CLIENT NEWS: Related, BH unveil plans for Icon Aventura
February 28, 2023Related Group and BH Group submitted a site plan for their joint venture’s proposed mixed-use project in Aventura.
The developers plan Icon Aventura as a 26-story tower with 308 apartments, 12,000 square feet of ground-floor retail and a garage on a 4-acre development site at 2999 Northeast 191st Street, according to an application submitted to the city of Aventura.
The assemblage includes an existing office building, Aventura View, that Related and BH plan to renovate.
The partnership paid $51 million for the site in July, records show.
In order to achieve 308 units, the developers are negotiating additional density for the project. In exchange, Related and BH would set aside 51 units at below market rates for Aventura police officers and teachers at two charter schools in the city, said Aventura Mayor Howard Weinberg.
Weinberg, who was elected last year, said getting developers to provide inexpensive apartments for first responders and teachers working in Aventura was part of his platform. He calls it “hero housing,” and said he discussed the concept with Miami-based Related CEO Jorge Pérez. “He recognized the hero concept for what it is, and he loved the idea,” Weinberg said.
A Related spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. BH Group, an Aventura-based real estate development firm led by Isaac Toledano, declined comment.
The city is also asking the developers to donate 10,000 square feet in Icon Aventura’s proposed garage for the Aventura Police Department, and to make a monetary contribution to the city’s Freebee car service, Weinberg said.
The proposed 51 units at below-market rates at Icon Aventura would be a job benefit for cops and educators in the city, Weinberg said. “It will make a person think twice if they got a job offer from another city,” he said. “The developers are getting something out of it because they want added density. The number of units is a lot more per acre than what they are entitled to.”
City staff is negotiating the terms with Related and BH, and then the agreement will come back to the seven-member Aventura City Commission for approval, Weinberg said.
Related and BH are also involved in other South Florida development projects together. The two firms are partnering with Honolulu-based Trinity Investments and Credit Suisse Asset Management to build a condominium and hotel on a development site adjacent to the Diplomat Beach Resort in Hollywood. This month, Trinity and Credit Suisse paid $850 million for the 1,000-room oceanfront hotel and adjacent properties.
In Palm Beach County, Related and BH Group are finalizing a letter of intent with the Riviera Beach Community Redevelopment Agency to build an affordable housing multifamily project in Marina Village. And on Fisher Island, the developers are partnering with billionaire Teddy Sagi and Chicago-based Wanxiang America RE Group to build a 50-unit luxury condominium.
