North Carolina firm plans 141-unit Wynwood apartment project

Evolve Companies wants to build a 141-unit apartment building in Wynwood, marking unceasing appetite for development in the artsy Miami neighborhood.

The firm paid $9.8 million for roughly an acre on the northeast corner of Northwest 35th Street and the I-95 northbound exit ramp, with plans for an eight-story building, according to Evolve.

The site consists of six lots with small single-family houses and apartment buildings at 543, 553, 579, 583, 585 and 535-539 Northwest 35th Street, records show. All are one-story buildings constructed between 1926 and 1951. The apartment buildings each have two units.

The sellers of all but one of the properties were various entities led by Julian Diaz and Juan Diego Estrada. Mery Najera Dominguez sold the building at 535-539 Northwest 35th Street.

Fabio and Sebastian Faerman of FA Commercial at Fortune International Realty represented the buyers and sellers in the off-market deal.

Evolve, through two affiliates, took out a $6.2 million loan from First Carolina Bank, according to records.

The Kobi Karp-designed project, called Evolve Wynwood, will offer market-rate rentals, said John McDonald, Evolve’s development manager, via email.

Construction is expected to start in the first quarter of next year, and completion and lease up are slated for late 2024.

Evolve is a multifamily real estate and student housing development, management and construction firm, according to its website. It has over $1 billion of assets under management, with a portfolio spanning 25 million square feet and 20,000 units.

Led by Mike Winstead Jr. and Joe McKinney, Evolve started as Mega Builders in 1998 before rebranding to Evolve in 2013. It’s headquarters are in Greensboro and Wilmington, North Carolina.

The company has two other Florida multifamily projects under development, according to Evolve’s website. They are a 352-unit project in Palm Coast, and a 252-unit project called The Villages, in Wildwood. The latter project is near the well-known retirement community also known as The Villages.

Wynwood, a former warehouse district with single-family houses and small apartment buildings, first was redeveloped more than a decade ago into an art gallery hub with thriving nightlife. In more recent years, developers have embarked on building offices, multifamily projects and hotels.

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South Florida

Here are the residential projects planned for Miami’s Wynwood

Goldman Properties, a pioneer Wynwood developer, plans the eight-story Core Wynwood office building at 373-391 Northwest 24th Street and at 376-390 Northwest 25th Street.

Also, a joint venture between Scott Robins and Philip Levine wants to build a five-story building with 203 apartments on a site at 35-83 Northwest 27th Street that previously was planned for a hotel project with some rental units.

Developer Jenny Bernell, former EVP of development at Kushner Companies, plans a mixed-use project likely with apartments at 2000 North Miami Avenue and 2021 Northwest Miami Court. Bernell’s Clearline Real Estate bought the development site for $19.1 million in April.