SWEETWATER, FLA. — Terra, a Miami-based developer, has obtained a $170 million construction loan to fund the development of Upland Park, a planned $1 billion mixed-use development in the west Miami suburb of Sweetwater. Terra is transforming Miami-Dade County’s Dolphin Park-and-Ride/Transit Terminal Facility into a multimodal hub that will feature a transit station, residences, retail space and commercial uses on a 47-acre site near Dolphin Mall. The local developer is teaming up with Miami-Dade County on Upland Park in a public-private partnership.
SCALE Lending, Slate Property Group’s debt financing arm, was the lead lender on the construction loan. Terra will use the loan proceeds to fund Phase I of Upland Park, which will comprise 578 apartments. The first phase is slated to break ground in early 2025.
Designed by PPK Architects, in collaboration with master plan architect Arquitectonica and urban planner Plusurbia Design, Upland Park will include more than 2,000 new mid-rise and garden-style apartments, about 282,000 square feet of shops and restaurants and approximately 414,000 square feet of commercial space.
Upland Park is designed to increase public transit ridership while anchoring the new East-West Corridor of Miami-Dade County’s SMART public transportation plan. Potential transit riders will have direct access to Miami International Airport as well as the city’s Health, Downtown and Brickell districts via the transit options at Upland Park.
Terra expects Upland Park to generate “thousands of jobs and create millions of dollars in new rent and tax revenues” for Miami-Dade County on land that was producing zero public revenues previously.
Founded in 2001, Terra owns and operates a portfolio of real estate developments valued at more than $8 billion. In addition to Upland Park, Terra’s portfolio of newly delivered and upcoming multifamily and mixed-use projects include Grove Central in Miami’s Coconut Grove neighborhood, Pines Garden at City Center in Pembroke Pines and Centro City near Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood that will include up to 1,200 apartments.
— John Nelson