Alta Development listed its under-construction student housing development in South Miami, aiming to capitalize on the window before a federal rules change, the South Florida Business Journal reported.
The project, called SoMi Walk at 5959 Southwest 71st Street, is near the University of Miami in Coral Gables. Construction is underway on the 16-story development planned with 675 beds across 173 units.
Offering a project mid-construction is unusual, but it is being developed under the federal Opportunity Zone program, which offers tax breaks and is set to end at the end of the year. A sale this year would give the buyer the full benefit of the opportunity zone, said Jonathan Pavlov of Alta Development.
A plan for Opportunity Zones 2.0 was part of President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act last year. But the census tracts for that program haven’t been identified.
The asking price wasn’t disclosed, but Alta is expecting it to sell in the “mid-$200 million range,” Pavlov told the outlet. A sale at $250 million would value the development at over $1.4 million per unit. Planned amenities include pools, saunas, a fitness center and study spaces.
Alta would complete construction and close on a sale after the building is completed in fall 2028. The firm assembled the site for $29 million in May and is handling the sale without a broker.
The development addresses a gap in the housing market near the University of Miami. Although the university is constructing new on-campus housing, those projects largely replace older facilities rather than expanding capacity.
Student housing is one of the most sought-after asset classes in the U.S. commercial real estate market, CoStar reported. Investors view student housing as a recessional hedge, especially for top-tier universities or public universities in one of the “Power Four” sports conferences (UM is in one of them, the Atlantic Coast Conference).
— Rachel Stone
