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.