Workforce Housing Developer Leads Political Donation Rankings

Bluenest Development, a workforce housing specialist seeking Miami-Dade approvals for its projects, emerged as the county's largest political donor in the first quarter, contributing more than $190,000 to commissioners and the mayor's political committees.

The company, led by brothers Salim and Kamil Chraibi, surpassed established development powerhouses in political giving. Related Group, the Pérez family's Coconut Grove operation, donated $115,000 during the same period, while Swerdlow Group contributed $105,000.

Commissioner Kionne McGhee, whose district covers much of south Miami-Dade, received the largest share of Bluenest's contributions at $50,000 through his 1 South Dade committee. The developer also supported commissioners Marleine Bastien, Danielle Cohen Higgins, Roberto Gonzalez, Vicki Lopez, Natalie Milian Orbis and Micky Steinberg.

Bluenest, founded in 2018 and headquartered in Miami-Dade, has delivered approximately 1,000 homes with at least 3,000 additional units in development. The company initially focused on scattered individual homes before concentrating on residential complexes in south Miami-Dade, capitalizing on the area's abundant affordable land and strong demand for below-market housing.

The firm recently proposed two complexes totaling 163 townhomes in south Miami-Dade, representing its continued expansion in workforce housing development. This strategy targets the significant gap between market-rate housing costs and median household incomes in the region.

Both Related Group and Swerdlow Group have pivoted toward public housing redevelopment through the federal Rental Assistance Demonstration program. Swerdlow secured approval for the county's largest planned RAD initiative, a 5,730-apartment project in Little River that will combine public housing replacement units with affordable apartments.

Related Group currently manages Miami-Dade's most substantial RAD project under construction: River Parc, a 22-acre development along the Miami River. The project transforms an existing 800-unit public housing complex into a mixed-use community with over 1,100 units and additional phases planned.

The RAD program allows developers to lease county-owned public housing sites, typically demolishing existing structures and constructing towers that replace all public housing units while adding affordable and workforce housing. Supporters emphasize the program's role in addressing Miami-Dade's critical shortage of affordable and workforce apartments.

Swerdlow also received county approval for a below-market purchase and redevelopment of a county-owned Perrine site, where the company plans to build apartments alongside a Costco retail anchor.

The donation patterns reflect a longstanding South Florida practice where developers seeking government approvals for projects contribute to political campaigns, creating relationships that can influence the approval process for housing developments throughout the region.