The Big Easy Casino in Hallandale Beach Could Become a 165,000-Square-Foot Entertainment Complex. Here Is What Comes Next

Jeffrey Soffer, chairman and CEO of Fontainebleau Development, is seeking approval to replace the Big Easy Casino at 831 North Federal Highway in Hallandale Beach with a 165,380-square-foot casino and entertainment complex that would include about 34,300 square feet of restaurants and a live music venue, according to Traded. The plans, designed by Las Vegas firm Steelman Partners, call for slot machines, a card room, a central bar, a steakhouse and a sports restaurant, about 9,800 square feet of offices and roughly 1,700 parking spaces, including a four-story garage.

Where the approvals stand

Soffer bought the property for $12.5 million in 2018, when it operated as Mardi Gras Casino, rebranded it and ended greyhound racing. He has since sold 12.3 acres of the roughly 23.8-acre site to multifamily developers. The city’s Planning and Zoning Board was scheduled to consider a plat waiver on October 13 that would let the casino property be treated as a single development parcel even though it exceeds the maximum lot size. If that is granted, the project still needs plat approval and a site plan. County records place the property in Hallandale Beach’s Central Regional Activity Center district, which is designed for concentrated, mixed-use development. The project is a proposal, not an approved or construction-ready plan.

A second Broward reinvestment, by the water

Farther north, Paterson Project Management has started a roughly $250 million redevelopment of Lighthouse Point Yacht Club at 2701 NE 42nd Street. It replaces the clubhouse with a 45,850-square-foot building that includes a 10,400-square-foot fitness and spa complex, fine dining, an outdoor tapas bar and a banquet hall for up to 280 guests, and adds 21 townhomes priced at about $4 million to $5.1 million. The club’s 78-slip marina stays in operation during construction, and the clubhouse is expected in 2028.

Why entertainment and dining matter to the market

Both projects lead with food, events and entertainment rather than conventional shopping, which is where Broward’s commercial investment is concentrating. A complex of this size along Federal Highway would bring evening traffic that supports nearby restaurants and service businesses. It would also create steady demand behind the scenes, for food and beverage distribution, linen and laundry services, event equipment storage and maintenance contractors, the kind of small industrial users that look for flex and small-bay space nearby.

What this means for you

If you operate a restaurant or entertainment concept, watch the Federal Highway corridor in Hallandale Beach as approvals move forward, since nearby space will draw interest once a timeline is set. If you own retail or flex property nearby, a project like this can change your tenant mix and rents, but only once it is approved and funded. If you are investing, price the approval risk: a plat waiver is the first step, not the last.

AXCESS Commercial works with owners and operators across Broward, leasing restaurant and flex space, listing properties for sale and managing commercial buildings along the county’s busiest corridors.

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