Housing Trust Group wants to build a pair of apartment complexes with 196 units combined in Miami-Dade County’s Goulds neighborhood.
The Coconut Grove-based firm plans the 104-unit Palm Grove project at 21500 South Dixie Highway and the 92-unit Villa Mallorca at 11912 Southwest 217th Street in south Miami-Dade, according to documents Housing Trust Group submitted to Miami-Dade late last month. The properties are a short walk from each other.
HTG is asking the county for a zoning verification, or a confirmation whether the existing development regulations allow the projects by right.
Villa Mallorca would be an eight-story affordable housing building for households earning no more than 80 percent of the area median income, which is $74,700 annually. To qualify for an apartment, a one-person household could not earn more than $57,840 and a two-person household could not earn over $66,080, according to the Florida Housing Finance Corporation.
Palm Grove would rise seven to eight stories, according to the application. The filing does not reference the project as affordable housing.
The 1.4-acre Palm Grove site is owned by John and Linda Vlad, and the 0.6-acre Villa Mallorca property is owned by an entity managed by Carlos Devarona, property and state corporate records show. HTG didn’t respond to an inquiry whether it has the sites under contract.
Led by Matthew Rieger, HTG is a multifamily development firm with projects in the Southeast and Arizona, according to its website.
In May, HTG scored $61 million in construction financing for a pair of eight-story University Station buildings with affordable apartments along North 21st Avenue, between Fillmore Street and Polk Street, in Hollywood. Of the 216 units, 141 will be for households earning up to 60 percent of the AMI and the remainder will be for households earning up to 80 percent of the AMI.
South Florida’s yearslong affordable housing crisis was exacerbated in recent years by an influx of out-of-state residents. The resulting pent-up demand led the tri-county region to be one of the most competitive for apartments and prompted record rent hikes.
Developers have seized on demand for below-market rate apartments with plans for new projects. In south Miami-Dade’s Leisure City, Vestcor filed plans for a 590-unit complex at the northwest corner of South Dixie Highway and Southwest 280th Street.