Lumer Real Estate and Goldberg Companies plan a 700-unit apartment complex in Ojus, marking a switch from a previous vision for a mixed-use project with a hotel and offices on the site.
Sunny Isles Beach-based Lumer, led by Gustavo Lumer and Marina Kessler, and Ohio-based Goldberg plan the Blue Aventura project with two eight-story buildings on nearly 8 acres at the northeast corner of Northeast 186th Street and Northeast 23rd Court in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, according to a project application and Lumer. The site includes the lots at 2330 and 2366 Northeast 187th Street, as well as at 18660 and 18607 Northeast 24th Court.
Each build will have roughly 350 units and about 25,000 square feet of retail. The apartments would have market-rate rents and range from studios to three-bedroom units.
Construction of the West Tower started, with completion of the entire Blu Aventura expected in late 2025, Lumer told The Real Deal.
The project marks a switch from Lumer’s previous plan for West Aventura Town Center. In 2019, Miami-Dade County approved a land-use change for the site that would have allowed for the development of a 120-key hotel; a 75,000-square-foot office building; 85,000 square feet of retail and 480 residential units.
The onset of the pandemic and the nearby Brightline station made Lumer reevaluate its original plan, which led to its partnership with Goldberg. While South Florida’s office market is healthy, the development site isn’t in the heart of the area’s office hub, Lumer said. And the train stop, which opened in December west of Aventura Mall, prompted more residential demand.
The Ojus neighborhood has become a magnet for developers, many of whom are betting on the Brightline station fueling multifamily demand. Raphael Ammar, who builds and owns preschools, proposed in August an 18-story building with 210 apartments, 99,600 square feet of offices, and 17,600 square feet of retail at 2600 and 2630 Northeast 203rd Street.
Last year, Stellar Communities and Adam America Real Estate filed an application for a 12-story, 223-unit apartment project between Northeast 192nd and 193rd streets, near West Dixie Highway.