The Melo Group is getting ready to open its latest rental project in Miami’s Arts & Entertainment District.
Melo launched preleasing of Miami Plaza, a 36-story, 425-unit apartment tower at 1500 Northeast Miami Place, next to the Miami-Dade Metromover School Board Station, according to a press release. Miami Plaza is the fourth multifamily project that Melo has delivered in the A&E District since 2016, with a combined total of more than 2,300 units. The first was the 497-unit Melody Tower in 2016, followed by the 710-unit Square Station in 2018, and the 667-unit Art Plaza development in 2019.
Miami Plaza includes a 70-foot swimming pool, fitness center, lounge, and garage with valet parking. The units will range from one- to three-bedrooms, from 700 square feet to 1,400 square feet. Rents will be between $1,680 a month and $2,800 a month – slightly below the asking rents in projects in nearby areas like Midtown Miami.
The building is expected to open in May, according to the release.
Apartments at Miami Plaza will have floor-to-ceiling sliding doors, energy efficient tinted glass, washers and dryers, ceramic tile and wood flooring, and stainless steel appliances.
Melo financed the construction of Miami Plaza with a $62.7 million loan from BB&T Bank in April. The project has about 7,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space.
In December, Melo closed on $142 million in refinancing for Art Plaza from Freddie Mac. Art Kitchen, an indoor/outdoor dining promenade at the base of Art Plaza, is expected to open in the summer. The food hall will have 10 restaurant concepts.
Miami-based Melo Group, led by Jose Luis Melo and his two sons Carlos and Martin Melo, is land-banking for the next cycle. Melo paid $28 million for the 1.6-acre block between 18th and 19th streets on the west side of Biscayne Boulevard, also in the A&E District.
Now, Melo is building Downtown 5th, a luxury apartment development with 1,042 rental units in two 51-story towers in downtown Miami, at 55 Northeast Fifth Avenue. The project will also include 15,000 square feet of ground-floor retail/restaurant space.
Melo also owns land at 24th Street and Biscayne Bay in Edgewater, where it is planning a two-tower, 800-unit development.