Bluenest Development, a relative newcomer to South Florida real estate that needs Miami-Dade approvals for its workforce housing projects, is the top donor to county politicians so far this year.
Bluenest, led by brothers Salim and Kamil Chraibi, gave more than $190,000 to commissioners in the first quarter, the Miami Herald reported, based on its tally of donations to political committees linked to commissioners and Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.
The Pérez family’s Coconut Grove-based Related Group donated $115,000. Swerdlow Group, also based in Coconut Grove, gave $105,000.
This continues a South Florida tradition of developers who need local governments’ approvals for projects anteing up for political donations.
Bluenest, founded in 2018 and based in Miami-Dade, has completed about 1,000 homes, and at least 3,000 are in its pipeline.
Although it started out building individual homes scattered across the county, it later zeroed in on its niche of developing residential complexes in south Miami-Dade with workforce-priced townhomes and single-family homes. In that, the firm seized on the south county area’s healthy supply of cheaper buildable land and Miami-Dade’s high demand for below-market for-sale homes.
Commissioner Kionne McGhee, who represents a large swath of south Miami-Dade, was the biggest beneficiary of Bluenest’s donations, receiving $50,000 to his 1 South Dade committee. Bluenest also donated to commissioners Marleine Bastien, Danielle Cohen Higgins, Roberto Gonzalez, Vicki Lopez, Natalie Milian Orbis and Micky Steinberg.
In one of its recent proposals, Bluenest wants to build a pair of complexes with 163 townhomes, combined, in south Miami-Dade.
Related and Swerdlow, longtime major players in Miami-Dade development, in recent years have seized on redeveloping Miami-Dade’s public housing through the federal Rental Assistance Demonstration program. Swerdlow has approval for the biggest planned county RAD project, promising 5,730 apartments in Little River, consisting of public housing replacement units and affordable apartments.
Related is the developer of Miami-Dade’s largest under-construction RAD project: the 22-acre River Parc on the Miami River, transforming an 800-unit public housing complex. The development now has well over 1,100 units, with more on tap.
Under RAD, developers lease county-owned public housing sites, often razing existing buildings and redeveloping them with towers that replace all existing public housing units and add affordable and workforce housing.
The program has been scrutinized due to lease deals lacking appraisals, with developers and county officials negotiating lease rates. Supporters have countered that RAD deals are pivotal in alleviating Miami-Dade’s dire shortage of affordable and workforce apartments.
Swerdlow also scored county approval last year for a no-bid deal to purchase for below market value and redevelop a county-owned site in Perrine, where it plans apartments and a Costco. — Lidia Dinkova
Read more
Politics
South Florida
Here are the developers and brokers funding Miami Beach commissioner candidates
Politics
South Florida
Inside the real estate war chest backing candidates in Miami Beach mayor’s race
Politics
South Florida
More than a dozen developers fuel Alex Diaz de la Portilla PAC