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Taurus proposes 159-unit workforce housing project in Goulds
Building would be near firm’s planned 28-unit multifamily development
A photo illustration of Taurus Development’s J.C. Molano along with schematics from the planned workforce housing project in Goulds (Getty, Taurus Development, Double C Designs/Conconcreto Designs, Google Maps)
Taurus Development proposes a 159-unit workforce housing project in Goulds, marking continuing investor interest in south Miami-Dade County.
The Coral Gables-based firm wants to build a 15-story building on an acre of land at 11888 Southwest 220th Street in an unincorporated area of the county, according to a Taurus application submitted to Miami-Dade this month. Called Valencia Club Apartments, the project would include some ground-floor retail, though the exact square footage has not been determined, said Taurus’ J.C. Molano.
The majority, though not all, of the apartments would be workforce priced, according to Molano. In Miami-Dade, workforce units are designated for households earning from 60 percent to 140 percent of the area median income. Taurus hasn’t yet decided which income brackets its workforce units would target, Molano said.
Miami-Dade’s AMI is $79,400 annually, according to the Florida Housing Finance Corporation. Workforce developers generally target households earning no more than 120 percent of the AMI, meaning a one-person household earning up to $95,400, a two-person household earning up to $108,960 and a three-person household earning up to $122,520.
Taurus could use the Live Local Act for Valencia Club Apartments, Molano said. The state law, approved last year and tweaked this year, incentivizes developers to include below-market rate units in their projects by allowing them to bypass public hearings and build bigger projects than a site’s zoning permits. The Live Local Act also gives developers property tax breaks.
Records show an entity led by Elbert Camacho Moreno and Juan Diaz Moreno owns the development site. The limited liability company lists an address that ties to Miami-based real estate firm Eco Stone Group Investments. It had purchased the land for $500,000 in October, according to records.
Molano declined to disclose whether Taurus has the site under contract, and whether the Morenos or Eco Stone would partner on the project.
Taurus is a private real estate investment and development firm that also offers financing, zoning and entitlements, design and construction services, according to its website. Aside from Molano, Taurus is led by David Arias, Humberto Estevez and Luis Lezama.
Also in Goulds, Taurus plans an eight-story, 28-unit apartment building on the southwest corner of Southwest 218th Street and Southwest 120th Avenue.
South Miami-Dade has become a magnet for multifamily developers. The area offers a vast supply of buildable land that sells at a discount compared with development sites in Miami’s prime neighborhoods such as Brickell and Wynwood.
In Goulds, Trinity Housing Partners wants to build a 234-unit age-restricted apartment complex with a seven-story building and a five-story building at 11770 Southwest 214th Street and 11825 Southwest 216th Street. Also, nonprofit Preservation of Affordable Housing is developing the 113-unit Meridian Point at Goulds Station with a seven-story building and a three-story building on the corner of U.S. 1 and Southwest 216th Street in Goulds.