Deerfield mulls rule change for apartment project

The city of Deerfield Beach will decide whether to loosen development rules to permit construction of a five-story apartment complex in a thinly developed corridor of Dixie Highway.

Pompano Beach-based developer Henri Hage wants to construct the five-story, 308-unit apartment complex on a lot in the southwest corner of Deerfield Beach, between Southwest 14 and 15 streets.

Hage’s proposed Deerfield Trace complex is almost five times denser than current development rules allow along Dixie Highway in Deerfield Beach’s southwest corner. The area now has mix of vacant lots, industrial buildings and convenience stores.

At their August 23 meeting, Deerfield Beach city commissioners will consider amending the city’s development rules to permit Deerfield Trace.

The city’s planning board recommended that Deerfield Beach’s city commission reject a development-rule amendment to permit the Deerfield Trace development. The Deerfield Trace development is incompatible with existing developments, according to the planning board.

Mayor Jean Robb, however, said the city’s plan for less dense development at the Deerfield Trace site may be unachievable.

The mayor also told the Sun-Sentinel that the conceptual design of the Deerfield Trace apartment development “has a very nice appearance.”

City Commissioner Gloria Battle opposes amended development rules to permit the Deerfield Trace project, which would be located in a section of Deerfield Beach she represents. [Sun-Sentinel]  — Mike Seemuth