Midtown Capital Partners has moved forward with its proposal to construct a 300-unit apartment building, including 60 affordable housing units, at Plantation Pointe office park. The project will be built on a 7.9-acre parking lot located at 7510 West Sunrise Boulevard in Plantation.
The Plantation City Council unanimously approved the site plan for the six-story development during its meeting on Wednesday. The site currently holds an industrial land use designation and is zoned for light industrial activities.
Dan Holmes, director of planning, zoning and economic development for Plantation, described the location as rarely used. “The location is a parking lot that is seldom used. If you drive by there, on most occasions, you’ll notice that it’s vacant,” Holmes said at the council meeting.
Midtown Capital Partners, based in Miami and led by CEO and managing partner Alejandro Velez, acquired the parking lot in 2017 as part of a $56.6 million purchase of multiple properties at Plantation Pointe. The acquisition included two buildings at 7600 and 7700 West Sunrise Boulevard with a combined area of about 221,000 square feet.
Of the planned apartments, 60 will be designated as rent-restricted affordable housing units: ten studios, twenty-three one-bedroom apartments, twenty-one two-bedroom units and six three-bedroom apartments. These affordable units will account for 20 percent of the total and will remain under affordability restrictions for 20 years through a declaration of restrictive deed covenants agreed to by Midtown Capital.
Holmes explained how state law applies to such projects: “In this case, the applicant [Midtown Capital] is requesting to provide 20 percent of the units as affordable,” he said. “Under the Live Local Act, they’re asking to bypass … rezoning and land use [changes]. So, that’s something the city council has the discretion to do or not.”
Plantation City Council member Jennifer Andreu suggested extending the affordability period from 20 years to 30 years through a separate covenant proposal but was unsuccessful in her motion.
Council member Timothy J. Fadgen commented on Midtown Capital’s commitment: “I feel 20 [years] is a reasonable request because they are giving us double [the percentage of units] what they’re required to under the Live Local [Act].”
The Live Local Act allows developers to receive administrative approval from municipalities if at least forty percent of dwellings are set aside as affordable housing; otherwise, local governments may choose whether or not to hold public hearings if at least ten percent meet affordability criteria.
