Midtown Capital Partners has moved forward with its plan to construct a 300-unit apartment building in Plantation, Florida. The project will include 60 affordable housing units and will be developed on a parking lot at the Plantation Pointe office park. This initiative is being pursued under the state’s Live Local Act.
The Plantation City Council unanimously approved the site plan for the six-story multifamily building during a meeting on Wednesday. The chosen location is currently an under-used parking lot with an industrial land use designation and zoning for light industrial activities. The office park is home to companies such as Magic Leap and Chewy.
Dan Holmes, director of planning, zoning and economic development for Plantation, commented at the council meeting: “The location is a parking lot that is seldom used. If you drive by there, on most occasions, you’ll notice that it’s vacant.”
Midtown Capital Partners, based in Miami and led by CEO Alejandro Velez, acquired the parking lot as part of a $56.6 million purchase in 2017 that included multiple properties at Plantation Pointe.
Of the 300 planned apartments, 60 will be rent-restricted affordable housing units consisting of 10 studios, 23 one-bedroom units, 21 two-bedroom units, and six three-bedroom units. These affordable apartments will remain designated as such for 20 years according to a declaration of restrictive deed covenants agreed upon by Midtown Capital.
Under Florida’s Live Local Act, projects designating at least 40 percent of their dwellings as affordable housing are subject only to administrative municipal approval rather than public hearings. Projects with at least 10 percent affordable housing allow local governments discretion to hold public hearings.
“In this case, the applicant [Midtown Capital] is requesting to provide 20 percent of the units as affordable,” Holmes explained. “Under the Live Local Act, they’re asking to bypass … rezoning and land use [changes]. So, that’s something the city council has the discretion to do or not.”
Council member Jennifer Andreu proposed extending the affordability period from 20 years to 30 years but was unsuccessful. Council member Timothy J. Fadgen stated: “I feel 20 [years] is a reasonable request because they are giving us double [the percentage of units] what they’re required to under the Live Local [Act].”
