Cutler Bay approves $100M mixed-use development
By Brian Bandell for South Florida Business Journal
Cutler Bay officials approved a $100 million mixed-use project that will feature senior living, medial offices and retail.
The Contemporary & MedSquare at Cutler Bay would be located on the 19.3-acre site along a lake on the south side of Southwest 216th Street, just east of Southwest 93rd Path. Arc/Treo 216 LLC, an affiliate of Miami-based Treo Group, acquired the vacant property through foreclosure in 2013. It’s now under contract to Miami-based AJP Ventures, with Treo Group staying as a joint venture partner, AJP Ventures principal Alberto J. Perez said.
On Oct. 19, the Town Council approved a resolution to allow senior living in mixed-use projects at this location, as well as the site plan. This is the only parcel in Cutler Bay with approval for senior living within a mixed-use project, said Greenberg Traurig attorney Jorge Navarro, who represents the developer. It was previously zoned for a shopping center.
The developer also promised to make the 2-acre linear park along the lake accessible to the public and help build a stop for the town’s circulator bus on the property, Navarro said.
The project was approved for 196 apartments for active seniors, 42,000 square feet of medical offices, 19,000 square feet of retail and 493 parking spaces. Amenities would include a clubhouse and a pool. It was designed by Miami-based Modis Architects.
Perez said AJP Ventures is focused on incorporating health care uses into real estate, as it did with the MedSquare medical offices it completed in Kendall and the senior living/medical office project it built in Westchester. In Cutler Bay, there was a void in the middle market of senior living, he said.
“There was a big disparity between the super-high-end price point and the lower-end government-subsidized senior housing,” Perez said. “There is a great opportunity to deliver a quality asset for the middle market.”
It’s also a great location for medical offices because the health care industry is shifting more from hospitals to outpatient settings, so providers want to be in residential areas, Perez said.
As for the retail aspect of the project, he’s looking for local service providers such as a restaurant, bank or hair salon.
The Contemporary & MedSquare at Cutler Bay should be ready to break ground in the first quarter of 2024, Perez said. Construction should take about 18 months.