Crescent Heights has announced plans for its second development under Florida’s Live Local Act in the Edgewater neighborhood of Miami. The project, located next to its existing Forma Miami tower, will include two buildings: a 50-story tower with 780 market-rate apartments and a 28-story building offering 527 workforce units designated for residents earning up to 120 percent of the area median income.
The company, led by Russell Galbut, Sonny Kahn, and Bruce Menin, is following requirements under the state’s Live Local Act by reserving at least 40 percent of the units for middle-income earners. The affordable units will be housed in a separate building but built to high standards. “Even though the more affordable apartments will be in a separate building, they will be built with ‘true luxury and true quality,’” said Galbut.
The development site covers about 2.6 acres and is bordered by addresses on Biscayne Boulevard, Northeast 2nd Avenue, and Northeast 32nd Street. Plans call for approximately 99,000 square feet of commercial space and more than 1,000 parking spaces. RSP Architects is responsible for designing the project.
By invoking provisions of the Live Local Act, Crescent Heights can build to maximum allowed height and density if it sets aside enough workforce housing. The workforce tower’s units are expected to range from 425 to 900 square feet and offer both rental and ownership options. In contrast, most market-rate apartments in the taller tower are anticipated as rentals ranging from 510 to 1,400 square feet; some may reach up to 2,200 square feet.
Crescent Heights’ decision to make all market-rate units rentals comes after recent success with similar apartment projects. The developer plans to seek city approval this week for adjustments related to parking minimums, pedestrian entrance sizes, and setback reductions before Miami’s architectural review commission.
This new proposal builds on Crescent Heights’ ongoing activity in Edgewater. In recent years it completed Forma Miami—a Whole Foods-anchored residential tower—and refinanced that property last year. A second phase of Forma was recently approved as another Live Local project that includes apartments reserved for moderate-income residents alongside office space and retail components.
