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Planned Demolition Makes Way for Cornerstone at Downtown Coral Springs

by Guest Contributor April 18, 2019

by Guest Contributor April 18, 2019 26 views

Planned Demolition Makes Way for Cornerstone at Downtown Coral Springs

Coral Springs Financial Plaza. Photo by Sharon Aron Baron.

By: Jen Russon

Plans to raze the Coral Springs Financial Plaza, so it can be replaced with a hotel, apartment building and retail space, are in the works.

Boca Raton developer Predesco Property Investments, formerly PreDevCo, has applied for governmental approval on the $168M Cornerstone project. Rod Sheldon, a developer at the company, has worked with the city on the project since Cornerstone’s inception. He said he anticipates a three-month demolition process when the 10-story office building is finally torn down.

The company could not give an exact date for demolition to begin, because permits and final drawings of the downtown development project are pending. In the meantime, they have placed fencing along the southwest intersection of University Drive and Sample Road where the closed financial building is located.

Constructed in 1974, the building has 213,000 square feet of space, and is the oldest commercial building in Coral Springs. It occupies a 7.1 acre lot.

Residents and city officials alike have agreed it’s an eye sore, and after years of public hearings on whether or not to proceed, are looking forward to razing it and adding a cluster of mixed-use development.

Cornerstone is slated to have a 450-unit apartment building and a 150-room hotel with its own parking garage. There will also be retail spaces for a grocery store, along with half a dozen new bars and restaurants. The intent of the Cornerstone Project is to improve and contemporize the aesthetics of Coral Springs.

Lynne Martzall, spokeswoman for the city of Coral Springs, said they have not yet received updated construction plans.

“Nor have we received any plans for demolition as of yet. However, the developer has indicated that the demolition is planned for some time around the end of December,” Martzall confirmed.

The Cornerstone project is part of the city government’s vision of a new downtown district. The city is also working with PreDevCo’s developer, Ron Sheldon, to find a new location for the Coral Springs Charter School, on the opposite side of the intersection where the soon-to-be demolished financial building is located.