NuRock proposes Live Local Act project with 130 affordable rentals near Opa-locka

NuRock Companies proposes a Live Local Act project with 130 apartments near Opa-locka, marking developers’ continued use of the state legislation incentivizing affordable housing construction. 

The Alpharetta, Georgia-based company wants to build Residences at West View Landing with one 11-story building on the southeast corner of Northwest 27th Avenue and Northwest 123rd Street in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, according to an application NuRock filed to the county late last month. Apartment developer NuRock NuRock’s leadership team includes managing principal Robert Hoskins. 

Units would range from 32 one-bedrooms averaging 650 square feet, 64 two-bedrooms averaging 850 square feet, and 34 three-bedrooms averaging 1,050 square feet, the filing shows. 

The apartments would be designated for households making no more than 80 percent of the area median income, according to the application. Miami-Dade’s AMI is $74,700 annually, the Florida Housing Finance Corporation’s website shows. To qualify for a unit at Residents at West View, the income limits are $57,840 annually for a one-person household; $66,080 for a two-person household; $74,320 for a three-person household; and $82,560 for a four-person household. 

The building would include a three-level garage, the application shows.  

NuRock is asking the county for a pre-application meeting for staff members’ feedback on whether the developer can either obtain administrative approval under the Live Local Act or amend the sub-district designation to “core” to allow for more density, the filing shows. 

Records show an entity led by Alejandro and Faensy Beltran of Davie own the 0.6 acre vacant site.  

The Florida Legislature approved the Live Local Act last year, setting aside millions of dollars for new affordable and workforce housing, as well as granting developers exemptions from local zoning regulations in exchange for including units for households making up to 120 percent of the AMI in their projects.

This legislative session, lawmakers are poised to approve tweaks to the law, including height protections for single-family home neighborhoods and eliminations of parking requirements for Live Local projects near transit stops. The Senate passed the amendments last week, and the House is expected to approve them. 

Live Local has caught South Florida developers’ eyes. In one of the biggest proposals under the law, Whitman Family Development wants to develop a 70-key hotel, 600 residential units and 46,000 square feet of retail at its Bal Harbour Shops. After Village of Bal Harbour council members, residents and elected officials from nearby municipalities raised issues with the project, including the planned height increase, Bal Harbour Shops sued the village last month alleging it “promised” residents a moratorium. The council had authorized the manager to protect the village’s quality of life in response to the application. 

A similar issue erupted in Doral when Apollo Companies proposed its planned Oasis at Doral at 4090 Northwest 97th Avenue to reach 12 stories. The city and the developer settled their dispute when Apollo agreed to lower the height to eight stories. Oasis at Doral also would consist of several hundred residential units, retail with food and beverage, and two existing office buildings.