Doral, a city on Miami-Dade County’s western edge that’s known for its suburbs and industrial market, is getting a modern makeover.
Local developers and industry heavyweights alike are looking to erect huge mixed-use developments in the city, similar to those popular in the booming neighborhoods of Brickell and downtown Miami.
One of the projects closest to delivery is Midtown Doral, a four-phase development near the corner of Northwest 107th Avenue and Northwest 74th Street, developed by the Century Homebuilders Group and its partners.
Phase One of Midtown Doral is promising to bring 537 condo units to the area, split between four eight-story buildings. Retail space will occupy the first floor of each mid-rise as well as two parking structures, for a total of 72,000 square feet of restaurants and stores.
Sergio Pino, president of Century, told The Real Deal that the first phase will be wrapped up by the end of next year. So far, 70 percent of the first 537 units have been sold, and roughly 60 percent of the retail space has been leased.
The other three phases will bring an additional 1,010 condo units, 230,000 square feet of commercial space and a 100,000 square-foot office building, he said.
All of the condo units are priced between $229,000 and $780,000, with sizes ranging from 652 square feet to 2,100 square feet.
Pino said he has not taken out any financing on Midtown Doral, as all of the equity has been put up from investors and from deposits. Midtown Doral follows this cycle’s standard of 50 percent deposits before closing.
“Doral is a great place to do business,” he told TRD. “The market here has been great for us.”
Pino’s goal is to deliver the entire development by 2020, which means the project would move at a pace of roughly one phase per year.
Century has a history of building single-family home communities in western Miami-Dade, though it has built a handful of multi-family projects since it was founded in 1997.
When asked why he chose mixed-use for his largest project yet, Pino said it fills a much needed place in the market:
“It’s the future. Having the option to live, work and eat all in the same place is extremely attractive,” he said. “This is not going to be my only Midtown. I’ve already registered the name Midtown Hialeah and Midtown Kendall.”
Pino said he chose Doral because it is quickly growing. Its population has more than doubled since 2000, now standing at 54,116, and is expected to grow by the thousands over the next five years.
Big name developers like Codina Partners, Terra Group and Related Group are also building huge mixed-use projects in the city.
Related is working on CityPlace Doral, which plans to bring more than 1,000 residences and 600,000 square feet of commercial space to the area.
Armando Codina of the Codina Group is working on finishing his vision, Downtown Doral, that includes nine condo buildings, 70 retail shops and more than 1 million square feet of office space.
And next door to Century’s Midtown, Terra Group is building the Doral Commons — a 15-acre shopping center anchored by Publix, with restaurant space and a pair of low-rise office buildings.