MIAMI – A building owned by the county trust that runs Miami’s Jackson Memorial Hospital could be redeveloped into hundreds of affordable housing units for health care workers.
Miami-Dade commissioners on the county’s housing committee voted unanimously to advance the land-lease proposal on Tuesday.
The site, located at 1500 NW 12th Ave., is across from JMH and abuts the UHealth–Jackson Metrorail station. Known as the Jackson Medical Towers, the current building was built in 1972 and is home to a parking garage and offices.
The plan calls for two towers with 808 units of housing, at least half of which would be considered affordable housing for those at or below 80% of the area median income and roughly a third considered workforce housing — for those at 80 to 120% of the area median income. A maximum of 20% of the units would be market-rate.
Jackson Health System staff would get priority in renting units. Secondary priority would go to any other health care workers employed adjacent to the JMH campus, including those at the University of Miami and Veterans Affairs hospitals.
“This is a long-term strategy. This is not going to be done for three to four years, but it is only the beginning of what we think is going to happen,” JHS CEO Carlos Migoya told Local 10 News. “Between us and the University of Miami alone we have over 15,000 employees who quality for these 800 units, so if this works like we think it will, this is only the beginning.”
Migoya said he believes it’s the largest housing project of its kind being led by a health system.
“Some other health systems have done this, but never to the size we are talking about doing here — the 800 units,” he said.
Migoya said public agencies in Miami-Dade are responding to the South Florida housing crunch by trying to find solutions to ensure staff can afford to live in the area. He said one of Jackson’s goals is to make recruiting staff and medical residents easier.
“Today, it is a real challenge. You may have some people graduating from top-tier medical schools around the country, but do they choose to come to Miami where it is expensive to rent?” Migoya asked. “Or do they go to Gainesville where it is a lot more affordable?”
The concept isn’t new to Miami. In October 2023, Local 10 News reported on an affordable and workforce housing development by Miami-Dade County Public Schools and other agencies in the city’s Brickell neighborhood that will allow teachers to live and work under one roof.
The Jackson development, a partnership with the Related Group, which would lease the land from the county, would also include retail space, a child care center and a separate 128-unit extended-stay hotel aimed at family and friends visiting hospital patients, along with 782 parking spaces.
Migoya described the Health District as “an area that, 20 years ago, no one wanted to live around,” but said that’s changed because of its proximity to downtown Miami “and a lot of things that are happening here, new supermarkets, retail, schools.”
He also highlighted the property’s transit access. The plan includes a $3 million allowance for improvements to the adjacent Metrorail station.
The county’s public health trust expects to get $1 billion in benefits during the 99-year lease period. Federal financing tied to the project, Migoya said, will ensure the income-restricted units remain affordable
“They (the landlord) will be restricted by how much they can charge,” he explained.
Commissioners Eileen Higgins and Raquel Regalado praised Migoya and the proposal during Tuesday’s meeting.
“I think this is a good example of how our county is leading on using the people’s land for the people’s purpose,” Higgins said.
Developers have inked preliminary agreements with Pinecrest Bakery and Giardino Gourmet Salads for space in the building’s retail space.
Following Tuesday’s committee vote, the plan is expected to go in front of the full Miami-Dade County Commission later in January.
County documents: