Florida Exteriors

When people debate Miami-Dade’s housing crisis, they almost always skip the most important step: go to the source.

The strongest and most widely referenced data set for Miami-Dade’s affordable housing needs doesn’t come from a developer, an advocacy group, or a think tank.
It comes from Florida’s public research institutions.

Miami-Dade County — like most major metros — relies on public universities for independent, methodologically sound needs assessments.

And the most recent, comprehensive study is:

The Miami-Dade County Housing Needs Assessment
Published October 2023 by the UF Shimberg Center for Housing Studies.

If you want to understand the shortage, the unit mix, AMI breakdowns, cost burdens, projected demand, or how fast the gap is widening — this is the baseline dataset policymakers and practitioners should be reading.

Before talking solutions, start with the source.

If you want help interpreting the data or applying it to:

• Affordable + Workforce Housing Development
• Live Local structuring
• CRA & CLT models
• County/City zoning strategies
• Economic development and job creation

👉 Reach out.

Rob Ellis, Executive Director
Email: [email protected]
Direct (Call/Text): 786-494-6766
Learn more: https://www.jobsfloridainc.org

Miami-Dade County is projected to be 100,000 affordable units short by 2032 — and the gap is widening every year. The market isn’t the issue. The demand isn’t the issue.
The zoning is.

Outside the City of Miami, the tallest structure ever approved by the County is 295 feet. Meanwhile, the City towers over the region because it actually uses the tools available: height increases, density bonuses, mixed-income overlays, Live Local compliance, TOD incentives, and aggressive land-activation.

The County could do the same — without spending a dollar.
• Upzone urban-adjacent corridors
• Increase allowable heights and FAR
• Expand density bonuses where infrastructure already exists
• Convert underperforming County land into RFPs/Joint Ventures
• Align with Live Local instead of working around it
• Create predictable, by-right development pathways

These are levers the County can vote on tomorrow.
No subsidies. No new taxes. No countywide bonds.
Just smarter land-use policy that unlocks production.

If Miami-Dade wants to close its 92,000-unit affordability gap — rising to ~100,000 by 2032 — the answer isn’t more studies. It’s more zoning capacity.

Developers will build the units.

The County just has to permit the scale.

If you want strategic advisory on:

• Affordable + Workforce Housing Entitlements
• Live Local Act Structuring
• County/City Zoning Strategy
• CRA + CLT Development Models
• Economic Development + Job Creation Pipelines

👉 Reach out.

Rob Ellis, Executive Director
Email: [email protected]
Direct (Call/Text): 786-494-6766
Learn More: https://www.jobsfloridainc.org

Parking is always the first thing people think we need more of — but in Miami’s TOD zones, Live Local corridors, and our downtown entitlement work, the math often tells a different story.

Every parking space you build takes away from a potential public-benefit use:
workforce training centers, community facilities, retail activation, childcare hubs, arts/cultural uses, or even deeper affordability.

Yes, parking supports commerce. Yes, you can separate it from the structure. But if the mission is economic mobility, housing supply, and community benefit… parking simply doesn’t produce the same ROI for the public.

After 10+ years in development advisory, my stance is simple:
Square footage that directly serves people always outperforms square footage that stores cars.

Automated decks and shared parking models exist — but they’re tools, not the goal.

If you want to talk about:
• TOD + Live Local entitlement strategy
• Affordable & workforce housing structuring
• Community benefits, economic development, and CRA alignment
• Job creation pipelines for unskilled + upskilling labor
• How to activate land for maximum public value

👉 Reach out.

Rob Ellis, Executive Director
Email: [email protected]
Direct (Call/Text): 786-494-6766
Learn More: https://www.jobsfloridainc.org

Miami-Dade is running out of available land. The county’s development boundary rarely moves, and almost every parcel inside the urban core has already been platted, acquired, or built on. That means the only realistic way to create meaningful new affordable housing is to go vertical, upzone, and increase the number of units that can be delivered by right.

Counties like Miami-Dade prioritize infrastructure first — water, sewer, transit, and rights-of-way. Once infrastructure exists, the question becomes: Who can actually build affordable housing on the little land we have left?
That’s where public-purpose development vehicles come in.

Under Florida law, CRAs, Community Land Trusts, housing authorities, and public development corporations can hold land, assemble parcels, and deliver long-term affordability. Historically, public land flows from the city → CRA, but we’re pushing to extend that chain:

city → CRA → Community Land Trust, ensuring the land stays in community stewardship for generations.

And while CRAs are often misunderstood, the truth is that expanding CRA districts is one of the strongest tools Miami has. A CRA can acquire blighted corridors, stabilize neighborhoods, assemble sites, and legally deliver affordable housing and economic development under Florida Statute 163.

If Miami and Miami-Dade County expand CRAs and use them to create or partner with Community Land Trusts, we can finally unlock public land at scale — and build vertically, affordably, and in alignment with public benefit and community ownership.

Rob Ellis, Executive Director — JobsFlorida Inc. (501c4)
📩 [email protected]
📞 786-494-6766
🌐 https://www.jobsfloridainc.org

Downtown Miami is full of luxury development — mixed-use towers, hotels, high-end retail, and waterfront condos — but the real gap in the urban core is affordable and workforce homeownership. Miami-Dade County’s own reports show that an “affordable” ownership unit now ranges between $200K–$400K, which aligns with incomes under $75,000 a year when you apply the 30% housing-cost rule.
So how do you actually reach that affordability target in a high-rise urban district?
You shrink the floorplate and you go vertical.
When you reduce unit size to ~400 sq ft and maintain construction efficiency, the math finally works. As the clip explains:
At $1,000/sf, you land around $400,000 — already within the affordability window.
Drop that to $800/sf, and you directly reach the level where households earning 80%–120% AMI can realistically purchase and sustain ownership based on their income.
This approach, combined with community land trust ownership, lets us transition a tower from CLT-owned → community-owned, using full lifecycle design to create long-term housing stability and upward mobility. Residents don’t just live in the building — over time, they gain the ability to own, build equity, and access workforce pipelines embedded in the development.
This is how downtown affordability becomes real:
smaller floorplates, vertical massing, community land trust governance, and a pathway to resident ownership.
Rob Ellis, Executive Director — JobsFlorida Inc. (501c4)
Email: [email protected]
Direct (Call/Text): 786-494-6766
Learn more: https://www.jobsfloridainc.org

Here’s exactly what we just submitted to the Southeast Overtown / Park West CRA.
This is our full response to RFP 25-10 — Park West Affordable Housing Development, submitted by JobsFlorida Inc and the Park West Community Land Trust (to be formed upon award). The CRA stated that evaluation and Board actions will not occur until January, so that is when we expect next steps.
What we submitted:
Our proposal provides the CRA with three fully compliant, massing-flexible development scenarios, each capable of delivering 900–1,350+ 100% affordable units depending on height, FAR, and parking strategy selected by the CRA (not assumed by us).

📌 1. Three Development Scenarios (CRA-Directed)
Conservative: 750–900 ft • ~24 FAR • 900–1,050 units
Moderate: 850–975 ft • ~30 FAR • 1,050–1,250 units
Full Maximum (Permissible): up to ~1,049 ft • ~36 FAR • 1,250–1,350+ units
All three use a flexible parking range of 0–250 spaces, depending entirely on CRA direction and transit-oriented goals.
📌 2. 100% Affordable Housing Program
A multi-income mix including:
Senior Independent Living: 40–55%
Assisted Living (ALF): 20–30%
Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH): 10–20%
Workforce Housing: 10–20%
Targeting residents from 30%–120% AMI.
📌 3. Community Land Trust (PW-CLT) – 198-Year Stewardship
The proposal establishes a 99-year ground lease + 99-year renewal option, with the CRA retaining fee simple ownership, ensuring:
Long-term affordability
Resident stability
Transparent public-purpose governance
CRA oversight on all covenants and reinvestment

For collaboration, partnership inquiries, or to align on future CRA, CLT, or public-purpose development work:
Rob Ellis, Executive Director — JobsFlorida Inc (501c4)
📩 Email: [email protected]
📞 Direct (Call/Text): 786-494-6766
🌐 Learn more: https://www.jobsfloridainc.org

What if one building could fund an entire local economy?

That’s the power of co-located development built through a 501c4 public-purpose economic development model — where real estate assets are designed not just to house people, but to permanently fund jobs, workforce programs, and small business growth across Miami.

In Miami, this structure allows the profits from a delivered asset to flow directly into the community land trust, the CRA, and the City — instead of private pockets.

Here’s how it works:

1. Public-Purpose Capital Engine

Once the building is completed, net revenues are distributed back into the land trust and reinvested into economic development for the surrounding neighborhood.

2. Co-Located Workforce & Development Hub

This single asset supports:

• Community-based nonprofits
• Workforce development entities
• Small business creation & navigation
• Higher education & healthcare partners
• Planning, finance & pre-development support
• Talent pipelines & job mobility
• Corridor activations & revitalization
• Resident stability programs

This isn’t theoretical — this is written directly into the governance framework of the asset.

3. Large-Scale Impact at the Neighborhood Level

A project like this can deliver:
• 1,200+ residential units
• 150–300 permanent jobs created
• A sustainable, recurring revenue engine for community initiatives
• A stabilizing anchor for residents and local businesses

This is co-located, mission-driven development built for public benefit — and it’s exactly what JobsFlorida Inc. (501c4) was created to advance.

Interested in partnering on co-located economic development, workforce infrastructure, or CRA-aligned public-purpose projects? Reach out.

Rob Ellis, Executive Director — JobsFlorida Inc. (501c4)
Email: [email protected]
Direct (Call/Text): 786-494-6766
Learn More: https://www.jobsfloridainc.org

Miami has 12,000 SF public assets sitting renovated, funded, and EMPTY.

In this clip, I break down how CRA-controlled buildings like the Citizens Bank property can be converted into jobs engines, workforce centers, and retail anchors immediately — if someone brings a real operating model.

That’s exactly what we’re doing at JobsFlorida Inc. with the Omni Trades & Innovation Center:

Public-benefit operations.
Real workforce pipelines.
Retail activation.
Recurring revenue for the CRA.

If you’re a developer, operator, retailer, or civic partner looking to collaborate on CRA projects — now is the time to collaborate on this asset with Certificate of Occupancy Imminent.

Contact me directly:
📩 [email protected]
📱 786-494-6766
🔗 https://www.jobsfloridainc.org

Miami’s housing crisis isn’t caused by demand — it’s caused by imbalance.

From 2017 to 2022:
• Wages increased 29%
• Rents increased 39%
• Home prices increased 63%

When housing outpaces wages this aggressively, evictions aren’t a mystery — they’re an outcome.

This is why Miami needs jobs, enterprise, and real economic mobility built into every redevelopment strategy.

Housing affordability is a math problem, not a moral one.

For consulting, CRA strategy, or development partnerships, reach out.

Rob Ellis, Executive Director
Email: [email protected]
Direct (Call/Text): 786-494-6766
Learn More About JobsFlorida Inc: https://www.jobsfloridainc.org

Miami’s housing crisis isn’t a headline — it’s math.

New data shows over half of all Miami-Dade households are officially cost-burdened, paying more than 30% of their income toward housing.

The numbers are even more stark for working families:

• 87% of households earning under $20,000
• 83% earning $20,000–$34,000
• 76% earning $35,000–$50,000
• 53% earning $50,000–$74,000

The breaking point is clear: housing becomes unaffordable below ~$75,000 household income.

If Miami wants to grow, we need policy, partnerships, and development models built for real people — not just luxury demand.

For consulting, economic development strategy, or support on CRA, housing, and workforce policy, reach out directly.

Rob Ellis, Executive Director
Email: [email protected]
Direct (Call/Text): 786-494-6766
Learn More About JobsFlorida Inc: https://www.jobsfloridainc.org

Evictions in Miami-Dade are now exceeding pre-pandemic levels.

The county averaged 5,000 eviction filings per quarter in 2022 — higher than 2019 — and foreclosure filings hit 750 per quarter, still above 2020 lows.

This is exactly why JobsFlorida Inc. exists.

Our mission is Jobs — 100%.

We believe economic development begins with workforce opportunity, local hiring, and mobility.

Housing, wages, transportation, training, and stability are not separate issues — they’re one integrated system, and Miami needs unified, scalable solutions to support working families.

The full video and full breakdown are now on YouTube, including our analysis of:

• Eviction trends
• Housing cost burdens
• AMI bands
• Workforce pathways
• Affordable housing superstructure models
• CRA-led development strategies
• How JobsFlorida Inc. blends jobs + housing in one vertical system

For collaboration, insights, or policy discussions, reach out directly to:
Rob Ellis — Executive Director, JobsFlorida Inc.
786-494-6766

Miami has spent the last 20 years redefining what a U.S. skyline can be — and now that same supertall precedent can finally be applied to public benefit, not just luxury condos.

From Aston Martin Residences (817 ft) to Panorama Tower (868 ft), Waldorf Astoria Miami (1,049 ft), and the approved One Bayfront Plaza (1,049 ft) and Cove Miami, the city has pushed FAA envelopes, embraced world-class architects, and built a reputation as one of America’s true vertical development centers.

JobsFlorida Inc. Community Land Trust Superstructure Proposal uses the exact same engineering logic and FAA height envelope— but redirects it toward affordable housing, HUD-compliant units, and long-term community ownership. Smaller floor plates, above 400 sq ft to meet HUD voucher requirements, finally make a supertall possible for people, not for wealth.

This is Miami’s next architectural chapter:
🔸 Superstructure engineering 🔸 HUD-compliant affordable units 🔸 Community land trust governance 🔸 Public benefit towers that permanently remove land from speculation

Miami has already proven it can build the tallest, most ambitious vertical structures in the country. Now we’re proving it can build them for public benefit.