Centennial unveils redevelopment plans for Miami-Dade public housing site
October 26, 2021
By Brian Bandell for South Florida Business Journal
Centennial Management Corp. revealed plans to redevelop a public housing site in the Goulds area of southern Miami-Dade County with new apartments.
Arthur Mays & Naranja Master Tenant LLC, an affiliate of the Miami Lakes-based developer, submitted a pre-application to county officials for the 12.35-acre site at 11351 S.W. 216th St. It currently has 144 public housing units, built in 1974 and owned by the Miami-Dade County Housing Agency.
The county approved a lease in 2020 to allow the developer to redevelop the site. The same number of public housing units would be included in the redevelopment.
The new Arthur Mays Villas would have 414 apartments in 11 three-story buildings, plus a 7,400-square-foot clubhouse and 556 parking spaces. The project would total 406,464 square feet.
There would be 24 one-bedroom units, 258 two-bedroom units, 114 three-bedroom units and 18 four-bedroom units. It would be a mixed-income project, with a number of affordable and workforce housing units.
Lewis V. Swezy, the head of Centennial Management, couldn’t be reached for comment. He’s working with Miami-based Modis Architects.
The same lease with the county also covers a public housing site in Naranja. Centennial Management submitted plans for 276 apartments there.
This is part of Miami-Dade County’s strategy to use the federal Rental Assistance Demonstration program to convert old public housing communities to a mix of affordable and market-rate housing while increasing the density. The county aims to create 20,000 to 30,000 new affordable and workforce housing units through this program in the next five to seven years.