Five garden-style apartment buildings in Overtown are in for a major restoration led by developer Avra Jain.
The Miami City Commission unanimously approved a proposal submitted by the Omni Community Redevelopment Agency, which included a request by Jain’s Vagabond Group to buy and rehabilitate the rental buildings at 1541 and 1535 Northwest First Place and 1540 Northwest First Court.
The Omni CRA will grant Jain $2 million to restore the property, and lend the developer $1.8 million to maintain low rents for the next 30 years. Average monthly rents are $460 for a studio apartment, $554 for a one-bedroom apartment, $673 for a two-bedroom apartment and $825 for a three-bedroom apartment.
Commissioner Keon Hardemon requested that a portion of the profits go back into a community development corporation. Funding will come from the CRA’s tax increment financing program, which sets aside roughly 10 percent of its annual revenue for affordable housing projects.
Records show DSI Place LLC, led by Dmitri Sytchev, paid $145,000 for the properties in 2013. The apartment buildings were built between 1949 and 1952.
Jain is active in Little Haiti and MiMo, where she restored the Vagabond Hotel and South Pacific Motel. She recently renovated more than 20 affordable housing units in Little Haiti, which she funded from a $500,000 low-interest loan from Miami-Dade County.
A number of investors and developers have purchased land in Overtown, including David Beckham. He and his partners are planning a 25,000-seat, $200 million MLS Stadium.