Lennar has changed its land banking partner for 423 homesites in the Keys Gate subdivision in Homestead through a $24 million transaction. JEN Partners, a New York-based firm that previously held the lots as a land bank for Lennar, sold them to DW Partners, also based in New York, for $23.98 million.
As part of this arrangement, Lennar ended its purchase option agreement with JEN and entered into a new purchase option with DW Partners that extends until 2031. The homesites are located south of Southwest 344th Street and east of Southwest 162nd Avenue.
DW Partners is an alternative asset manager founded in 2009 by David Warren and Robert Clark. According to its website, the firm specializes in managing various types of assets.
Lennar, headquartered in Miami, is recognized as the second largest homebuilder nationwide and holds the leading position in south Miami-Dade County. The company frequently uses land banks to secure development sites years before construction begins. This strategy allows Lennar to keep land acquisition costs off its balance sheet and maintain cash flow for ongoing homebuilding projects.
In addition to JEN Partners, Lennar’s other land bank partners include Garrett Development from Scottsdale, Arizona, and TPG Angelo Gordon from New York. Earlier this year, Lennar also spun off Millrose Properties as its own publicly traded land bank.
Stuart Miller leads Lennar alongside Jon Jaffe, who is expected to retire this year.
Securing future development sites is important for Lennar due to limited availability of buildable land in Miami-Dade County. South Miami-Dade remains one of the few areas with enough space for single-family and townhome developments.
Developers have been active in south Miami-Dade over the past five years, acquiring sites and submitting project applications. Colliers Research reports that since 2020, Lennar has completed nearly 70 percent of new homes built in the area and is responsible for developing about 60 percent of upcoming projects.
Within Keys Gate itself, Lennar submitted plans in 2022 for a project including 1,335 homes and a golf course on a 350-acre site.
Other entities with interests in Keys Gate include Mast Capital from Miami, which purchased a complex containing 292 townhomes at 1140 Southeast 24th Road for $50.8 million in 2021.
Additional developers active in south Miami-Dade include D.R. Horton from Arlington, Texas—the nation’s largest homebuilder—which has proposed building a complex with 108 townhomes at several locations along Southwest Third Avenue and Seventh Street in Florida City.
Terra Group from Coconut Grove aims to redevelop part of the South Dade Government Center property at multiple addresses on Southwest 211th Street in Cutler Bay into a Live Local Act project featuring up to 724 units; the first phase would comprise two eight-story buildings totaling approximately 362 units and providing parking for up to 458 vehicles.
