Shoma plans two-tower rental project near Coral Gables

Six units will be set aside as live/work apartments

Masoud Shojaee and 3650 Bird Road (Credit: Google Maps)
Masoud Shojaee and 3650 Bird Road (Credit: Google Maps)

Shoma Group is betting on Miami’s multifamily market.

Developer Masoud Shojaee is planning to build a two-tower, 359-unit rental development on Bird Road near Coral Gables. Shoma is under contract to buy the property at 3650 Bird Road, which is home to Deel Volvo, he said. Closing on the site is contingent on the developer securing approval for the project, to be called Shoma One.

Jose Saumell, partner at MSA Architects, which is designing Shoma One, said the two 18-story and 19-story luxury apartment buildings will flank an eight-story parking garage. The roof of the garage will have a pool, fitness center and other amenities. The two apartment buildings will also have sky lounges on the upper floors, a cafe, co-working spaces, a movie theater and bowling alley. The Miami Herald first reported on the project.

Units will range from 580-square-foot studios to two-bedroom, 1,400-square-foot apartments. Six of the apartments will be live/work units along 37th Avenue and Bird Road.

The project is going through the city of Miami approval process and could be approved within the next month and a half. The developer is seeking a 10 percent waiver in parking with a total of about 500 spaces.

Shojaee, who declined to disclose the purchase price of the land, plans to break ground later this year. It’s expected to cost up to $95 million to build, Saumell said. The developer is seeking construction financing for the project.

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Shoma was attracted to the site because of its proximity to the Metrorail and the Underline, a linear park that runs underneath the Metrorail tracks. The project’s courtyard and plaza spaces will link to the Underline.

Ethan Royal of Royal Byckovas, who is designing the interiors, said he’ll be activating spaces and facades with murals and paintings, as well as Persian art, ceramics and textiles.

A number of developers are building along the Metrorail, which runs from Brickell to Dadeland. There’s the Adler Group and 13th Floor Investments’ the Link at Douglas, a mixed-use project with 312 apartments in the first phase; and Gables Station and Paseo de la Riviera, two Coral Gables projects being developed by NP International, which just rebranded to Nolan Reynolds International.

Shojaee said his project stands out from existing rental projects nearby because Shoma builds rentals with features and finishes more commonly found in condos.

Shoma’s current pipeline includes Ten30, a condo development at 1030 15th Street in Miami Beach, near Lincoln Road. The developer launched sales of that project in October. The developer also previously had plans to partner with Ugo Colombo to build a luxury condo project, the Collection Residences, up the road from Shoma One at 250 Bird Road, but the partnership soured amid litigation, and eventually sold the site to Baptist Health South Florida.