Alta New River Lands $140.2 Million in Financing, Clearing the Way for November Groundbreaking
Downtown Fort Lauderdale is about to add another crane to a skyline that has been in steady motion for years. Alta New River, a 35-story rental tower at 100 SW 6th Street, is preparing to break ground in early November, closing a long wait for a project first proposed back in 2017. Alta Developers is leading the effort, and a freshly secured $140.2 million senior construction loan from JVP Management is what moved it from plan to start date. The new financing replaces the developer’s original 2023 loan and increases it by $129.8 million, giving the project the funds to finally get moving. The land has its own paper trail. Alta Developers bought the one-acre site for $20.8 million in 2022, well above the $12 million that the sellers, a joint venture between Bizzi & Partners and Silverback Development, paid to assemble it in 2017. In a statement, Raimundo Onetto, CEO of Alta Developers, said “Alta New River is our third residential project in Ft. Lauderdale, and breaking ground reflects our long-term commitment to this city”. When complete, the tower is expected to hold 400 rental units averaging 840 square feet, with delivery estimated for 2028. Dorsky + Yue, the project’s architect, plans 4,127 square feet of ground-floor retail, a lobby and other uses, while 460 parking spaces will fill a nine-story garage. Residents get a plethora of amenity spaces as well, starting with a resort-style pool deck with cabanas, lounge spaces, an outdoor kitchen, and a barbecue area. Inside, there is a fitness center, a co-working lounge, club rooms, and a spa. The tower’s look has held steady even as the financing changed. Plans show a height of about 380 feet, with height and massing that have shifted little since earlier versions. The exterior combines a largely stucco facade in gray and white tones with metal balconies, floor-to-ceiling windows and accent lighting. Kaufman Lynn Construction is the general contractor, One Line Design Studio is handling the interiors, and Greystar will manage the property once it opens. Alta New River is landing in a city that is already experiencing a building boom. Completed as planned, it would add 400 units to Fort Lauderdale’s growing multifamily pipeline, which includes 4,371 units under construction in Downtown and Flagler Village alone, according to the city. Hundreds more are underway outside those central neighborhoods.
Second Live Local Act Tower Proposed in Sunset Harbour at 1771 West Avenue
Sunset Harbour is set to receive its second Live Local Act tower, just weeks after plans for its first came to light. EOS Wellness Real Estate Miami, LLC has filed plans for a 44-unit building at 1771 West Avenue, on the site of an Office Depot that sold last year for $28.5 million. At 300 feet to the roof, it would be among the tallest buildings in the neighborhood. The proposal rests on a state law designed to expand affordable housing by granting developers added density, flexible zoning and other incentives in exchange for a commitment to workforce units. That law has driven a steady flow of proposals in Miami Beach, and a number of them have run into questions about historic preservation. That is not a factor here, since the site sits outside any local historic district and is not listed on the National Register of Historic Places. What’s Planned Like many Live Local Act developments in Miami Beach, this one is trying to square workforce housing with a luxury product. The law makes every project mixed-income, requiring that at least 40 percent of units be set aside as workforce housing, and here that works out to 18 of the 44 units. Those apartments are priced for households earning up to 120 percent of area median income, which puts studios at roughly $2,800 at most. The other 26 units are market-rate condominiums. Size is what separates the two groups. The workforce units run smaller, from studios to two-bedrooms, while the condominiums stretch up to four bedrooms, so the building’s full range spans studios, two-, three- and four-bedrooms. The 44 units also fall well short of the 86 the site could accommodate. The luxury concept carries, expectedly, into the amenities, where wellness is the organizing theme. Beyond multiple pools, the plans include a longevity spa, fitness facilities, massage and recovery rooms, consultation and treatment spaces, and physical therapy and aesthetic services, among other amenities. At street level, the project adds a private driveway, a lobby and expanded pedestrian improvements; above that sit 6,391 square feet of commercial space and 117 parking spaces in a multi-level podium, with the tower rising from there. How high that tower can rise comes down to a provision in the Live Local Act. The building would reach 325 feet at its highest point, or 300 feet to the roof, because the law lets projects use the tallest height allowed within one mile of the site. This one draws on the Civic and Convention Center District, which now caps buildings at 150 feet. The city lowered that limit from 300 feet in April 2024, but state law prevents a city from setting a lower height limit for a Live Local project than the tallest allowed within one mile as of July 1, 2023. As a result, the earlier 300-foot figure still applies here. The design team includes Foster + Partners and ODP, and renderings show a palette of light gray, brown and white, paired with smooth concrete, louvered cladding, floor-to-ceiling glass and bronze mullions. The Future Whether the project reaches construction depends on a broader backdrop. Miami Beach continues to see a record-breaking number of Live Local Act projects, while the outlook for such development remains in flux, and the city recently weighed legal action against the state over the act after significant local opposition. Against that backdrop, this proposal has a few factors in its favor, including a location outside any historic district and a surrounding area that already includes high-rises.