A controversial redesign of Fort Lauderdale’s Galleria mall that calls for nine 30-story towers can move forward as planned by the developer, according to the state.
A recent opinion from the Office of the Attorney General says the developer can indeed build to a height of 300 feet and include plans for residential housing and a hotel. Critics have objected to the height and density of the Live Local project.
“I’m not surprised by the decision,” Commissioner Steve Glassman said on Monday. “It clears up any doubt. We’re still going to have our challenges with this law. I’m cautiously optimistic that the developer will scale back and understand what is going to be reasonable on this site vs. what is not going to be reasonable.”
Under the state’s Live Local law, an initiative that aims to boost affordable housing throughout Florida, developers can build as high as the tallest building within a one-mile radius and can match the density of the densest local zoning.
The city requested an opinion from the Attorney General’s Office after some questioned whether the developer could use the height of a twin tower condo recently built on the barrier island.
The opinion, signed by General Counsel Greg Slemp on Nov. 13, said the developer had the right to do so even though residential projects built on that part of the beach have a height cap of 200 feet. In late 2020, Fort Lauderdale commissioners signed off on special zoning that allowed the Selene twin tower project to go higher.
Under current plans, the new owner of the Galleria plans to build 3,144 rental apartments on the 31.5-acre site on Sunrise Boulevard just west of the Intracoastal. A total of 1,273 apartments would be reserved for workforce housing over the course of 30 years. The project also calls for a 170-room hotel along with new shops and restaurants.
“We are very pleased that the Attorney General’s Office has agreed and concluded that our application for Galleria was properly filed,” said Stephanie Toothaker, attorney for the developer. “We are very excited to bring this landmark project to life, and look forward to working with the city of Fort Lauderdale and the community to bring the Galleria back to its former glory, in a modern innovative way and one that best reflects the quality of today’s Fort Lauderdale.”
Toothaker said there are no current plans to scale back.
The Live Local law allows developers to bypass the normally required public hearings and zoning approvals as long as at least 40% of the residential units qualify as workforce housing for households earning up to 120% of the area median income.
Based on the county’s current median income of $96,200, renters eligible for the workforce housing apartments would be making from $76,960 to $115,440 a year.
Some residents have said they’d love to see the Galleria transformed into a destination mall with a high-end vibe similar to Bal Harbour Shops, home to upscale designer boutiques such as Chanel, Gucci, Prada, Dior and Louis Vuitton.
“Everybody I speak to wants to see high-end retail return to Fort Lauderdale,” Glassman said. “People are not always wanting to go to Boca or Aventura. We have the population. And my God, they’re going to add thousands more apartments. We’re certainly going to see density there.”
The Galleria was sold in September to a consortium of real estate and development interests led by Miami Beach-based developer Russell Galbut, who has a long history of creating mixed-use communities in Florida and elsewhere in the U.S.
The project calls for a “Galleria East” and a “Galleria West” that would be divided by Bayview Drive.
Galleria East would have five towers with 1,981 residences: 1,181 would be market rate and 800 would be workforce apartments. More than 675,000 square feet of mall space would remain. New shops, restaurants and health and fitness uses would take up an additional 127,966 square feet of space.
Galleria West would have four towers with a total of 1,163 residences: 690 would be market rate and 473 would be workforce apartments. One tower would include a 170-room hotel. More than 250,000 square feet of existing commercial space would remain. New restaurants and office space would encompass more than 14,000 square feet.
But with the current state of the real estate market, Glassman said he wonders whether the development might be scaled back.
“It remains to be seen if this project is viable with that many residential units,” he said. “Are we going to be able to see that many rental units done in that many towers? I don’t think so, not with this current real estate environment. I think we’re going to see outside forces dictate a scaling back on this project.”
Mayor Dean Trantalis agreed.
“I think the market is going to be the ultimate arbiter of the size and scale of this project,” he said. “We have a lot of inventory that is under construction and that has already been approved.”
Trantalis has not yet met with the developer but said he plans to do so soon.
“We’re still in the part of the process where we’re trying to work things out with the developer and trying to find some sort of common ground,” he said. “Everything is in the planning stages right now.”
Susannah Bryan can be reached at sbryan@sunsentinel.com. Follow me on X @Susannah_Bryan