Off-campus student housing project coming to Davie

Developers plan to break ground in June for construction of a mixed-use development in Davie with 855 off-campus dormitory rooms targeting college students.

The student housing development on 10 acres at the southeast corner of Davie Road and Griffin Road, called Downtown Davie, is scheduled to open by the fall of 2018.

It  is estimated that 65,000 students attend college classes in Davie at Nova Southeastern University, Broward College and satellite campuses of Florida Atlantic University and the University of Florida.

Developer Harvey Mattel, a Fort Lauderdale-based attorney, and his partner Ari Meltzer expect to spend $75 million to build a cluster of five buildings — one five stories tall, the others four stories — with 855 upscale dormitory rooms plus ground-floor retail stores, cafes and offices.

The developers also plan to build a seven-story parking garage located in the middle of the property, making it less visible from the street. Common-area amenities would include a swimming pool and a gym.

Each residential unit of Downtown Davie would have several bedrooms whose residents would share a common dining area and living room. Eacch bedroom would have a private bathroom and its own lock.

The developers have not set monthly rents yet.

Nova students may represent the biggest market for the development. About 1,500 Nova students reside in dormitories on the university’s main campus in Davie.

University officials have been considering the construction of more dormitory rooms at Nova, where undergraduate students who have accumulated fewer than 48 academic credits are required to live on campus. [Sun Sentinel] –Mike Seemuth