Tag Archive for: shopping center redevelopment

boynton beach mall

Boynton Beach Mall could have half the square footage for retail businesses once itā€™s redeveloped, but it might add apartments, a hotel and offices.

The plans reflect attempts across America to transform malls as fewer people go there to shop. Apartments also are planned at theĀ Coral Square MallĀ in Coral Springs and at the former Fashion Mall in Plantation.

The Boynton Beach MallĀ once had tenants including Burdines, JCPenney, Jordan Marsh and Lord & Taylor. But like other malls facing less in-store shopping and an increase in online shopping by consumers, retail tenants have dwindled over the years, with new types of tenants coming in.

ā€œAccording to city documents, 30 percent of the mall is now vacant, and its proposed redevelopment would not only stabilize it, but make it a desirable destination once again,ā€ said Bonnie Miskel, a lawyer representing primary mall owner Washington Prime.

The proposal would reduce the existing mall square footage for retail from about 1 million square feet to 482,750 square feet, and build separate, mixed-use buildings with retail use on the first floor and residential units above. Developers also would add up to 1,420 residential apartments on the site, along the north end and southwest side of the mall property, and inside the new mixed-use buildings. The redeveloped mall would include a 400-room hotel, 65,000 square feet each of medical office space, and general office space, and 35,000 of new restaurant space.

The master plan and rezoning request for the 116-acre site was filed with the Boynton Beach City Commission, which gave initial approval, but meets again on the plans Jan. 21. Some Boynton Beach residents expressed concerns on the NextDoor app about mounting traffic off Congress Avenue near the mall and that mall redevelopment plans didnā€™t seem to include any new entertainment venues for the community, such as a park, bowling alley or sports center.

The plan doesnā€™t affect Macyā€™s and JCPenney, the two major department stores remaining at the mall, which are owned separately, and Christ Fellowship Church, owner of a former Dillardā€™s department store space in the mall. The redevelopment would happen over five phases, with the first phase removing the former Sears buildings and adding a 400-unit apartment building, Washington Prime said.

In its proposal for redevelopment, Washington Prime says that ā€œthe current use of the property as an aging mall is in steady decline as it no longer meets the needs of the community and is slowly becoming a source of blight in the city.ā€ Occupancy at the mall has dropped by 11.5 percent between 2015 and 2016, according to documents submitted to the city to justify rezoning.

 

Source: Sun-Sentinel

Right now, itā€™s just another shopping plaza with vacant storefronts. But soon it could be a trendsetter.

A developer wants to demolish a section of the Village Shoppes of Pine Plaza and replace it with a three-story, 288-unit luxury apartment complex.

The plazaā€™s movie theater, shops and restaurants would remain standing on the 24-acre lot at Pine Island Road and NW 44 Street. A new brick paver walkway would lead from the apartments to the shops.

ā€œItā€™s going to be a very good marriage,ā€ said Ashley Bosch, director of development for Miami-based Rilea Group. ā€œResidents would be able to walk right over to the shops. I think thatā€™s where weā€™re going in the future. You donā€™t want urban sprawl.ā€

If approved, the project could be one of the first in Broward County where one section of a shopping center has been demolished to make way for apartments, say city officials and local experts.

ā€œIt could be the beginning of a trend in South Florida,ā€ said Jesse Saginor, a professor at Florida Atlantic University who specializes in real estate trends. ā€œWith few places left to build, outdated shopping centers may become the next best place to buildĀ multi-family housing. It would not surprise me if you think of how may aging retail centers we have. We have people coming here, and thatā€™s going to create a bigger push for redevelopment into residential uses.ā€

Sunrise commissioners are expected to vote Nov. 14 on the plan, which calls for eight apartment buildings and a clubhouse.

ā€œIf approved, construction would begin in November 2018 and be completed by mid-2020,ā€ said Dennis Mele, attorney for shopping center owner Global Fund Investments and Rilea Group.

Stores at Pine Plaza were going out of business well before the anchor tenant Winn-Dixie closed in June, said Isabel Perera, manager of a bagel shop in the center. Perera thinks the new apartment complex will boost business. Within the next year, all of the stores in the back of the plaza will move closer to the street when their building is demolished.

ā€œWeā€™ll be more visible to people passing by,ā€ Perera said. ā€œAnd the apartment complex will bring us even more customers.ā€

ā€œWith the overall decline in retail,Ā shopping centers are strugglingĀ all over, not just Sunrise,ā€ Saginor said. ā€œDepartment stores are closing left and right. And thatā€™s freeing up space to put other things there, but more retail might not work. The biggest issue we have is not finding a place to shop. Itā€™s finding a place we can afford to live.ā€

In some cases, developers are tearing down entire shopping plazas. But this is the first time Saginor has heard of a developer demolishing just a portion to build apartments.

ā€œI donā€™t know of any retail center where theyā€™ve done this,ā€ Saginor said. ā€œBut it makes sense. Millennials and seniors would rather rent than own. They donā€™t want to have to maintain a lawn or walk upstairs. They donā€™t need all that additional space.ā€

ClickĀ hereĀ to view the SunSentinel video news story ‘Struggling Shopping Center In Sunrise May Get New Tenant: Apartments’

 

Source: SunSentinel