A cry for cheaper housing has pressured developers to build smaller.

East End Capital's Wynwood 25 apartment project won't be completed for another two years — yet over 600 hopeful renters have placed their names on its waiting list. The mixed-use development rising in the Wynwood Arts District north of downtown Miami is one of the first South Florida rental projects to offer micro-apartment units. The smaller-than-usual residences promise to offer some relief for tenants struggling to meet rent in the city's priciest urban areas.

“Miami is facing an unprecedented housing affordability crisis, and it's a product of conventional developers building a product that's not affordable to most Miamians,” said Joe Eisenberg, a city planner closely watching the micro-development trend make its way to South Florida. “It's possible that allowing smaller units could have a positive impact on that.”