Historic church in Flagler Village for lease
Property could be used for restaurant, art gallery and offices
Once doomed as a demolition candidate, a historic church at 441 NE Third Ave. in Fort Lauderdale’s Flagler Village is up for lease as a place where a restaurant, art gallery and offices could co-exist.
The building was saved after a Miami-Dade County-based developer elected to preserve the church instead of demolishing it. Now, Taho Group plans to align the structure with a proposed twin-tower residential project under consideration by the city’s Development Review Committee.
The Romanesque-styled sanctuary, formerly the home of First Evangelical Lutheran Church, was originally St. Anthony’s, the county’s first Roman Catholic Church, according to historians.
It was saved from the wrecking ball after a public outcry in 2016. The
“We’re just trying to find the right mix to curate all together.”
Jaime Sturgis, Native Realty
church’s facade was accorded a City Historic Landmark Designation by the City Commission last year. The historic designation also covers the church’s pitched roof above the facade, but does not include other structures on the property that lack the stone exterior, according to a Sun Sentinel report.
Fort Lauderdale commercial real estate broker Jaime Sturgis, of Native Realty, on Monday said he’s heard from art galleries, food hall operators and entrepreneurs who would like to lease all or part of the
12,000 square feet up for grabs. Two-thirds of the space is on the ground floor; the remainder is on an upper level.
“There are micro and office spaces on the second floor,” Sturgis said. “The whole thing could be leased to one firm, one operator. When you think of a food hall or restaurants, it would be an incredible use.
“We’re talking to several food halls and quick service and fine dining concepts,” as well as art galleries, Sturgis added. “We’re just trying to find the right mix to curate all together.”
He said he sees the site as an “amenity” for the adjacent towers envisioned by Taho, as well as other residential
and hotel projects being erected in the neighborhood. These include The Whitney by Lennar, The Rise Flagler Village by Encore Capital Management, and the soon-to-be opened Element and Dalmar hotels. Not far to the west: the Brightline commuter rail station.
“It’s in the heart of Flagler Village,” Sturgis said of the church. “It’s a focal point of the neighborhood, and that’s why we’ve been strategic in which tenants we intend to bring in there to maintain a symbiotic balance.”