On Tuesday, Miami residents voted to approve a referendum allowing the Adler Group to lease city-owned land along the Miami River, placing the developer one step closer to breaking ground on its multi-tower project.
But before that, the city has to decide where it will move its administrative offices.
As part of the deal, the developer will build a public riverwalk and a 230,000-square-foot administrative building. Andrew Schimmel, a senior project representative for the city of Miami, said the city is meeting with Adler as early as next week. He said once a site is selected for the city’s administrative offices then Adler can begin designing its project.
The 99-year lease agreement calls for the developer to pay an annual rent of 3 percent of the entire project’s gross revenues, or $3.62 million a year with annual 1.5 percent increases.
Adler Group also has the option to purchase the Miami Riverside Center property, which has a market appraisal of $69.4 million, said David Adler, president of the company. The developer already owns a neighboring 1.6-acre site at 230 Southwest Third Street.
The residential, office and hotel development, designed by Nichols Brosch Wurst Wolfe & Associates, was planned to include about 37,000 square feet of retail space and a 1,000-space parking garage.
The first phase would consist of an apartment tower with more than 300 units. As part of the lease agreement,the developer would set aside 10 percent for workforce housing.
Adler said the firm could built a 36-story condo tower on the site after the city moves into its new building, but that what ultimately gets built depends on market timing.
“No one has a crystal ball, we don’t know what the world is going to be like in four to five years,” Adler said. “We’re going to have to see what the market is like and determine what’s best.”