SG Holdings, New Urban Development Break Ground in Miami Gardens

SG Holdings and New Urban Development broke ground Thursday on Serenity Gardens, a 153-unit affordable senior housing project on city-leased land in Miami Gardens, next to the city’s Senior Family Center at 18330 NW 12th Avenue. The eight-story building will hold 138 one-bedroom and 15 two-bedroom units for seniors using Section 8 project-based vouchers, according to Miami-Dade County’s federal environmental filing for the project.

Why it matters

For a Miami Gardens builder or subcontractor, this groundbreaking is a marker of what north Miami-Dade’s affordable senior pipeline actually takes to close. Miami-Dade County records show the deal’s capital stack sat unfinished for years. Commissioners approved a $3.75 million documentary stamp surtax commitment for the site back in 2021 under Resolution R-430-21, and the county granted a third extension in December 2025 tied to a restructured ownership group. That is the real lesson for anyone bidding affordable senior work in this market. Expect a multi-year runway between land control and a groundbreaking, and expect the ownership entity itself to change along the way. The Miami affordable pipeline moves on public financing timelines, not private ones.

The numbers

Miami-Dade’s Housing Finance Authority is backing the project with up to $45 million in multifamily mortgage revenue bonds, approved by the County Commission on Nov. 4, 2025, on top of the $3.75 million surtax loan. The county’s HUD environmental notice puts the total project cost at roughly $55.4 million. Ownership sits with Serenity Grove Venture LLC, a joint venture formed in October 2025 between New Urban Development’s Serenity Grove LLC and SG Serenity Grove LLC, the entity behind SG Holdings principals Michael Swerdlow and Stephen Garchik, according to Florida corporate records. As South Florida continues to face a critical shortage of affordable housing, developments like Serenity Gardens are essential to helping seniors age with dignity, Swerdlow said.

What’s next

Miami Gardens’ city council already cleared a parking variance in December, cutting the required 344 spaces to 169, and the project must still clear credit underwriting on the surtax loan before the county releases those funds. Neither the county filings nor the developers’ public statements name a general contractor or architect yet, a gap worth tracking for subcontractors angling for the bid. The next public marker to watch is when the Housing Finance Authority actually prices and issues the bond series backing construction.