Little River District Project Statement

Attribution: Michael Swerdlow, Managing Partner of SG Holdings

“The Little River District mixed-use development will greatly benefit Miami’s underserved Little River and Little Haiti neighborhoods, marking a nearly $3 billion investment in the community’s future.

Spanning 63 acres, the Little River District will bring to market more than 5,700 affordable and workforce housing units, replacing several aging public housing buildings in serious disrepair located on the site, and incorporate major big-box retail stores, green public space and a new train station that will greatly enhance connectivity and quality of life within the live, work and play community. These features of the development will also create and increase the size of the local market that will spur the growth of existing businesses and incentivize the establishment of new businesses by area entrepreneurs.     

In partnership with and under the leadership of Miami-Dade County, our development team is delivering an extensive Community Benefits Agreement that is part of our lease with the County and will ensure worker protections, particularly related to heat, and responsible hiring with local hiring preferences for both construction and permanent jobs, including low-income and public housing area residents.

The County will reap approximately $9.5 billion through this project – the largest revenue sharing pact of this kind in the County’s history. These revenues can be used to support the County’s efforts to address the affordable housing crisis in Miami-Dade and invest in community development, inclusive of support for small businesses.”

Supporting Points:

The transit-oriented development is spearheaded by SG Holdings, a joint venture comprised of Swerdlow Group, SJM Partners, and Alben Duffie, a partnership that stands at the forefront of affordable housing development, following its successful delivery of the 1.5 million-square-foot, mixed-use development Sawyer’s Walk in Overtown.

The transformative development of Sawyer’s Walk addressed critical community needs in Miami’s historic Overtown neighborhood, delivering 578 affordable senior housing units that are fully leased – the largest affordable senior living community completed on a single property in the US in the last decade. The project also added 175,000 square feet of retail space that has been leased out to value-add retailers highly needed in the neighborhood including opening the first Aldi Supermarket and the first Target store in Downtown Miami. It also included a 25,000-square-foot public plaza for families in the community to enjoy.