Development Expanding Further Into Miami-Dade County Brings New Opportunity For Investors


Over the past several years, large projects such as Brickell City Centre and the Met Projects have changed the landscape and skyline of Brickell and downtown Miami.  Miami World Center is continuing this trend.  Miami World Center is a massive project spanning 27 acres.  When complete, it will have over 300,000 square feet of retail, apartment and office towers, a hotel with over 1,500 rooms and a luxury condo tower. 

With available land becoming more difficult to obtain in the Brickell and downtown area, developers are looking at previously untapped areas of Miami-Dade County to develop large-scale projects that will result in jobs and economic growth in the communities and provide investment opportunities, especially in real estate.

A 174-acre parcel of land between I-75 and Florida’s Turnpike on the edge of Miami-Dade County is the planned site of the $4 billion American Dream Mall project.  When complete, it will be the largest mall in the country, with over 3 million square feet of retail space.  In addition to the tremendous amount of retail and dining, the project is planned to include, a 2,000 room hotel an indoor ski slope, movie theater, theme park, roller coaster, waterpark, and a Cirque de Soleil theater.

A former toxic waste dump in North Miami is slated to become SoLe Mia, a mixed-use megaproject.  The 184-acre parcel on Biscayne Boulevard in North Miami was formerly a super fund site.  A super fund site is land that has been designated by the environment protection agency (EPA) as so being so contaminated, that it poses a risk to human health or the environment.  Through remediation efforts overseen by the EPA, the site is now safe for development.  Plans for SoLe Mia include more than 10 residential towers containing more than 4,000 units and over 1 million square feet of retail and commercial space, including a 160,000 square-foot CostCo store.

Although the projects themselves will undoubtedly offer plenty of real estate investment options, some of best opportunities may lie outside.  The surrounding areas will see growth in residential and commercial development that will be driven by the increased traffic and exposure the projects bring.  In the case of the American Dream Mall, apartment buildings, grocery stores and strip malls will begin to sprout up on the outskirts of the projects in what was previously vacant, undeveloped land.  The area surrounding the SoLe Mia project will likely see a significant resurgence as more people are drawn to the community.  Older buildings will become attractive to developers looking to redevelop a property to keep pace with the changes in the neighborhood.  These scenarios present unique opportunities for real estate investment.  Investing in real estate in distressed but reemerging or developing areas can be a good way to obtain income producing property and diversify a real estate portfolio.

There are many factors to consider when investing in real estate related to a planned project.  While a project may be planned or approved at some level, it may still take months or years to get through the final planning and approval process.  It is important to consult the appropriate professionals when contemplating a real estate investment.  Barbosa Legal has attorneys specializing in tax and real estate law who provide counsel to a wide range of commercial and residential real estate investors.