Doral transit-oriented development near groundbreaking

One of the largest transit-oriented developments to date is about to break ground. Developers of Upland Park, a project with almost 2,000 residential units, a hotel, retail space, and general office space adjacent to Miami-Dade County Smart Plan’s Dolphin rapid transit station, are working with the county to get the necessary permits and close the lease on phase one this month.

Terra International Services LLC, the developer, is to have a groundbreaking ceremony in November, Mike Steinbaum, project manager of the Department of Transportation and Public Works, told Miami Today. A company spokesperson confirmed construction has not yet begun.

A development agreement approved in 2021 by the county commission and executed by the county gave Terra the right to develop the Dolphin Site.

The document details that the company is to pay the county a $1 million cash security deposit and over $4 million in a development fee.

Once the project is shovel-ready, Terra is to get a 90-year lease for the property and pay rent during and after construction, totaling $1.2 billion over the lease term. In addition, the developer is to invest over $20 million in improvements and maintenance of the Dolphin station.

“I think it’s going to be one of the largest and greatest transit-oriented developments that the county has seen,” Mr. Steinbaum said.

The development is to rise on 47 acres of county-owned land in three phases, with leases to be signed for each phase prior to the construction of each.

Phase one includes 441 garden apartments, along with a midrise building encompassing 350 multifamily units, 35,000 square feet of neighborhood-oriented retail, and about 800 parking spaces to accommodate retail, residential and transit patrons, a spokesperson for the developer told Miami Today in February.

Construction was set to begin in late August of this year, according to a project schedule shared with the newspaper. Nonetheless, the developer had a due diligence process to identify any unforeseen situations not identified during the request for proposals bid. Based on the size of the site, the county provided additional time to complete this.

During that process, the developer found wetlands and had to work with the Army Corps of Engineers, pull permits and create a wetland mitigation plan prior to construction.

“That was the largest [item] that created delays,” Mr. Steinbaum said. “Miami-Dade County and the developer have been working really, really hard to get all the plans [and] the permits ready to go to start construction and resolve all the issues with wetland mitigation.”

The updated schedule for the second and third phases is still unknown, although the document shared with Miami Today earlier this year pins the beginning of phase two to May 2025 and phase three to November 2027.

“The goal of all our TOD [transit-oriented developments] is having density near a park and ride so that it’ll be more convenient for people to ride our buses and not have to use cars,” Mr. Steinbaum said. “That essentially reduces traffic congestion and greenhouse gases, so as a county, we’re looking forward to this partnership to develop this magnificent project that is at a size that’s just incredible.”

Terra is a South Florida-based real estate development company founded by David Martin and Pedro Martin with properties in Coconut Grove, Miami Beach, Doral, Miami, Sunny Isles, West Hialeah, Bay Harbor, Pembroke Pines and Weston.