Related Urban breaks ground on Miami affordable housing project
By Erik Bojnansky for South Florida Business Journal
An affiliate of Miami-based real estate development company The Related Group has started building a $28.9 million affordable housing project in Miami’s Flagami neighborhood.
The start of construction for Flagler Villas, a 60 one-bedroom apartment project for low income seniors, was officially celebrated during a ribbon cutting ceremony on the morning of Jan. 16. The project is being built on a 25,000-square-foot plot of land Related Urban is leasing from the city of Miami at 5215 W. Flagler Street.
The units will all be set aside for seniors at or below 30% of Miami-Dade County’s area median income. Under current guidelines from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), one-bedroom units reserved for households who make 30% AMI ($23,850 a year for a household of one) are capped at $638 a month, according to the Florida Housing Finance Corporation.
“By providing affordable housing for seniors, we’re creating a place of dignity and stability for some of the city’s most vulnerable citizens. Every project we undertake is driven by our mission to provide quality, affordable housing to those who meed it most,” said Albert Milo, Jr. president of Related Urban.
The development was made possible by a financing package that included $3.9 million from the city of Miami’s Forever Bond, $1.6 in Home Partnership funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, a construction loan from South State Bank, and low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) equity from Raymond James.
Miami Commissioner Manolo Reyes and Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar were instrumental in securing financing for the project, a spokeswoman for Related Urban said.
The six-story project will take 15 to 18 months to build and will include amenities such as an outdoor domino terrace, a laundry room, a club room, and a computer lounge. Related Urban, which is also the general contractor, will also remediate the soil impacted by the site’s former use as a gas station, a Related Urban release said.
Market rents skyrocketed throughout South Florida since the pandemic as high-income households from other parts of the nation competed with locals for apartments.
Although rent hikes no longer increase by as much as 32% year-over-year, South Florida is still an expensive place to rent. According to the Waller, Weeks and Johnson rental index, South Florida’s rent averaged $2,755 a month in October, the ninth highest of 100 major metro areas surveyed. To afford to pay such rents without being cost burdened, a household must make at least $110,218 a year. Miami-Dade County’s median income is $79,400.
Founded in 1979 by developer Jorge Perez, The Related Group has built more than 100,000 condo and apartment units across the U.S. Its affordable housing wing, Related Urban, has built and renovated at least 6,500 residential units in Florida.