More affordable housing is coming to Miami neighborhoods. Here’s where
Miamians struggling with the county’s affordability crisis are set for a little relief.
The City of Miami and Miami-Dade County have more than 1,200 units of new affordable housing planned in Little Havana, Little River, Overtown and Flagami. One project just opened this month, and others are slated to come online over the next year or so.
“If we don’t have people in decent housing, they are going to be a strain if they have to end up in homeless shelters,” said Michael Liu, director of the Miami-Dade County Public Housing and Community Development Department. “Or, if they move out of Miami-Dade, then we have less of a workforce. It’s an economic driver. Housing is one of the building blocks of a robust and vibrant economy and suitable place for all of us to raise families.”
Some of the eight projects will cater to renters, while others will be for buyers, officials said.
“Affordable home ownership programs are just as important as affordable rental programs,” said Ned Murray, associate director of Florida International University’s Pérez Metropolitan Center, “though the need in Miami is greater for affordable rental housing.”
“It’s one step forward for the city’s needs for affordable housing,” said City of Miami District 3 Commissioner Joe Carollo. “But the city’s needs are in the thousands.”
Full-time residents have struggled for years to buy in Miami, often competing with foreign buyers and those relocating from the Northeast and the West Coast. Renters often face similar struggles with rising leases.
According to an affordable housing report released in July 2020 by the nonprofit Miami Homes for All, about 300,000 households — 35% of the county’s total — earn $35,000 or less per year.
The city relies on a variety of local, state and federal financial supports and incentives funding to entice development, and reduce the overall cost of developing projects to keep rents and sales prices reasonable, said Alfredo Duran, deputy director of the city’s department of housing and community development. It also provides incentives, including allowing developers to add more floors and units to a project in certain areas beyond zoning limitations. In exchange, the county asks that a certain number of units be dedicated to affordable housing.
Affordable housing is different from public housing for very low-income households. While public housing is financed and overseen by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), affordable housing is developed by private entities that combat high land and construction costs by leveraging financial incentives from local, state and federal entities, Duran said.
Households earning between 60 and 120 percent of the area median income — in Miami-Dade, between $35,410 and $70,200 — are eligible for affordable housing. While generally these are rental units, the affordable home ownership programs would offer first-time home buyers with newly constructed and heavily discounted condos or single-family homes. County or city officials would cover the cost of the land and construction and discount the final listing price.
INTERACTIVE TOOL: WHERE CAN YOU AFFORD TO BUY OR RENT IN SOUTH FLORIDA
City of Miami
These four projects are in the works for Little Havana and the surrounding area:
▪ At 829 SW Eighth St., the eight-story apartment rental building Essence Miami will house 88 units, according to a city commission document. Units will range from a one-bedroom, one-bathroom layout for about $900 per month to two-bedroom, two-bathroom units for about $1,000 per month, Carollo said. An Israel-based developer, 8 St Properties, will launch construction in September 2021 and is anticipated to complete work within a year. The developer acquired the single-story building and parking lot in 2002 for $395,000, according to property records.
▪ At 1251 SW Seventh St., a condo building will house 120 units. City officials will select a developer and architect by August or September with construction following soon after. The city spent nearly $1.3 million to acquire the vacant land in 2019, according to property records.
▪ Adjacent to LoanDepot Park, the city is planning two projects on one of the parking lots that it owns between Northwest Third Street and Northwest Seventh Street. One project would entail two-story townhouses, and the other would include a 10-story condo building with about 300-400 units.
In Flagami:
▪ At 5215 West Flagler, the city will add 34 apartment rental or condo units in a four- to five-story building, with details still being worked out, said Esteban Ferreiro, chief of staff for Miami Commissioner Manolo Reyes. Construction could begin early next year.
▪ Six houses for first-time home buyers in Flagami and Shenandoah are underway at 12 SW 47th Ave., 2601 SW 13th St., 130 SW 51st Place and 2293 SW 17th Terrace, Ferreiro said. Construction could start shortly.
Miami-Dade County
In Little Havana:
▪ At 1401 SW Fifth St., the Dade Heritage Trust and county are rehabilitating four units and keeping them as affordable housing residences. The building already received a new roof, windows, AC and fresh paint, according to a spokesperson for the trust, and work on the interior is anticipated to be completed by October.
An affordable housing project just opened in Little River:
▪ Known for its historic preservation work on the Vagabond Hotel and the Gold Dust Hotel, the Vagabond Group opened Superior Apartments at 7800 NW Second Ave. in late June. Built in 1953, it updated the one-story building and each of the 19 units. They range in price from $645 per month for a studio to $825 for a one bedroom.
Overtown will have the following project:
▪ At 249 NW Sixth St., the Coconut Grove-based Swerdlow Group is building Block 55 at Sawyer’s Walk. In addition to retailers Target, Aldi’s Supermarket, Burlington, Ross and Five Below, the building will have 578 units for seniors at least 62 years old. Rents run from studios at $1,000 per month to one-bedroom units at $1,200 per month to two-bedroom units at $1,500 per month. The project is anticipated to be completed by late 2023.
“It’s going to be a tremendous boom to the community,” Swerdlow Group CEO Michael Swerdlow said of the $300 million project.
