Developer breaks ground on apartments in Opa-locka

Redwood National Properties broke ground on an apartment complex in Opa-locka as it aims to ramp up development of multifamily for working-class residents.

The Miami-based developer, a subsidiary of private equity firm BAS Holdings, is building the 98-unit, five-story Mosaic apartments at 13800 N.W. 22nd Ave. The developer, through affiliate Redwood Mosaic Development LLC, purchased the 2.1-acre property along a canal for $1.75 million in 2021.

While there will be no income restrictions for tenants, Mosaic will be priced for workforce housing, said David Burstyn, head of Redwood. The apartments will mostly be three and four bedrooms, with rents starting at about $3,000, he added.

The developer will accept Section 8 housing vouchers from tenants to pay the rent, but it will not be exclusively for Section 8 tenants.

“With all the migration to South Florida, the typical family can’t afford to buy a home, so the niche we found is the three- and four-bedroom count,” Burstyn said. “Families with four kids in the house can’t live in a one-bedroom apartment. There’s a very minimal number of three-bedroom units in Miami, and almost no four-bedroom units.”

The apartments in Mosaic will have granite countertops and nice appliances, but the only major amenity in the project will be a playground. Not having more extensive amenities will keep construction costs down, he added.

Pinecrest-based Coastland Construction is the general contractor. Burstyn said construction should take 18 months. He expects to obtain a construction loan in the new few months.

Brian Sidman, founder of Miami-based BAS Holdings, said his goal for Redwood is to build 5,000 units of workforce-priced housing in South Florida over the next five to seven years. One of its first projects was Opa-locka’s Mirage at Sailboat Cove, which was recently completed. He said the company is able to build apartments offering lower rents because it purchases land in less-expensive neighborhoods and it works with contractors and suppliers who often do jobs for national homebuilders, so that mitigates increases in construction costs.

“The last uptick in development in Miami was mostly luxury,” Sidman said. “We wanted to fill a gap that has been underserved. There’s a dire need today for workforce housing and there will be for years to come.”

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