22-Story Live Local Act Tower Proposed for 7501 and 7553 NE 2nd Avenue in Little River

A 22-story residential tower is being proposed for 7501 and 7553 NE 2nd Avenue in Miami’s Little River neighborhood. Filed under the Live Local Act, the project is being developed by Midtown Capital Partners under the NE 2 LR, LLC, and designed by Coral Gables-based Corwil Architects. The site comprises two parcels totaling 57,642 square feet, or approximately 1.32 acres, and is currently occupied by old structures that will be demolished.

The proposed 235-foot-tall tower would rise from a U-shaped footprint, yielding 348 residential units, ground-floor retail, and various tenant amenities. At least 40 percent of the units will be designated as workforce housing by Florida’s Live Local Act. The development team received an official affordable housing certification, and the City of Miami issued the zoning verification letter in September 2024.

Credit: Corwil Architects.

NE 76th Street bounds the site to the north, NE 75th Street to the south, NE 2nd Avenue to the west, and NE 2 Court to the east. It sits two blocks south of NE 79th Street and within walking distance of several transit corridors.

The developer is requesting a lot area exception to exceed the 40,000-square-foot threshold permitted for comparable sites. As proposed, the building’s mix of affordable housing and active ground-floor commercial space is intended to serve the surrounding neighborhood. The larger of the two parcels (7501 NE 2nd Ave) is already grandfathered at its current size.

Credit: Corwil Architects.

The application also seeks five waivers tied to parking design and pedestrian circulation. These include: permission to extend structured parking into the Second Layer along both the primary frontage on NE 2nd Avenue and the secondary frontage on NE 75th Street, with both frontages to be treated with approved architectural screening; a 30 percent reduction in required parking due to proximity to a transit corridor and Opportunity Zone designation; a reduction in the minimum 60-foot separation between vehicular entry points on NE 75th Street to accommodate uninterrupted retail frontage; and a waiver of the minimum pedestrian entry spacing along NE 2 Court, which functions primarily as a low-traffic alleyway.

According to the architect, the tower is intended to be “a confident, contemporary intervention” in Little River’s evolving urban landscape. Its stepped massing and podium base are designed to transition gracefully between the human-scale pedestrian realm and the building’s vertical form. A grid of deep balconies animates the façade, providing shade, while a material palette of red-toned brick, concrete, and metal references South Florida’s industrial and tropical contexts.

Credit: Corwil Architects.

The tower’s material palette includes a combination of exposed concrete, smooth stucco, and brick veneer. According to the elevation legend, the design incorporates light-textured stucco plaster finishes throughout the façade, some of which are treated to resemble concrete. Brick cladding is used as a secondary exterior finish, lending a tactile quality that references Little River’s industrial past. Dark gray aluminum and perforated metal balcony railings reinforce the building’s modern tone, while large expanses of gray-tinted, impact-resistant glass provide transparency and natural light across the residential units and ground-floor storefronts. These materials aim to strike a balance between durability and contextual character, while supporting the building’s contemporary architectural expression.

Large windows and an open ground-floor lobby aim to establish visual transparency and contribute to a vibrant street-level experience. Rooftop amenities, communal lounges, and fitness spaces are distributed throughout the building, creating a vertical neighborhood concept.

Credit: Corwil Architects.

The project is part of a broader transformation underway in Little River, a neighborhood with a growing concentration of mixed-use and residential development. If approved, the tower would contribute to the district’s continued growth as a walkable, transit-connected hub. No general contractor or anticipated groundbreaking timeline has been announced.

Miami’s Urban Development Review Board will review plans for the project on July 16.

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