Miami-Dade Housing Chief Resigns To Launch His Own Development Firm

After two years as Miami-Dade County’s Director of Public Housing and Community Development, Alex Ballina is stepping down to develop his own firm.

Ballina has launched a new firm, Florida Development Building Group, to focus on building affordable and workforce housing in other areas across Florida, he told Bisnow Tuesday. His resignation from his role as Miami-Dade's Housing and Community Development director is effective April 30.

“Time is of essence to me, and the opportunity for me to take advantage of what I feel is an underserved area and a lot of underserved markets through Florida, and the time is just right for me at this time to go and do something for myself,” Ballina said in a phone call.

His new firm will focus on workforce and affordable housing projects across Florida by using data-driven analytics that will identify high potential areas that are underserved, he said. The Real Deal first reported his departure.

“I know what [municipalities] are looking for, so the data allows me to tell the story and show them where their supply and demand imbalance is so they could make good public policy decisions and allow the development to move forward,” Ballina said.

Ballina said he is launching the firm on his own. He doesn't have any projects in the works yet, but he expects to syndicate deals and bring in limited partners depending on where he builds, he said.

The firm won’t be focused on Miami-Dade County, Ballina said, but instead target areas like Orlando, Tampa, Cape Canaveral and Palm Beach County with smaller and lower-density projects, aiming to build between 150 and 200 units at a time.

He also plans to leverage Florida’s Live Local Act, a state law that encourages developers to build affordable and workforce housing by offering density and height increases, tax breaks and other incentives — as well as mandates that municipalities approve projects that hit certain thresholds.

Ballina said the state needs more housing options that average Floridians can afford.

“We’re going to build a lot of Honda Accords for the multifamily industry,” Ballina said. “There’s a lot of Mercedes, there’s a lot of high-end. I want to build more Honda Accords that the everyday person can afford.”

Nathan Kogon, who joined Miami-Dade County as zoning director in 2014 and became the assistant director of the PHCD two years ago, was named interim director for the next six months, according to a letter sent by Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, which was reported by the Miami Herald on X.

The new head of PHCD, which manages more than 6,000 public housing apartments and provides financial help through federal Section 8 programs, will report to Miami-Dade County Chief Operating Officer Jimmy Morales in an effort to align the county’s housing and transportation portfolios, according to the letter.

Ballina has nearly 30 years of experience working in both the private and public sectors.

He worked as the director of governmental affairs at apartment developer Resia before he was named the director of Miami-Dade County’s housing department in 2023, the Herald reported at the time.

In his time with Miami-Dade, the department planned and delivered more than 15,000 units, Levine Cava wrote. As for why he is launching his new firm now, Ballina said, “The opportunity just is there.”

“I can't explain it, it’s just something inside of me that the timing was right for me to go,” he said.