Swerdlow’s $2.6B Miami Housing Development Plan Advances
With 5,730 workforce and affordable housing units, the development would be one of the largest in the county
By Julia Echikson March 12, 2025 4:45 pm
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The Miami-Dade County Housing Committee on Tuesday approved a 99-year lease with developer Michael Swerdlow to build a $2.6 billion affordable and workforce housing project that could be one of the largest in Miami-Dade County.
The 35-acre development will house 5,730 units surrounding Interstate 95 at 530 Northwest 75th Street in Miami’s Little River neighborhood. Nearly 40 percent of the apartments will be priced as affordable housing and the rest as workforce housing.
The project will also feature 370,000 square feet of commercial space and potentially a new Tri-Rail train station. Home Depot has already signed on, according to Swerlow, who said during the public hearing that he’s also negotiating with Publix and BJ’s Wholesale Club.
After pushback from some officials and locals, Swerlow also assured there would be space for local businesses, saying, “When you have a Publix, that leads to a dry cleaner next door.”
Scores of local activists from Build a Better Miami and construction workers also lobbied for guaranteed water and heat breaks during the construction, a demand that Swerlow’s lawyer indicated he’d agreed to. (Representatives for Build a Better Miami and Swerdlow did not immediately respond to a request for comment.)
The county estimates the project will cost $2.6 billion.
The lease agreement is expected to generate $9.6 billion for Miami-Dade County over 99 years. The term would include a $45.8 million lump sum payment, 30 percent of a $37 million development fee and 16 percent of net proceeds were the property sold or refinanced, in addition to annual lease payments of $5.3 million.
Two years ago, the county requested proposals to redevelop the public site into housing. Swerdlow put forth the project with AJ Capital, which would build 2,100 market-rate units and 293,000 square feet of retail. The county did not vote on AJ Capital’s component.
Swerdlow’s project will now head to the Miami-Dade County Commission for a final vote in April.
Swerdlow Group is a major workforce and affordable housing developer in Miami.
Last year, the company completed Block 57 at Sawyer’s Landing, a 1.5 million-square-foot development in Miami’s Overtown neighborhood, which features 578 apartments for low-income seniors as well as Target, Aldi and Ross Dress for Less stores. MSC Group purchased the 131,129-square-foot office component for $67 million to house its cruise division.
The developer is also in talks to buy a 17-acre site from Miami-Dade County for a workforce housing development, near the intersection U.S.1 and Florida’s Turnpike, where he’s also planning a Costco store, The Real Deal reported. The deal avoids a public bidding process.
Julia Echikson can be reached at jechikson@commercialobserver.com.
