Developer Plans More Units On Aventura Site

By Sherri C. Ranta
Developer Tarragon Corp. plans to redevelop and increase the residential density on a 9.1-acre site in Aventura, recently purchased for $41 million.

The waterfront site at 17900 NE 31st Court is home to the 285-unit Lincoln Pointe Apartments.

The site, on a peninsula northwest of Williams Island Marina, is attractive because the existing apartments do not utilize available density, said James M. Cauley Jr., president of Tarragon South, a company subsidiary.

Aventura regulations allow a density of up to 500 units and height of 400 feet or 40 stories.

The project will be the Fort Lauderdale developer’s second in Miami-Dade County. The company plans to maximize use of the Aventura site through condo conversion or new construction, Mr. Cauley said, and officials are still determining the best use for the property.

"We are in the evaluation process in terms of converting the entire 285 units (to condominiums) or converting a portion of the units, razing some portion or razing the entire site," he said this week. "We have a team of people working on what makes the most sense."

The company expects to submit a site plan next month to city officials with final approvals expected by early next year.

The apartment complex, built in 1991, is about 85% occupied. Rental rates at Lincoln Pointe range from $932 to $1,456 a month, according to the complex’s Web site.

Tarragon South closed Aug. 19 on the property, Mr. Cauley said. The sellers were Admiral’s Port Association Partnership and ASB Capital.

Taragon partnered with Shefaor Development Group in the purchase, Mr. Cauley said. Principals Gilbert Benhamou and Claudio Stivelman approached Tarragon with the deal, he said.

County property records show Admiral’s Port paid $5 million in 1989 for the land. The assessed value is about $25 million for the land and structures, records show.

Tarragon’s first project in Miami-Dade was a condo conversion at 56 Collins Ave. in Miami Beach. Three penthouses remain for sale at the project that mostly was sold by early 2003, Mr. Cauley said.

Other Tarragon residential developments in Florida include Las Olas River House and Pine Crest Village in Fort Lauderdale, Tuscany on the Intracoastal Waterway in Boynton Beach, Waterstreet at Celebration in Celebration, Alta Mar in Fort Myers, the Metropolitan on Sarasota Bay in Sarasota and Cypress Grove, a development with Coscan Homes in Pompano Beach.

Tarragon’s project is one of many residential developments in Aventura. The city has oceanfront properties and sites along inland waterways.

Aventura officials rezoned Northeast 188th Street in 2002 from industrial to residential and recreated the thoroughfare now home to a recreation center, a city-sponsored charter school and luxury condominium projects under construction or planned.