A group of landowners want to expand Miami-Dade County’s Urban Development Boundary by 64.8 acres for a mixed-use project with over 1,000 residential units.
The Urban Development Boundary, or UDB, aims to restrict suburban sprawl east onto Biscayne National Park and west onto the Everglades, as well as onto farmland, wetlands and other open land that could be needed for the preservation of the national parks. Historically, developers’ proposals for projects outside the UDB have been contentious, drawing opposition from environmentalists, and requiring a super-majority approval from county commissioners.
Herkoz filed an application for an up to 1,200-unit residential development with single-family homes and apartments, and up to 90,000 square feet of retail on the northwest corner of Southwest 137th Avenue and Southwest 248th Street, according to county filings. It would include some below market units, with 20 percent of the residents designated for households earning up to 140 percent of the area median income.
The site, which is adjacent to the UDB, consists of four lots at 13701, 13805 and 13885 Southwest 248th Street, as well as a fourth parcel without an address, in an unincorporated area of south Miami-Dade. The property is within a half-mile from the busway and near the Princeton neighborhood.
Herkoz, which owns one of the lots, is led by Francisco, Jacinto and Ignacio Kozhaya Simon, each holding a 25 percent stake in the entity, as well as Ivette and Adela Kozhaya Simon, each holding 12.5 percent, according to the filing. Alflo Sunset, which owns the other three lots, is led by Alain and Florence Riguidel, each one having a 50 percent stake.
In the application, Herkoz and its attorneys cite an urgent need for housing construction in Miami-Dade, as well as the lack of developable land in the county.
Miami-Dade, which for decades has been a magnet for new residents, experienced a boom in the pandemic years due to an influx of Northeasterners and West Coasters. At the same time, the county is sandwiched between the Atlantic Ocean and the Everglades.
About 5,600 new single-family homes are needed annually through 2030, and slightly less through 2040, Miguel Diaz de la Portilla and Javier Vazquez, Herkoz’s attorneys, wrote in the application, citing Miami-Dade’s estimates. The county has identified about 20,000 lots where single-family homes and townhouses can be built, though the attorneys argue not all of these can be developed due to site-specific restrictions.
“At current rates, developable land for single-family homes is projected to be fully depleted by just 2027,” de la Portilla and Vazquez wrote. “Solving this housing crisis will require more than building wherever space remains — it demands a strategic focus on making land available near major transit corridors.”
Herkoz is asking the county for a Departmental Impact Committee review and a change of the site’s Comprehensive Development Master Plan designation from “agricultural” to “special district.”
The South Florida Business Journal first reported on Herkoz’s proposal, which was originally filed in May.
In one of the most recent UDB expansion proposals, Coral Gables-based Coral Rock and Miami-based Aligned Real Estate wanted to develop the 5.9 million-square-foot South Dade Logistics and Technology District on more than 300 acres on the southeast corner of the Florida Turnpike and Southwest 122nd Avenue in unincorporated Miami-Dade. After a hard-fought battle to win approval by county commissioners, Coral Rock and Aligned’s project was dealt a blow last year. A judge ruled that the county missed a deadline to approve the district.
Miami-Dade commissioners considered South Dade Logistics and Technology District five times before approving it, with the developers often making concessions, including halving the project size.
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