DaniaLIVE Offers Fashion, Dining and Entertainment
Plans are currently being finalized on bringing the new multimillion dollar DaniaLIVE Marketplace retail center to Dania Beach.
The mega project would be conveniently located just north of Stirling Road, east along I-95 and provide locals and visitors with nearly 100 acres of retail shopping, both full dining and smaller quick service restaurants, a stylish boutique style hotel, residential properties and more.
The DaniaLIVE is the brainchild of real estate advisor Terry Salzman, who has been a managing property consultant for Boomers of Dania for the past seven years and developer Robert Shapiro of Master Development Corporation. The developers have valued the cost of construction at between $150 million and $200 million.
The two businessmen have teamed up and are finalizing negotiations for a financial partnership with Kimco Realty Corporation, the owners behind Oakwood Plaza of Hollywood, located off of Stirling Road just south of the planned development site.
Master Development Corp. has been buying up the properties in the Boomers area from the owners CF and Hill all the way from Stirling Road to the power lines west of Byran Road. Multiple structures, including the idle wooden roller coaster, will be demolished to make way for the endeavor.
With the eight properties now acquired, the groups are aiming to receive final project approval from the city of Dania Beach at an upcoming September 9 city commission meeting.
This will be the second public hearing out of two required to give locals a chance to speak for or against the project. Reception has been in overwhelming favor of the new development and while the group will have fulfilled its legal responsibilities to residents, they and the commission are planning multiple meetings to hear residents’ ideas of what they would like to see DaniaLIVE bring to the city.
Plans currently include over 1.3 million square feet of retail shops, including small fashion shops as well as
large clothing retailers and department stores, a wholesale club, a large possibly two story furniture store and many more shopping options.
Still in the early approval stages, no businesses have officially signed on yet, but Shapiro and company at Master Development have been in talks with multiple interested parties and say they are confident that big brands and chains are looking forward to becoming part of the area.
There are also plans for a massive 95,000-square-foot sports and fishing store, similar to Bass Pro Shop. A new multi-story hotel is also in the works and will have around 160 to 180 rooms available.
Master Development has coined the term “visitor centric” as their motto for the project’s potential.
“This can be a major meeting place for people both from the area as well as visitors,” Shapiro said, “the place to go.”
“There are over 80,000-plus passengers a week coming through our port less than 10 minutes away,” Shapiro said. “Many of which stay here for a day or two either before or after their cruise.”
An estimated 23 million travelers also come through Ft. Lauderdale International Airport each year, creating more incentive to keep those tax dollars in Dania Beach.
“DaniaLive is a trendsetting mixed use retail concept that will not only transform a run-down industrial area into a contemporary life style center, but will be a multi-million dollar boost to our local economy,” said City of Dania Beach Mayor Walter Duke.
“It will increase our commercial tax base, provide hundreds of new temporary and permanent job opportunities and offer our residents and visitors many new shopping and dining options,” Duke added.
Shapiro estimates that in addition to about 2,000 to 4,000 construction jobs being created, when opened, the development will have permanent job opportunities for about 5,000 employees.
Traffic issues in the area will also be a focus, with plans to create a four lane intersection design at Stirling and 18th Street, with a median divide, much like the entrance of Oakwood Plaza across the street. Another intersection is planned at the marketplace’s northwest area at Dania Beach Boulevard and Byran Road.
The area will include 300 to 360 residential properties, which Shapiro says will likely be rental apartments. Similar to the rentals on the south side of Oakwood, thousands of residents of multifamily units will now be in walking distance of shopping, food and entertainment.
“We’re also working on an outdoor events space that we’re excited about,” Shapiro said, “with live entertainment in the early evenings and on weekends.”
Construction would be completed in two phases, with the first phase aiming for ground breaking in early 2015 if financing is authorized and the city approves final rezoning plans on September 9.
If goals are met, stores and restaurants will be opening as early as the fourth quarter of 2015, with the final phase estimated to be completed by the end of 2016.
August 2014 edition Dania Beach Press
