Updating the mall

Galleria remodel would also feature residential, hotel and retail

New details are emerging for a plan to remodel Fort Lauderdale’s aging 40-acre Galleria Mall.

“The Galleria needs a major shot in the arm,” said Steve Dolgin, who owns a condo just west of the Galleria.

Michael Albetta, president of the Lake Ridge Civic Association, said a movie theater was torn down in 2007 and two previous anchor stores of the mall’s east end — Saks Fifth Avenue and Lord & Taylor — have since closed.

“This project is a way to hold on to the mall,” Albetta said, “[and] keep it from turning into a blighted area.”

Details of the proposed renovation appeared in September. Keystone Florida Property Holding Corp. recently scaled back the plans to include seven buildings total, with none higher than 38 stories, featuring apartments/condos, hotel rooms and retail space.

“This is the biggest project ever in Fort Lauderdale,” said John Weaver, president of the Central Beach Alliance. “… It should be looked at carefully. Size isn’t the only issue.”

Weaver said his group is concerned about traffic bottlenecks at the end of Sunrise Boulevard. Traffic has also been a concern for residents in the Coral Ridge neighborhood.

“Traffic along Sunrise is at capacity now,” said former neighborhood association president Betsy Dow in a letter to city officials.

“There are a lot of things that can be done,” said Melissa Milroy, the Galleria’s senior marketing manager, “such as synchronizing signals better, improving turn lanes and the timing of lights.”

“We need to get consensus early,” Weaver said. “We need to be ready ... rather than have something brought up that nobody wants.”