CLIENT NEWS: MG Developer plans hundreds of apartments on hotel site
February 19, 2026MG Developer could build apartments next to its Regency Miami Airport by Sonesta hotel in Miami.
The city’s Urban Development Review Board [approved] plans for the 3.79-acre property at 1000 N.W. 42nd Ave. on Feb. 18. It currently has a 176-room hotel that was built in 1982.
MG Regency Airport LLC, an affiliate of Coral Gables-based MG Developer, led by Alirio Torrealba, acquired the hotel for $36 million in 2024. The company is primarily a multifamily developer.
Under the plans for Regency Parc & Residences, the hotel would be renovated and apartment buildings of five and six stories would be developed next to it.
The new apartments would total 295,862 square feet, with 208 residential units. The residential amenities would include a pool, an outdoor bar, a business center and a meeting room. There would also be 2,765 square feet of commercial space fronting Northwest 42nd Avenue.
The apartments would range from 465-square-foot studios to 890 square feet with two bedrooms.
The entire site would have 443 parking spaces, with 384 of them for the apartments in a new parking garage.
Behar Font & Partners in Coral Gables designed the project. Local attorney Melissa Tapanes Llahues represents the developer in the application.
MG Developer declined to comment.
“A defining feature of the development is the centrally located landscaped courtyard, measuring approximately 20,000 square feet, positioned between the existing hotel and the two proposed buildings,” the developer stated in the application. “This courtyard serves as the primary amenity space for the development, which includes two swimming pools and a bar area of approximately 530 square feet. The courtyard is designed to function as an active social space while providing visual connectivity across the site, fostering interaction and a resort-style environment for residents and guests.”
The developer is seeking three waivers for the project, mostly dealing with the location of parking and pedestrian entrances.
Since Miami doesn’t have much vacant land available, more developers have been building apartments in parking lots, whether for office buildings, shopping centers or hotels. Replacing surface lots with structured parking is costly but allows the more profitable multifamily use.
