Train stop apartment project scores $43M construction loan in busy Hialeah

A development firm scored a $43.3 million construction loan for an apartment project near the Metrorail and Tri-Rail transfer station in Hialeah.

The deal comes amid a multifamily construction boom in Hialeah and near transit stops across South Florida. At the same time, an apartment supply overhang in the tri-county region has slowed leaseups.

Development Alliance plans the eight-story, 189-unit Nexus Leah on the 1.1-acre site at 1140 East 25th Street, according to a news release from Ocean Bank, which provided the financing. The project will include affordable units. Completion is expected in early 2028.

Rendering of the Nexus Leah apartment project in Hialeah (GS Architecture)

Jose Lopez and Jesse James Herrera were part of the Ocean Bank team that arranged the loan.

Development Alliance is led by Christian de Gale, Jack London and attorney Javier Zayas-Bazan, according to state corporate records. In 2024, they filed a notice to start demolition of the pair of buildings on the site with automotive and marine uses.

Also in Hialeah, Coral Gables-based MG Developer, led by Alirio and Diego Torrealba, is developing several projects under its Metro Parc brand.

It scored a $105 million construction loan in April for the 10-story, 347-unit Metro Parc South at 954 and 934 East 25th Street. Adjacent to the site, MG and New York-based Baron Property Group completed the pair of 10-story buildings with 559 apartments, combined, for their Metro Parc project.

MG and Baron also are developing Metro Parc North with an eight-story, 661-unit building at 901 East 26th Street.

Miami Lakes-based Prestige Companies has seized on Hialeah with projects including the three-story, 114-unit Market Station North complex and a redevelopment of the Hialeah Park Racing & Casino into Flamingo Village, with a 343-unit apartment complex and a charter school. The site is at 100 East 32nd Street.

Near Hialeah, Adell Investments, led by Jorge and Julio Quintana, proposed last year the five-story, 108-unit HUB Palm Springs North building at 17601 and 17775 Northwest 78th Avenue and 7750 Northwest 178th Street. The site is in unincorporated Miami-Dade County.

Developers jumped on South Florida’s pandemic-era multifamily boom, defined by unprecedented demand and record rent growth, with plans for new projects. Amid hefty completions in recent years, the influx of out-of-staters slowed, prompting slower leaseups, an increase in concessions and a drop in rents. Yet, developers starting apartment projects now say demand will catch up by the time they finish their buildings partly due to a drop in construction starts.

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