Adam America, Stellar plan apartments in Ojus

Proposal is for 12-story building with 223 units, including workforce housing

A rendering of the project with Adam America Real Estate’s Omri Sachs and Dvir Cohen-Hoshen and Stellar Communities’ Larry Baum (ODP Architects, Adam America)
A rendering of the project with Adam America Real Estate’s Omri Sachs and Dvir Cohen-Hoshen and Stellar Communities’ Larry Baum (ODP Architects, Adam America)

Stellar Communities and Adam America Real Estate are planning a 223-unit apartment project in Ojus, marking the partnership’s second wager on the neighborhood.

The developers want to build a 12-story building on 2 acres between Northeast 192nd and 193rd streets, near West Dixie Highway, according to a proposal filed to Miami-Dade County last week. The submittal is a request for a pre-application meeting, which is a way for developers to obtain county staff’s feedback before making an official filing.

The land between Northeast 192nd and 193rd streets, near West Dixie Highway and a rendering of the project (Google Maps, ODP Architects)

Plans call for several street-level townhouses, which also will be for rent. Overall, 10 percent of the units, or roughly 22, will be designated workforce housing, said Larry Baum, Stellar’s managing partner. Including below-market rate apartments allows the developers a 25 percent density bonus, according to the project filing.

Stellar and Adam America assembled the seven-lot development site for a combined $10.1 million in June, records show. The properties are at 2524-2560 Northeast 193rd Street and at 2525-2561 Northeast 192nd Street.

Aptly named Aventura Station II, the project is the developers’ second proposed apartment building near the soon-to-open Brightline train stop.

Aventura Station I, at 18801 West Dixie Highway, is proposed as a 15-story, 245-unit project with roughly 13,000 square feet of retail, Baum said. The developers are seeking site plan approval.

Both ODP Architects-designed projects will be part of Stellar’s Element brand. Construction of both buildings is expected to start next year and completion is anticipated in 2025, Baum said.

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A flurry of project applications have been filed this year for the Ojus neighborhood, coinciding with the progress of the Brightline station. Yet, Baum said, Stellar and Adam America didn’t choose Ojus solely because of the train stop. Population growth in nearby areas — such as the Sky Lake neighborhood in North Miami Beach — as well as the high sale prices for single-family homes were more of a driver, he said.

“The train is just a bonus,” Baum said.

Dania Beach-based Stellar and New York-based Adam America have partnered on other Florida developments. The pair will start construction on a six-story, 275-apartment development in Dania Beach at 4200 Southwest 54th Court near the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.

Stellar has developed almost 3,200 houses and apartments since it was founded in 2009, according to its website.

Adam America, founded by Dvir Cohen Hoshen and Omri Sachs in 2009, has 42 properties either completed or under construction, and $2.8 billion of developed assets under management, its website shows. Its New York projects include The Westly, a condominium known for its cantilevered design.

Arnaud Karsenti’s 13th Floor Investments also is betting on Ojus, proposing a 350-unit apartment building at 19680-19770 West Dixie Highway. The site is one lot south of the Brightline station.

In November, investors Yakov Cohen and Shimon Bouskila filed plans for a 15-story, 261-unit apartment building with retail at 2655-2660 Northeast 189th Street.

Brightline’s station is slated to open across from Aventura Mall by year-end.