What's Being Built Here is a franchise series that highlights development projects in South Florida, from new housing complexes to highway expansion and renovation.
NBC6 anchor Roxanne Vargas follows the projects from the planning phase to the grand opening, while exploring how the changes impact residents and the core of their community.
Watch the stories every Friday on the NBC6 News at 5 p.m.
Riverside Wharf
The Wharf Miami was all the rage when opened in 2017. What was supposed to be a pop-up space became a fixture on the Miami River. It invigorated the commercial area, but in 2023, the space closed.
Despite the shutdown, the owners of the venue, Breakwater Hospitality, knew more was possible. They hope their new plan will stick and reshape the landscape of the Miami River.
Pranav Bhakta with Driftwood Capital, a commercial real estate investment firm that is a partner in the project, says they were brought on to help imagine the new concept for the space called Riverside Wharf Entertainment District.
The plans features a waterfront complex that spans 1.35 acres which includes one tower that is an 8-story, 165-key hotel. Learn more about this project here.
Upland Park
A $1 billion mixed used community is expected to be western Miami-Dade's next big thing. It's called Upland Park, and community leaders hope the development will bridge the west end to the rest of the county.
For years, the 47 acres area was nothing. Developers say the property is to be the largest transit oriented community in Miami-Dade County's history.
Phase one of the project is underway and developers hope to have 578 multifamily apartments completed by 2026. The master plan anticipates having more than 2,000 multifamily apartments, about 282,000 square feet of retail and roughly 414,000 square feet of commercial space. Learn more about this project here.
Town of Miami Lakes
Streets and sidewalks have been torn up in several quiet Miami Lakes neighborhoods, and detours just to get home! Why?
This is an ongoing project in Miami Lakes with a goal to improve drainage and infrastructure in the Town.
“I think it's important. Important, because a lot of our neighbors have complained about the flooding,” says Miami lakes resident David Ackerman while on a walk with his dog as excavators tear up the sidewalk.
The bulk of the work began in 2021 when the Town council approved a $13 million Stormwater Utility bond.
“In the past six years, we've completed about 15 drainage projects throughout the town,” says Omar Santos, Director of Public Words for the Town of Miami lakes. He says 9 improvement projects are currently in the planning and design stage.
We visited some of the neighborhoods where the construction is happening to see what the residents are saying. Learn more about the project here.
