Yakov Cohen, Shimon Bouskila Plan Rentals Near Brightline Stop

Developers want to build an apartment project near the Brightline Aventura Station, marking the latest proposal near a South Florida passenger train stop.

Yakov Cohen and Shimon Bouskila filed plans for a 15-story building with 261 units and some retail on the site of an Aventura industrial complex they scooped up three months ago, according to an application submitted to Miami-Dade County last week.

The 2-acre site is at 2655-2660 Northeast 189th Street. A few blocks to the north, Brightline is expected to open its station by year’s end at 19796 West Dixie Highway in the Ojus neighborhood that is just outside the Aventura city limits.

A rendering of the project (idea Architect)

Cohen and Bouskila bought the property for $10.7 million from members of the Finkel family, including Nathan Finkel, whose father was a co-founder of IHOP.

Cohen has been investing in South Florida real estate for almost two decades, often partnering on purchases with his wife, Cheryl Cohen. In March, they paid $31.5 million for The Pointe Kendall Town Center, a fully leased shopping plaza at 9165 Southwest 162nd Avenue in southwest Miami-Dade. Some of their other investments are in Cutler Bay, North Miami and West Palm Beach.

This year’s slew of project proposals near the Brightline Aventura Station includes a plan by Stellar Communities for a 15-story, 204-unit multifamily project at 18801 West Dixie Highway.

In January, Ram Realty Advisors and Pinnacle paid $15.4 million for the site at 19640 West Dixie Highway. As of the date of the purchase, their plan was for a 15-story, 285-unit apartment building.

Dan Kodsi, who leads Royal Palm Companies, said in an interview with The Real Deal this year that he wants to develop an over 10-acre mixed-use complex that would include high street retail serving as an alternative to Aventura Mall. In February, Kodsi paid $39.1 million for a property on the northwest corner of Biscayne Boulevard and Northeast 213th Street, which he said is just a portion of the future development site.