A 211-unit apartment complex with workforce housing is planned for the Naranja neighborhood in south Miami-Dade County. Alcazar Development Group, based in South Miami, has proposed the Aura Living project on a 4.3-acre vacant lot at the southeast corner of Southwest 280th Street/Waldin Drive and Southwest 152nd Avenue, according to recent filings with the county.
The firm submitted a zoning verification request to the Florida Housing Finance Corporation (FHFC) last week. This step is necessary for developers seeking funding and incentives for affordable and workforce housing projects. The FHFC offers state and federal loans and grants to developments that include below-market rate units.
According to documents filed with the county, at least 12.5 percent of apartments—27 units—at Aura Living will be set aside as workforce housing. In Miami-Dade County, these apartments are designated for households earning between 60 percent and 140 percent of the area median income (AMI). The current AMI in Miami-Dade is $87,200, as reported by FHFC.
Aura Living received administrative site plan approval in 2021. The complex will consist of two six-story buildings and one four-story building designed by Anillo. Toledo. Lopez., according to county records.
Alcazar purchased the development site for $3.1 million in 2015.
“Alcazar –– led by Jose Jorge Figueroa, Justo Fernandez and Guillermo Villar –– is a residential and multifamily private development firm, according to its website.”
In 2018, Alcazar completed The Olivia apartment complex—a three-story, 288-unit garden-style property—on the northeast corner of Southwest 284th Street and Southwest 150th Avenue in Leisure City near Naranja. Alcazar sold The Olivia for $70.5 million in 2021 to an entity linked to Artemis Real Estate Partners and Grand Peaks.
Most of Alcazar’s other upcoming projects are also located in south Miami-Dade.
Developers have increasingly focused on south Miami-Dade due to high demand for housing across South Florida and relatively lower land costs compared to other parts of the county.
Naranja sits alongside municipalities such as Homestead and Florida City as well as unincorporated areas like Leisure City, Princeton, and Goulds.
Several other large-scale residential projects are underway or planned nearby. MAS AJP—led by Alberto Perez and Juan Carlos “J.C.” Mas—is planning Mandarin Lakes Traditional Neighborhood Development on more than 200 acres in Naranja with over 500 residential units plus commercial space totaling about 82,000 square feet. Initial phases would include row house complexes with a combined total of nearly 293 homes on a portion of that site at South Dixie Highway and Southwest 280th Street.
Elsewhere in Naranja, Brickell-based Aconcagua has plans for a seven-story building with 239 apartments at South Dixie Highway and Southwest 264th Avenue/Bauer Drive; another group led by Shadi Shomar along with Royal American Construction intends to build two eight-story buildings totaling 278 units at 23435 Southwest 127th Avenue.
