Coral Springs Talk
By: Jen Russon
Clashes over whether to make a live-shop-play zone or one that also includes office space in the mix has caused delays for the new Cornerstone project.
The 7.09-acre site currently awaits fresh and contemporary shops, apartments, restaurants, and, more tentatively, a hotel.
The dilapidated building in the Financial Plaza was slated for demolition last December by Predesco Property Investments so that work on the $168M Cornerstone project could begin; however, public demand for office space, as well as new zoning codes to adhere to, challenged the developer’s timeline.
Rod Sheldon, a principal developer, described working harmoniously with the Coral Springs city commission for the past four years and said negotiating with other quasi-government agencies set the project back to a new demolition date planned in July.
“We will be doing the demolition this summer, and we will be starting to build at the end of the year and delivering to occupants by mid-2022,” said Sheldon.
He added the scope of the project changed from a live-shop-play model to one that is live-work-play focused.
Sheldon said the reason stemmed from many calls his Boca Raton based company received from prospective office tenants, who objected to a mixed-use space of apartments and retail that excluded office space.
Predesco’s affiliate La Boca Partners has since filed plans for 209,279 square feet of offices on the Cornerstone site, which joins the original plan for 352 apartments, and approximately 85,000 square feet of restaurants and commercial space.
The company said each of these residential and commercial buildings would be up to six stories tall.
Sheldon said Predesco has yet to sign off on the hotel brand planned at Cornerstone because apartments could go in its place.
Boca Raton attorney Scott Backman and architect Dorsky + Yue International have proposed plans that would offer residents at Cornerstone anywhere from 1 bedroom/619 square feet to 3 bedroom apartments with up to 1,438 square feet in space.
Predesco confirmed they are working with Mill Creek Residential to develop the apartments and, tentatively, a hotel on the Cornerstone property with 80 to 138 rooms.
Sheldon said interest from restaurant vendors was especially keen, but a non-disclosure agreement prevents him from naming who they are.
Tom Prakas at Prakas & Company will be the one to broker restaurant leases, with adequate parking at Cornerstone also in the works.
Plans from the developer showed close to 1,500 parking spaces, with most of these located in two separate parking garages.
Running through the mixed-use property, a sleek new street offers additional parallel parking spaces that can be seen, along with additional views of what Cornerstone architects have planned.
Cornerstone will occupy what is considered the heart of downtown Coral Springs, at the southwest intersection of University Drive and Sample Road.
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