Allen Morris Company and City of Miami Advance $5 Million Kirk Munroe Park and Fuller Street Improvements

Allen Morris Company and the City of Miami are advancing a $5 million investment in Coconut Grove’s public spaces, bringing new landscaping, recreation areas and pedestrian improvements to Kirk Munroe Park and Fuller Street. The company has announced City approval of the final design plans. The public-private initiative pairs a $3 million City commitment with $2 million in public benefit contributions from Allen Morris Company, according to the announcement shared November 2. Construction is scheduled to begin in January 2027, with completion anticipated in the first quarter of 2028.

The City’s contribution will come through its Capital Improvements Plan under an initiative led by District 2 Commissioner Damian Pardo. Allen Morris Company will serve as development manager, overseeing design, permitting and construction in coordination with the City. Kirk Munroe Park will remain publicly owned and operated by the City of Miami and accessible to residents and visitors.

Portuondo Perotti Architects and Naturalficial Landscape Architecture are leading the design, with Rafael Portuondo and Andres Arcila directing their respective teams. Plans call for more than 100 new native trees, the preservation of mature trees and the park’s banyan, and native oolitic limestone incorporated into architectural and seating elements.

“The strongest communities are shaped by the quality of their public spaces,” said W.A. Spencer Morris, President of Allen Morris Company.

The recreation program includes refurbished tennis courts, two tennis shelters, a hitting wall, a playground and a fitness area. An ornamental pavilion and great lawn will provide gathering space for everyday use, cultural performances, educational activities, wellness classes and community events. New paths, upgraded crossings, enhanced lighting, buried power lines and other infrastructure work are intended to improve accessibility and connections through the park.

Naturalficial is developing the planting strategy with guidance from Dr. Chris Baraloto of Florida International University’s Institute of Environment. Alongside habitat creation and native and adaptive planting, the collaboration will include an educational component focused on the park’s vegetation and ecology.

Fuller Street is planned as a permanent curbless, pedestrian-oriented shared street, with new paving, landscaping, seating and lighting. A suspended paving system is intended to protect the mature tree canopy. According to the announcement, the team has worked with existing businesses on outdoor seating, storefront access and day-to-day operations.

The combined improvements are intended to connect the park, Coconut Grove Elementary School, nearby shops and restaurants, surrounding neighborhoods and the waterfront.

Renderings via Allen Morris Company / Kreps PR.

Metronomic Breaks Ground On TriniSuites Calle Ocho, Their New Off-Campus Student Housing Project In Little Havana

The Miami-based real estate development company Metronomic, Inc. has broken ground on TriniSuites Calle Ocho, an eight-story off-campus student housing building located at 2500 SW 8th Street in Little Havana. TriniSuites Calle Ocho will offer 30 turn key, fully furnished one- and two-bedroom student housing units ranging from 445 SF to 510 SF. The 20,788 SF building is designed by local architecture firm CLAD Architecture and Design. TriniSuites Calle Ocho part of a new seven building student housing community which will accommodate college students of Miami-Dade College, Florida International University (FIU), the University of Miami (UM) and numerous other colleges and universities, providing students with ease of access leasing, and a state-of-the-art student experience while filling the much-needed void for off-campus student housing throughout Miami. The decision to rent by the bed, co-living, or long term leases have yet to be determined.

Residents of seven TriniSuites buildings will have access to amenities including fitness centers, pools, rooftop garden/terraces, party/special-event rooms, student café’s, game rooms, a business center and more. The TriniSuites community will also offer a secure keyless entry system, 24-hour security, nearby public transportation, turn-key furnished units, and many other features and amenities designed to enhance student life. Metronomic, Inc. is also planning a student exchange and cultural immersion program for foreign students that will be incorporated into the TriniSuites community, to be announced at a future date.

“Metronomic understands there is a dire need for convenient student housing throughout Miami. The TriniSuites community is designed to help students easily secure quality housing while improving their quality of life and education,” said Ricky Trinidad, President of Metronomic. “The TriniSuites community and Metronomic are committed to enhancing education and student life in Miami, while benefiting the community of Little Havana and the City of Miami with quality new infill developments that create and produce impactful aesthetic, environmental, social and economic improvements.”

TriniSuites Calle Ocho is Metronomic’s third student housing building to break ground and will be centrally located, only one block from Miami Dade InterAmerican Campus in the heart of the historic Little Havana neighborhood. TriniSuites MetroPlace, TriniSuites MetroPark and TriniSuites Plaza Celia are currently under construction and expected to be completed by Spring and Summer 2019, while completion of TriniSuites Calle Ocho is slated for January 2020. All of the TriniSuites buildings are planned for completion by the first quarter of 2020.

University Bridge Residences Closes On $231 Million In Bond Financing

University Bridge GP, LLC, a partnership between between Miami-based Global City Development, RER Ventures and Toronto-based Podium Developments that is developing the off-campus 20-story student housing rental tower University Bridge Residences, has closed on a $231 million bond issuance. The bond represents the largest financing of its kind for an off-campus student housing building in the United States. University Bridge Residences is located directly across from Florida International University (FIU) where the funding will provide $50+ million in scholarships over 40 years to and as per the terms of the agreement, Florida International University will also take ownership of the building upon completion of the bond payments in 2058.

“Today’s bond issuance is a major milestone and an especially proud moment as we come one step closer to delivering a new residential and retail landmark for Florida International University and the surrounding neighborhood,” said Brian Pearl, Principal of Global City Development. “As the largest financing of its kind, it gives us enormous satisfaction that the bond investment community recognized the obvious need in the marketplace for student housing and that this project will benefit FIU for many years to come.”

University Bridge Residences broke ground in June 2018 and is being built by Coastal Construction Group and designed by Arquitectonica. Construction crews started the foundation last month, and the project is slated to be completed in time for the 2020-2021 academic year. University Bridge Residences will serve the school’s rapidly growing student population’s housing demand which is the fourth-largest university in the United States by enrollment, with more than 55,000 students, but only 8% of the student body lives in college owned, operated or affiliate housing. The project rises 20 stories and features 886 units along with 7,000 SF of commercial space.

“We specifically chose to use this method of funding to serve both the project and the community for generations to come,” said Diego Procel, Principal of Global City Development. “University Bridge Residences will introduce a new paradigm in the area and we are excited to welcome our student residents in the near future.”

Christopher Kallivokas, Managing Member of RER Ventures added, “This extraordinary project could only have happened with the cooperation, vision and foresight of the President and the Board of Trustees of FIU in conjunction with the City of Sweetwater Mayor and City Commissioners.”

University Bridge Residences Announces The FIU-Adjacent Development Will Now Be Retained As Rentals

University Developments has announced that its 20-story student housing tower University Bridge Residences, adjacent to Florida International University (FIU), will now be rentals instead of sold as a condominium as originally planned.  
 
A strong rental market for student housing combined with recent changes in United States tax legislation made retaining the unique asset incredibly compelling. University Developments has been processing its building permits since the fourth quarter of 2017 and expects to be able to break ground this spring. Delivery of the building is on its original schedule, anticipated in time for the 2020-21 academic year.
 
“Despite very impressive sales in an overall difficult condominium market, we have made the decision to retain this asset instead of selling it off to individual buyers,” said Brian Pearl, Principal of University Developments. “Cervera Real Estate, our exclusive broker, has done an amazing job, realizing more than 150 unit sales in the past six months. We were certainly on track on our projections, however, the option of retaining the asset is clearly the better scenario for us in the long-run.”
 
“We understand that developers have to make the best financial decisions available to them,” said Alicia Cervera Lamadrid, Managing Partner and Principal of Cervera Real Estate. “While we are disappointed that the units will not be sold as condominiums, especially with the tremendous response that we saw from both buyers and brokers, we are glad to see the project still going ahead and filling the obvious need in the marketplace for student housing. I am very proud of our sales team and thankful to the visionary brokers who have proven the viability of this concept here in our growing city. We are actively working to find alternative opportunities for their buyers given the change in the project’s status.”
 
“We have had a highly productive experience with Cervera and plan to work with them again and again,” concludes Pearl. “It is a rare opportunity where an asset is viable as both a sale and a rental, but the opportunity to retain the asset was the deciding factor.”

University Bridge Residences is being developed by University Developments, a partnership between Miami-based Global City Development, Toronto-based Reichmann International and Toronto-based Podium Developments. University Bridge Residences is bing designed by architecture and interior design firm Arquitectonica and will rise 20 stories and offering 492-units. 

Check out the renderings of the Arquitectonica-designed tower

Photos via University Bridge Residences

University Developments Unveils The Sales Gallery At University Bridge Residences

University Developments has officially unveiled their sales gallery after hosting a celebration in honor of the milestone on December 14, 2017. More than 150 of Miami-Dade’s leading real estate brokers, VIPs and community leaders joined the development team at its unique dome-shaped, contemporary sales center in welcoming Miami’s first student housing condominium, which will be located across the street from the main campus of Florida International University (FIU). Those in attendance received the exclusive first look preview at the project’s super-sized scale model, as well as viewed renderings and floor plans through their innovative app. The sales center also highlights the refined finishes offered to University Bridge’s future student residents in the sample model residence. The sales center’s unique dome structure brings a modern, sleek, contemporary look to the City of Sweetwater’s designated ‘University City’ district.

“We are very excited to formally open our doors and welcome those interested in this unique real estate project,” said Brian Pearl, principal of Global City Development. “The sales gallery is a reflection of the project’s uniqueness and has to be experienced to understand the value proposition being offered to buyers and brokers.”

University Bridge Residences is being developed by University Developments, a partnership between Miami-based Global City Development, Toronto-based Reichmann International and Toronto-based Podium Developments. The project will serve the school’s rapidly growing student population’s housing demand. Florida International University is the fourth-largest university in the United States by enrollment, with more than 55,000 students, but only eight percent of the student body lives in college owned, operated or affiliate housing. University Bridge Residences, which is bing designed by architecture and interior design firm Arquitectonica, will rise 20 stories and feature 492-units. Each turnkey unit depicted in the interior renderings comes fully furnished offering a multitude of residential features including complete kitchens, stainless steel appliances, washer and dryer in every residence, flooring throughout, and dedicated bathroom for each bedroom. Residences come a wide array of floorplans ranging in size from 317 square feet to 1,634 square feet, including studios, one, two, three and four bedroom units, as well as three and four bedroom townhouses. Prices range from the $190,000’s to the $600,000’s. Leasing is exclusively presented by Cervera Real Estate. Amenities include a large amenity deck with a landscaped recreational area featuring a resort-style pool with beach entry and pool volleyball with lap area, cabanas, sun deck with daybeds, BBQ and dining areas. The building’s rooftop will also feature a sunset terrace complete with dining areas, large yoga lawn and performance stage. The property also serves as a direct connection with the FIU campus and will allow residents to access the campus networks and online tools as if they were on campus. The project is scheduled for completion in time for the 2020-2021 academic year. 

The Arquitectonica-Designed University Bridge Residences Unveils New Renderings

University Developments released today a collection of new renderings of University Bridge Residences, a premier condominium purpose-built for student tenants located across the street from the main campus of Florida International University (FIU) (November 2, 2017). The new images of University Bridge Residences offer a glimpse into the amenities and interiors of Miami’s first student housing condominium. The renderings unveil the residential lobby and the project’s stunning amenity deck with a landscaped recreational area boasting a resort-style pool with beach entry and pool volleyball with lap area, cabanas, sun deck with daybeds, BBQ and dining areas. The building’s rooftop will also feature a sunset terrace complete with dining areas, large yoga lawn and performance stage. The property also serves as a direct connection with the FIU campus and will allow residents to access the campus networks and online tools as if they were on campus. 

Each turnkey unit depicted in the interior renderings comes fully furnished offering a multitude of residential features including complete kitchens, stainless steel appliances, washer and dryer in every residence, flooring throughout, and dedicated bathroom for each bedroom. Residences come a wide array of floorplans ranging in size from 317 square feet to 1,634 square feet, including studios, one, two, three and four bedroom units, as well as three and four bedroom townhouses. Prices range from the $190,000’s to the $600,000’s. Leasing is exclusively presented by Cervera Real Estate. 

University Bridge Residences is being developed by University Developments, a partnership between Miami-based Global City Development, Toronto-based Reichmann International and Toronto-based Podium Developments. University Bridge Residences, which is bing designed by architecture and interior design firm Arquitectonica, will rise 20 stories and feture 492-units. The project is scheduled for completion in time for the 2020-2021 academic year. 

“We’re thrilled to unveil the pool deck and interiors of University Bridge, which we specifically created with our residents in mind. We set out to elevate student housing by design, offering an array of specialized student furnishings and amenities that directly benefit residents’ day-to-day lifestyle and add value for condominium buyers,” said Brian Pearl, principal of Global City Development. “There’s a great demand for student housing at FIU, and University Bridge Residences is introducing a new paradigm in the area, benefitting both the local community and students who live there.”

“Student housing is one of the fastest growing asset classes in the world as university enrollments continue to trend upward,” said Alicia Cervera Lamadrid, Managing Partner and Principal of Cervera Real Estate. “We are very excited to be bringing this new product to our city with University Bridge Residences. Finally offering locals and our international clients an opportunity to participate in an asset class that has traditionally only been made available to institutional investors.”

Check-Out University Bridge Residences, The 1st Student Housing Condo Project in Miami Near FIU

University Bridge Residences, near FIU, has launched as the first student housing condominium project in the Miami market. University Developments introduced plans for the purpose-built residential condo development for student tenants located across the street from the main campus of Florida International University (FIU). The residences will have direct connection to campus via the new 8th Street pedestrian bridge. University Bridge Residences will rise 20 floors and feature 492 units. Units range from 317 SF studios to 1,634 SF 4-bedroom units as well as 3-bedroom and 4 bedroom townhouses. Prices range from $190K to the high $600K's. Residences will feature en-suite bedroom's with bathrooms as well as in-unit washer and dryers. University Bridge Residences will offer a stunning amenity deck with a landscaped recreational area boasting a resort-style pool with beach entry and pool volleyball with lap area, cabanas, sun deck with daybeds, BBQ and dining areas, a state-of-the-art fitness room, 24-hour concierge and security, a 5,500 SF indoor lounge and game room, study rooms, conference rooms, business center, outdoor video screen, sunset terrace complete with dining areas, large yoga lawn and performance stage. To aid in residents’ academic pursuits, students will enjoy complete access to all university online tools directly from their condominium, just as if they were on campus. Completion is expected in 2020. 

University Bridge Residences will serve the school’s rapidly growing student population’s housing demand as FIU is the 4th largest university in the United States by enrollment, with more than 55,000 students. Only a mere 8% of the student body lives in college owned, operated or affiliate housing. As part of the City of Sweetwater’s newly-designated University City, ownership of the units is open to all qualified buyers; however residents must be university affiliated. University Bridge Residences is being developed by University Developments, a partnership between Miami-based Global City Development, Toronto-based Reichmann International and Toronto-based Podium Developments. The project was designed by Arquitectonica and will be managed by Landmark Properties, one of the top US firms specialized in off-campus student housing.

“FIU has enjoyed tremendous growth in both students and reputation as one of the region’s top universities,” said Brian Pearl, principal of Global City Development. “As with many schools located within dense urban or suburban environments, there is a great need for housing. With its rapid growth, FIU has even more need than most, and we feel privileged to be part of the long-term solution.”

“This is a truly unique opportunity for condominium buyers looking to diversify their real estate portfolio,” said Alicia Cervera Lamadrid, Managing Partner and Principal of Cervera Real Estate, the exclusive sales and marketing brokerage for University Bridge Residences. “The project is ideally priced and the demand is compelling.”