After a decade of owning a development site on the eastern end of the Miami Design District, Helm Equities submitted plans for a $500 million mixed-use project that would use the state’s Live Local Act.
Helm Equities, an affiliate of New York-based JEMB Realty, plans a two-building project with 162 branded condos, 116 rental apartments, 80,000 square feet of office space and 45,000 square feet of retail space, The Real Deal has learned.
The residential units will be in a 36-story tower, while the offices and retail will be in a six-story building.
The Design District project is planned for the 2-acre site at 4201 Northeast Second Avenue in Miami. It’s currently home to a Botero Sculpture Garden by art collector Gary Nader.
Helm previously planned an office and retail project on the site with the Gindhi family. The Gindhi family is no longer involved, a spokesperson for the project said.
Helm, led by Ayal Horovits and David Escava, paid $12.5 million for the property in 2014, records show. Horovits said the Miami Design District has become a “gem” that “has both energy and calmness” in the decade since his firm acquired the site.
The development, called the Helm, will include a courtyard that connects the two buildings and about 600 on-site parking spaces, according to a release.
Helm tapped Cube3 to design the project. Live Local, a state law that incentivizes the development of workforce housing, allows the developer to build a denser project with more floor lot ratio (FLR), architect Jon Cardello of Cube3 said. Developers using Live Local are required to set aside 40 percent of the residential units in the project for residents earning up to 120 percent of area median income.
The condo and apartment tower at the Helm will include pools, a gym and restaurants. Horovits declined to provide more details about the condo component, including the brand, size and prices, but Cardello said it would be a luxury project. The condos and apartments will be geared toward people who “want to live and work in the Design District,” Horovits said.
Without Live Local, the project would be limited to five stories under the city of Miami’s Miami 21 zoning code.
Construction could begin in the fourth quarter of 2025 and it would be completed two and a half years from groundbreaking, Cardello said.
Immediately south, Craig Robins’ firm Dacra owns the property at 4141 Northeast Second Avenue. And nearby, Lionheart Capital, Leviathan Development and Well Duo plan a mixed-use project designed by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma at 4218 Northeast Second Avenue.
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