University Village residents may have unexpected neighbors this time next year.
The University Village Townhome project, originally planned to open in early 2007, is part of the University of Miami Master Campus Area Development plan.
The development is expected to include as many as 16 new units to house professors, faculty, adult staff and their families. The single-family townhouses will be located between Mataro and Corniche Avenues. They will replace the old School of Nursing building, demolition of which began late September and completed earlier this month.
The new housing, planned to open October 2008, will be designed to complement the existing University Village apartments. Construction is expected to begin as soon as the university receives permits from the city of Coral Gables.
Pablo Garcia, project manager for Real Estate and Facilities, said these permits are expected during the next few weeks.
The new townhomes will cost an estimated $5.98 million to build, but the rental process and unit prices will not be determined until closer to the completion of construction, Janet Gavarrete, university planner, said.
Originally the UV was planned to extend into the old nursing school’s location and house 1,100 residents, but the Village was scaled down to house 800 residents as part of an agreement with the UM Neighbors Homeowners Association.
Sarah Artecona, assistant to the vice president of business and finance, said the new townhomes will serve as a buffer between the residents of the University Village apartments and the neighboring Coral Gables community.