Opa-locka, a city that’s remained largely overlooked by developers, is getting closer to a half-billion-dollar redevelopment with 1,500 apartments, retail and a hotel in downtown.
The city’s community redevelopment agency approved negotiations with a group of developers for a ground lease for nearly 1.5 city-owned acres spanning less than two blocks, the South Florida Business Journal reported. The CRA voted last week, though a final lease requires additional approvals.
DBJ&L International — led by Alben Duffie,Ted Lucas, Jasper Johnson, Isaac Brown and Markendy Fils-Aime — and Los Angeles-based affordable housing developer MRK Partners, led by Sydne Garchik, want to lease the sites at 241, 291 and 391 Opa-Locka Boulevard, 240 Bahman Avenue, 861 Salih Street and 879 Fisherman Street. The plan is for 225 apartments, a 35,000-square-foot grocery store, a 15,000-square-foot daycare, 100-key hotel, and 50,000 square feet of flex space.
It would be the first phase of the developers’ proposed Opa-Locka City Place with 1,500 residential units, including affordable housing, 275,000 square feet of retail, an elementary school, the hotel and a garage. The project budget is estimated at about $532 million.
The project would span 16 acres, with the developers targeting lots owned by the city, Miami-Dade County Public Schools, the state and private owners.
The proposal follows a broader trend of public-private partnerships in South Florida, where developers lease publicly owned sites for redevelopment.
In South Miami, Arbaud Karsenti’s 13th Floor Investments will redevelop city hall with 670 apartments, 28,000 square feet of retail, 880 parking spaces and a five-story municipal building.
Near the Boca Raton Tri-Rail station, 13th Floor and Rockpoint are developing a 340-unit project with 24,000 square feet of ground floor retail, leasing the site from the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority, which operates the passenger Tri-Rail.
–– Lidia Dinkova
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