$120M Miami Expansion Goes Modular

Much of the construction at Optimum Properties’ project will be handled offsite.

Aliro Apartments. Image courtesy of FINFROCK

Optimum Properties has tapped FINFROCK to serve as the project’s architect, structural engineer, precast concrete manufacturer and general contractor for the $120 million expansion of its Aliro Apartments in North Miami Beach, Fla. FINFROCK will be using its offsite modular building approach.

The expansion of Aliro Apartments is expected to break ground in early spring 2022. FINFROCK will be in charge of renovating the existing five buildings that total 870 units as well as adding another 516-unit residential building, two parking structures totaling more than 1,000 spaces and an amenity building.

The residential building will span nine stories, while the 21,200-square-foot amenity building will include a clubhouse, cafe and market, work-from-home lounge, fitness area, 5,500 square feet of residential storage and 4,300 square feet for retail, leasing and a pet spa.

Bill Finfrock, president of FINFROCK, said in prepared remarks that the challenge with the Aliro Apartments expansion is building with minimal disruption to the current residents. FINFROCK added in his prepared statement that the firm’s unique building solution, where most of the construction is done off site at its manufacturing facility, will avoid causing heavy site traffic, inconvenient debris or disruptive construction for the residents of Aliro Apartments.

OPTIMIZING WITH AN OFFSITE APPROACH

The firm’s offsite method allows for multiple types of work to be done simultaneously, like electrical and plumbing work alongside building out the amenities, and allows FINFROCK to complete floors more quickly. The construction for Aliro Apartment’s expansion will be done at FINFROCK’s 140,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Belle Glade, Fla., which the firm broke ground on earlier this year.

FINFROCK also used this offsite construction method when developing a 700-bed student housing project for Florida A&M University in 2019. The firm also completed a 369-unit apartment community in downtown Orlando for Mid-America Apartment Communities Inc. in 2021 using a similar approach.