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Home My WebLink AboutCRA-R-25-0030 Uni-Tower Progress Update 2024-02-08January 17th, 2024 Commissioner Damian Pardo Chairman Omni Community Redevelopment Agency 1401 N Miami Ave. 2nd Floor Miami, FL 33136 Mrs. Isiaa Jones Executive Director Omni Community Redevelopment Agency 1401 N Miami Ave, 2nd Floor Miami, FL 33136 Re: Progress Update for `UNI Tower' (the "Project"), a Fully Restricted Affordable and Workforce Housing Development in the Omni Community Redevelopment Agency ("Omni CRA") Dear Commissioner Pardo and Mrs. Jones: We are pleased to inform you that 'UNI Tower'. the 28-story affordable and workforce housing luxury high-rise that we are developing within the boundaries of the Omni CRA, is on track for its May 2024 TCO delivery date; a milestone for the district and for the City of Miami as a whole. Comprising 252 units entirely restricted at the whole target income range (60, 80, 100, 120 and 140% AMI) as well as ample residential amenities and commercial space, the Project will become the first_firlly restricted affordable and workforce housing mixed -use skyrise in Miami. Just blocks away from Adrienne Arsht Center, next to public transportation, and steps from Wynwood, Brickell, and Edgewater, in one of the most sought-after areas in the City. `UNI' will completely change the paradigm of what affordable and workforce housing can and should be. We are deeply proud of, and thankful for, the Omni CRA's assistance in bringing this novel concept to fruition. Apart from decisively tackling the acute crisis of housing unaffordability, we expect the Project to become a crucial recruitment and retaining tool for businesses, organizations, and institutions by allowing them to provide their employees with the housing they urgently need and deserve. Indeed, UNI Tower fundamentally changes the preconception of what a rent restricted project can and should be: not peripheral, but within one of Miami's most coveted areas; not just "good enough". but with the material quality of the market -rate skyrises in the same neighborhood. NR Group Management, Inc j UNI 17' Street, LLC 1 1600 NE lst Ave Suite 3800, Miami, FI 33132 Phone 305.625.0949 ! FAX 305.625.0948 In fact, we've already had very productive meetings and communications with, among others: a) the State Attorney's Office, b) the Public Defender's Office, c) the United Teachers of Dade, d) SEIU Healthcare Florida Local 1991 (which represents nurses and other healthcare professionals in the Jackson Health System), e) representatives of the Miami Police Department, and f} the Miami Department of Fire -Rescue. By delivering high -quality attainable housing to such professional. we hope to enrich the fabric of our community by allowing for diverse levels of income and professions. The chief purpose of this report and of its Exhibits is to update you on the additional investments we have made, since construction began in May of 2022, in order to fulfill our shared mission to provide transformative housing in the urban core of the City. Some of these expenses have been unavoidable cost increases in a context of high inflation; multiple change orders, as detailed in the Exhibits, have impacted the Project's budget, even after the master building permit was issued and construction began. Concrete inflation and delivery delays have been particularly severe, but so have certain other temporary interruptions caused by unforeseen issues, as well as various design changes which had to be implemented to conform with US Department of Housing and Urban Development ("HUD") rules and City Code. Labor costs, which affect all trades and therefore are a substantial portion of these multiple change orders, have also increased dramatically in the last year. Alternatively, though, many of these additional expenditures have only to do with our desire — and commitment — to provide the best possible residential experience within a fully restricted affordable and workforce housing tower. This is, essentially, what makes this Project completely stand out among comparable developments in the City: with the crucial assistance of the Omni CRA, we are not only building a product that is unique, in terms of location and size, for an affordable and workforce housing project, but doing so with the finishes and amenities of a market - rate luxury high-rise. Among some of the items that are novel and unique for an affordable and workforce housing project, `UN1 Tower' will feature: • Multiple and substantial high -end, indoor and outdoor amenity spaces, located throughout the tower. including a 3,000 SF gym and yoga room, pool, sun deck and sitting areas, beautifully furnished resident lounges, game rooms, and co -work spaces; SIR Group Management, Inc I UNI 17' Street, LLC 2 1600 NE 1st Ave Suite 3800, Miami, FI 33132 Phone 305.625.0949 I FAX 305.625.0948 uto UNIi • An expansive lobby which features gathering steps as well as a luxurious solid bronze imported staircase, an exceptionally elegant piece that will serve as a grand focal point for the space and sophisticated landmark for the building; • High -quality unit appliances, custom manufactured closets, and roller shades for enhanced privacy and lighting control; • Parking control web environment for enhanced safety, security, control, management, and operation of the building's parking garage; • Valet waiting room with incorporated amenities such as Wi-Fi and complimentary refreshments; • Automated package management system; • Storage lockers distributed throughout the tower for convenient access. To be sure, `UNI Tower — with the critical assistance of the Omni CRA — will deliver a kind of property that will set a new high standard for future affordable and workforce housing developments in the City of Miami. It will have substantial, transformative ripple effects in the community, and will serve as inspiration for attainable housing projects here and everywhere. However, due to the nature of a rent restricted project, these additional costs ofS5,045,412 cannot be absorbed through increased rent, unlike market -rate projects in the same area, which have been able to take advantage of record -rising rents in the last two years. Therefore, additional economic support of the Omni CRA is essential helping to turn this inspiring vision into a tangible reality. While some would see these additional expenditures, especially on the amenities and finishes, as pure "loss" or bad business decisions, we take a different view. Incurring these expenses were the right way to bring 252 units of urgently needed affordable and workforce housing to the City's urban core, to serve the people that serve our community in the way they deserve it, and to build a product that makes them proud to live in and serves as inspiration for future developments. It`s nothing more than the vision that we've shared with the Omni CRA from Day 1, a vision which, with the agency's vital support. we are closer than ever of achieving. NR Group Management, Inc I UNI 17" Street, LLC 3 1600 NE 1st Ave Suite 3800, Miami, FI 33132 I Phone 305.625.0949 I FAX 305.625.0948 uta yH1 �NI As we've stated many times in the past, we are happy for, and proud of, the true partnership we have forged with the Omni CRA to build high -quality affordable and workforce housing in Miami's urban core, not in the City's periphery but within its Central Business District, and in a way that helps create a revitalized, vibrant, diverse, and sustainable community. We hope to continue to explore ways to work with the Omni CRA to advance its goals and objectives, as more often than not, those are the same as ours. Sincerely. Nir Shoshan `UNI Tower' UNI 17th Street, LLC NR Group Management, Inc I UNI 17z" Street, LLC 4 1600 NE lst Ave Suite 3800, Miami, FI 33132 I Phone 305.625.0949 I FAX 305.625.0948