Developers are planning to build four more apartment towers near the Douglas Road Metrorail Station, adding 1,567 new residences to a neighborhood that is fast becoming an urban transit hub.
The developer who built the 37-story Cascade apartment tower at the Douglas Road Metrorail Station is planning to build four new residential towers with a total of 1,567 apartments on both sides of Douglas, within walking distance of the train stations.
The developer – 13th Floor Investments – recently broke ground on the second and final phase of the Link at Douglas project, which will add two towers and 824 apartments to the nascent neighborhood. The first tower could be ready to lease sometime in 2028.
In addition, 13th Floor and two partners have submitted preliminary plans for two additional residential towers with a total of 743 units across the street from the station – one on Douglas Road and a second tower on Bird Road.
13th Floor did not respond to inquiries from the Spotlight about both projects.
Wedged between U.S. 1 and the station’s elevated train tracks, the two new towers at Link at Douglas will rise 35 and 37 stories respectively and provide parking for 920 cars, according to final approved plans reviewed by Miami-Dade County.
The project is being developed in partnership with the county, which owns the land, and with Rapid Transit Zone (RTZ) zoning, which allows developers to pack more housing into taller buildings near transit hubs if they set aside at least 12.5% of that housing for working families.
The two new towers, designed by Arquitectonica, will be similar in style and height to the Cascade tower, which has a Milam’s grocery store on the ground floor.
Across the street, on a wedge of land bordered by Bird Road and South Dixie Highway, 13th Floor Investments and its partners are seeking to build another mixed-use development using the county’s RTZ zoning.
According to a pre-application site plan submitted to the county, the project will include two towers that wrap around the Goodyear service center at the corner of Douglas and Bird Roads, the first tower climbing 27 stories and the second 29 stories.
Designed by Coral Gables-based Corwill Architects, the development will include more than 10,200 square feet of retail space and 860 parking spots.
The property, a former Volkswagen dealership at 3650 Bird Road, was purchased from Coral Gables-based Shoma Group for $35 million earlier this year. Shoma Group had planned to build two 40-story towers on the land before selling.
In addition to the four towers planned by 13th Floor, the county recently approved two other high-rise developments on Douglas Road in Coconut Grove, each expected to climb at least 20 stories with a combined total of 795 units and 709 parking spaces.
The developments, to be built on county land, will replace older housing for a net gain of 706 new residences. Between the two projects, 370 units will be reserved for low-income and working families.
In all, the new developments will add 2,273 new apartments at or near the intersection where Douglas Road crosses South Dixie Highway.
Adding in the first phase of Link at Douglas – which includes Cascade with 421 apartments and the 22-story Core apartment building with 312 units – the number of planned or recently added apartments climbs to more than 3,000.
The massive swing in density is a result of the RTZ zoning rules adopted by the county in September 2022. The special zoning, which supersedes city zoning, applies to properties within proximity of mass transit zones.
Properties with RTZ zoning are automatically granted higher building limits, maxing out at 40 stories tall if the building qualifies for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) silver or gold certification—a measure of building sustainability.
Our local governments think it’s a good idea to enable infinite growth, regardless of the harmful effect on our quality of life.
They’re making the developers happy, so the campaign contributions will keep rolling in.
This is horrific. How was this ever approved? This tower is not only ugly, it is strikingly different than the beautiful, Mediterranean aesthetic Coral Gables is known for. This is a tall, ugly eyesore and can be seen from miles away from either direction on US 1. And now they are building more!?? I am sure there were nicer proposals submitted, I would love to know how this was approved. Also, has the county not accounted for the crazy nightmare of traffic this will create? I understand what they are trying to achieve by providing housing near mass transit, but no one uses that train!! How about you fix the mass transit problem and then build housing accordingly!??
“… provide parking for 920 cars…” … Rapid Transit Zone (RTZ) zoning, which allows developers to pack more housing into taller buildings near transit hubs if they set aside at least 12.5% of that housing for working families.”
Nice deal for the Development Cartel of planners, architects, builders, and real estate brokers – not to mention the M-DC Mayor and D5 commissioner that use “workforce housing” as cover for campaign contributions.
We do not need more housing.
In the latest Census‑based estimate for Miami (Central Census Division):
• Total housing units: 429,843
• Occupied by residents (“households”): 371,376
• Vacant units: 58,467
This yields an occupancy rate of about 86.4% — meaning approximately 4 out of every 5 housing units in Miami are actually lived in.
The truth is, developers need to develop. It is their job to keep developing. But it is not our job to provide them with the land they want. It is also not our fault that developers lack imagination. Let them redevelop, renew, and refurbish existing stock. Let them contribute to upgrading our infrastructure. They do not need to hold tight to the current model. That’s just lazy.
Well said! I also don’t think it’s our problem to provide cheap housing to every waiter and delivery driver that wants to live ‘la vita loca’ in Miami, while working for people that are too lazy to cook their own food. Douglas Road is already ruined with that Architectonica tower of shite – I am more worried about the Viscaya metrorail station and the county property across US1. Speaking to D5 staff they said that was a “done deal”. We shall see….
BIG developers know the magic words to use in the Magic City: “Affordable Housing.” They –and the commissioners who got election campaign funding from them—know they work even where there is well-planned and well-maintained mid-rise development already in place.
To see just one example, drive northerly on Douglas Road from Little Bahamas’ heart at Grand Avenue. At the light before crossing US 1, opposite the new 8-story building with Aldi on the ground floor, you see an elderly residential complex. It’s a mix of 5 and 3-story buildings, all nicely painted and maintained, with parking and mature trees on site. That complex was built and is still owned by the same County that just approved its demolition to quadruple its density.
And so it goes. Quantity over Quality, and the adjacent neighborhood be damned! Follow the money to more “Affordable Housing.”