Florida Memorial University Plans $1B+ Project with Redwood

Florida Memorial University is working with Redwood Dev Co on the first phase of a redevelopment of the Miami Gardens campus, The Real Deal has learned.

FMU, a historically Black university, tapped Redwood as the lead developer on the 52.6-acre project, according to FMU’s Interim President William McCormick and David Burstyn, principal of Miami-based Redwood Dev Co. The $500-plus million phase one calls for 500 workforce housing units and 500 student housing beds in two eight-story buildings, new basketball courts, a turf field and academic facilities.

Miami-based Kobi Karp Architecture & Interior Design is expected to design the project.

Including future phases, the project could exceed well over $1 billion, Burstyn said.

McCormick called the deal with Redwood a P3-plus, which he described as an enhanced public-private partnership centered around a ground lease with Redwood.

“It’s a new model,” McCormick said. “We want to be able to replicate this, and help universities replicate this.”

The university was “wiped of its debt years ago when Trump was in office,” Burstyn said, referring to the CARES Act, which gave $1 billion to Historically Black Colleges and Universities and minority-serving institutions.

Construction could begin next year. Burstyn said each building would take about 18 to 24 months to construct.

New academic facilities will boost FMU’s biology, music and cybersecurity training programs, according to a press release. McCormick plans to increase enrollment to more than 2,000 students, up from the current 1,300.

McCormick said providing affordable housing for professors, teachers and staff will help the university recruit, and offering more housing for students will boost enrollment. Since the pandemic, South Florida has become one of the most unaffordable housing markets in the country.

“We interview great people for key positions, but the relocation, they can’t afford it, even on a great salary,” he said.

Redwood will handle the financial and development aspects of the deal. Burstyn said the arrangement is similar to its redevelopment of the Claude Pepper Park property in North Miami, which is a public-private partnership with the city. The North Miami City Council approved that mixed-use project last summer.