Melissa Tapanes, President, Builders Association Of South Florida

Invest: sat down with Melissa Tapanes Llahues, president of the Builders Association of South Florida, to discuss how the region can balance growth with resilience, housing access, and the infrastructure needed to support long-term competitiveness. “The buildings matter, but they are only one part of creating places that work,” Tapanes Llahues said.

How have you defined your vision for the organization, and what are your top strategic priorities for the near term?

Our main goals at the Builders Association are to advocate for the industry, and that requires working groups with our government partners. Our strategic goals this year have been continuing that advocacy, advocating for housing accessibility, advocating for public-private partnerships, and doing a better job of telling our story as builders.

We literally build this community, and many times it seems the public is consumed with the negatives of progress, like construction disruption, traffic, and the visible symptoms of growth. There can be a disconnect between what it takes to build and maintain a thriving city and the day-to-day experience of living in one. Part of our work is to tell that full story.

You emphasized expanding housing access and strengthening public-private partnerships. How are those priorities showing up in the Association’s work today?

Day to day, the Builders Association of South Florida committee members work with local government jurisdictions on task forces affecting building, the environment, land use decisions, contractors, procurement, and compliance, as well as state initiatives and how they affect the construction and development ecosystem.

Our members work with the government on growth management and infrastructure so the market can support not just housing, but the office, retail, and industrial amenities required for a sustainable community. The daily work is in partnership with local government to move projects from concept to reality, while also staying connected to the industries we are building for, from employers and retailers to healthcare, education, and the broader services that make a community function.

How does the association advocate for builders and developers at the local, county, state, and federal levels?

The Builders Association of South Florida is a chapter of the National Association of Home Builders and the Florida Home Builders Association. Locally, we partner with local governments and act as a resource of experts in decisions made by the government. No government has its own construction team. They procure from the private sector at every level of implementing their policies and goals. So we work with them through project teams, working groups, and task forces to move projects forward.

I also serve on the executive board of the Florida Home Builders Association, so our chapters work together in Tallahassee, influencing policy at the state level. The same applies nationwide through the National Association of Home Builders in Washington, D.C.

How is the association helping members balance resilience, sustainability, and climate considerations with cost and feasibility?

Builders, engineers, and architects have always considered resiliency and sustainability as priorities. The difference now is that the public and government leaders are looking at resiliency and sustainability at a more macro level. We are glad to see that prioritization, especially in South Florida.

It is important to make resilience part of the public dialogue so that the broader community considers what builders consider, including craftsmanship, Florida Building Code requirements, and what resiliency means in the public domain regarding infrastructure. That requires technical expertise and public policy dialogue to reach solutions that balance historic preservation with long-term resiliency. As a land use attorney, balancing those interests is part of my day-to-day work.

What programs, committees, or events have been most effective in helping members stay connected, informed, and engaged?

Our advocacy. The Builders Association of South Florida is often where elected officials and county and state administrators come to get expert input from across the industry, from contractors and subcontractors to developers, as well as architects, engineers, planners, and other specialists. That breadth is valuable because the people we build for are the entrepreneurs and families driving the region’s economy, and our members are part of that broader ecosystem.

What are the most pressing regulatory or legislative challenges facing the South Florida building industry, and how is the Association addressing them?

In Florida, one major issue is preemption. The state legislature has been preempting local governments on many issues. In the past, we saw it on topics like plastic shopping bags. Now we are seeing it in the realm of real estate development and land use policies.

While the state preempts local government, local governments are also looking for ways to use their police power as it relates to density, intensity, environmental regulation, and growth management. Miami-Dade County is also preempting municipal governments. That has long been true of environmental regulation, and in recent years, we have also seen county involvement in land use and growth management tied to regional priorities like transit and mobility.

Preemption will continue to be an issue at the city, county, and state levels. The association’s role is to stay engaged, bring technical expertise to the table, and help align policy goals with how projects actually get delivered.

Looking ahead, what trends do you see having the biggest impact on South Florida’s building and development landscape over the next few years?

Investment by federal, state, and local governments in mobility and public spaces will continue to incentivize development around those areas and increase intensity and density where it makes sense. We are seeing Opportunity Zones, when layered with land use and zoning incentives, support mixed-income, mixed-use projects that create new neighborhoods.

The trend is continued redevelopment, project by project, with more macro decision-making by local governments encouraging mixed-use development around transit. That approach has already reshaped Miami over the last couple of decades. Downtown used to be office-only, and by early evening, there were limited residents and limited street activity. Increasing residential density and expanding evening uses changed the urban core and helped drive the next waves of investment in surrounding areas.

Today, tools like special area plans and rapid transit zone projects can incorporate these concepts into new urban centers more system-wide. The opportunity is to create livable communities where people can work, live, and access daily needs closer to home, which supports quality of life and long-term sustainability.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

In addition to serving as president of the Builders Association, I am a land use attorney in my private practice, and it is important to include that context. I am a Shareholder at Bercow Radell Fernandez Larkin and Tapanes, a boutique land use and zoning firm focused on collaboration between business, elected officials, and the development industry. Those roles work well together, and they are fulfilling.

Builders do not always tell the story, and that is what I want to change. I see what it takes to move from concept to completion and how place, policy, and long-term planning shape neighborhoods. The buildings matter, but they are only one part of creating places that work.