Hialeah Could See Massive TOD

MIAMI—With more investors are looking for transit-oriented development opportunities, Keating Resources may fetch top dollar for its 20.57-acre site in Hialeah. The company is marketing the Market Station Development Site for a mixed-use, transit-oriented development.

The industrial site sits at 725 Southeast 9th Court. That's less than a mile from the Hialeah Market Station/Tri-Rail Station. The City of Hialeah in November approved a proposed resolution to amend the Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Code to allow for a Transit Oriented Development Overlay District (“TOD”). The TOD aims to promote and encourage pedestrianism, mobility, and transit ridership through vertical and horizontal mixed-use development.

“As we have seen in Doral, Miami's recovery and land boom is reverberating in areas just outside the urban core where the multifamily fundamentals are strongest, and Hialeah is home to some of the best multifamily market fundamentals in South Florida,” says Gerard Yetming, senior vice president at CBRE who is marketing the property. Thanks to the new zoning, the site now could be redeveloped into large-scale, mixed-use transit project in one of Miami's most populous suburbs.

Multifamily occupancy in Hialeah is stands above 98%, according to CBRE, and the occupancy rate is expected to average about 97% over the next five years. The firm's research reveals that living costs in other Miami submarkets have pushed many renters to suburban submarkets in search of more affordable market-rate housing, resulting in 4.7% year-over-year rent growth in Hialeah. As population growth in South Florida continues to accelerate, and as no market rate units are currently planned or under construction in Hialeah, CBRE expects rents to increase on average 3% over each of the next five years. 

Market Station currently has two warehouse facilities totaling 506,300 square feet on 20 acres located in an Enterprise Zone. The buildings are currently 79% leased. That's up from 58% three months ago.

“Market Station is the first significantly sized land offering in Hialeah to come to market in the recent past, delivering an unprecedented opportunity for a future owner to develop a landmark project combining residential and retail components, with the secure alternative of in-place income to allow for flexibility in timing,” says Yetming. CBRE's Robert Given and James Quinn are working with Yetming to market the property.

The site is located near several major highways and rail lines, with access to major employment centers like Blue Lagoon, Doral, Dadeland, Coral Gables Downtown Miami, and Miami Healthcare District. The site is two blocks from Tri-Rail Hialeah Market Station, which connects the property to the Metrorail, Metromover, and Miami International Airport. Keating could not immediately be reached for comment.