Beacon Hill Property Group’s apartment complex in the Princeton neighborhood of Miami-Dade County is the first South Florida workforce housing development to break ground after being approved under Florida’s Live Local Act.
The law allows developers to bypass local density and height rules to build multifamily on a commercial or industrial site, as long as 40% of the units are workforce housing for people making up to 120% of area median income. The project must be approved by the administration without a public vote. The goal of the law was to boost workforce housing construction in Florida.
Dozens of Live Local Act applications have been filed across South Florida, some even approved, but Coral Gables-based Beacon Hill is the first one to break ground.
Located on the 2.6-acre site at 23815 S. Dixie Highway, Beacon Hill at Princeton will have 112 apartments – all of them workforce housing at 120% of area median income – in three stories with 145 surface parking spaces. Matthew Martinez, principal of Beacon Hill, said the general contractor is Coastland Construction and it should be completed in the first quarter of 2026.
Martinez said he didn’t take advantage of increased height and density through the Live Local Act because its model is garden-style workforce housing with surface parking, as opposed to mid-rise or high-rise buildings with parking garages. The Live Local Act helped in two important areas: putting approval on a fast track with county staff and allowing Beacon Hill to seek a 75% property tax break for all of its workforce housing, he said. It won’t officially secure the tax breaks until it leases up the building and documents the income levels of tenants.
“We were pleased with the ASPR [administrative site plan review] process and Miami-Dade County was very responsive and helpful,” Martinez said. “Without tax breaks, these type of deals would not pencil [financially] given where we are with interest rates and construction costs. The tax exemptions are absolutely necessary for a developer to take on a product of this nature.”
Beacon Hill affiliate 23815 South Dixie LLC acquired the vacant property for $2.55 million in 2024. It has yet to secure a construction loan, but Martinez said he’s in talks with lenders.
CTD Architecture designed the project. It will have 41 one-bedroom units and 71 two-bedroom units, ranging from 606 to 905 square feet. Amenities will include a pool and fitness center.