Downtown Miami Residential Tower Proposed Where City Scuttled Office Plans
Miami-based Adler Development proposed a 36-story residential tower on a Downtown Miami site that was once slated to be new offices for the city of Miami.
The 345-unit project, called Nexus 1B in the proposal, is planned for a vacant site at 230 Southwest Third St. along the Miami River. Adler had originally agreed to build a new administration office on the site as part of a deal with the city, but Miami officials have instead opted for a build-to-suit office building on a site near Inter Miami’s planned soccer stadium.
Nexus 1B, which will go before Miami’s Urban Development Review Board on Nov. 15, is adjacent to Miami Riverside Center, the city’s administration building, and Modera Riverside, a 428-apartment building being built by Adler and Boca Raton-based Mill Creek Residential.
Nexus includes a small retail section on its ground floor, sitting below an eight-story, 393-space parking garage that would have a mural on its south and east facade. An amenity deck on the ninth floor would include a coworking space, a game room and a fitness center.
Residential units starting on the 10th floor would range from studios to three-bedroom units, according to the site plan. The rooftop would include a pool deck and social room. A letter submitted with the proposal doesn’t indicate whether the units would be apartments or condos.
Nexus was designed by Coral Gables-based Nichols Architects with landscape design from Witkin Hults, according to planning documents. Adler didn’t respond to Bisnow’s request for comment.
The project would be built on a 0.7-acre parcel that is inside a transit-oriented development zone, which means Adler can seek a waiver for a 30% reduction in parking requirements.
The developer purchased the site through a separate entity, called Lancelot Miami River LLC, for $14M in 2015, property records indicate.
The Nexus site was selected by the city of Miami in January 2019 as the location for its new administrative building, Miami Today reported. The decision followed a 2016 request for proposals won by Adler, giving it the ability to enter into a 99-year ground lease on the site of Miami Riverside Center for the construction of a residential complex in exchange for the construction of the new city headquarters.
The planned lease was approved by voters in November 2018 and Adler said at the time that it eventually intended to purchase the site for the office property for a minimum of $69M.
The Miami City Commission reversed course in June 2022 and voted 4-1 to build the government office adjacent to Miami Freedom Park, the planned Inter Miami soccer stadium and entertainment complex.
Construction on the stadium complex began in August on the city-owned site of the former Melreese Golf Course near Miami International Airport. In September, the Miami City Commission approved a resolution to issue up to $285M in bonds to build the office at 1802 Northwest 37th Ave.
The resolution authorizes the city manager to negotiate amendments to the construction agreement with the Lancelot affiliate for the property’s development.
