7410 Collins Avenue, an 11-Story Live Local Act Project, Approved in Miami Beach
The Live Local Act is once again reshaping Miami Beach’s skyline, with the owners of a historic property at 7410 Collins Avenue securing approval for an 11-story high-rise. The approval places the project among a small handful of successes: just four developments have won approval under the act in the city, out of more than fourteen submitted, most of them high-rises. 7410 Collins Avenue is leaning on the state’s landmark housing law to unlock both greater density and additional height than existing zoning would normally allow, flexibility that has translated into a 50-unit building spanning a mix of income levels. It’s a dramatic jump from what zoning alone would permit, but this kind of Live Local Act-driven change is quickly becoming standard practice for new proposals in the city, much to the frustration of anti-high-rise advocates. Nowhere is that shift more visible than at this site. The project is rising on the footprint of a one-story commercial building constructed in 1950 as a supermarket and now home to a CVS. The road to this approval didn’t start this year, either. Developers originally submitted plans for a five-story structure on the property and won approval from city boards, including Miami Beach’s Historic Preservation Board. That earlier proposal called for 18 luxury units, 8,379 square feet of ground-floor retail, and 25 parking spaces. But as the Live Local Act gained traction across the city, a five-story building began to look like a missed opportunity. The developer went back with a new proposal, more than doubling both the density and height of the original plan. Inside the Proposal Approved in July, the development’s 50 units will split between 30 market-rate units and 20 workforce housing units priced at or below 120 percent of the area median income. That workforce housing component is a direct requirement of the Live Local Act, which grants zoning enhancements in exchange for setting aside at least 40 percent of units at or below that income threshold. Units will range from 664 to 900 square feet, each with its own balcony, and residents will have access to two stairwells and two elevators. On the 11th floor, the building will feature a rooftop pool alongside 876 square feet of additional amenity space, outdoor seating, and landscaping. Because the lot is tightly constrained, the project will include just 25 parking spaces on the second level. Additional parking will be available on-street and at a nearby parcel serving as overflow capacity during periods of higher demand. Designed by Urban Robot, the building will feature a bold, colorful palette spanning pink, light teal, and white tones, wrapped in stucco, concrete, floor-to-ceiling windows, and glass balconies. The ground floor will house 8,535 square feet of retail space and a 2,397-square-foot lobby, along with bike racks and a renovation of the historic facade, including repainting and both interior and exterior updates to the original structure. Moving Ahead 7410 Collins Avenue is the latest example of the Live Local Act’s core trade-off in action: greater density and height in exchange for zoning flexibility. But the law has also drawn significant pushback from cities across South Florida, largely because it allows qualifying projects to bypass public board review and move through the approval process administratively. That lack of public input has fueled a sharp and often heated divide between developers and residents. Critics also argue that the affordability promised under the law is often overstated. While Live Local Act projects are required to meet certain rent limits, those limits can still allow for substantial costs. According to rent limits published by Bilzin Sumberg, studio units under the law can be priced as high as $2,862 a month, a figure that’s arguably far from affordable by most standards. Whether those limits move the needle in the short term remains an open question. But pro-housing advocates maintain that increased supply, over time, tends to ease pricing pressure rather than worsen it.
The Triangle Breaks Ground in Miami’s Health District, Among the First Live Local Act Projects to Reach Construction
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.