SWEETWATER, Fla. — CREI Holdings has received a $67 million construction loan from Centennial Bank to build an affordable and workforce housing mid-rise building in Sweetwater, just west of Miami.
Construction of Li’l Abner III is set to begin in the second quarter of this year, with completion expected in the second quarter of 2026.
Coral Gables-based Burgos Lanza Architects and Planners designed the eight-story project, which features 328 one- and two-bedroom apartments. Of these, 40 percent will be designated for households with an income up to 80 percent of the area median income (AMI), while the remaining 60 percent will cater to households with an income up to 120 percent of AMI. Nearly 40 percent of the project will be reserved for individuals age 55 and older.
Li’l Abner III, with an estimated construction cost of $83 million, will stand next door to its sister buildings, Li’l Abner I and II.
Yuleisy Montalvo at Centennial Bank led the financing transaction. Manny Diner represented CREI and Richard Barbara represented Centennial Bank as attorneys.
Li’l Abner was a comic strip, later turned into two movies and a musical, most popular in the 1940s and 1950s.