Miami-Dade city approves 2 big projects

By Brian Bandell for South Florida Business Journal

City officials in Florida City have approved two significant developments in recent months.

The first is a mixed-use project called Florida City Prime that received a zoning district change. Located 3.3 acres on the 200 block of South Krome Avenue, with U.S. 1 on its east side, the project would have 42 apartments in three stories, 90 senior living units in six stories, 5,665 square feet of commercial space and 154 parking spaces.

Florida City Prime LLC, managed by Andrew Carricarte in Kendall, acquired the vacant property for $2.95 million in 2023. It’s next to a Chik-fil-A that’s under construction at 232 S.E. First Ave./U.S. 1.

Ivo Fernandez Jr., principal of Miami-based Modis Architects, said the retail building is slated for the busy U.S. 1 corridor and could include a drive-thru. That area is very busy, with travelers coming and going from the Florida Keys, he added.

The market-rate apartments and the independent senior living would be on Krome Avenue, Fernandez said.

“This puts housing at the front door of the Keys,” Fernandez said. “A lot of people go into the Keys to work every day.”

With housing prices extremely high in the Keys, most hospitality workers can’t afford to live there.

Fernandez said there’s also demand for senior housing in Florida City because many seniors have been displaced due to affordability issues.

His client is seeking a partner to build the apartments and senior housing at Florida City Prime, but it would like to build the retail itself, Fernandez added.

Florida City Prime is directly east of the 14-acre Ocean Gate Village development site at 75 W. Palm Drive, where a Lennar Corp. affiliate bought 10.8 acres in 2023 to build 174 townhouses. The rest of the land is owned by Cordial Holdings, managed by Louis Carricarte (a relative of Andrew Carricarte), and is slated for 47,371 square feet of commercial space, 343 apartments and a one-acre park.

External Source: Florida City approves Prime Florida City mixed-use project, new facility for PATCHES – South Florida Business Journal