Spanish Newcomer Plans 4,000-Unit Miami Megaproject Offering Attainable Rents
A developer new to building in Miami is starting with an $880M bang.
Spanish developer Pablo Castro received final approval from Miami-Dade County to build a 4,000-unit mixed-use project dubbed The HueHub in Miami’s West Little River neighborhood. The company plans to break ground on the first of seven 35-story towers by the end of this year, according to a release.
“The HueHub is of course, a real estate development, but that is actually secondary in my mind to helping solve our community’s biggest challenge — access to attainable housing,” Castro said in a statement. “We want individuals and families to live in a purpose-driven environment that is a true community, with every conceivable amenity.”
The developer told Bloomberg that he and his partner, Laura Tauber, are discussing financing options with New York lenders for up to $600M.
It would be the largest project to break ground using Florida’s Live Local Act, which allows developments to exceed local height restrictions if they make at least 40% of units affordable to those making up to 120% of the area median income.
The Arquitectonica-designed HueHub would span more than 500K SF on a 12-acre plot. The towers are planned to hold 4,032 units that would be fully furnished and priced at $1,300 for a studio, $1,600 for one-bedroom units and $1,900 for two-bedroom units.
The HueHub is aiming to dedicate 3,000 of its units to teachers and first responders at a fixed rent for 10 years, Bloomberg reported.
Castro plans to include 200K SF of amenities, including coworking spaces, tutoring, pools and gyms. Residents will also have access to meal preparation classes and services that include apartment cleaning, dog walking and childcare.
Coastal Construction, Bilzin Sumberg, Greenberg Traurig LLP and Franyie Engineers are all involved in the project.
The project, Castro’s first in Miami, is focused on addressing the affordable housing crisis in Miami-Dade County, where more than 60% of residents spend over a third of their income on rent.
“By addressing the region’s housing challenges head-on, this project serves as a groundbreaking example of meaningful urban development,” Castro said. “We’ve brought together the best minds in design, construction and community planning to create a purpose-driven community that will set a new standard for attainable housing.
The approved plans are an expansion from Castro's original proposal of 3,233 residences across six towers, each with 37 stories, announced in June 2024. Castro released the plans less than a year after his entity, 27th Ave Hollandpark Ecoresidences LLC, paid $29.3M for the parcel in October 2023.
The Live Local Act, signed into law by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2023, was created to incentivize developers to build more affordable housing through tax exemptions and the ability to bypass local controls.
First amended in 2024, the law was amended again in June to allow residential projects by right in more nonresidentially zoned areas and bar localities from requiring qualifying projects to have a public hearing.
A handful of developers have jumped on the law in Miami-Dade County, but many have argued that it doesn’t do enough to get projects off the ground. Beacon Hill Property Group in May became the first developer to break ground on an entirely workforce housing Live Local project with its 112-unit Beacon Hill at Princeton development.
