Prospect plans 265-unit apartment building in Lauderhill

DeLand-based firm also is developing two multifamily projects north of downtown Fort Lauderdale

Prospect Real Estate Group's Richard G. Zahn Sr., and Michele Zahn with aerial of Commercial Commons site and site plans
Prospect Real Estate Group's Richard G. Zahn Sr., and Michele Zahn with aerial of Commercial Commons site and site plans (Prospect Real Estate Group, Google Maps, WGI, Getty)

Prospect Real Estate Group plans to build Commercial Commons, a mixed-use development in Lauderhill with 265 apartments and about 10,000 square feet of commercial space for a restaurant and retail store.

DeLand-based Prospect will build the five-story development on 6.4 acres at 8456-8458 West Commercial Boulevard, near the intersection of North Pine Island Road.

Commercial Commons will have 155 one-bedroom apartments, including five with a den; 90 two-bedroom apartments, including 20 with a den; 10 three-bedroom apartments; and 10 studios, according to the site plan application.

The Lauderhill City Commission last week approved the site plan for Commercial Commons with conditions. The conditions include upgrading a wastewater lift station and modifying the design of the pool deck and other rooftop amenities.

Led by Chairman Richard G. Zahn Sr., and President and CEO Michele Zahn, Prospect filed the site plan application for Commercial Commons with the city of Lauderhill on behalf of the owner of the development site, Parabens Group, LLC.

Broward County property records show Parabens bought the 6.4-acre development site in 2017 for $4.5 million. Parabens is led by two Aventura-based managers, Luciano Miguel Gesuiti and Diego Besga, according to state records.

Navish Chawla, a partner of Prospect’s development arm, told The Real Deal on Monday that the company has a contract to buy the Commercial Commons development site from Parabens for $8 million.

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The two-year construction phase of the mixed-use development is expected to start in the first quarter of 2024. Chawla said.

Monthly rents at Commercial Commons will range from $1,400 to about $2,500, he said. “They are going to be market-rate rents, but they are going to be cheaper than the market.”

In September, the Lauderhill City Commission approved a special-exception use to build as many as 275 residential units on the development site, which is zoned CG, or “general commercial.”

The original, non-residential site plan for the Commercial Commons development included a drive-through café and two commercial buildings.

Prospect modified the site plan last year by replacing the two commercial buildings with 265 apartments and about 10,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space for a restaurant and a retail store, according to a staff report.

The developer later removed the drive-through café from the modified site plan after four meetings with the city’s Development Review Committee, which approved the modified plan at the fourth meeting on April 4.

Prospect has been active in the Flagler Village area just north of downtown Fort Lauderdale, where the company has Advantis Station, a 12-story, 252-unit apartment building, under construction at 600-618 Northeast Third Avenue. Nearby, Prospect plans to build another 12-story building with 173 apartments and about 4,000 square feet of retail at 4 Northwest Seventh Street.