Atlantic Pacific Leases Two Miami-Dade Public Sites for 614 Apartments

Atlantic Pacific's 614-Unit Push on Miami-Dade Public Land

Atlantic Pacific Companies is adding a combined 614 apartments in Miami-Dade County through two long-term public land leases. On a 10-acre parcel at 11700 Southwest 216th Street, the Boca Raton-based developer has signed a 99-year lease with Miami-Dade County Public Schools and will pay the district $12.7 million. The property is part of the Arthur and Polly Mays Conservatory of the Arts campus, which recently merged with Pine Villa Elementary to form a K-12 school; part of the school site will be demolished, but the school will continue on roughly 18 acres. The 364 planned apartments would be income-restricted, with first priority for teachers and district employees.

In Overtown, Atlantic Pacific is proposing 250 apartments on 3.1 acres of county-owned land across Northwest Fifth Street, Fifth Avenue and Sixth Street. The plan calls for 200 affordable units and 50 market-rate units, limited to studios and one-bedrooms. The parcel currently contains 34 public housing units built in 1984.

The Overtown project, named Culmer Gardens on 5th, is the third phase of Atlantic Pacific's development cluster near the Culmer Metrorail Station. The 239-unit first phase, Culmer Place, started construction two years ago and is nearly complete; a 375-unit second phase was proposed last year. The school-site project is scheduled to begin construction at the end of 2029 and finish in 2031. Both deals follow the county's strategy of upgrading publicly owned sites by leasing land to private developers rather than building directly.

Why Miami-Dade Is Leasing School and Housing Land to a Private Developer

The land-lease structure keeps public ownership while private capital builds

These are not outright sales. The school district is granting a 99-year lease, not transferring the parcel, so the district and county retain underlying land ownership while Atlantic Pacific finances, builds and operates the housing. For the school district, the deal generates a $12.7 million payment and preserves an 18-acre school campus; for the county, it moves public housing redevelopment forward without a fully public construction budget. The trade-off is that the public sector gives up direct control of the parcels for decades.

Teacher priority turns a housing deal into a workforce tool

Giving Miami-Dade teachers and district employees first access to the 364 income-restricted units is a targeted response to educator housing costs. Because the consolidated K-12 school will remain on about 18 acres, the priority could shorten commutes and help the district recruit or retain staff. The report does not specify income thresholds or rent levels, so the actual affordability benefit is not yet measurable.

Culmer Gardens extends a transit-adjacent pipeline

The Overtown site is not a one-off project. It is the third phase of Atlantic Pacific's cluster near the Culmer Metrorail Station, following the nearly complete 239-unit Culmer Place and a proposed 375-unit second phase. Limiting the new phase to studios and one-bedrooms points to smaller households and transit users, but it means this phase will not serve families that need two or more bedrooms.

The timeline pushes new school-site supply to at least 2031

The Overtown proposal appears more advanced, but the school-parcel units would not start construction until late 2029 and would finish in 2031. That long lead time likely reflects the need to demolish part of an active school campus, complete planning and secure financing. For Miami-Dade's affordability shortage, the school-site units are a meaningful supply-side signal rather than near-term relief; the Overtown phase lacks a stated completion date.

What Teachers, Overtown Applicants and Public Agencies Should Watch

• Teachers and Miami-Dade County Public Schools employees should watch for the district's priority-access rules for the 364-unit school-parcel project; with completion planned for 2031, eligibility and application timing will matter well before move-in.
• Prospective Overtown renters should note that Culmer Gardens on 5th is limited to studios and one-bedrooms — 200 affordable and 50 market-rate — so households needing larger units may have to look at other phases or projects.
• Developers and public agencies can read the school-parcel deal as a template: a 99-year lease, a $12.7 million payment to the school district, income restrictions and first priority for district employees, with the public agency retaining land ownership.
• Residents of the 34 existing public housing units on the Overtown site should seek county housing authority guidance on any relocation or replacement rights before redevelopment moves forward; those arrangements are not detailed in the report.