Acreage shopping center developer seeks three-year extension

The Acreage-based developer Coconut Northlake LLC is seeking a three-year extension on a controversial 31-acre shopping mall project in the rural Palm Beach County community.

The plaza at Northern and Coconut boulevards would house a restaurant, bank, gas station and retail space. The developers are expected to request approval from the county commission Thursday for requests to split the project into two phases and push the deadline by three years to 2017. An approved zoning amendment in 2011 gave them three years to break ground, which they have not yet done.

Residents have protested construction, arguing it is unwelcome in the Acreage. Another nearby project, Coral Gables-based WAL Development Group’s 7,600-house development called Avenir, has also sparked complaints from neighbors, as previously reported. [Palm Beach Post] — Mark Maurer