Astor Companies nabbed a $36 million construction loan for a multifamily project that already broke ground in Miami’s Little Havana.
Ocean Bank provided the financing for an affiliate of Astor, a Coral Gables-based firm led by Henry Torres, that is developing Havana Enclave, an eight-story building with 179 apartments, records show. Last year, Astor paid $10 million for the 1.2-acre site at 315 Northwest 27th Avenue.
Designed by Coral Gables-based Hamed Rodriguez Architects, Havana Enclave will have a mix of market-rate studios, one and two-bedroom apartments, a press release states. Astor expects to complete the project in 2027.
Founded in 2002, Astor has developed condominium and multifamily projects in Brickell, Coconut Grove, Little Havana and Coral Gables, the press release states. In 2023, Astor completed Douglas Enclave, a 10-story, 199-unit project at 61 Northwest 37th Avenue in Miami.
The developer completed Douglas Enclave with a $32.4 million loan also provided by Ocean Bank.
In Little Havana, the average asking rent for a one-bedroom apartment is $2,557 a month, compared to $2,720 a month for Miami overall, according to rentcafe.com.
The neighborhood is experiencing an uptick in multifamily projects under Florida’s Live Local Act, which grants developers higher density if they set aside 40 percent of apartments for households earning no more than 120 percent of the area median income (AMI). The annual AMI in Miami-Dade County is $87,200, according to the Florida Housing Finance Corporation.
Recently, an entity led by Khashayar Khazai and Shane Shapiro of Sunny Isles Beach submitted plans to the city of Miami to build a 23-story tower with 166 apartments and 4,000 square feet of commercial space on a half-acre site at 521 and 531 Southwest Seventh Street in Little Havana.
The affordable and workforce housing arm of Coconut Grove-based Related Group also tapped the Live Local Act for a planned 1,038-unit multifamily complex with a pair of 21-story towers and a 12-story building in Little Havana. The project site is at 800 Northwest 13th Avenue, 780 Northwest 13th Court and 1389 Northwest Seventh Street.