Terra has secured a $245 million bridge loan for the first phase of Upland Park, a 47-acre transit-oriented development near the edge of Miami-Dade County, the Miami-based development firm announced. The floating-rate financing from Scale Lending, the debt financing arm of Slate Property Group, covers 578 apartments within the mixed-use project at 1455 Northwest 121st Avenue, part of county-owned land adjacent to Dolphin Station Park and Ride Transit Terminal. The transaction matters because it converts a 2024 construction loan into bridge financing while the developer seeks permanent refinancing, a common but capital-intensive juncture for large multifamily projects.
The loan runs through September 2027 and includes two six-month extension options, according to a representative for Slate Property Group. Terra is now looking to refinance the asset, per a spokesperson for Terra. The first phase, completed this year, includes nine garden-style residential buildings, each three stories tall, located west of the Dolphin Mall near the intersection between the Florida Turnpike and Dolphin Expressway. New York-based Slate Property Group had provided the $170 million construction loan in 2024, meaning the new bridge financing represents an increase of $75 million over the prior debt amount.
More than 60 percent of apartments have been leased, with monthly rents starting at $2,000, according to a representative for Terra, which is led by David Martin. Later this year, the developer expects to break ground on the second phase, which will feature 484 apartments. In 2021, Terra struck a 97-year ground lease with Miami-Dade County, which projected earning nearly $1.2 billion during the lease term. In all, Upland Park is expected to house more apartments as well as retail and commercial space, with master-plan architect Arquitectonica and urban planners Plusurbia Design. A representative for the developer declined to provide additional details.
The financing highlights how lenders and developers are managing the transition from construction to stabilization in South Florida's multifamily market. The bridge loan structure, with a term through September 2027 and extension options, suggests the borrower is buying time to complete lease-up and secure permanent financing under potentially more favorable conditions. The fact that the same lending group, Slate Property Group, provided both the original construction loan and the bridge financing indicates continuity in the capital stack, though the dossier does not specify whether the new loan retires the prior debt or sits alongside it.
The evidence base is limited to a single Commercial Observer article, and several material details remain unknown. The dossier does not disclose the loan's interest rate spread, loan-to-value ratio, debt yield, or any covenants. It also does not state whether the $245 million bridge loan fully repays the $170 million construction loan or includes additional proceeds for lease-up costs, tenant improvements, or reserves. The article was updated to clarify that the financing is a bridge loan rather than a permanent loan as previously reported, which underscores the importance of verifying loan type in early coverage. What to watch includes whether Terra completes the refinancing before the September 2027 maturity, whether lease-up continues above the 60 percent threshold, and whether the second phase's 484 apartments proceed on schedule.