MINI-CITY NEAR AIRPORT ON WAY
Developer Terra is launching construction on its mini-city, CentroCity, near Little Havana in mid-2021. The 38-acre project is scheduled to be done by 2029.
Miami residents will be able to rent, work, run to Target and possibly even go to school in the new 38-acre CentroCity being planned south of Miami International Airport.
Coconut Grove-based developer Terra Group will start construction on CentroCity during the third quarter of 2021, according to CEO David Martin. CentroCity will replace the existing Central Shopping Plaza and stretch from Northwest 37th Avenue west to Northwest 39th Avenue and from Northwest 11th Street south to Northwest Seventh Street, near the existing Magic City Casino and planned Inter Miami soccer stadium.
“The access to this site is a plus, and the ability to create a true mixed-use village is definitely a place where people will want to be,” Martin said. “It’s going to create a catalyst for investment.”
CentroCity plans call for 1,200 rental units, an office building, 300,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space anchored by a 77,000-square-foot Target — about 30% larger than a typical Target — that will open by 2022. Terra is exploring options to add a public, private or charter school for kindergarten through fifth or eighth grade.
Apartments will rent from about $1,200 per month for a 500-squarefoot studio to about $2,800 per month for a 1,400
Developer Terra is launching construction on its mini-city CentroCity near Little Havana mid-2021. The 38-acre project is scheduled for completion by 2029.
square-foot, three-bedroom unit. The first phase of construction, slated to start this summer, includes three eight-story multifamily buildings that house 460 rentals.
Florida’s continued population growth and corporate relocation to Miami spurred a decision in February to add office space to CentroCity’s master plan.
“Rents that we are seeing in the financial district, Coconut Grove or Coral Gables have crept up,” Martin said. “What that allows us to do is build a case for offices in a neighborhood where rents are much more competitive.”
The rentals should appeal to locals who want to be near downtown Miami, said Mark Gilbert, vice chairman of leasing firm Cushman & Wakefield. “It is adjacent to this massive redevelopment and is on the corner of Douglas and Northwest Seventh, putting it a minute away from the Dolphin Expressway,” he said. “Someone living in Doral may move here if they are fed up with driving up [to downtown] from Doral.”
And while retail has been severely stressed by ecommerce, Gilbert sees enough demand in the surrounding area to sustain the shops at CentroCity.
“The area is a yearround dense area. This is a working-class area,” Gilbert said. “This is an area that needs more supply of retail, because most of the retail things are older with inadequate parking.”
HayDay Inc., an entity managed by the owners of Magic City Casino, sold the development rights to
Terra for $29 million in January.
Terra’s initial plans call for seven buildings on half the land, allowing room for future development beyond 2029, Martin said.
Terra has yet to sign financing for construction.
Miami will likely see more micro-neighborhoods, Gilbert said. “I do think this is a continued evolution in Miami. This is the natural evolution of a city.” Over the last decade, he said, the development of Midtown, Wynwood, the Design District, Brickell City Centre and, more recently, Miami Worldcenter exemplify the city’s growth.
Miami can expect to see similar endeavors in Cutler Bay, Palmetto Bay, Doral and Kendall, Gilbert said.
“Miami is starting to redevelop its inner core.”
For the Martin family, the location comes with a personal connection. Pedro Martin, David’s father and Terra co-founder, worked as a stock boy at a Zayre — a now-closed discount chain store — once located on the property.
“We have been looking for opportunities in some of these mature neighborhoods where we can be a catalyst for positive things to happen to a neighborhood,” Martin said. “It is going to create more job opportunities and create an opportunity for multi-generational living.”
Terra has hired Miamibased Arquitectonica to design the residential buildings, RSP Architects for the commercial components and ArquitectonicaGEO to design landscaping.
Terra’s other South Florida projects include 500 Alton in Miami Beach, Grand Hyatt Miami Beach, Mr. C Residences in Coconut Grove and multifamily project Natura Gardens in Miami Lakes.