Land that has sat empty for two decades will now become an apartment building as part of Coral Springs’ push to create a bustling downtown.
The project is tentatively known as “Downtown Coral Springs Apartments” and is located on a 4.2-acre site at the northeast corner of North University Drive and West Sample Road.
The project will consist of an eight-story building of 378 residences and 9,862 square feet of retail space. The building is expected to wrap around two courtyards with a parking garage in the northeast portion.
The site was the first Publix in the city and closed after Hurricane Wilma slammed South Florida in 2005.
The Sample Road Publix was built in 1971 and remodeled in 1989 and 1996. It was closed and then demolished because of the roof, water and electrical damage caused by Wilma. The cost of repairs would have exceeded 50% of the value of the building, city officials said in 2006.
Downtown Corners
The development is part of a larger vision for downtown, which is well underway.
“Once it’s built, people will come out and enjoy it,” said Commissioner Joshua Simmons of the broader plan for downtown. He said it is envisioned as a “central place for people to be able to walk around, eat, shop. Right now everything is mostly spread out. We don’t have a central gathering spot. This is part of that effort to create that.”
The plan started two decades ago, said city spokeswoman Lynne Martzall. “It is meant to revitalize Coral Springs,” she said. “Our population has grown and people want to be able to live, work and pay in the city they grew up in.”
The broader downtown plan is divided into sectors:
Southeast: The southeast corner came first, already developed with commercial property abutting the county regional library and the Coral Springs Charter School.
Northwest: At both the immediate northwest corner, where there is now a strip shopping center, and west of that, where City Hall once stood, will become “City Village.” The development project has not yet been approved by the city commission but the city has previously approved conceptual plans for grocery, retail, restaurants and entertainment.
The city-owned property was sold to the developer for $4.6 million.
Developer Gisele Rahael said the 12-acre site will also include two residential buildings on four acres with a combined 300 units. The buildings will be connected by a bridge; the building fronting Sample Road will be eight stories, the other will be four stories. There will also be 20,000 square feet of restaurant space.
On the eastern side of the residential parcel will be the eight-acre site with at least 65,000 square feet of commercial space.
“We’ve always seen Sample and University as the corner of Main (Street) and Main (Street) — the central location of the city,” Rahael said. “When all four corners are fully developed it could provide an iconic center for Coral Springs.”
She said the plans also call for a decorative water fountain feature on each of the four corners.
“Once downtown is fully realized it would have a sense of presence. The vision is to see a sense of place like no where else.”
More specific plans could be reviewed by City Hall as early as November, Martzall said.
Southwest: The southwest quadrant is under construction now with a mix of residential buildings and restaurants with twin eight-story buildings.
Half of the homes in the southwest section — 351 rental units — have already been built and leased at Cornerstone at Downtown Coral Springs, a 7-acre site. Construction has recently started on the second phase of the rental unit project, called “Modera Coral Springs,” which is just north of the first apartment building and will have 353 units. It is expected to be completed summer 2025, developer Rod Sheldon said Friday.
Parking garages are inside both buildings. In between the apartment buildings is 50,000 square feet of commercial space, primarily restaurants. Both apartment buildings will have ground floor retail space and restaurants.
Between the southern apartment building and the new City Hall is expected to become a 7-story hotel that will feature a rooftop bar. The construction date has not yet been set.
Lisa J. Huriash can be reached at lhuriash@sunsentinel.com . Follow on X, formerly Twitter, @LisaHuriash
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