Carnival Sets Sail for New Miami HQ
Plans call for more than 600,000 square feet of space across multiple buildings.
Calling Miami “the cruise capital of the world,” Carnival Corp. is setting course for a new Miami-Dade County home in the 250-acre Waterfront Business District, where it will build a multi-building global headquarters on a 15-acre site for about 2,000 North American team members by 2028.
Carnival, the world’s largest cruise company, owns and operates eight cruise lines, several of which have been based on the West Coast. The new headquarters will unite most of the company’s North America shoreside team across the corporation and its cruise line units, including Carnival Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, Seabourn, Cunard and Costa Cruises, in one location for the first time.
The company is initially planning a new headquarters building and onboard entertainment training and rehearsal facility spanning about 600,000 to 700,000 square feet of space. The company said the buildings will be designed to feature a variety of work areas, including open collaboration zones, individual workplaces and ample meeting rooms as well as a flexible technological infrastructure. The development will also provide green space and showcase the property’s adjacent lagoon.
Carnival said the purchase reinforced the company’s longstanding commitment to South Florida and Miami-Dade County, where it has been located for more than 50 years. The company currently has its longtime headquarters in a 10-story building at 3655 NW 87th Avenue in nearby Doral, Fla. The company hired Cushman & Wakefield last April to market the 17-acre property for sale. At that time, Carnival was reportedly looking to lease about 300,000 square feet in Miami, according to Bisnow.
Instead, the company acquired the Waterford land parcel at the northeast corner of NW 65th Avenue and NW 7th Street for $26.9 million from the business park’s owners, Nuveen Real Estate and PIMCO Real Estate. Previously known as The Blue Lagoon, the business park has nearly 1.7 million square feet of space in buildings located on Waterford Way, Blue Lagoon Drive and NW 57th Court.
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Charles Russo, senior director, asset management lead of the East Region at Nuveen Real Estate, said Carnival’s decision to relocate to Waterford is a major milestone in the company’s long-term vision for the campus.
“Their presence complements our growing roster of world-class tenants that include Assurant, Verizon and Subway, and underscores Waterford’s appeal as a modern business destination built for global enterprises,” Russo said in a statement provided to Commercial Property Executive.
The transaction was facilitated by Nuveen and PIMCO. Blanca Commercial Real Estate is the exclusive leasing agent for the Waterford portfolio and supported the sale of the parcel in an advisory capacity.
Tere Blanca, founder & CEO of the Miami-based firm, said Carnival’s decision is a “powerful endorsement of both Miami’s rise as a global business hub and Waterford’s position as the region’s premier corporate campus.”
“It reflects the growing demand for vibrant, well-connected environments that elevate the employee experience and foster innovation,” Blanca said in a statement provided to CPE.
Active submarket, busy port market
Located just south of Miami International Airport, Waterford is in the Airport submarket which saw vacancy improve to 17.9 percent from 18.7 percent year-over-year, driven in part by momentum at Waterford, where companies are increasingly seeking well-located, amenity-rich campuses at a relative discount to the urban core, according to Blanca CRE’s first-quarter Miami-Dade office market report.
The report notes countywide first-quarter leasing activity hit 929,000 square feet—well above the five-year quarterly average and the strongest first quarter since 2022. Net absorption reached 213,000 square feet, driven by standout performances in the Airport and Coral Gables submarkets. One of the top leases occurred at Waterford, where Verizon/TracFone Wireless signed a 51,484-square-foot lease at 5200 Waterford after selling its previously owner-occupied facility for redevelopment.
Local officials said the Carnival announcement also reaffirmed the strength and global standing of PortMiami, which had a record 8.2 million passengers last year. A January AAA report showed PortMiami handled the largest percentage of domestic dockings—10.3 percent, followed by Port Canaveral in Brevard County with 8.3 percent and Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale with 5.2 percent, according to the Florida Sun-Sentinel.
Other South Florida-based cruise operators are also making headquarters changes in the Miami area. Royal Caribbean Group began construction of a 10-story, 380,000 square-foot headquarters at PortMiami last year, slated for delivery in 2026.
MSG Group moved its Cruise Division to a new 130,000-square-foot condominium office property acquired for $67 million last year at Sawyer’s Walk in the Overtown neighborhood. Last month, MSC also opened a $450 million cruise ship terminal at PortMiami. Developed in partnership with PortMiami and Miami-Dade County, the MSC facility is being called the world’s largest cruise terminal, according to TravelAge West.
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