Eco Stone Group plans to begin construction this month on its first ground-up development, a $35 million apartment building in Miami’s Allapattah.
An affiliate of Miami-based Eco Stone secured a $23 million construction loan from Popular Bank for Eco Landing at 1515 Northwest 18th Street and 1601 Northwest 18th Street, said company CEO Javier Gomez.
Eco Stone, also led by Gomez’s brother Juan Gomez, is finalizing Eco Landing’s master permit, and expects to break ground soon on the proposed eight-story building with 125 apartments, Gomez said.
Last month, Eco Stone demolished a two-story building on the site with 16 apartments built in 1987, and also tore down a one-story building with 20 apartments completed in 1972. Between 2019 and 2020, the affiliate paid a combined $4.2 million for the two properties.
“This is our first project as developers, but we’ve been general contractors for 15 years,” Gomez said. “We have built projects for other developers.”
Founded in 2003, Eco Stone is also targeting Allapattah for its second planned development, Eco Station Tower at 1880 Northwest 36th Street. That project will entail 150 units primarily for low-income tenants, Gomez said.
Allapattah is experiencing a wave of new apartment building development. Last year, Lissette Calderon’s Neology Life Development Group nabbed a $57.5 million construction loan for Fourteen Residences Allapattah. The proposed multifamily project will consist of a 14-story building with 180 units and a five-story building with 57 apartments.
Also last year, Neology broke ground on The Julia, a 14-story project with 323 apartments in Allapattah after landing a $78 million construction loan. The Julia is slated to open next year.
In 2021, Neology finished No. 17 Residences, another Allapattah apartment building rising 13 stories with 192 units.
Miami-based NR Investments is another developer eyeing a major project in Allapattah. Last year, NR submitted a proposal to the city of Miami to develop 18 acres of city-owned land at 1970 Northwest 13th Avenue and 1950 Northwest 12th Avenue. If the city approves the 99-year lease, NR is proposing a mixed-use project with 2,500 apartments; 300 hotel keys; 200,000 square feet of office space; and 100,000 square feet of retail.