Brian Bandell
Aug 3, 2023
Lennar Corp. (NYSE: LEN) has the Unity Center of Miami church west of Zoo Miami under contract.
The Miami-based homebuilder filed a pre-application with Miami-Dade County officials concerning the 4.74-acre site at 16320 S.W. 147th Ave. It currently has an 8,201-square-foot church that was built in 1955.
Lennar wants to rezone the property from “interim district” to “modified single-family residential district.” Its preliminary site plan shows 22 single-family homes.
The County Commission approved a comprehensive development master plan amendment for this site in 2021.
Attorney Amanda M. Naldjieff, who represents Lennar in the application, couldn’t be reached for comment. Pascual Perez Kiliddjian Starr Architects + Planners in Doral created the site plan and Miami-based Corwil Architects designed the homes. The floor plans show homes ranging from 1,732 square feet under air with three bedrooms to 2,987 square feet under air with five bedrooms.
More churches and nonprofit organizations throughout South Florida have sold their properties to developers in recent years. A dramatic increase in housing prices has caused property values to rise, so big offers from developers can be too tempting for churches to turn down.
This could be part of a larger community Lennar is planning. Directly on the west side of the Unity Center church property, the homebuilder also has control of the 15-acre site at 16330 S.W. 147th Ave. through a land bank agreement. In 2022, Lennar filed plans to build 83 single-family homes on that site.