New Publix could be coming to Bal Harbour

A new Publix store is coming to North Federal Highway, just west of Fort Lauderdale’s Bal Harbour neighborhood.

Pending city approval, the 31,143-square-foot store would occupy the former site of an HHGregg in the northeastern section of the Bal Harbour Square shopping center, about halfway between Oakland Park and Sunrise boulevards.

The shopping center is west of the Bal Harbour neighborhood, a gated community of 147 homes abutting the Middle River.

Other businesses on the shopping center site include Petsmart, Men’s Warehouse, Michael’s Crafts and Chase Bank.

The former HHGregg store, vacant since the electronics retailer went out of business in 2017, and an adjacent Panera Bread restaurant will be demolished to make way for

the new Publix. As part of the project, the shopping center’s owners propose converting a nearby retail

building, left vacant by the bankruptcy of Pier One Imports, for use as a restaurant.

Plans for the new Publix are currently before the city’s Development Review Committee. During a

meeting of the committee on Tuesday, residents of the Bal Harbour neighborhood raised concerns about increases in traffic volume and noise at the site’s Northeast 19th Street entrance and asked for an additional traffic light or other measures to reduce congestion.

A representative of the developer, Bal Harbour Square LLC, pledged to sit down with residents and discuss their concerns.