Ground has officially broken on The Triangle, a proposed workforce housing development in Miami’s Health District spearheaded by Miami-based developer DFRE. The project is being built under Florida’s Live Local Act, the state’s closely watched pro-housing law that grants zoning exceptions and faster approval timelines in exchange for setting aside at least 40 percent of units as workforce housing. With construction now underway, The Triangle stands as one of the first developments to bring the legislation from paper to pavement.
The project takes its name, and its distinctive shape, from the land beneath it. Designed by ODP Architects, the building is molded around a quirky, just-under-0.7-acre triangular lot that DFRE purchased in 2019 for $1,675,000. The site had sat as an undeveloped grass lot for decades before the project’s approval finally gave it a path forward.
Once complete, The Triangle will offer 112 rental units, all priced at income-restricted rates for households earning up to 120 percent of the Area Median Income. That goes well beyond what the Live Local Act requires: the law mandates that only 40 percent of a project’s units be priced at that income threshold, but DFRE opted to apply it across the building’s full inventory. Units will average around 450 square feet, each with a private balcony, and residents will have access to a 10,000-square-foot pool terrace on the fifth level, along with gathering spaces, grilling areas, and additional amenity space throughout the building.
“Our responsibility extends far beyond developing real estate,” said Daniel Dias, principal at DFRE, in a statement. “With The Triangle, we’re turning a site in the heart of the Health District into attainable, well-designed housing for the people who serve this community. It’s about giving Miami’s workforce the opportunity to live closer to where they work while creating a place that strengthens the neighborhood for the long term.”
At street level, the project is designed with pedestrian activity in mind, featuring expanded sidewalks and added greenery. The ground floor will also house a 3,500-square-foot fitness center along with several entrances leading into the building’s parking garage, which architecture firm ODP says will hold 72 spaces.
In total, the development will span 121,636 square feet across eight floors, rising to roughly 80 feet. Its exterior will combine tall windows, stucco finishes, and metal balconies, set against a color palette of browns, grays, and blacks.
The $35 million project is slated to top off in mid-2027 and reach completion in early 2028, positioning it to become one of the state’s first fully realized Live Local Act developments. That distinction carries weight in a county known more for proposals than completions.
According to Floridian Development’s analysis, only around 100 projects taller than five stories are currently under construction countywide, a figure that underscores how significant this single groundbreaking could be. If The Triangle delivers as planned, it may signal the start of a broader wave of Live Local Act projects moving from concept to construction across South Florida.