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Madison Square will be providing more affordable housing coming soon to the city of South Miami with the construction of Phase II. This is a fulfillment of a decades-long vision for the area and its local community members.
“Developer Daniel Abreu has accomplished what was thought to be a dream and provided affordable housing and much needed retail to an underserved area of South Miami,” said Ocean Bank Senior Vice President Guillermo Molina.
“Ocean Bank saw the opportunity to provide financing to an established developer creating a positive impact on the community, and we’re proud to be involved in this landmark development,” he said.
Phase I of Madison Square, completed in January, is now home to 20 families who qualified for affordable rents based on their household incomes. Many residents lived in the area previously and only because of this development have been given the opportunity to return. Phase II is set for completion in March 2022 and will be adding another 20 affordable housing units.
The 2-bedroom and 3-bedroom apartments are designated as 100 percent affordable rentals. Half are for “low income” residents earning less than 80 percent of the local median wage — and half for those earning “very low income” — less than 50 percent of the median wage.
Phase I features an 8,000-square-foot Family Dollar store on the ground floor at the corner of SW 64th Street and SW 60th Avenue. Phase II, on the east side of SW 60th Avenue will feature four retail stores for local business owners at reduced rents.
“We are in discussion with several potential tenants and anxiously await bringing back some of the more traditional businesses that served this area in years past,” Abreu said.
“It took a long time to make this development happen,” Abreu said. “The community should be thankful to Mayor Sally Phillips, former Mayor Philip Stoddard and multiple city officials for their tenacious perseverance in carrying out this development and making it a reality.”
Rogelio Villarreal, executive vice president and head of commercial lending at Ocean Bank, said the Madison Square loan is part of the bank’s ongoing commitment to the community.
“Ocean Bank is one of South Florida’s most active participants in Community Redevelopment Act financing and Madison Square is emblematic of a sound community investment,” Villarreal said. “South Miami is thriving, and Ocean Bank opened a new branch at Sunset Road and SW 57th Avenue to help serve this area.”
Abreu Development, founded in 2007, has collaborated with multiple cities on several commercial projects. Abreu said the community development experience has given the company the ability to pave the landscape to bring prosperity to both the city and its residents.
“Madison Square has shown that good urban planning, quality development and committed financing can bring about a project that benefits the community, helps low-income families and creates an appealing outcome that makes all parties proud,” Villarreal said.
Madison Square got its name from Marshall Williamson, an early Black settler who moved to the area in 1912 from the town of Madison in north Florida and began buying property. The land was donated to a local church and then sold to the City of South Miami.
In 1994, the city held a charrette on plans for the area, then formed a Community Redevelopment Agency. More than two decades later, Abreu Development got involved and in 2018 the city commission unanimously approved a development agreement and land use restriction agreement allowing Abreu Development to build 40 affordable rental apartments and 5 business spaces, following configuration envisioned in the 1994 charrette.
