As Miami continues to face a severe housing affordability crisis, most new developments in the city have focused on either single-family homes or high-rise towers. However, some developers are now turning their attention to smaller, challenging lots that have often been overlooked.
One such example is Project Peach, developed by Laura Weinstein-Berman. The four-story building, located at 123 Northwest 14th Street, features three live-work units that are already leased, a floor dedicated to a community services group, space for a juice bar on the ground floor, as well as a rooftop terrace and an interior courtyard. The project was reported by the Miami Herald.
The building’s distinctive peach color and name pay tribute to Overtown’s Cola-Nip Bottling Company, which produced Peach Whip soda until its demolition in 2002.
“Even though it’s a small project, it provides a model that is almost nonexistent in the city,” said Carie Penabad, one of the project’s architects along with her husband Adib Cure. “If you were able to do this kind of development on many lots, you can densify the city without losing the human scale that people love.”
Weinstein-Berman constructed the $2.6 million building on a lot measuring just under 3,000 square feet—about half the size of typical residential parcels in Miami. To fund construction costs, she secured financing through two loans: $1.3 million from the Florida Community Loan Fund—which receives partial backing from a Knight Foundation grant—and another $1.3 million forgivable loan from the Miami Omni Community Redevelopment Agency.
Rents at Project Peach are capped for households earning up to 50 percent of area median income (AMI).
The developer and architects noted that navigating bureaucratic obstacles was one of their main challenges. They cited years spent addressing parking requirements and fire-safety regulations before construction could begin.
Weinstein-Berman is among several developers targeting what is known as the “missing middle”—households whose incomes are too high for traditional affordable housing but not enough for market-rate options.
Other local developers include Bluenest Development, led by the Chraibi brothers since 2018. While they began with single-family homes and later moved into townhome communities primarily in south Miami-Dade County, few firms have pursued small- or mid-sized projects on similarly difficult sites.
Florida’s Live Local Act has also shaped recent development trends by allowing affordable and workforce housing projects to bypass local zoning rules if at least 40 percent of apartments serve households earning no more than 120 percent of AMI. This law has resulted in numerous proposals for large-scale towers across various neighborhoods in South Florida.
For instance, Related Urban, BH Group and Tezral Partners plan two 20-story towers with 418 units in Riviera Beach under Live Local guidelines. In Wynwood Norte, ABH Developer Group aims to build Wyn Park—a proposed 36-story tower with 293 units—while Alan Omsky has proposed a separate tower reaching 55 stories and containing nearly 500 units in Overtown.
