Midtown Capital Partners has received approval from the Plantation City Council to move forward with a plan to construct a 300-unit apartment building at Plantation Pointe office park. The project, which will include 60 affordable housing units, is being developed under Florida’s Live Local Act.
The council voted unanimously on Wednesday to approve the site plan for the six-story multifamily building. The development will be located on a 7.9-acre parking lot at 7510 West Sunrise Boulevard, an area currently designated for industrial use and zoned for light industrial operations. The site is described as under-utilized and rarely occupied.
“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,” said Dan Holmes, director of planning, zoning and economic development for Plantation, during the city council meeting.
Midtown Capital Partners, based in Miami and led by CEO Alejandro Velez, acquired the parking lot in 2017 as part of a $56.6 million purchase of several properties at Plantation Pointe. This acquisition included two office buildings totaling approximately 221,000 square feet.
Of the planned apartments, 60 units—comprising studios as well as one-, two-, and three-bedroom options—will be rent-restricted affordable housing. These units will remain designated as affordable for 20 years according to deed covenants agreed upon by Midtown Capital.
Under the Live Local Act, developers who allocate at least 40 percent of their project’s dwellings as affordable housing can bypass local government public hearings and receive administrative approval only. Projects designating 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.”
City Council member Jennifer Andreu suggested extending affordability requirements from 20 years to 30 years but was unsuccessful in her proposal. Council member Timothy J. Fadgen commented on Midtown Capital’s offer: “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].”
