Miami-Dade County’s ambitious plan to redevelop 17 acres of land in downtown Miami into a $10 billion mixed-use project will pit some of the biggest names in real estate against each other, The Real Deal has learned.
Three all-star development teams have qualified to bid on a request for proposals to build Metrocenter, a mix of new office and residential towers on a hodgepodge of county-owned properties surrounding the Stephen P. Clark Government Center, Miami-Dade’s 28-story administrative building at 111 Northwest First Street, county documents show. The RFP is expected to be issued sometime next year.
To qualify for the RFP, the three teams submitted presentations detailing their experience developing transit-oriented and affordable housing projects, as well as showing their ability to secure private financing for the construction of Metrocenter.
One team consists of Related Urban, the affordable housing division of Coconut Grove-based Related Group; Coconut Grove-based 13th Floor Investments; and Fort Lauderdale-based Merrimac Ventures. Related Urban is the developer of Liberty Square, a mixed-income, mixed-use project in Miami’s Liberty City neighborhood. 13th Floor is developing Link at Douglas, a mixed-use project adjacent to the Douglas Road Metrorail Station near Coconut Grove.
Merrimac and Aria Development Group are partnering on 600 Miami Worldcenter, a planned short-term rental-friendly condo tower in downtown Miami. Currently under construction, the 32-story project with 606 fully furnished condos is within the $6 billion Miami Worldcenter mixed-use development.
Related is led by Jorge Pérez and his sons Jon Paul and Nick Pérez. Albert Milo leads the affordable housing division. 13th Floor is led by Arnaud Karsenti, and Merrimac is led by Nitin Motwani and Dev Motwani.
Another team features Coconut Grove-based Terra, Bay Harbor Islands-based Atlantic Pacific Companies and Chicago-based Sterling Bay. In May, Atlantic Pacific partnered with nonprofit Casa Familia to develop a 124-unit apartment complex in Kendall for tenants with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Terra and Coconut Grove-based Grass River Property recently completed Grove Central, a mixed-use complex with 402 apartments, including some workforce housing and co-living units, adjacent to the Coconut Grove Metrorail Station.
Terra is led by David Martin. Atlantic Pacific is led by Howard Cohen, and Sterling Bay is led by Andy Gloor.
The third team is a joint venture between Miami-based Florida Value Partners, Hollywood-based Cornerstone Group and Chicago-based John Buck Co. Of the three firms, Cornerstone specializes in affordable and workforce housing projects.
Florida Value Partners is led by Gus Alonso. Cornerstone is led by Jorge Lopez, and John Buck is led by its founder of the same name. Florida Value and John Buck are partnering with Aventura-based BH Group and Boca Raton-based Pebb Enterprises to develop a 41-story mixed-use skyrise with condos and offices on a development site adjacent to the Stephen P. Clark building.
Cornerstone is planning a mixed-use project anchored by an Aldi supermarket and a Ross Dress for Less store in Little Havana. The development would also have 354 market-rate apartments.
The Metrocenter plan entails the possible demolition of the Miami-Dade County Commission chambers at the Stephen P. Clark building, as well as tearing down other county-owned facilities, including a cultural center complex that’s home to the HistoryMiami museum and Miami-Dade’s main library, county documents show.
New buildings would include the Downtown Intermodal Terminal that would connect to the Metrorail and Metromover stations at the Stephen P. Clark building; 6,000 to 8,500 new apartments and condominiums; a new cultural arts campus, a 45,000-square-foot recreation, wellness and conservation center; and 60,000 square feet of new office space for Miami-Dade’s Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces Department.