Ben-Josef family proposes 561-unit rental project near North Miami, amid record South Florida multifamily construction pipeline 

The Ben-Josef family, owners of the Sagamore Hotel South Beach, propose a 561-unit apartment building near North Miami. 

Their plan comes as South Florida is experiencing a multifamily construction boom, putting the tri-county region in line for a record number of new units by year-end. 

Ben Josef Group Holdings wants to develop the project on a 4-acre vacant site between Biscayne Boulevard and Northeast 14th Avenue, south of Biscayne Shores and Gardens Park, in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, according to an application the property owner filed to the county this month. The site has been vacant for more than 15 years. 

Designed by Kobi Karp, the project would include 84 workforce priced units, 20,000 square feet of commercial space and 723 parking spaces. The project would rise 15 stories along Biscayne Boulevard and taper down to five stories at the center of the building and along Northeast 14th Avenue. 

Property owner Biscayne Shores Development Group, managed by Ron Ben-Josef and Ronit Neuman, plans to file an application for changes to the comprehensive master development plan and future land use map, as well as for a special exception under the rapid transit zone SMART corridor subzone. 

Miami-Dade’s SMART corridors, which include Biscayne Boulevard, are roads designated for public transportation expansion. Generally, the rapid transit zoning under the SMART corridor subzone allows developers to build bigger projects than site zonings permit. 

For now, Biscayne Shores Development is asking Miami-Dade for a pre-application meeting, usually requested so that developers can gauge input from county staff. 

Neuman and Ben-Josef appear to be siblings, according to Bisnow, which first reported the story about the proposed project. 

Ben-Josef Group and InSite Group bought the five-story, 93-key Sagamore at 1671 Collins Avenue in Miami Beach in 2016 for $63 million. InSite later sold its ownership stake in the hotel. 

In 2020, Ben-Josef Group, and partners the Kanavos family’s Flag Luxury Group and the Lowensteins’ Lionstone Group, which own the two Ritz-Carltons in South Beach and Bal Harbour, merged ownership of their hotels. 

Last year, the three firms filed a proposal to develop a 15-story building with 30 condos behind the Sagamore, and cantilever it over a part of the Ritz-Carlton at 1 Lincoln Road in Miami Beach. 

South Florida’s apartment market experienced a boom in 2021 and 2022, fueled by unprecedented demand due to an influx of out-of-state residents and record rent increases. Developers seized on the bonanza with plans for new projects. A Berkadia report shows that by year-end, 23,863 units are expected to be completed across South Florida, the most since 2002.