Gargantuan Development Proposal Would Bring 5,000 Affordable Units To Miami

Swerdlow Group has proposed a 65-acre redevelopment plan that aims to remake Miami’s Little Haiti and Little River neighborhoods. 

The Coconut Grove-based developer wants to bring 4,900 new affordable and workforce housing units to a nearly mile-long stretch of the neighborhood in a proposal that includes a new Tri-Rail station, retail space for big box stores and 700K SF of new parks and green space, the Miami Herald reported. 

The plan spans a series of non-contiguous properties that run along either side of the rail line used by Florida East Coast Railway for freight and the Tri-Rail for its service to Downtown Miami. It was submitted as a response to a request for proposals from Miami-Dade County to rebuild and expand public housing projects in the neighborhood.

Miami-Dade County, which is still considering the proposal, asked developers to submit plans to replace four housing projects, including the 148-unit Victory Homes, 82-unit New Haven Gardens and a housing agency storage depot. 

Swerdlow’s proposal, drawn up by Miami-based Arquitectonica, would replace those developments with clusters of mid-rise and high-rise apartment buildings with around 1,400 affordable housing units, the Herald reported. Existing public housing tenants would move into the new buildings at the same rent they are currently paying. 

But the plan goes well beyond the scope of the RFP and calls for an additional 3,500 housing units that would be income-restricted to a maximum of 120% of area median income, or around $90K. The proposal classifies the units as rentals, but Michael Swerdlow, the development firm’s managing partner, told the Herald he is considering building some as condos. 

“It’s all middle-class stuff and affordable stuff,” he said. “There is no gentrification.” 

A representative for Swerdlow declined Bisnow’s request for comment, citing the proposal’s ongoing consideration by the county. 

Swerdlow is partnering on the proposal with AJ Capital Partners, a Nashville-based real estate investment firm that owns a majority stake in 27 acres worth of industrial properties in the neighborhood, the Herald reported. 

AJ Capital hasn’t developed a plan for its portion of the project but would redevelop the parcels with guidance from Swerdlow, the Herald reported. A walkable main street with neighborhood shops would connect the redeveloped Victory Homes site to the AJ Capital properties.

Swerdlow also has purchase agreements to buy several parcels owned by ABC Supply to fold into the project and has secured a letter of intent from Home Depot to build a store as part of the development. Other big-box retailers have expressed interest in opening locations as part of the project, he told the Herald. 

The project, estimated to cost $2.6B and take nearly a decade to construct, would be mostly privately financed but would leverage federal tax credits for the affordable housing component. Swerdlow told the Herald he had already secured financing commitments for the plan’s major elements.  

The project is anchored by a proposed Tri-Rail stop between the Hialeah Market Station and the Miami Central Station downtown. Inclusion of the commuter rail stop, which would have to be approved by Florida East Coast Railway, is necessary to give Swerdlow the ability to build taller properties under zoning rules governing transit-oriented developments. 

David Dech, the executive director of Tri-Rail’s parent company, South Florida Regional Transportation Authority, told the Herald the site “would be a fantastic place for a station.”

Swerdlow submitted the proposal in November, but it was first reported by the Herald this month. County officials declined to comment to the newspaper about the project, citing a “cone of silence” rule that is meant to stop lobbying while proposals are under consideration. 

Swerdlow and AJ Capital were the only developers to submit a response to the RFP, the Herald reported. If approved by administrative staff, proposals are typically then considered by the Miami-Dade County Commission, a process that is likely to take months.