Related-led partnership closes on Wynwood development site for $12M

With design approvals already in hand, the Related Group appears to be steaming forward with its planned Wynwood 29 mixed-use tower. The developer just closed its purchase of the land it needs to build the project for $12 million.

County records show a Related-controlled company bought roughly 1.2 acres at the intersection of Northwest First Avenue and Northwest 28th Street. The seller was Tony Cho, whose Metro 1 is also partnering with Related on the project.

Related and Cho’s plans for the parcels include two mixed-use buildings on either side of Northwest First Avenue.

The larger of the two is a 12-story tower with 182 micro-condos on the western site of the street. On the eastern side, a six-story office tower with roughly 26,600 rentable square feet will be built. Both will have a combined 19,726 square feet of retail and commercial space.

Aerial rendering of the two buildings

The project is also slated to have 272 parking spaces. Wynwood 29’s apartments will range in size from studios with 416 square feet to two-bedrooms with just below 900 square feet. The project will also have amenities like a rooftop pool deck, fitness center and club room.

Cho told The Real Deal that prices will start at just below $200,000 and range upward to $500,000. The developers expect to launch sales in the first quarter of 2017 with Metro 1, Related Realty and Fortune International Group handling marketing. Construction is dependent on the pace of sales, though Cho said he believes ground breaking could happen next year.

The office and retail space is also for sale with asking prices between $500 and $600 per square foot. Cho said the developers are already in talks with several co-working operators about a possible deal, though nothing has been set in stone yet.

No financing was recorded with the deal. Related’s $12 million purchase price breaks down to about $226 per square foot of land, or $39 per buildable square foot for the planned project. Cho’s partner for the nearby Magic City redevelopment project, Dragon Global, will also take part in Wynwood 29 as an equity partner.

According to county records, Cho — acting through a company called Wynwood 1st Ave Projects — scooped up the nine parcels through separate deals in 2014. All told, he paid roughly $5.4 million for the land, most of which is currently occupied by houses and small apartment buildings.

Related, along with a host of other developers launching residential projects in Wynwood, are banking on millennials to fill their buildings. Despite a speed bump in Wynwood’s retail landscape earlier this year caused by the Zika virus, the neighborhood has become a hotspot for development amid soaring land prices and a booming art scene.

“This is more for creatives, entrepreneurs; People who want a pied-à-terre in basically the coolest neighborhood in Miami,” he said.

Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated Wynwood 29 would be a rental project. It is actually a for-sale building.