North Miami – Monday, Oct. 7th, the City of North Miami’s Mayor and Council voted unanimously to approve the City Administration’s competitive selection of Magellan Housing, LLC, to develop the City’s former Rucks Park site as The Atala, a Green Certified, mixed use, mixed income, workforce housing development.
The Atala will be located at 13780 NE 5th Avenue, North Miami.
The development will be built in an established North Miami residential community, on a 6.32 acre land parcel, primarily owned by the City.
Three adjacent parcels owned by the North Miami Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) will also become part of the overall project site.
Once constructed, The Atala will consist of 134 apartment units, divided between three buildings and standing three stories high, plus a community garden with native plants and communal recreational areas. It will also include a 10,000 square foot commercial space. The total projected cost of the new development is $40,000,000.
An economic impact of $70,000,000 is projected, as The Atala is expected to bring 134 new jobs. Approximately $172,900 in North Miami tax revenue is expected in its first full year of operation. Final negotiation between City Administration and Magellan Housing, LLC are set to begin immediately.
Originally developed in 1963, the condition of Rucks Park began to decline through the decades.
In December 2018, North Miami’s Mayor, City Council and Administration moved to bring new life to the site, by seeking a qualified firm to execute the vision for affordable and workforce housing units.
“We are now one step closer to creating an affordable North Miami for future generations,” said North Miami’s District 3 Councilwoman Mary Estimé-Irvin. “A project of this magnitude will change the economic fabric of our community for the better; and I look forward to breaking ground in my district and seeing this project through to completion.”
Also on the horizon in North Miami is the $2.5 million NoMi Village workforce housing initiative. This innovative housing restoration initiative would be partially funded through a $1.2 million contribution by the North Miami CRA.
The NoMi Village development will offer amenities such as a dog park, volleyball court and community garden. This project was voted upon at the North Miami CRA Board’s October meeting.
Among North Miami’s many goals for innovative affordable housing solutions is to provide affordable housing exclusively for North Miami’s senior citizens.
This priority emerged from a recent study of North Miami’s Housing and Workforce, conducted by Florida International University’s Metropolitan Center and funded by the North Miami CRA.
The study revealed that more than 67% of North Miami’s senior citizens use more than 1/3 of their income for housing.
This project will be voted upon at the North Miami CRA Board’s November meeting.
