Railway station’s big plans revealed

All Aboard redevelopment mixes in offices and housing

All Aboard Florida has a much firmer vision for development around its Fort Lauderdale station.

It has scrapped plans for a surface parking lot, opting instead for a 500-space parking garage adjacent to what could be a 20-story tower with apartments or offices and shops on the ground floor.

In the longer term, the bus depot might be relocated, refashioning prime land on Broward Boulevard into a mix of retail with housing and offices. City Hall, too, could be relocated or become part of a redeveloped site. Here’s what else is being considered: Two towers are envisioned on property currently occupied by a state office building on

Broward Boulevard, west of the tracks. The towers, a combination of retail, parking and either offices or apartments, would be split by a pedestrian mall that would run north from Broward toward the station.

A pedestrian bridge over the tracks would link a redeveloped bus depot site with the station and new development on the west side of the tracks.

Property immediately west of City Hall and Andrews Avenue also is being targeted for redevelopment.

Renderings show modernistic buildings surrounded by palm trees, landscaping and pedestrian walkways.

Government officials and civic leaders are buoyed by trends nationwide toward more walkable communities where people live, work, shop, play and use mass transit.

Conceptual plans were recently presented to Fort Lauderdale city commissioners, a first step in discussions with elected officials to get needed approvals.

The parking garage and tower would be the first parcels developed around the station at Northwest Second Street. If built as apartments, they would be marketed toward millennials who like urban living and being close to mass transit, said Jose Gonzalez, senior vice president for Florida East Coast Industries, parent company of All Aboard.

“These are not three or four bedroom units overlooking the water. These are geared toward working professionals,” he said.

If built as offices, they would be more similar to those in the Cypress Creek area of Fort Lauderdale versus the towers on Las Olas Boulevard.

Gonzalez said the parking garage, with some retail on the bottom floor, is expected to be finished when the high speed passenger service starts in early 2017. The tower next to it should follow closely afterward.

The garage will have similar architectural features as the station so passengers can easily identify it as the place to park to board the trains.

“We don’t want passengers driving around the neighborhood looking for a place to park,” Gonzalez said.

All Aboard Florida officials are also eyeing a land swap with Broward County, which could clear for development the land where the bus terminal is now located.

The county is seeking proposals for the bus depot site, said Broward Transportation Director Chris Walton.

He said a number of other developers have also approached the county about the property.

“If it’s something that works for them and works for us, we would have to entertain it,” Walton said.

Moving the bus terminal would allow All Aboard Florida to split the bus depot property in two, with new buildings rising on both sites divided by a pedestrian mall extending west along Northwest First Street toward the tracks. The firm would build a pedestrian bridge and plaza to connect the property with the station and additional offices,

Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jack Seiler said he favors moving the bus terminal, which is “the first thing you see coming into the downtown. Moving it off Broward is a positive thing.”

As development takes off, Gonzalez said he expects builders to eye other parcels, such as the current City Hall or the old City Hall site on the west side of Andrews Avenue between Northwest Second and Fourth streets.

Residents in the Flagler Village neighborhood see the site as a perfect location for a park because of its proximity to the train station and the future Wave streetcar. But city administrators have said selling the property could provide much needed dollars while a park would likely become a hangout for homeless people.

real estate consultant recently pegged the land’s value between $11 million and $13 million.

Residents in Fort Lauderdale’s Progresso Village neighborhood are eager to see development transform the hodgepodge of older buildings, vacant lots and small businesses that surround the station.

“We believe the development will bring our neighborhood back to where we want it be,” said civic association president Ronald Centamore. “We look forward to this and to all of the new development that comes back to us.”