Brian Bandell
Jan 3, 2024
Bluenest Development filed plans for three residential projects in southern Miami-Dade County, two of them for-sale duplexes/twin home communities and one apartment complex.
The Miami-based developer filed applications with county officials in mid-November for all three projects. Bluenest CEO Salim Chraibi said all of the units would be priced as workforce housing for people making between 80% and 140% of area median income.
The duplex/twin home units would be pried in the $400,000s, he said. Unlike many condos in larger buildings, duplexes are eligible for FHA loans, so many buyers could quality for mortgages with just 3.5% down, he added.
“People are struggling in Miami to find decent homes so we are trying to build good quality twin homes for people to live in,” Chraibi said. “They will still have a backyard, space to put two cars, and three bedrooms.”
In the largest project, Bluenest has the 9.56-acre site at the southwest corner of Southwest 310th Street and Southwest 190th Ave. west of Homestead under contract from Sam Charles Accursio. It aims to build 72 duplex units, ranging from 1,300 to 1,331 square feet, plus garages.
Just north of Homestead, Bluenest plans to build on 4.04 acres at 15860 S.W. 304th Street. It recently acquired half of the property from from Corner Investment 11 LLC for $1.2 million and it has the other half under contract from Thomas E. Varnadoe and Janet R. Varnadoe. It filed plans for 34 duplex units, ranging from 1,225 to 1,331 square feet.
Doral-based Pascual Perez Kiliddjian Star Architects & Planners designed both duplex projects for Bluenest.
Further north in Goulds, Bluenest acquired 0.83 acres at 11451 S.W. 216th St. from Fine Finishing Corp. for $650,000. It’s seeking approval for a three-story apartment complex with 36 units. It would have 24 three-bedroom units and 12 two-bedroom units. CTD Architecture in Miami designed this rental project.
Charibi said he’s not sure if people want to buy garden-style condos, so he’ll likely rent this project to residents.
Bluenest has over 350 homes in its development pipeline in Miami-Dade, mostly in the south and northwest corners of the county, he said. The majority of that is stand-alone lots for single-family homes and duplexes with workforce housing prices. However, it also has a 22-unit garden-style rental planned at Southwest 172nd Street and Southwest 105th Avenue in Perrine.