Hotels, micro apartments? Tony Cho talks the next wave of Wynwood development: VIDEO

Video by Alistair Gardiner

Tony Cho has big plans for Wynwood, and if all goes according to plan, the end result is going to be small — very small. The Metro 1 CEO and founder stepped aside to catch up with The Real Deal Managing Web Editor Hiten Samtani to talk about his upcoming micro-condo project with the Related Group, and the kinds of development Wynwood watchers can expect in the next year.

Cho recently partnered with the Related Group to launch a residential project called Wynwood 29, which he said would house units ranging in size from 500 to 600 square feet.

“I don’t think that it’s going to replace the family apartment,” he said. “But it’s certainly going to cater to a need that is increasing.”

The broker and developer said hotel development in Wynwood is “imminent,” and he’s eyeing several sites for a hotel deal, depending on if he can find the right concept and operator. Cho also dished on his most ambitious project yet called Magic City, a massive redevelopment in the planning stages for Miami’s Upper East Side. He said he’s already assembled 15 to 16 acres, and while the overall scope of the project is not yet decided, he plans to adaptively re-use roughly 200,000 square feet of existing buildings on the land.

Cho was one of more than a dozen panelists assembled by TRD at Wynwood’s Soho Studios on Oct. 20 to break down their perspectives of the market, point out the hottest neighborhoods and predict where Miami’s real estate market is headed. More than 4,500 brokers and developers showed up to browse the latest South Florida projects and network. — Sean Stewart-Muniz