Dev Motwani and Nitin Motwani

Few developments have been as influential in the city of Miami as Miami Worldcenter, a $4 billion mixed-use downtown enclave spearheaded by Nitin Motwani, one of the two brothers who run Merrimac Ventures. 

“That’s been Nitin’s baby for the last 15 years,” said Dev Motwani, the younger brother by a year. 

The fruits of that labor began to fully blossom this year, as restaurants, retail shops and hotels opened, while around them more buildings continue to rise. Developers such as Related Group, CIM Group, Miki Naftali and Steve Witkoff — and Merrimac itself — are building hundreds of condos and apartments within those blocks. In fact, a joint venture between Merrimac and Related just scored a $94 million construction loan for a 450-unit condo tower at Miami Worldcenter called the Crosby. 

But that’s just the start. The Motwanis have numerous projects in South Florida, totaling around 2,500 apartments and 1,500 condos. That includes a three-building, 751-unit apartment complex in Downtown Fort Lauderdale, of which two buildings are under construction; a 289-unit project in Flagler Village; and 306 units in Plantation. 

On the condo front, they recently completed the Four Seasons Fort Lauderdale, and are developing the 600-unit 600 Miami Worldcenter as well as the abovementioned Crosby. What’s more, Merrimac just closed on a ground lease for a prime site on Watson Island between Downtown Miami and Miami Beach. 

The brothers got their start in real estate when they were boys and their parents purchased the Merrimac Beach Resort in Fort Lauderdale. The beachfront motel was also their home — quite a change for the St. Louis family. Motel life didn’t turn out to be all surf and sun, but that doesn’t appear to have deterred the brothers.

While the elder Motwani was working on Miami Worldcenter, Dev was devoted to a project a ways away from the coast: a Four Seasons hotel in the ski town of Telluride, Colo., which was approved in September. “It’s taken five years of my life, so I’ve fallen in love with it,” he said. 

The brothers have also remained close to the water — and to each other. 

“I love being out on the boat, as my brother would say as well, and spending time with my wife and kids,” said the elder Motwani, when asked how he likes to disconnect. 

And it was, in fact, also what his brother said.