New Jersey investor proposes Miami Overtown mixed-use project

A New Jersey investor is proposing a 25-story mixed-use project in Miami’s Overtown neighborhood. 

The Miami Urban Development Review Board on Wednesday will consider approving Overtown Block 19, a proposed building with 413 apartments, 23,000 square feet of ground-floor retail and a parking garage. The 1.3-acre vacant development site is at 1135 Northwest First Court, according to a letter of intent filed with the city. 

An entity managed by Mitchell Newman in Morganville, New Jersey, has owned the nine-parcel assemblage since 2008, records show. Newman’s entity is requesting the review board grant three waivers, including the elimination of 204 parking spaces and the placement of two commercial loading berths instead of one as required under the Miami 21 zoning code. 

Miami-based Nichols Architects is designing Overtown Block 19. 

In 2011, the city of Miami approved a previous project by Newman’s entity, consisting of two 27-story towers with 340 apartments, 3,140 square feet of retail space and a nine-story garage with 478 parking spaces, according to city documents attached to the letter of intent. 

Overtown Block 19 is a short distance from another large mixed-use project already under construction in Overtown, a historically Black neighborhood in Miami. Block 55, by Coconut Grover developer Michael Swerdlow, will feature 578 apartments for low-income seniors on top of 250,000 square feet of retail anchored by Target and Aldi stores. In 2020, a Swerdlow affiliate paid $10 million for the 3.4-acre site at 249 Northwest Sixth Street. The same year, the developer landed a $25 million construction loan for Block 55, and has since been awarded two city of Miami grants totaling $10 million for the senior housing component. 

The Miami Urban Development Review Board will also consider approving a mixed-use project on the border of Miami’s Wynwood and Edgewater neighborhoods. Omni America, a New York-based developer co-founded by ex-Major League Baseball star Mo Vaughn, is proposing Omni 21. The 10-story building would have 97 apartments and roughly 6,000 square feet of restaurant and retail space.