diodes that arrestingly bring the 700-foot skyscraper to life once the sun sets.
As the University of Miami closes out another exciting football season, the iconic green and orange UM logo has made a bold statement, lighting up the Paramount Miami Worldcenter in a dazzling display spanning the size of a football field. Accompanied by the rallying cry “Go ’Canes,” the vibrant spectacle has captured the spirit of the Hurricanes. Adding to the excitement, the LED system at the Worldcenter has also displayed an animated silhouette of a quarterback in action.
“You can see this building coming from the east and west, and from the north and the south,” said Kodsi, BBA ’91. “You drive in from Miami International Airport and it’s right in the center of your field of view. And of course, you can see it if you’re on cruise ships.
“It really became kind of an iconic building for the city,” said Kodsi, CEO of the Royal Palm Companies real estate development firm. “It’s not a billboard—it’s not something you can pay for, and we don’t sell advertising on it. You have to be doing something worthy of special messaging or representing a good cause.”
During his Miami Herbert days, Kodsi had no dreams of eventually leading a company with a $5 billion portfolio of Florida real estate projects. But he knew real estate would be his calling, and suspected he’d probably wind up doing business in downtown Miami.
“My family was in real estate, so I knew I wanted to be in real estate,” said Kodsi, who was born in Montreal and moved to Florida with his family at the age of 9. “My dad was in development, along with my uncle. They had a really small operation that was based out of a construction trailer, so I did get some of my experience working with family.”
Upon receiving his bachelor’s degree, Kodsi formed the Royal Palm Companies and set out to figure out the South Florida real estate development game working solo. Successful developers have a sixth sense when it comes to divining future property trends and Kodsi, who minored in urban planning and architecture at the University of Miami, had that trait in spades.
“Interestingly enough, when I used to drive over I-395, to connect with I-95 coming from the beach, I remember looking down at what today is the Paramount Miami Worldcenter, and seeing all that open land. I remember thinking back then that the path of development was going to eventually go through there. So, I started buying land in that area.
“I’ve always kept an eye on it and when it started to happen, in 2003, I actually had the lot across from what was once called the American Airlines Arena.”
Over time Kodsi’s land purchases morphed into the 27-acre, $6-billion Miami Worldcenter, a project where Kodsi is one of the lead developers. Parts of Miami Worldcenter, a residential, hospitality, retail, restaurant, entertainment, and transportation complex, are still under construction, with the 529-unit Paramount Miami Worldcenter serving as a signature skyscraper.
A true Hurricane whose daughter, Talia, recently became part of UM’s 2028 class, Kodsi had words of wisdom for Miami Herbert students looking to retrace his footsteps.
“If you want to be in real estate, you must get a real estate finance degree,” Kodsi said. “It’s a requirement to be in real estate, whether you’re buying real estate property, or you’re building or developing something. You have to get that real estate finance degree.”
Down-to-earth advice from a developer whose signature project literally, and figuratively, outshines the rest of Miami’s soaring skyline.
