Developer to bring 113 units of affordable housing to Cutler Bay by summer 2024

Michael Butler
·2 min read

A nonprofit developer broke ground Wednesday for a $52.7 million affordable housing development that will bring 113 units to Cutler Bay.

Meridian Point at Goulds Station will be the first development that Preservation of Affordable Housing (POAH) is building in Florida. POAH has owned and operated 1,477 apartments.

Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava attended the groundbreaking and spoke about POAH’s plans to provide new affordable housing in Miami-Dade County. POAH also owns nearby Cutler Manor, an aging development in Cutler Bay that it will be renovating.

“This could not come at a better time,” she said. “We all know that people are struggling to afford the rent. They can’t find housing. Their income is going more than 50% to housing. This will also help the folks at Cutler Manor. This will be built specifically for those that need that help.”

Meridian Point represents the first phase of POAH’s development in South Florida. Cutler Manor residents will move into Meridian Point so that Cutler Manor can be renovated into new affordable housing units.

At Meridian Point, 68 of the 113 units will receive Project-Based Rental Assistance through a Section 8 Housing payment contract and the remaining 45 units will be reserved for residents earning up to 80% of the area median income.

Located at the intersection of SW 216th Street and US 1, Meridian Point will be made up of two buildings. One seven-story building will be an 80-unit mid-rise and the other will be a 33-unit garden building. Residents will have amenities such as a fitness room, community space and playgrounds. There will be access to public transportation, recreation areas and retail stores.

POAH Vice President of Real Estate Development Hana Eskra is a resident of Coral Gables and frequently meets local residents who are dealing with the housing affordability crisis on a daily basis. When purchasing eight shovels from a local Home Depot for the day’s groundbreaking, the worker who assisted her asked about the shovels and spoke about his own challenges.

“The man in Home Depot explained how difficult it is for him to find housing down here,” she said. “Rents are devastating for our workforce. I really appreciate the mayor’s focus on affordable housing.”

POAH anticipates that construction on Meridian Point will be completed by the end of summer 2024.