Related Urban Plans Apartment Towers in Miami Coconut Grove

Related Urban Development Group wants to replace the majority of an aging public housing complex in Coconut Grove with high-rise apartments that contain some affordable housing under Florida’s Live Local Act.

The Miami-based affordable housing subsidiary of Related Group filed plans for Magnus Grove and Stirrup Plaza, a two-tower multifamily project with some retail on a 6.1-acre Miami-Dade County-owned site at 3150 and 3160 Mundy Street and 3181 Douglas Road, the South Florida Business Journal reported.

The proposal seeks to demolish a 100-unit apartment building completed in 1975 and a 65-unit building completed in 1982, while preserving a 68-unit apartment building and a standalone wellness center. The demolished portions would be replaced with two towers that contain 750 apartments, 7,300 square feet of retail, a 7,650-square-foot library and a 796-space parking garage.

Magnus Grove would rise 22 stories with 348 apartments, while the 25-story Stirrup Plaza would include 402 units. Both buildings would feature pool decks and indoor amenity spaces. Miami Lakes-based CFE Architects designed the project.

At least 40 percent of units must be offered at below-market rates to qualify for the Live Local Act, which allows developers to bypass local zoning restrictions on height and density. The site is within Miami-Dade’s Rapid Transit Zone near the Douglas Road Metrorail Station, meaning the application can be reviewed by county staff instead of the city.

The project coincides with Related Urban’s longtime strategy of partnering with Miami-Dade County to modernize public housing sites with higher-density projects. Led by division president Albert Milo Jr., the developments offer more amenities and blend affordable, workforce and market-rate units.

Meanwhile, locals are firing back on Live Local.

Last month, Miami officials unanimously approved a measure allowing the city to challenge Florida’s developer-friendly law. The Miami city attorney is exploring pathways to contest the law and is authorized to take legal action against it.

Signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2023, the Live Local Act offers tax breaks and zoning incentives to developers that build projects with below market-rate housing. While it was celebrated for its expansion of affordable housing, some are concerned it undermines city authority and harms local communities.

The area median income for the Miami-Dade metro area is $89,800, and the Live Local Act targets households earning up to 120 percent of AMI, with income limits adjusted by household size.

While the Grove has attracted developers’ luxury projects and billionaires like Larry Page and Ken Griffin buying nine-figure estates in recent years, the area traces its earliest roots to the historic Black West Grove “Little Bahamas” neighborhood.

The Magnus Grove and Stirrup Plaza project is the latest in Related Urban’s string of Live Local Act developments, following proposals for an 842-unit mixed-use project at Jackson Memorial’s campus, the 398-unit redevelopment of the Claude Pepper public housing complex in Miami’s Health District, and the 390-unit SoMi Parc Phase II project in South Miami.

The developer also built Magnus Brickell along Second Avenue — another mixed-income high-rise on the west side of the financial district.

—Eman Elshahawy