A Former Macy's in Pompano Beach Is Now 352 Apartments. Underused Retail Land Is Being Repriced Across Broward

Morgan has opened Caroline Pompano Beach, a 352-unit apartment community built on the former Macy’s site and surrounding underused parking at Pompano Citi Centre, 1200 NE 23rd Street. The project’s eight four-story buildings sit on about 12.1 acres beside the shopping center, with a 15% workforce housing set-aside. Carlyle was the equity partner and Santander provided financing, according to Traded. Morgan’s Evan Schapiro said the project shows how redevelopment can create new value for a site and the community around it.

Retail land is being reused

Department stores and oversized parking fields were designed for a retail era that has passed. Across South Florida, owners are carving out vacant anchors and excess parking for apartments, medical office, self-storage and other uses that bring steady traffic back to a center. Adding hundreds of residents next door also helps the remaining stores and restaurants, which is part of the logic for the shopping center’s owner.

The wider Broward retail market is healthy, which makes the choice about what to do with a dark anchor more interesting. Cushman & Wakefield put Broward retail vacancy at 4.1% in the second quarter, with average full-service asking rent of $36.45 per square foot. Small shop space is in demand. Very large single-tenant boxes are harder to backfill, and that is where redevelopment makes the most sense.

Why it matters for Pompano Beach industrial

Pompano Beach is one of Broward County’s largest industrial submarkets, with about 26 million square feet of inventory in Newmark’s second-quarter survey and vacancy of 7.6%. It is also one of the closest major industrial areas to the coastal neighborhoods where much of Broward’s new housing is being built. Every new apartment community nearby adds households that need service businesses, deliveries and repair work, the kind of demand that fills small and mid-size industrial buildings in Pompano.

At the same time, redevelopment of retail land raises the bar for land values in the area. Industrial users rarely can compete with residential developers for well-located parcels, which makes existing industrial buildings harder to replace.

What this means for you

If you own a shopping center with a vacant anchor or excess parking, a partial redevelopment may unlock more value than waiting for a replacement tenant. If you own industrial space in Pompano Beach, residential growth nearby supports your tenant base over the long term. If you are a retail or service tenant, new housing near your location is a reason to stay and plan for growth.

AXCESS Commercial helps Broward owners evaluate options for retail and industrial property, and leases space, lists properties for sale and manages buildings across the county.

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