Grand Station moves forward with 30-story apartment tower in downtown Miami

Grand Station Partners is moving forward with its plans for a public-private partnership with the Miami Parking Authority to develop a high-rise rental tower on a site in downtown Miami.

The developer, led by Rovr Development principals Oscar Rodriguez and Ricardo Vadia, submitted a building permit request for a 30-story, 300-unit tower at 40 Northwest Third Street, public records show. The total cost of the project is roughly $70 million, Rodriguez said.

Grand Station Partners will expand the existing Courthouse Center Garage to include an additional 350 spaces for the parking authority and build over the new portion. MPA is headquartered at the property.

The parking authority, a quasi governmental agency that manages the city of Miami’s parking assets, Moishe Mana and Grand Station Partners reached a settlement in February 2017 over a lawsuit tied to redeveloping the east side of the city block. MPA approved a sublease of air rights that will allow Mana to build a separate residential high-rise. Mana originally wanted to develop both the lot and the garage.

Grand Station Partners’ 99-year lease calls for base rent starting at $240,000 a year, beginning after the fifth year, with a nonrefundable $750,000 deposit. The developer has the option to extend the lease another 50 years.

Rodriguez expects to receive a building permit for the Grand Station Partners’ apartment project by the end of July and break ground the following month. The development will also include about 5,000 square feet of retail space and an amenity deck with a gym, pool and spa and a community work room. The apartments will be a combination of studios, one- and two-bedrooms. The building will also have a rooftop deck.

Rodriguez and Vadia are also developing the Fairchild, a 26-unit luxury boutique condo building in Coconut Grove.

Laura Hanrahan contributed reporting.