On Dec. 6, Miami-Dade County officials, developers and community leaders gathered to break ground on Courtside Apartments Phase II in Overtown, marking the latest effort to address the region’s ongoing affordable housing crisis. This second phase of the Courtside Apartments development will provide 120 new rental units designed to meet the needs of residents in one of Miami's most underserved neighborhoods.
Phase II of Courtside Apartments will consist of two seven-story buildings offering a mix of one-bedroom, two-bedroom, and three-bedroom apartments. The units will be primarily available to seniors and then to all income-qualifying applicants earning between 50% and 70% of Miami-Dade County’s Area Median Income (AMI). As of April 2024, the county’s AMI was $79,400, meaning the income threshold for qualifying residents would range between $39,700 and $55,580.
Monthly rents will be significantly below market rates, ranging from $985 for a one-bedroom to a maximum of $3,092 for a three-bedroom unit. The typical asking rent for a one-bedroom apartment in the area is averaged at more than $2,100.
Courtside Apartments Phase II will have 120 units with rents starting at $985.
Housing Trust Group President and CEO Matthew Rieger stressed the growing need for affordable housing, noting that Miami-Dade County faces a deficit of more than 90,000 affordable rental homes for households earning 80% or less of the AMI.
“That problem is not shrinking; it is growing,” Rieger explained.
Courtside Phase I was dedicated to families and was fully occupied since day one.
When Courtside Family Apartments broke ground in 2015, the original plan included three phases. However, due to the time needed to secure financing for affordable housing, Rieger told The Miami Times that the plan was adjusted to deliver more units in the second and now final phase.
Amenities include a clubhouse with a media center, a state-of-the-art fitness center, a dog park, and bike storage. Courtside Apartments II will offer complimentary on-site programs such as adult literacy training, employment assistance, financial management, and various community events.
Alonzo Mourning partnered with The Housing Trust to deliver Courtside Apartments in Overtown.
“This is going to be a safe haven with a beautiful atmosphere for the folks here,” said Alonzo Mourning, NBA Hall of Famer, who has partnered with the Housing Trust on multiple projects, including Courtside Apartments.
The project is made possible through collaboration and financial support between public and private sectors. Miami-Dade County Public Housing and Community Development (PHCD) contributed $2.5 million in surtax funding and 30 Project-Based Vouchers, which will help subsidize rents for qualifying residents. Additional financial backing includes a $4.3 million loan from the Florida Housing Finance Corporation and a $30 million construction loan from JPMorgan Chase.
PHCD Director Alex R. Ballina highlighted the significance of public-private partnerships in addressing the housing needs of Miami's low- and moderate-income families.
(L-R) Alonzo Mourning, PHCD Director Alex Ballina and City of Miami Chairwoman Christine King.
“For the first time since I've been in this world, housing affordability has become the national conversation,” Ballina said. “Those vouchers come directly from USHUD and ensure that those units will always be affordable regardless of what happens for the residents’ long-term needs.”
Miami’s affordable housing crisis
Miami-Dade County continues to face an escalating affordable housing crisis. The 2023 American Communities Survey from the U.S. Census Bureau ranked Miami as the most cost-burdened major metropolitan area in the U.S., with nearly 60% of renters spending over 30% of their income on housing. In Overtown, where the median household income is between $30,000 and $40,000— well below the county’s Area Median Income (AMI) — finding affordable housing remains a significant challenge.
Mayor Daniella Levine Cava
“I believe housing is a human right,” Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava told The Miami Times. “People are living out of their cars, they’re living in substandard housing. Everybody deserves a decent, dignified place to live.”
Still, what’s labeled as “affordable” remains out of reach for many low-income families. According to a 2023 analysis by the University of Florida’s Shimberg Center, nearly 48% of Black and Latino households are cost-burdened, compared to 38-41% of other households. Much of this disparity is due to lower homeownership rates among Black and Latino communities.
Moreover, most of Miami-Dade’s fastest-growing jobs pay less than $19 per hour. In order for a housing unit to be considered “affordable” to someone employed under such a salary, rent would have to range from $650 to $1,000.
Addressing the demand in Overtown
Community partners during the Courtside Apartments Phase II groundbreaking ceremony.
The development of Courtside Apartments Phase II in part addresses the pressing need for affordable housing in Overtown. According to Mourning, Phase I, completed in 2016, was fully occupied immediately, with over 40,000 people applying for limited units. As of today, the website states that only two units are available for rent.
Housing Trust's CEO Matthew Rieger stressed the growing need for affordable housing in Miami.
Rieger emphasized the continuing crisis:
“More than 60% of households in Miami-Dade are cost-burdened. People are struggling to make ends meet, but with projects like this, we are making real progress.”
Phase I, dedicated to families, had one-bedroom units priced at $1,179, two-bedroom units at $1,423, and three-bedroom units at $1,621. Despite these relatively lower rents, the demand for affordable housing remains overwhelming.
Chairwoman Christine King
Christine King, chairwoman of the City of Miami commission, shared the experience of listening to a young constituent tearfully explain her struggle to find affordable housing despite having a job. King stressed the importance of ensuring that affordable housing is genuinely affordable.
“This is not about developers or fancy Alonzo Mourning; it’s about the community that supports and needs these projects,” she said.
King emphasized her commitment to smart development that benefits the community while preventing the displacement of long-time Overtown residents.
Christine King and Alonzo Mourning have been working on efforts to help revitalize Overtown while helping residents.
“There is no project happening in Overtown that I do not support and will not push through the city of Miami’s bureaucracy,” King said. “If it’s in my district, it’s important to me, and we get it done, and we move it.”
“The people we have to protect are those that were born here and honor those whose graves are here so that they can continue their generations,” Ballina added.
Courtside Apartments Phase II will begin leasing in fall 2025 and will be ready for move-in during early 2026.
Levine Cava echoed this sentiment, highlighting the role of the city of Miami and the Southeast Overtown/Park West Community Redevelopment Agency (SEOPW CRA) in ensuring that Overtown’s redevelopment meets the needs of its residents. She emphasized the importance of protecting and prioritizing Overtown’s residents from displacement as the neighborhood diversifies.
“We want to make sure that no matter what we do, even if some market-rate housing is included in any of these projects, we're not overall displacing residents,” Levine Cava said.
The future of affordable housing
Entrance sign for Courtside Apartments Phase I.
With demand for affordable housing in Miami continuing to outpace supply, Levine Cava underscored the need for future initiatives. One key program is the HOMES plan, part of her Building Blocks Program. HOMES offers assistance to both homeowners and renters, aiming to increase the supply of affordable housing and improve existing units. In her second term, Levine Cava plans to launch HOMES 2.0 to further address the housing shortage.
“This is not just a matter of humanity for the individuals affected; it's a matter for the future of our community and economy,” she told The Miami Times.
Leasing for Courtside Phase II is expected to begin in the fall of 2025, with construction scheduled for completion in early 2026.
