Developer Alan Hooper looks to add another loft complex in Fort Lauderdale’s FATVillage

UPDATED Jan. 27 1:07 p.m.: Alan Hooper, one of the driving forces behind the development of FATVillage, will soon submit construction plans to add a new 33-unit residential loft complex to the quickly expanding arts district in Fort Lauderdale.

Apache Lofts, to be located at 401 Northwest First Avenue, includes an 11,185 square-foot ground level with a 34-space parking garage and a lobby, all beneath 50,954 square feet of residences on an additional six floors. The total parcel measures 13,897 square feet.

The ground-level parking will connect to the second-floor pool deck at another Hooper project to the immediate north, the Foundry Lofts.

The contemporary design plan is intended, according to project documents, to allude to urban warehouse conversions and will match the aesthetic of other Hooper residential projects in the area, including the Mill Lofts across the street and the Avenue Lofts at 425 North Andrews Avenue.

Revitalization of the area known as Flagler Village, west of U.S. 1 and sandwiched between Broward Boulevard and Sunrise Boulevard, got started a few years ago with FATVillage, (Flagler Arts and Technology), a strip of old warehouses that have been converted into galleries, performance spaces and hip businesses that cater to millennials.

Apache Lofts’ building design by Santa Fe-based architecture firm Krupnick Studios features stucco finishes and “wood look” siding, with high-ceilinged units and extended balconies.

Design review is underway at the city’s department of sustainable development, with formal submission of the proposal expected within 45 days. If approved by the Development Review Committee, it would then head to the Fort Lauderdale City Commission, which needs to sign off on the proposal because it includes new residences within the Downtown Regional Activity Center.

The city is currently finalizing plans to make 5,000 new residential units available in the Downtown RAC.