Resia nabs $71M construction loan for Golden Glades apartments, as South Florida defies financing slump

Resia scored a $71 million construction loan for a 420-unit apartment complex in Golden Glades, as South Florida continues to defy the nationwide financing slump. 

The development firm plans four five-story buildings and a 705-space garage on a 7.1-acre site between Northwest 159th Street and Northwest 161st Street, immediately east of I-95 in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, according to county records. Birmingham, Alabama-based Regions Bank provided the construction loan. 

Resia started construction this month, according to a notice of commencement. 

The project would consist of one-bedroom to three-bedroom apartments, ranging from 623 square feet to 1,079 square feet. Resia will reserve 84 units as workforce housing for households earning no more than 140 percent of the area median income. 

At Miami-Dade’s annual AMI of $79,400, a four-person household can’t earn more than $158,900 annually to qualify for a workforce unit at the project, data from the Florida Housing Finance Corporation shows. 

Resia, based in the Three Lakes neighborhood of unincorporated Miami-Dade, purchased the development site for $12 million in 2021, according to records. It’s just south of the Golden Glades Interchange. 

The multifamily development and management firm is led by CEO Ernesto Lopes. Formerly called AHS Residential, Resia is a subsidiary of Brazilian publicly traded homebuilding and real estate firm MRV. 

In August, Resia sold the 288-unit Pine Ridge apartment complex at 6200 Wallis Road near West Palm Beach to Harbor Group International for $75 million. Also last year, the firm filed a proposal for a 948-unit workforce housing apartment complex with four 12-story buildings at 7701 Northwest 79th Avenue in Medley. The project would use Florida’s Live Local Act, legislation approved last year that allows developers major tax breaks and wiggle room on local zoning in exchange for building affordable and workforce units.  

Nationwide, the lending market has tightened, as banks have become more skittish and elevated interest rates have made debt more expensive. South Florida has bucked the trend, with construction financing still flowing. This month, ROVR Development scored a $66 million loan to build the eight-story, 300-unit Tides apartment building at 2750 Northwest South River Drive in Miami. Kayne Anderson, a Los Angeles-based investment manager, is the lender. 
Much of the lending activity has focused on the luxury condo market. Last month, the Pérez family’s Related Group, David Edelstein’s Tricap and Alex Karakhanian’s Lndmrk Development landed a $141.5 million construction financing package for their nine-story, 329-unit NoMad Residences Wynwood condo at 2700 Northwest Second Avenue in Miami. Beverly Hills-based Kennedy Wilson provided $90 million in senior debt, and Related Fund Management provided a $51.5 million mezzanine loan.