Baptist Proposes Altman Multifamily Project in Kendall

A 354-unit multifamily complex and an adjacent medical building could rise on a 14.5-acre property in Kendall that is now a strawberry farm.

Baptist Hospital of Miami, part of Baptist Health of South Florida, last week submitted an application to Miami-Dade County for the project on the hospital-owned site at 9501 Southwest 137th Avenue. The application shows Baptist would develop the medical facility and The Altman Companies would build the apartments.

Baptist is seeking rezoning and a special exception to allow residential development. The county’s development impact committee will review the proposal, and the Miami-Dade County Zoning Board is to vote on it at an unspecified date.

Boca Raton-based Altman, led by Joel Altman and Seth Wise, is listed as under contract for a portion of the site, but no further details were provided. An Altman spokesperson declined comment.

A site plan shows the medical office would take up a small area on the north end of the property, and six mid-rise apartment buildings would be built on the remainder of the land. The residential development would include a lake, clubhouse and walking trails.

Baptist’s letter of intent lists 14 possibilities for the medical offices, including for endoscopy, oncology and cardiac services. It also could be a medical laboratory, administrative offices or a pharmacy.

The site is a six-mile drive from the main Baptist Hospital campus at 8800 North Kendall Drive and just west of the long-closed Calusa Country Club golf course and Calusa Club Estates residential community. Homebuilder GL Homes and Facundo Bacardi plan to redevelop the 169-acre course with 550 homes. GL Homes last month bought the course from Bacardi for $32 million.

Some Calusa Club Estates homeowners have opposed the golf course redevelopment, saying they purchased their homes with the promise that the course will remain. Homeowner Amanda Prieto, who opposes the golf course project, said the multifamily/office building proposal makes more sense because it would be along a major road. Access to the Altman apartment complex would be only at Southwest 137th Avenue and not at 96th Avenue, which leads to Calusa.

Baptist Hospital has been active in Miami-Dade County real estate. It’s developing a 232-unit luxury senior living project called Belmont Village Coral Gables, after winning approval in June. Last month, the hospital sold a 100-unit multifamily complex in Kendall for $17 million.