Henry Torres’ Astor Companies is pivoting its planned Little Havana apartment project to condos.
The developer secured a $36 million construction loan in September for the eight-story, 179-unit Havana Enclave complex planned at 315 Northwest 27th Avenue. Six months later, Torres is launching sales, with pricing ranging from about $350,000 to just over $700,000, according to a news release.
Coldwell Banker Realty’s Oscar Arellano Team, which includes Oscar Arellano, Eyvis Mendoza and Nelson Albareda, is leading sales and marketing.
Torres bought the 1.2-acre site for $10 million in 2024, according to property records. He originally planned to use the Live Local Act to build affordable apartments on the site, he said.
Hamed Rodriguez Architects is designing the project, with BDI Construction serving as the general contractor. Floor plans will include studio, one- and two-bedroom options, the release shows. Amenities in the building will include a pool, a fitness center, a pet washing station, a game room and a meeting room.
Construction is underway and set to finish at the end of this year.
While South Florida’s multifamily market boomed in the immediate aftermath of the pandemic, inflation, interest rates and a glut of supply have pumped the brakes in recent years. Developers once planning to build apartments are selling the sites they so carefully cobbled together, or, like Astor, switching projects to condos.
“It’s basically a renter’s market,” said Torres. Meanwhile in the condo market, “People want to buy units, but there’s really nothing out there at the affordable rates.”
Another developer, Shaoul Mishal’s Gamla Cedron Group, converted its Little Havana project to condos, launching sales in November. That project, the eight-story, 100-unit Centralis Residences Miami, was completed as rentals in 2023.
Torres sold his 2023-built Douglas Enclave, an eight-story, 199-unit apartment complex at 61 Northwest 37th Avenue for $68 million in January, Commercial Observer reported.
The developer has more multifamily units in the pipeline, including the two-tower, 246-unit Flagler Enclave at 2800 West Flagler Street. He is considering building one of the towers as a condo and one as affordable apartments as part of Live Local.
“It’s always an up cycle with real estate,” he said. “And I think the renters are missing that.”
