Grover Corlew advances plan to build 360 apartments in Deerfield Beach

Grover Corlew advanced its plan to build 360 apartments in Deerfield Beach, while upgrading and expanding its office space.

The Boca Raton-based investment management firm, led by Anuj Grover and Mark Corlew, won approval of a land use change for its 16.5-acre development site southeast of I-95 and Hillsboro Boulevard.

The Deerfield Beach City Commission on Tuesday gave final approval to an ordinance changing the designation of the site at 600 and 700 West Hillsboro Boulevard from commercial to “medium-high mixed-use residential.”

Grover Corlew has owned the three-parcel office complex since a related company, G&C Hillsboro Investors, LLC, acquired it in 2019 for $32.5 million, according to property records.

The office property extends south from Hillsboro Boulevard to Natura Boulevard, and is adjacent to the 106-room Hampton Inn Boca Raton-Deerfield Beach at 660 West Hillsboro Boulevard.

Attorney Dennis D. Mele, a partner at Greenspoon Marder, who represents the developer, told commissioners the planned 360-unit apartment development would have studios and apartments with one, two and three bedrooms. Monthly rents probably will start at $1,700, he said. “Some of these rents will go above $3,000 a month for larger units,” he added.

Tenants will be prohibited from renting their apartments as vacation rentals. “We’re not going to have Airbnb apartments or short-term rentals or any of that sort of thing,” Mele said.

Grover Corlew plans to expand the office space on its property next to I-95 from 215,000 square feet currently to just under 240,000 square feet. The company plans to renovate two of its five office buildings, including the tallest one, the six-story 600 Building at 600 West Hillsboro Boulevard.

The developer also plans to build a three-story office building to replace an aging building that will be demolished, and build a two-story office building on vacant land along Southwest Natura Boulevard, in the southwest corner of the 16.5-acre site.

Some ground-floor space in that building and the 600 Building may attract retailers that offer food and beverage service, Mele said.

“There’s an opportunity to have retail at the bottom,” he told Deerfield Beach commissioners. “There are certain things that don’t fit ….I don’t see us having a restaurant with a drive-through here.”

Commissioners approved Grover Corlew’s proposed land use change on several conditions. For example, the firm must pay $180,000 into a municipal affordable housing fund, or $500 for each of the 360 apartments planned.

Grover Corlew also plans to pay for improvements to Hillsboro Boulevard and Natura Boulevard that include extended turning lanes. “We’re also making a series of drainage improvements along Natura,” Mele said, “and we’re also adding sidewalks where they are missing.”

Grover Corlew manages a portfolio of multifamily, office, and retail properties.

Among its South Florida office acquisitions, the firm paid $44.6 million in 2021 for the eight-story Bank of America Tower at 150 East Palmetto Road in Boca Raton.