Micro-Units: Miami’s Answer to Affordable Living

By: Ismael Rodriguez

Miami’s rental apartment market is evolving with the times, getting smaller to meet the needs of a new generation struggling financially.

Related Group, an innovative Miami-based real estate firm, has seized the opportunity to create micro-units to supply compact, affordable apartments to young, single professionals who want to live in popular neighborhoods without the extortionate rents. These micro-units are said to sprout up in areas like Wynwood, downtown Miami and other highly desirable areas where the cost of living can be an insurmountable obstacle for young people.

The first of three similar projects by Related and East End Capital is Wynwood 25, a $100 million mixed-use project, which is scheduled to break ground in July. The development will occupy 2.3 acres and includes 289 rental apartments that range between 400 to 1,200 square feet in size.

“Our approach to the building is to think about the type of person who would be drawn to Wynwood and want to live there,” Jonathan Yormak, founder and managing principal of East End Capital, told the press. “This is not the same as Brickell and Miami Beach.”

More than 80 percent of Wynwood 25 are expected to be studios and one-bedroom units, starting at $1,400 per month, while a limited number of three-bedroom apartments will go for $3,200 a month.

Yormak also told the press he hopes the micro-sized apartments will attract “the creative class—not just millennials but simply people who have a creative mindset and appreciate the arts, the entertainment and the grittiness that is cool about Wynwood.”

Other similar developments coming to Miami include Vice, a 464-unit apartment rental tower in downtown Miami, scheduled for completion in the fall of 2018.