Melo’s Art Plaza begins pre-leasing in Miami’s Arts & Entertainment District

Melo Group’s Art Plaza just began pre-leasing after topping off in November in Miami’s Arts & Entertainment District.

The 667-unit apartment complex is currently under construction at 58 Northeast 14th Street near the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, with move-ins expected in mid-2019, according to a press release. Melo Group also recently developed the 710-unit Square Station apartment tower at 1424 Northeast Miami Place. In addition, it has a 425-apartment building, Miami Plaza, under development at 1502 Northeast Miami Place.

At Art Plaza, rents start will start at $1,600 a month. Building amenities will include a resort-style swimming pool and pool deck, Jacuzzi, fitness center and valet service, the release said.

When finished, Art Plaza will become Melo Group’s 15th residential development in the Greater Downtown Miami and Edgewater neighborhoods, bringing the firm’s total development portfolio to nearly 5,000 condo and rental units.

Overall, Class A apartment owners have fared well in Miami-Dade County over the past few years. Net operating income grew 74 percent between 2015 and 2017, according to The Real Deal’s analysis of county figures. Trends also show that more people are choosing to rent instead of buy, as homeownership becomes more unaffordable in part due to rising construction costs.

Some experts, however, believe that rents for Class A apartments will come down in the next few years due to the continued slowdown in South Florida’s luxury condo market. As more condo owners have trouble selling their condos, experts believe they will turn their units into rentals. This trend will put more condo rentals in direct competition with apartment rentals, driving rents down for both asset classes.