Estate Investment Group obtained approval for an apartment project in the Downtown Urban Village district of Palmetto Bay after lowering the density of the project.
On Oct. 16, the Village Council approved the Miami-based developer’s Soleste Bay Village at 18301 S. Dixie Highway (U.S. 1). It would have 200 apartments, 15,635 square feet of retail and 297 parking spaces in a garage. Holland & Knightattorney Hugo Arza, who represents the developer, said only 3,400 square feet of that retail space would be for commercial tenants and the rest would be combined with residences in live-work units.
Palmetto Bay’s Downtown Urban Village District, which was approved in 2015, encourages commercial uses on the ground floor.
“The idea is to keep people living in the building or nearby from getting in the car to get coffee or a sandwich,” Arza said.
The original proposal for Soleste Bay Village was for an eight-story building with 301 apartments, but the Village Council declined to approve that plan in March. Arza said residents were concerned about the density of the project, the impact on traffic and the height, so his client addressed those issues by reducing the number of units and lowering the height.
Now with approval in hand, Arza said Estate Investment Group plans to close on its purchase of the 1.98-acre site from a church and demolish the building in preparation for construction.
Soleste Bay Village would have 124 units with one bedroom, 67 units with two bedrooms and eight units with three bedrooms. They would range from 600 to 1,100 square feet.
Amenities would include a pool deck on the third floor, gym, party room, dog park and playground.
