Companies tied to the Related Group recently filed plans for three new affordable housing buildings in Little Havana.
Related’s The Gallery at River Parc LLC submitted plans to the city of Miami’s building department for a 150-unit building at 750 Northwest 13th Avenue and its Brisas del Rio Apartments is planning a 168-unit building at 800 Northwest 13th Avenue. The property is currently home to the Haley Sofge Towers, a 475-unit apartment building owned by the Miami-Dade Housing Authority.
The estimated cost for both buildings is $48.8 million, according to the permit application.
In a separate application, Related’s affordable housing arm, Related Urban, filed plans for a new 112-unit, 35,000-square-foot apartment development on the same site as Smathers Plaza, a recently completed senior housing development at 1025 Southwest 30th Avenue.
The second phase, called the Gallery at Smathers Plaza, would cost about $7 million. Related Urban was seeking up to $1.925 million in HOME and AHTF funds to build the project, public records show.
A spokesperson for Related and Related Urban said it’s too early to comment on plans for the Smathers Plaza project.
Earlier this year, the Miami Urban Development Review Board approved the second residential phase of Liberty Square Rising, an ambitious redevelopment project by Related Urban that will replace Liberty Square, a 753-unit apartment complex that opened 81 years ago and is home to roughly 600 low income residents.
More than a year ago, the Miami Herald reported that Related Urban was part of an an expanding probe by the U.S. Attorney’s Office into South Florida’s affordable housing industry. Federal authorities were reportedly looking into whether the company pocketed money from boosting construction costs on a senior housing project in Miami’s Shenandoah neighborhood. Related disputed the assertion that it was the focus of the investigation.