DBJ&L and MRK Partners are partnering with the town of Opa-Locka on a multi-phase effort to overhaul the community’s historic downtown core. The joint team is pursuing a long-term ground lease with the city’s community redevelopment agency (CRA) that would cover six publicly owned parcels and enable a comprehensive redevelopment program.
According to reporting cited from the South Florida Business Journal, the CRA has voted in favor of a resolution authorizing negotiations for this ground lease framework. The action allows city representatives and the development group to move forward in defining terms for the public-private structure that would govern redevelopment of the properties.
The initial phase of the project is expected to concentrate on replacing the existing buildings on those six sites with a mix of residential, commercial, and hospitality uses. Plans for this first phase call for 225 apartments, 50,000 square feet of flex space, a 35,000-square-foot grocery store, and a 15,000-square-foot daycare facility. A 100-room hotel is also included in the first-phase program, extending the project beyond housing and retail into lodging.
Over the full buildout, the concept for Opa-Locka City Place envisions a substantial increase in the town’s housing stock and commercial footprint. Across all planned phases, the redevelopment is projected to deliver about 1,500 residential units, including affordable housing, along with 275,000 square feet of retail space. The overall plan also incorporates a structured parking garage to support the higher-density environment and a new elementary school to serve the expanded population.
The multi-phase project would be developed across more than 16 acres, reshaping a significant portion of the municipality’s historic downtown. By combining rental housing, neighborhood-serving retail, educational facilities, and hospitality uses, the plan is designed to create a more active, mixed-use district anchored by both public and private investment.
Local context underscores the relative scale of the initiative. Opa-Locka City Place is described as one of the most sizable developments the town has seen in years. With the community’s population estimated at about 16,000 residents last year, the addition of approximately 1,500 units and extensive retail and institutional space represents a meaningful expansion of the local real estate base.
The project remains in the negotiation and planning stage as the CRA and the development team work toward a definitive long-term ground lease. The structure of that agreement will help determine how risk, control, and economic benefits are shared between the public sector and the private developers over the life of the project.
