CLIENT NEWS: Congress plans 380-unit rental tower in Miami Health District
July 11, 2023Congress Group wants to build a 27-story apartment tower next to the Shops at Civica in the Miami Health District, marking a switch from a previous plan for medical offices on the site.
The Boston-based firm wants to build a 380-unit project on 0.85 acres at 1050 Northwest 14th Street, the triangular-shaped parking lot immediately south of Shops at Civica, according to Congress CEO Dean Stratouly and property records.
“The office market, not just here but across the country, is anemic,” Stratouly said, explaining the decision to build apartments instead of offices.
Congress, in partnership with Peakhill Equity TS, paid $16 million for the development site and scored an $8.3 million loan from Miami-based LV Lending, according to an LV news release. The seller is Boston-based Taurus Investment Holdings.
The project is the second and final phase of a plan Congress and Boston-based Taurus embarked on two years ago.
In 2020, the firms partnered on the $30.5 million purchase of the entire 1.8-acre site, including Shops at Civica and the adjacent parking lot development site. For the project’s first phase, the pair gut-renovated the former two-story retail center into a three-story building with 20,000 square feet of retail on the first story and 40,000 square feet of medical offices on the upper two floors, according to Stratouly. The project was completed late last year.
The retail portion is fully leased and two tenants are negotiating for the medical offices, he said. Retail tenants include Smoothie King, Salsa Fiesta and Dunkin’.
