And, in Miami, the old Sears could become 1,000 homes
A massive complex 751 homes and close to 10,000 square feet of retail space just north of Homestead, a project that has been in the pipeline for 18 months, will go to the Miami-Dade County Commission Thursday for a requested change in zoning.
The proposed project, which is reportedly for affordable housing, is in the new transit development zone, adjacent to the South Dade Busway. It might also apply for the advantages of the new Live Local Act passed by the Florida Legislature last year and modified this year to allow developers to bypass municipal approvals and get more density on commercial or industrial sites in exchange for an earmarked 40% of the project for affordable housing.
And a yes vote could eradicate more farmland in the southern part of the county, which has been increasingly targeted by developers.
Miami-based multi-family residential builder Jose Guillen assembled the 14 acres of land for a reported $13.3 million, purchased from Merrill Taub, whose family has owned the property for years, according to the South Florida Business Journal. They want to change the zoning from agricultural to residential, business and mixed use in order to develop 751 units of affordable housing on the site, 16401 SW 296 St. They also want the county to waive the setback requirement and allow parking in the building frontage, which is not permitted by code, according to the meeting agenda posted online.
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Once called Magnolia Point in a pre-application filed in December of 2022 — which is done by developers who want to feel the staff out on their plans — the complex has gone from 900 townhouses to 780 units to, now, 751 units. Along the way, plans have called for around 8,200 square feet of retail space, nine buildings at five stories each, a fitness center, a community room, a pool and a playground.
The meeting, which starts at 9:30 a.m. at County Hall, may also have a comprehensive land use map amendment to change four acres of agriculturally-zoned land at SW 192 Street and Krome Avenue, next to a small existing shopping strip, into commercial and office land. Applicant, Ocla LLC, is represented by lobbyist Ben Fernandez. The project was described by the Miami Herald as a grocery store.
Later Thursday, in the city of Miami, the Urban Development Review Board will consider plans to turn the last remaining Sears store in South Florida — at 3655 Coral Way across from downtown Coral Gables — into another massive mixed use complex site for three eight story buildings with more than 1,000 apartment units, 44,000 square feet of ground-floor retail and almost 2,000 parking spaces.
Coral Gate residents have been wary about these plans since they first became public almost two years ago.
The applicant, Sunny Isles Beach-based RK Associates, led by retail investor and Miami Heat minority owner Raanan Katz, also plans to use the Live Local Act to maximize or supersize the development.
That meeting begins at 2 p.m. at Miami City Hall, 3500 Pan American Drive.
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