Developers Known For Luxury Towers Pay $17M For Workforce Housing Site In Overtown
A trio of developers that have previously partnered on projects across Miami added a 1.5-acre development site in Overtown to their stable of planned projects.
Property Markets Group, Lion Development Group and Lndmrk Development paid $16.5M for 105 NW 11th Terrace in Overtown between Downtown Miami and Wynwood. The joint venture is planning a transit-oriented development with a mix of market-rate and workforce housing on the vacant site that is known as Block 19, according to a release.
City National Bank of Florida provided an $8.3M mortgage for the joint venture to acquire the property from Ring Overtown LLC, an entity controlled by Mitchell Newman in Morganville, New Jersey. Newman is the vice president of land at Miami-based homebuilder Lennar, according to his LinkedIn profile.
"PMG is looking forward to partnering once again with Lion Development Group and Lndmrk in the collaborative effort to bring the Block 19 project to Overtown,” Ryan Shear, managing partner of PMG, said in a statement. “This development aligns with our vision to develop impactful mixed-use residential projects in Miami and beyond.”
Overtown is a historically Black neighborhood that was segregated after its founding in 1896. It has struggled to attract investment but has begun to draw interest from developers in recent years.
The joint venture declined to provide specific details of its plans for the site but said in its release announcing the acquisition that they have a “unique vision for the future of Overtown” that includes working with the Overtown Community Redevelopment Agency to promote economic development and create a walkable neighborhood that connects to Downtown Miami.
“We are proud to bring this new development to life by working alongside community leaders and organizations to enhance the Overtown neighborhood, as well as bolster the growth and economic impact of the area,” Michael Simkins, CEO of Lion Development Group, said in a statement.
The former owner won approval for plans for the site in March 2023 that included two residential towers connected by a 505-car parking pedestal with 413 apartments and 23K SF of retail with a seventh-floor pool deck and rooftop amenities, the South Florida Business Journal reported at the time.
The project is the latest in a string of collaborations for the firm. Most recently, a trust led by Shear purchased a 1.1-acre assemblage in Wynwood Norte in October for $20M from an entity managed by Alexander Karakhanian, the head of Lndmrk Development.
Karakhanian said at the time that the development of the site, at 137 Northwest 29th St., would be a joint venture between PMG, which has offices in New York and Miami, and Miami-based Lndmrk.
Plans have yet to be announced, but the site is zoned for a mixed-use development of up to 12 stories and Shear said at a Bisnow event last week that his firm was preparing to launch a condo project there in the second quarter.
Lndmrk is also under contract to purchase 50K SF of commercial space on the ground floor of Society Wynwood, a 10-story apartment building PMG is building with Toronto-based Greybrook Realty Partners in the center of the Wynwood Arts District. Shear said at the event that the 10-story project was set to open its doors this month.
Simkins is also a partner at E11even Miami, the owner of a popular Downtown Miami nightclub of the same name where the firm is developing two branded condo projects in partnership with PMG.
PMG and E11even secured a $262M loan in June to build the second tower of the project, which will have more than 1,000 condos that were 80% sold when the debt from Madison Realty Capital was secured. The first tower is slated to deliver by the end of 2025 with the second tower following a year later.
Coconut Grove-based Swerdlow Group is also building the 1.5M SF Sawyer’s Walk mixed-use development at 249 NW Sixth St. in Overtown.
The 3.4-acre project broke ground in 2021 in partnership with Overtown’s community redevelopment agency and Miami-Dade County's public housing authority. It’s slated to deliver this summer and includes 578 apartments restricted to senior citizens earning no more than 60% of area median income.
Much of Sawyer’s Walk’s 175K SF of retail space has already been leased and will include a 50K SF Target and a 25K SF Aldi supermarket. MSC Group, an international shipping and cruise firm, announced plans in January to take all of the project’s 130K SF of office space for the North American headquarters of its cruise division.
“As local business owners committed to the neighborhood, it’s been incredible to see the growth and revitalization of Overtown over the past decade,” Simkins said. The Block 19 project “will further invigorate the area and provide additional opportunities for locals and guests alike to thrive through new investment that is dedicated to honoring this culturally significant neighborhood.”
