Brief Description
The Future Downtown is Pompano Beach’s vision of creating a vibrant and pedestrian-friendly, urban, mixed-use area by attracting a combination of business, technical, corporate, government, hospitality, education and cultural uses. Following a “Smart City” concept that considers the physical and technical integration of people and places, Downtown will become a hub of activity. The CRA and City own over 30 acres of prime real estate with I-95 frontage at the Atlantic Boulevard exit. The area was rezoned as a transit-oriented district enabling higher density in close proximity to transit operations. At present, an ITN (Invitation to Negotiate) was issued to select a Master Developer for the Future Downtown. There are two shortlisted respondents who presented their vision for the new downtown in a public input workshop sponsored by the CRA and City. The ITN Negotiating Team will begin negotiations with the two respondents in May 2023.
Downtown Master Developer Public Workshop Presentations
The City of Pompano Beach and the Pompano Beach Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) hosted a public workshop on May 3rd which featured presentations by the two short-listed Master Developers who responded to the Invitation to Negotiate (ITN) issued by the City and CRA to select a Master Developer for the Downtown. Links to the presentations are below.
Comments can be emailed to downtown@copbfl.com.
As Pompano Beach booms with change, it’s paying off with rising values
By Amber Bonefont
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Feb 21, 2023 at 7:06 pm
Beachgoers walk the recently developed area near the Fisher Family Pier on Pompano Beach on Tuesday. The redeveloped area has seen its share of multimillion-dollar properties whose values keep soaring. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
POMPANO BEACH — New restaurants and businesses have changed the face of Pompano Beach’s beachside, bringing more visitors from across the region and a sharp rise in property values. Now, the city is now turning to its downtown area as it keeps focusing on redevelopment.
During a presentation Tuesday, officials talked of the city’s growth — and ways to bring revenue through development efforts in the downtown area. Urban planner Joe Minicozzi also noted the rising values that have resulted from redevelopment so far. Among the takeaways: The Pompano Beach Fishing Village now has a value of about $6.5 million an acre — significantly more than in 2013, when it was at $1.6 million per acre, according to numbers from the presentation.
Pompano Beach is already seeing a boom in its downtown with new restaurants such as South Bar and Kitchen on 165 NE 1st Ave and Papamigos at 44 NE 1st St. All have been added to the Old Town District area, along with a 282-unit apartment complex. At the same time, the Innovation District, another of the districts in Pompano’s downtown located between Dixie Highway and I-95, is undergoing plans to become a walkable, mixed-use area.
It was with that in mind that Minicozzi, founder of consulting firm Urban3, gave a presentation that touched on opportunities for Pompano Beach and how to best use land to bring economic value to the city. “There has been some growth in your values as far as the return you are getting,” Minicozzi said during the presentation.
The city is now turning its eye to the downtown, often seen as the area bordered by I-95 on the west, Dixie Highway on the east, Atlantic Boulevard on the south and Northwest Sixth Street on the north after having invested millions toward making the beachside of Pompano Beach a destination for residents and snowbirds alike.
Read the full story at the Sun-Sentinel.com
Download PowerPoint Presentation
Panel Discussion with Joe Minicozzi following Urban3’s Presentation
CBRE Presentation
Groundwork Laid for the New Downtown
- A 2010 land use and zoning amendment was completed for a transit oriented development designation
- A $12 million investment in streetscape and infrastructure in Old Town, along MLK Boulevard and around the Cultural Center
- A master drainage district has been formed to allow for shared drainage amongst multiple parcels and buildings
- Development of anchor parcels including Ali Cultural Arts center, 731 Building, City Vista residential project
- Over 30 acres of assembled land available for redevelopment
- Annie Adderly Gillis Park renovations totaling $1.4 million completed, providing an urban plaza for the community
- City Vista residential development added over 100 new residential units to Downtown
- The Historically significant Ali and Bailey Hotel buildings were renovated into visual and performing arts cultural venues
- An Art Trail has been developed to connect all of the cultural assets and the area in general
The Innovation District Waterways & Drainage
Although the district-wide drainage has not been designed, the options include dry-retention ponds, undergrounding tanks and storage, or designing a creative solution for above ground drainage and retention. Previous discussions have included creating a one-of-a-kind storm water drainage system featuring a series of waterways that form a riverfront, a design that will enhance the public realm with its public amenities and further the City’s urban design vision. Using a “Riverwalk” concept to make up the drainage system would offer a distinct and beautiful solution to what is often an uninspiring feature of drainage infrastructure. The linear style system would eliminate the use of dry-retention ponds and allow developers to make greater use of parcels due to increased build-out capacity.
The CRA has $3 million dollars to assist in the design and construction of an infrastructure and drainage plan. To create the urban density sought after in the Innovation District, the CRA is contemplating a model for managing drainage and storm water requirements that also creates economic and real estate value similar to the scale of the canals in San Antonio (Texas) or Amsterdam (Netherlands). This option would generate value as a visual amenity, offering scenic views from windows and creating the ambiance of river-side walking and dining. Provided the riverfront drainage system is the preferred option, the development process will be expedited by locating the Riverwalk drainage system on parcels already owned by the CRA. A depiction of the proposed Riverwalk location is illustrated in the map above.
The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and Broward County have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding to continue to improve mobility from Aventura in Dade County to Deerfield Beach in Broward County for a commuter rail system along the Florida East Coast (FEC) Railway. A future passenger rail station is envisioned in the Northwest District as part of the Broward Commuter Rail (BCR) system.
How It Will Happen Schedule: 2018 - 2025
- The solicitation for a master developer will be issued the second quarter of 2022
- Individual parcels or multi-site sales will be negotiated with serious and experienced developers who can demonstrate financial capacity to build
- Contracts will be approved by the CRA Board for development of the parcels
- Permitting and development assistance will be provided by City staff to fast-track development and infrastructure
