Opa-locka CRA Clears Path for DBJ&L, MRK Ground Lease

The Opa-locka Community Redevelopment Agency board voted at its July 27 meeting to authorize its executive director and attorney to negotiate a long-term ground lease with DBJ&L International and Los Angeles-based MRK Partners for six city-owned parcels in the heart of downtown, the opening move on a project the developers are calling Opa-Locka City Place.

Why it matters

Opa-locka rarely shows up in a South Florida development conversation dominated by Miami’s urban core and the coastal submarkets. This resolution is a data point for developers scouting under-covered Miami-Dade land: the CRA controls the sites outright and is offering a ground lease rather than a sale, the standard tool CRAs use to keep land in public hands while still delivering density. The six parcels sit within two blocks of City Hall, all inside the agency’s tax increment financing district, meaning new assessed value from the project route back into CRA-funded improvements in the surrounding blocks rather than the general fund.

The numbers

• Six parcels: 241, 291 and 391 Opa-Locka Boulevard, 240 Bahman Avenue, 861 Salih Street and 879 Fisherman Street, totaling close to 1.5 acres.
• First phase: 225 apartments, a 35,000-square-foot grocery store, a 15,000-square-foot daycare, a 100-key hotel and 50,000 square feet of flex space.
• Full buildout, per the developers’ Opa-Locka City Place plan: 1,500 residential units including affordable housing, 275,000 square feet of retail, an elementary school, a hotel and a parking garage.

What’s next

The July 27 resolution authorizes negotiation, not a signed lease. Terms, ground rent and any additional TIF-funded infrastructure commitments still have to come back to the CRA board for a separate vote before the agency can execute the lease and any conveyance documents. The agenda did not attach a term sheet, so the rent structure and lease length remain the open questions for anyone tracking the deal. There is no active public solicitation tied to these six parcels since the CRA has already named its negotiating partners, but the agency’s broader downtown master plan points to more city-owned sites nearby that could follow the same path. Developers working South Florida submarkets should watch the CRA’s next agenda for the term sheet.