Built-up Broward has few tracts of open land remaining
Largest is Hendrix family’s farmland
The open swaths of land that made Broward County a magnet for builders have all but disappeared in recent decades, with just a few large properties escaping South Florida’s building booms.
Farmland in Broward is fewer than 4,500 acres. In 1980, it was 47,000 acres. In 1950, that was 130,000 acres.
There’s no telling how much time is left before the largest remaining vacant tracts succumb to development — with offers that can exceed $1 million an acre. Many have had proposals that have fallen through for one reason or another.
“I’m well aware that there are dozens, perhaps hundreds of buyers interested in the larger properties,” said George Platt, a member of the business-oriented Broward Workshop who has represented owners of some of the large properties.
Hendrix Farms, Parkland
There’s nothing left in Broward that compares to the 739-acre tract of farmland in and near Parkland that has been in the Hendrix family’s hands for 70 years.
While most farmland in the county went from feeding people to feeding Broward’s building boom from the 1960s through the 1980s, Woody Hendrix had no desire to give up on agriculture.
C.W. Hendrix Farms still operates on the south side of Loxahatchee Road, with crops that include eggplants, cucumbers and bell peppers, according to Produce Market Guide.
The land’s future development potential has already been set: Up to 1,500 homes and 40 acres of commercial use. But the land has not been rezoned yet and is still listed as agricultural, said Richard Coker, an attorney for the company.
The property has had brushes with encroaching development over the years. Back in 1986, when a residential development opened in Palm Beach County to its north, rumors spread about a pig farm coming to the site, a stench the
new neighbors weren’t going to put up with.
At the time, Hendrix would not confirm or deny pigs were coming. He had signs put up to let the neighbors know the land was agricultural and that he was there first.
“I want them to realize they are moving next to farmland zoned a long time ago,” Hendrix told the Sun Sentinel back then. “I don’t want them complaining when we begin doing something they don’t like.”
Johns Family Farms, Coconut Creek
Broward’s second largest parcel is also farmland, now rented out by the Johns family who originally tilled the soil there.
Bigger plans are being considered for the 183.6-acre site. The farm is supposed to turn into the heart of Coconut Creek’s Main Street, which will also encompass other adjacent land.
The farmland in 2010 was set for development of up to 3,750 homes, 1.6 million square feet of commercial space and 525,000 square feet of office space. Nothing came of that.
In 2018, a new plan was submitted for 2,134 new homes, which would include apartments, condominiums and two- and three-story townhouses.
But that potential buyer is no longer in the picture. The property is on the market again, City Manager Karen Brooks said.
Interstate 75 at Royal Palm Boulevard, Davie
Developers sought to turn the northeast portion of Interstate 75’s interchange at Royal Palm Boulevard into a massive western-themed development a decade ago. The proposal included 2 million square feet of shopping and office space and a hotel.
But neighbors, including next-door residents in Weston, opposed the Davie Commons project by Turnberry Associates. They didn’t want the disruption to their more rural lifestyle. Davie Commons never got off the ground and its 152.6 acres are still vacant.
“We have not seen anything formally submitted since that project,” Davie spokesman Phillip Holste said. “Right now it’s approved for single-family homes, one unit per acre.”
Lennar Homes looked at the property a few years after Davie Commons fell flat, but it couldn’t get officials to go along with its desire for 2.5 homes per acre on the property, said Platt, who represents the current landowner, KBNP LLC.
“I know the owners are still looking at what could possibly be done there,” Platt said. “It’s an area that has good potential.”
Forman Industrial Land, Davie
Not all the open land will be used for housing.
There are about 131.6 acres of vacant land connected to a Davie mining operation on the south side of Interstate 595, to the west of Florida’s Turnpike.
Last year, Forman Industrial Land sold off about 34 acres of the property. That area is now being planned for an industrial complex of three buildings totaling 677,314 square feet. The selling price was $36.9 million.
The sale still leaves almost 100 acres of lake on the property, a borrow pit that is slowly being filled and has the potential for more development. The owners currently have permits to fill 19 more acres of the lake.
Filling the pit has been going on for decades, with completed fill pieces sold off for development. The pit itself may be 65 to 70 feet deep, said Ricardo Valera, a bureau chief with the South Florida Water Management District that issues the fill permits.
“That’s not easy to fill that, to stabilize and fill that,” Valera said. “A borrow pit takes time to fill.”
The Deem property, Sunrise
The Deem family has owned 127.8 acres in Sunrise since the 1960s, with the land being part of the Sunrise Industrial Park. City Manager Richard Salamon said the a number of deals have been talked about over the years for the property, but nothing came of any of them.
There might be more incentive now to sell the property, which is on the northwest corner of Northwest 44th Avenue and Hiatus Road. Last year, the Broward County Property Appraiser’s Office removed the land’s long-standing agricultural designation. That pushed the annual tax bill on the land 30 times higher, from $19,000 to $570,000.
The land is now under contract by an undisclosed developer. It is currently owned by Walter Curtis Deem Jr. and the Martha Cotton Deem trust. The plans could provide a massive economic boost to the area, officials said.
“There is something that’s in the works. It’s still a confidential project,” Salamon said. “They’re planning to do a large distribution system.”
Univision tower site, Miramar
A 117.7-acre tract in Miramar could soon be removed from the county’s undeveloped list.
Lennar and CC Homes have submitted plans for a 385-single family home subdivision. The gated development would be built on the southwest corner of Bass Creek Road and Southwest 172nd Avenue.
The parcel used to house radio towers for Univision/ Radio Mambisa.
Critics have complained the development would destroy the city’s last remaining forested wetlands and are concerned about the wildlife there.
The developer has been permitted for tree removal on the heavily wooded plot, city officials said.