(Photo credit: Melo Group)
What’s the value of ditching your car in Downtown Miami?
It can be $1,200 a year, according to Miami’s Melo Group. The development firm is offering renters a $100 monthly credit in return for foregoing a parking space at Square Station, its newly completed transit-oriented multifamily rental complex located at 1424 NE Miami Place in the heart of Downtown Miami’s Arts & Entertainment District. Renters who choose to give up their complimentary parking spot will receive a $100 discount off their monthly rent for the entirety of their lease.
Now open for occupancy, Square Station encompasses two 34-story towers with 710 market-rate rental apartments catering to an influx of young middle-class urbanites seeking walkable, urban lifestyles where they can live, work and play. The transit-oriented development also includes 15,000 square feet of space for street-level retail and restaurants with an outdoor plaza connecting it to the adjacent Miami-Dade Metromover School Board Station.
According to a recent demographic analysis of Greater Downtown Miami by the Miami Downtown Development Authority (DDA), Downtown Miami’s residential population has increased by nearly 40 percent since 2010 to more than 92,000 residents.
Young working professionals comprise the majority of the residential population, with about 41,000 residents falling between the ages of 25 and 44, up 86 percent since 2010.
“With Miami becoming more urban, we wanted to reward our residents who use alternative forms of transportation and encourage people to ditch their cars,” said Carlos Melo, principal of the Melo Group. “Square Station’s ground-floor retail will also help to create walkable sense of community, while the project’s transit-friendly location — with convenient access to the Metromover, Metrorail and Miami Trolley — will promote the everyday use of public transit and reduce traffic congestion during the workweek.”
Apartments range from one- to three-bedrooms measuring between 900 and 1,500 square feet in size, with monthly rental rates starting at approximately $1,650 for one-bedroom units; $1,950 for two-bedroom units; and $2,500 for three-bedroom units.
Units boast high-end finishes and features including granite countertops, Samsung stainless steel appliances, laminated wood floors, porcelain tile, and full-size washers and dryers.
Large balconies showcase panoramic views of Biscayne Bay and the Miami skyline. Building amenities include a resort-style swimming pool and pool deck, Jacuzzi, fully equipped fitness center, valet service, covered garage parking, security-controlled remote access and a social room.
Square Station’s Downtown Miami location puts future residents within blocks of some of South Florida’s top destinations for arts and culture, dining, shopping and entertainment, including the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, the Perez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) and the newly opened Frost Museum of Science at Museum Park, Margaret Pace Park, and the AmericanAirlines Arena.
For longer jaunts, residents are able to connect to the Miami-Dade Metrorail system via Square Station’s adjacent Metromover station, providing stress-free transportation to and from Miami International Airport as well as the city’s top employment centers such as the Health District, Downtown Miami, and the Brickell Financial District. The Miami Trolley is also nearby, making neighborhoods like the Design District, Wynwood and Midtown accessible within minutes.
Square Station’s completion marks the first phase of Melo Group’s larger three-phase development plan to bring nearly 2,000 transit-oriented rental units to the Arts & Entertainment District area of Downtown Miami. Next door, the firm recently broke ground on Art Plaza, two 34-story towers with 667 apartments at 58 NE 14 St. Plans for Miami Plaza, an adjacent third phase at 1502 NE Miami Place, are to include a 36-story tower with 437 rental units and approximately 7,000 square feet of retail space.
The developing neighborhood also includes Melo Group’s recently completed Melody Tower, a 36-story mixed-use residential building which opened in 2016 at 245 NE 14 St., across the street from the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts. Along with providing 497 rental apartments, Melody includes about 8,500 square feet of ground-floor retail and restaurant space and a landscaped plaza with public art.
Since arriving in Miami from Argentina in 2001, Melo Group’s father-and-sons team — led by Jose Luis Melo and his two sons Carlos and Martin Melo — has been a driving force behind the city’s real estate resurgence. Square Station becomes Melo’s 15th residential tower built in the Greater Downtown Miami area, bringing the firm’s development portfolio to about 3,800 total condo and rental units completed with another 2,900 units currently under construction and in various stages of planning.
To learn more about Square Station, including leasing information, call 305-800-1400 or visit www.squarestationmiami.com.
