A long-vacant corner in the Leisure City area of unincorporated Miami‑Dade could soon trade wide-open asphalt for apartments and storefronts. Alcazar Development has filed a pre-application for Aura Living, an eight-story, mixed-use complex with roughly 220 units and a small strip of ground-floor retail. Early renderings show a linear mid-rise stretching across about 4.4 acres, finished in a mostly white facade with muted accent tones. The developers are pitching the project as an affordable-housing play that would bring more pedestrian activity to the SW 280th Street and SW 152nd Avenue corridor.
According to Florida YIMBY, the pre-application was filed through Miami‑Dade County’s Administrative Site Plan Review on May 5. The plans outline approximately 220 residential units, about 2,400 square feet of ground-floor commercial space and surface parking across a 4.41-acre parcel. The filing pins the address at SW 280th Street and SW 152nd Avenue and frames Aura Living as a way to “activate” the Leisure City Urban Center streetscape.
Developer and design
Per the Florida Division of Corporations, Alcazar Development Group III, LLC is listed as the applicant, with Jano Holdings II, RRG at Veranda and Cicera Group named as managers. The design comes from Anillo. Toledo. Lopez (ATL Architecture), and the plans highlight a facade broken up by recessed and projecting volumes along with ground-level amenities. Alcazar, which previously built The Olivia in south Miami‑Dade, has been active in the area and has pursued similar multifamily projects, according to The Real Deal.
Site and zoning
The Aura Living site falls within the Core and Center sub-districts of the Leisure City Urban Center District, areas where Miami‑Dade planning policy encourages higher-intensity, transit-supportive development, according to Florida YIMBY. Urban-center rules in the county also layer in workforce-housing requirements and minimum development intensity. The county code spells out standards that include a 12.5 percent minimum share of workforce units for many urban-center projects.
What comes next
The project is currently at the pre-application stage, which kicks off the formal path through Miami‑Dade’s review system and is meant to flag zoning or design issues before full permit submissions. Miami‑Dade County outlines the Administrative Site Plan Review process and the supporting documents developers must provide for a complete application. If Aura Living moves forward, its timing will hinge on county comments, any needed entitlements and the developer’s ability to secure funding for the proposed affordable units.
Why it matters
Aura Living is part of a growing lineup of multifamily proposals in south Miami‑Dade as builders focus on the county’s southern edge to add rentals and workforce housing. Local reporting has tracked several sizable plans in the vicinity as developers chase comparatively lower land costs and tap affordable-housing incentives. Neighbors are likely to keep a close watch on details such as parking, traffic and how the affordability promises hold up as county review continues.
