Urban-X Group Plans Rentals as Part of River Landing Project

Urban-X Group wants to develop a 28-story apartment tower as part of the firm’s completed River Landing Shops & Residences mixed-use project.

An affiliate of Andrew Hellinger and Coralee Penabad of Urban-X proposes a 475-unit rental building with a 533-space garage on 2 acres 1411 Northwest North River Drive, according to records. The project is christened MidRiverVu.

It would mark an expansion of River Landing, which Urban-X finished in 2020 at 1500 Northwest North River Drive. River Landing was developed as a Special Area Plan, which allows developers of at least 9-acre sites to build more than allowed under the city code in exchange for public benefits such as green space.

Urban-X is asking the city to expand the SAP designation to the new apartment tower property, which is directly north of the completed portion of River Landing. The Miami Urban Development Review Board is expected to take up the proposal at an as-yet unscheduled meeting. The item was postponed from Wednesday’s meeting.

The existing River Landing SAP, which the city approved in 2013, allowed for the development of more than 1,000 units, though the completed project consists of 528 apartments, according to filings to the city. The site of the new tower allows for up to 300 units. If Urban-X’s SAP expansion bid is approved, the developer can transfer another 175-unit development capacity to the new project.

Records show that an entity led by Hellinger and Penabad assembled the development site for $13.2 million in several deals in 2019 and 2020.

River Landing, which includes 360,000 square feet of retail and commercial space, as well as 135,000 square feet of offices, was completed on 8 acres. Canada-based H&R REIT owns the 2.2 million-square-foot property.

The project is considered to have jump-started the Miami River District redevelopment.

This year, Hyatt and Gencom won city approval for a 99-year lease for the publicly owned site of the James L. Knight Center and an adjacent 615-key hotel at 400 Southeast Second Avenue. The partners plan the three-tower Miami Riverbridge with apartments, service branded apartments and a 615-key Hyatt hotel.

Also, ROVR paid $23.5 million for the sites at 1701 and 1851 Delaware Parkway, with plans for a 1,000-unit multifamily project.