He adds that the number of residential units will be in the low thousands. "There's sufficient space there for tremendous numbers," Gordon says. "You could comfortably put thousands" of units. When developers get together with the city, they will know more details, he explains.

"This project will allow for the creation of an entirely new urban neighborhood in an area that has been long neglected," Miami Mayor Manny Diaz says in a statement.

Architect Bernard Zyscovich, a principal with the locally-based architectural design and planning firm Zyscovich Inc., created the master plan for the renovation of the corridor's neighborhoods along with Florida International University and the city of Miami. Zyscovich will guide the project's development to conform with the FIU/Miami plan.

The city contracted with FIU to project what might go there, and the plan calls for residential and retail, Gordon says. A number of the historic streets that run in the area will be re-opened.

More than a dozen bids for Buena Vista Yards were received. Buena Vista Yards is one of the largest and most significant undeveloped parcels of land in Miami. For many years, the rail yard linked South Florida to the Eastern Seaboard. The tract's new owners say the renewed property will help bridge north Miami with the downtown area to the south.

Biscayne Development Partners LLC is a partnership led by Samuel & Co. and Midtown Equities LLC.