Grand Peaks proposes 26-story apartment tower in Brickell

Grand Peaks Properties doesn’t want to be left out of the Brickell bonanza.

The Denver-based multifamily firm proposes a 26-story apartment tower on an acre, spanning two adjacent lots at 901 Southwest Third Avenue and 244 Southwest Ninth Street in Miami, according to Miami records. Grand Peaks has the property under contract for an undisclosed amount.

Dubbed Empire Brickell, the project will target families by offering large units. Out of 250 units, 112 will be three-bedroom apartments, 49 will be two-bedroom apartments with a den, 40 will be two bedrooms, 44 will be one-bedroom apartments with a den, and five will be one bedrooms, according to the project application filed to the city of Miami late last month.

The Miami Urban Development Review Board will vote on the project at its Wednesday meeting, including on a waiver to allow for a 10 percent increase in the floorplates to 193 feet and 7 inches that is needed to accommodate the two-bedroom and three-bedroom apartments.

Among other waivers Grand Peaks is requesting, the developer wants a 14 percent parking space reduction to 344 spaces in the garage and eight on-street spaces. That’s still less than the 30 percent reduction allowed for projects near public transportation stops. Empire Brickell is within a half-mile of the Brickell Metrorail station.

Last year, development site owner Progesti Corp., led by Jose Nunez, put the property on the market, along with a nearby lot at 180 Southwest Ninth Street. The lots on which Grand Peaks plans to develop now house a three-story, 68-unit multifamily building that was constructed in 1962, property records show.

At the time Progesti put the site on the market, the listing broker told The Real Deal all three sites could fetch more than $25 million.

Valuations of development sites have skyrocketed since then, as the dollar volume for development site trades reached $808 million in Greater Downtown Miami last year. That’s a 155 percent increase over three years, according to Colliers data.

Grand Peaks, led by co-CEOs Luke Simpson and Nick Simpson, is a multifamily buyer, developer and manager, according to its website. Among its South Florida holdings is the 264-unit Cascades at the Hammocks apartment complex at 10605 Hammocks Boulevard in southwest Miami-Dade County, which Grand Peaks bought last year for $63 million.

Grand Peaks’ website does not list any other projects in Brickell, Miami’s primary financial district that is experiencing a residential development boom.

Menesse International wants to build a 24-story apartment tower with 350 units at 143 Southwest Ninth Street, after paying $23.5 million for the site in July.

Also, Property Markets Group plans a pair of towers with 803 residential units between Southwest Eight and Ninth streets and west of Southwest First Avenue and the Metromover tracks.

Billionaire hedge funder Ken Griffin and his firm Citadel have made major real estate plays in Brickell, scooping up two development sites and an office building this year. Citadel and Citadel Securities also are moving their headquarters from Chicago to Brickell, currently leasing a temporary space at OKO Group and Cain International’s 830 Brickell office tower that is under construction.