Coral Gables, the City Beautiful and home to the University of Miami has received a “Live Local” application from Shoma Investments Company proposing 201 apartments ensconced in 16 stories on a 0.83 acre site at 3808 and 3850 SW 8th Street. The site is a couple blocks north of the Guatemalan Consulate and 0.3 miles west of the famous Versailles Café & Restaurant, a symbolic center of the Cuban exile community and host to many American Presidential candidates.
Intro
In 2023, recognizing the affordable housing crisis in the state, the Florida Legislature passed landmark legislation colloquially known as “Live Local” hoping to incentivize affordable housing and cut red tape. This forceful state legislation preempts Cities on density, FAR and height if certain conditions are met and requires administrative approval of eligible projects. As this project is sited on a parcel with mixed-use zoning and the developer Shoma Group agreed to include 40% of the units as workforce housing (120% Area Median Income), the project became eligible for the Act. 345 parking spaces are included in the design, and additional amenities include a pool and resident clubhouse. Once the project is approved by all the technical disciplines of the Development Review Committee, it should presumably receive its Development Order and move forward to building permits.
Massing Image/Aerial of proposed project Pascual Perez Kiliddjian Starr Architects
Project Details
Designed by Pascual, Perez, Kiliddjian & Starr Architects, the project has a Mediterranean design and includes a mix of studios, one-bedrooms, two-bedrooms and a small amount of three-bedroom units with a median unit size of 851 sq. ft. Nearly 5,000 sq. ft. of ground-floor retail is also included. The site is currently developed with two one-story retail buildings and a surface parking lot.
