MIAMI - Shaquille O'Neal is set to take on the Miami real estate market.

Miami Heat center Shaquille O'Neal carries Luis Pulenta of the MDM Development Group after a news conference Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2006 in Miami. O'Neal announced the formation of 'The O'Neal Group,' a real estate and development company, which along with MDM, will work on a billion-dollar project in downtown Miami.[AP]

The Miami Heat center and four-time NBA champion announced Tuesday the formation of The O'Neal Group, a real estate firm that's aligning with MDM Development in a $1 billion project to build 1,100 residential units in a sprawling downtown Miami complex.

The project ¡ª Met Miami ¡ª will include an 866-foot building, touted as the tallest residential tower south of New York City. Plans also call for office buildings, a five-star Marriott hotel and a 24-Hour Fitness, which O'Neal is also partnered with.

"I'm trying to give people a better way of living," O'Neal said.

O'Neal began building a real estate portfolio 14 years ago, as a rookie with the Orlando Magic. That part of his portfolio alone is worth an estimated $50 million.

Neither the development group nor O'Neal would divulge if the All-Star is an actual investor in the Met Miami project, which is being developed only a few blocks south of the Heat's waterfront arena. Both sides, though, said that O'Neal has "significant" financial interest in the project's success.

"Our primary focus is on landmark locations and real estate offerings that positively impact the way people live," said Christopher Handy, the executive vice president of The O'Neal Group. "Mixed-use developments with integrated living and intelligent designs ... are the prototypical examples of what we hope to accomplish."

O'Neal will be involved in the sales and marketing arm of the development operation, officials said.

O'Neal, whose Heat will begin defense of their NBA title last month, has three years left on a $100 million, five-year pact he signed with Miami shortly after being traded from the Los Angeles Lakers in 2004.