Juan Carlos Gonzalez scored a $67.1 million construction loan for a Hialeah multifamily project that will replace a truck yard, marking continued investor appetite for apartments.
Gonzalez, through his J.V.C. Management Corporation affiliate, obtained the financing for the Emerald Bay Apartments development at 4030 West 88th Street from Ocean Bank, according to a news release.
Eddie Diaz and Jorge Hernandez of Ocean Bank worked on the deal.
The loan is for the project’s first phase consisting of seven buildings, ranging from two to five stories, with a total of 314 units. The plan is for 110 one-bedroom, one-bath apartments; 138 two-bedroom, two-bath apartments; 56 three-bedroom, two-bath units; and 10 three-bedroom, two-and-a-half bath apartments, according to the release.
Interiors will have stainless steel appliances, washers and dryers, stone countertops and smart-key entry.
J.V.C. Management owns the almost 19-acre lot directly west of West 40th Avenue and between West 84th and 88th streets, records show. It is unclear how much Gonzalez paid for the property, as J.V.C. is listed as the owner, but a deed has not been recorded.
The second phase of the project would have 300 units on 9.8 acres next to the first phase, the release says.
Renderings of the Emerald Bay Apartments project (MSA Architects)
Gonzalez leads Hialeah-based Gonzalez & Sons Equipment, a civil and mechanical engineering company founded in 1938, according to the firm’s website.
Gonzalez’s decision to replace the truck parking with apartments comes as both the open storage industrial market and the rental market are prospering.
In April, CenterPoint Properties bought the Miami Gardens truck storage facility at 17707 Northwest Miami Court for $47.5 million. The growth of e-commerce and robust construction activity has created demand for outdoor storage where trucks and heavy equipment can be parked, according to experts.
South Florida also is seeing hefty apartment demand created by an influx of newcomers that has allowed landlords to push up rents to record highs and prompted developers to bet on the market. In March, the median rent in Miami skyrocketed 58 percent to $2,988, the biggest increase nationwide over the past two years, according to a Realtor.com report.
In another Hialeah project, South Miami-based Estate Companies, led by Robert Suris and Jeffrey Ardizon, is converting a long-closed Ramada Inn at 1950 West 49 Street into the 251-unit Alture Westland apartments. The developers secured a $29.5 million construction loan for the project last year.
Hialeah, which historically has been a largely residential and industrial city in northwest Miami-Dade County, has caught investors’ interest in recent years.
Avra Jain, known for breathing life into long-shuttered motels in the MiMo District along Miami’s Biscayne Boulevard, bought a warehouse at 4800 Northwest 37th Avenue in Hialeah for $10.5 million in August, with plans to convert it into an entertainment center.