Terra, Shoma Group Propose Apartment Project in Fontainebleau

Terra and Shoma Group propose an apartment complex in the Fontainebleau neighborhood west of Miami International Airport.

The duo submitted plans for a 375-unit garden-style community on 17 acres that the developers own on the southwest corner of Northwest 87th Avenue and the Dolphin Expressway, according to an application filed to Miami-Dade County last week. The site is next to the Pineside condominium at 8889 Fontainebleau Boulevard.

Roughly 350 of the units will be workforce housing, according to a Terra statement.

Construction of the four-story complex is expected to start in the third quarter of next year, Shoma President Stephanie Shojaee said via email. Completion is slated for late 2024.

Coconut Grove-based Terra and Coral Gables-based Shoma’s submittal is for zoning approval for the project. The developers are only asking for a pre-application meeting at this point, which is generally a way for builders to gauge county staff feedback before an official filing.

The proposal is the latest development for the firms, each of which boasts projects throughout Miami-Dade.

Led by David Martin, Terra has defined much of Coconut Grove’s skyline with projects like the pair of twisting Grove at Grand Bay buildings and Mr. C Residences, both condominiums. The firm also is developing CentroCity in Miami’s Little Havana with apartments, offices and retail and is renovating the existing strip mall at 3825 Northwest 7th Street.

Shoma has built roughly 1,000 residential units in the Fontainebleau neighborhood. It also developed most of the mixed-use Park Square at Doral, completing much of it in partnership with Jorge Pérez’s Related Group. Last year, the pair sold the last buildable parcel at the project for $16 million to Lincoln Property Company National, which plans a multifamily project.

Shoma also joined the development flurry in North Bay Village, where the firm launched sales in September at its planned 21-story, 327-unit condo building at 1850 79th Street Causeway.

Masoud Shojaee co-founded and still leads Shoma. He promoted his wife, Stephanie Shojaee, to president in March.

The Fontainebleau neighborhood in west Miami-Dade isn’t a prime real estate area, but still has attracted some multifamily investors and developers amid South Florida’s booming rental market.

In April, Harbor Group International paid $50 million for the seven-story, 133-unit 275 Fontaine Parc building.

Terra and Shoma’s bet on multifamily comes as rent growth has cooled after South Florida led the nation in rent increases for much of this year. Overall, rents rose 8.4 percent in October, year-over-year, according to Realtor.com. That is far below the 52 percent hike the region experienced in January, year-over-year.