Miami’s Allapattah neighborhood is bracing for a major housing shake-up as Related Urban’s affordable-housing arm moves toward delivering The Residences Claude Pepper, a new high-rise that will take the place of the long-standing Claude Pepper public-housing tower.
The 15-story, 312,992-square-foot building is set to bring 428 apartments online, serving households that earn between 20% and 80% of the area median income, according to ConnectCRE. The outlet reports that the roughly $200 million project is currently scheduled for completion in the third quarter of 2028. Local officials and housing advocates see the development as a key piece in the push to preserve and expand long-term subsidized housing in Miami-Dade County, especially in neighborhoods where rents have been climbing fast.
According to a TEFRA notice from Florida Housing Finance Corporation, the agency held a public hearing on financing for the development and considered issuing tax-exempt multifamily mortgage revenue bonds with a principal amount not to exceed $122,000,000. Board materials and application records also document requests for SAIL financing under the state’s Live Local programs.
Funding and partners
As outlined by ConnectCRE, the capital stack for The Residences Claude Pepper is both sizable and layered. The plan calls for approximately $107 million in Florida Housing multifamily mortgage revenue bonds, about $74 million in 4% low-income housing tax-credit equity from Wells Fargo, a $3 million SAIL loan from Florida Housing and a $3 million sponsor loan from RUDG Investor, LLC.
The report notes that Related Urban will ground-lease the site from Miami-Dade County under a 99-year agreement, locking in a long-term public-private partnership. On-site perks are expected to include a fitness center, a co-working lab and roughly 4,400 square feet of community space designed as a neighborhood hub.
Replacing public housing
County records show the redevelopment is proceeding under HUD’s Section 18 demolition-disposition program, which allows the existing 166-unit Claude Pepper Tower to be demolished and replaced with the new high-rise. Up to 166 Project-Based Vouchers could return to the site, depending on how many Tenant Protection Vouchers are ultimately allocated, according to Miami-Dade County.
The county’s environmental notice pegs the approximate total cost for the first phase of the redevelopment at $179,237,098, a figure that gives a sense of just how big a lift it is to modernize aging public housing rather than simply patch it up.
What it means for Allapattah
The Related Group has been rolling out a series of affordable and Live Local Act projects across Miami-Dade, shifting both where income-restricted units get built and how they are financed. For a broader look at how the company is deploying the Live Local framework across the region, see The Real Deal.
On the ground in Allapattah, neighbors and housing advocates are expected to keep a close eye on tenant relocation, return rights and future leasing rules as the new tower moves toward delivery. County housing officials are anticipated to release more details on how existing residents can return and how new tenants can qualify in the coming months, as construction and financing milestones line up.
