How a growing community near the Miami River is changing way people live in a costly city
A sprawling community between the Miami River and the Marlins’ ballpark in Little Havana gained hundreds of affordable, workforce and senior housing residents with the completion of two projects. It’s a win for a county struggling to recover from a lingering housing crisis.
In August, renters moved into the renovated senior housing residences at the 14-story Robert King High Towers and the new, mixed-income seven-story Paseo del Rio at the River Parc community.
Robert King High Towers, a once rundown building easily spotted from the Dolphin Expressway, now houses 315 apartments for seniors at 1405 NW Seventh St.
Paseo del Rio, 1401 NW Seventh St., added 182 affordable housing and workforce housing residences.
Combined, the two projects cost $600 million and make up the fourth and fifth phases by developer Related Urban, a branch of the Coconut Grove-headquartered Related Group, and Miami-Dade government to turn this pocket in Little Havana into a bustling mixed-income community. Related Urban and Miami-Dade County are in partnership with the state and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on the development.
Changing Little Havana
On Tuesday, 85-year-old Estelle Aguilera sat among the crowd attending the grand opening event of Robert King High Towers and Paseo del Rio. She remembered Robert King High Towers before the renovations.
“This was in very bad condition, very old. Now, this is a residence,” she said. “You can feel the difference.”
Aguilera called Little Havana ‘home’ for many years, but the cost of living has gotten steeper since the pandemic. She continues to live in the area, renting a house with with her husband. Like many Little Havana renters, they struggle to keep up with rising costs. The retiree living on a fixed income wishes she and her husband could beat the waiting list and live in the Robert King High Towers.
‘Affordability crisis’
Aguilera’s situation is a common one in Miami-Dade, where Mayor Daniella Levine Cava announced a state of emergency over a worsening housing crisis. Soon after that announcement in April 2022, the Biden administration’s housing chief called Miami the “epicenter for the housing crisis” in the United States.
“We are in an affordability crisis in Miami-Dade,” Levine Cava said. “We cannot take our foot off the pedal. We are continuing with new ideas.”
Projects in the works
So far, Related Urban has completed 25 affordable, workforce, and senior housing partnerships alongside Miami-Dade. More are in the pipeline. The company has another five in the works for the River Parc community, with a goal to deliver everything by 2027.
The next phase in the River Parc community, an $80 million senior housing project, will add 240 apartment rentals by March. By the time all of the renovations and new buildings are completed at River Parc, the community will have 10 buildings with a total of 2,600 affordable, workforce and senior housing apartment rentals. The build-out to renovate and add new construction will total about $1 billion.
A look at what just opened at River Parc
Residents at Robert King High Towers, the senior housing community, live where rents are capped at 30% of the area median income, or $74,700, as set by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The building has studios and one-bedroom apartments, with an average rent of $250 a month, said Albert Milo, president of Related Urban Development Group. Robert King High Towers has a 98% occupancy with only six residences available for rent.
Steps away from Robert King High Towers and in the same River Parc community, Paseo del Rio is the latest, fully occupied affordable and workforce housing building.
Robert King High tower, named after a former Miami mayor, was built in 1964, but fell in disrepair in recent years. Related Urban and Miami-Dade came in 2020 to start renovations and relocate residents elsewhere in the River Parc community while work was being done.
How to qualify for the apartments
Today, affordable housing tenants — think of low-wage earners such as waiters, cleaning staff, and caretakers — pay 60% of the area median income. Rents range from $1,095 a month for a one bedroom apartment to $1,293 a month for a two bedroom apartment
To qualify, affordable housing applicants must earn at least $36,135 a year for a one-bedroom apartment and $42,669 a year for a two bedroom apartment. The cut-off is $61,920 for a household of four people.
For 55-year-old Ernesto Lara, Paseo del Rio became a haven for him and his wife. Lara rents a one-bedroom apartment and can afford to rent with his salary as an employee at a CVS in downtown Miami. He said he’s grateful to have found a place to live when the cost of, well, everything seems to have jumped in recent years.
Workforce housing tenants — teachers, police officers, lawyers in the public sector — pay 80% of the area median income. Rents range from $1,483 a month for a one-bedroom apartment and up to $1,758 a month for a two-bedroom apartment. The minimum salary renters must earn starts at $48,939 for a one-bedroom and $58,014 for a two bedroom apartment. The salary maximum allowed caps at $82,560 for a four-person household.
Related Urban’s waiting list for Paseo del Rio runs close to 100 people, Milo said, but interested applicants should contact the firm regardless to get on it.
“We’ll get you to the different communities that we have available. It’s always a good idea,” Milo said. “Some people make the mistake and say there’s a wait list so they don’t even try. It’s better to get on the wait list, because people move around and opportunities arise.”
This story was originally published November 3, 2023 at 5:00 AM.
