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Week of May 06, 2004 |
| Lennar plans 178-unit townhouse community on Doral property By Samantha Joseph Lennar Corp. plans to build 178 townhouses on a vacant 16-acre property in Doral that in the past year has been earmarked for industrial, office and residential use. The company has signed a contract to purchase the land from the Codina Group. The two companies plan to close the deal this month. "This is a very strong residential market with a lot of demand for luxury property," said Anthony Seijas, president of Lennar Developers Inc. "Our plan is to build luxury townhomes." This is the third time in less than a year that development plans for the property at Northwest 33rd Street and 102nd Avenue have changed. The land was zoned for industrial use when Codina acquired it about a year ago, and the company intended to build warehouses. Codina had just finished Beacon Lakes, a warehouse and distribution center west of Doral. "As we went through the approval process, the indication from neighbors was that this should be residential," said Rafael Rodon, president of Codina Consulting, which plans the parent company's projects. In December, Codina announced plans to use the site for an office park called Beacon at Doral. Construction was to have started in March on nearly 100 office condos that would sell for $312,000 to $493,000. "Office condos were somewhat of a compromise. We like to be good neighbors, so we re-approached everyone and indicated that we were willing to take a look at a residential development," Mr. Rodon said. "That's where we are." Codina and Lennar since have taken steps to have the property rezoned for residential use. They plan to close the deal after they get it rezoned. The development would be the fifth condominium project for Lennar, the largest builder in Miami-Dade County. Two years ago, the company veered from its longtime business plan of building single-family homes and launched a condominium division, Lennar Developers Inc. Extremely low interest rates continued to encourage homeownership but overcrowding in Miami-Dade led to land scarcity, Mr. Seijas said, leading Lennar to consider high-rise condominium developments. Lennar since has created four suburban developments of 1,300 residential units. The latest project's 178 townhouses would sell for less than $300,000 and are to open for sale early next year, Mr. Seijas said. Mr. Seijas would not disclose the amount of Lennar's planned investment in the development but said the company projects $50 million in sales.
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