DFRE Starts Construction on $35M Workforce Housing Project in Miami

• DFRE has started construction on The Triangle, an eight-story, 112-unit workforce housing project in Miami's Health District.
• All apartments will be reserved for households earning up to 120 percent of the area median income (AMI) under Florida's Live Local Act.
• The $35 million development will include 450-square-foot studios, a 3,500-square-foot gym and a 10,000-square-foot pool terrace.
• Completion is expected in early 2028, making The Triangle one of the earlier Live Local projects to reach the construction stage.

What DFRE Is Building in the Miami Health District

Miami-based DFRE has started construction on The Triangle, an eight-story residential building at 1750 Northwest 15th Street Road in the Miami Health District. The project will bring 112 workforce housing units to a roughly 0.7-acre site. All of the apartments will be available to tenants earning up to 120 percent of the area's median income, allowing the project to take advantage of Florida's Live Local Act. The Triangle gets its name from the shape of its site, which DFRE says reflects the firm's strategy of finding development opportunities on smaller or unconventional parcels that other developers may overlook.

 

What The Triangle Will Offer Residents

Designed by ODP Architects, The Triangle will consist entirely of 450-square-foot studio apartments. The project is planned with several amenities, including a 3,500-square-foot ground-floor gym and a 10,000-square-foot pool terrace on the fifth level. The amenity spaces are intended to give residents additional recreation and gathering areas within the relatively compact development. Construction is already underway, with completion expected in early 2028.

What Is Behind the Development

The Triangle represents a $35 million investment and is being entirely financed by Daniel Dias, who founded DFRE in 2021. Dias comes from a fourth-generation family with extensive business interests, including construction. Laura Weinstein-Berman, an architect by training, joined DFRE soon after its founding as an owner representative. She and Dias eventually became partners and principals leading the company. Weinstein-Berman has helped establish DFRE's strategy of developing overlooked and irregularly shaped sites. The firm's previous projects include Peach on 14th in Overtown and the 1536 Health District development.

What DFRE's Development Strategy Looks Like

DFRE's portfolio extends beyond workforce housing and includes industrial, retail and hospitality properties. The company's completed projects include El Jardin, an adaptive reuse project in Little Havana, as well as the 40-unit 1536 Health District and Gold Lake Industrial in Medley. The firm also has additional workforce housing projects in the pipeline, including the planned 143-unit 1620 Little Havana development. DFRE is also planning a two-acre retail project in Fort Lauderdale. The company takes a long-term ownership approach, managing its properties after development and retaining projects within its portfolio.

What The Live Local Act Means for the Project

The Triangle is part of a growing group of developments using Florida's Live Local Act, a state law designed to encourage workforce and affordable housing by allowing qualifying projects to build at greater density in certain areas. The law requires at least 40 percent of units in qualifying developments to serve households earning no more than 120 percent of AMI. While developers have filed numerous projects under the program since its introduction in 2023, relatively few have reached active construction. That makes The Triangle notable as one of the earlier projects to move from planning into construction under the program. Its expected completion in early 2028 could provide another example of how the law is being used to create workforce housing on smaller urban sites.