Developer Oscar Barbara buys Sunrise retail, plans mixed-use project

Developer Oscar Barbara paid $12.6 million for a shopping center in Sunrise, where he said he plans to build a mixed-use multifamily project.

A joint venture between CREC and members of the Lindemann family sold the property at 3447-3469 North University Drive, CREC Chairman and co-founder Warren Weiser said. Barbara’s Luxcom plans to build a 222-unit garden-style apartment complex on a portion of the 13.2-acre site, which is overlooking a golf course, Barbara said.

The seller, CPAC, paid roughly $4.2 million via foreclosure for the 13.2-acre property in 2012 and inked a ground lease with Aldi. It marketed the shopping center as a multifamily development site. At the time CPAC purchased the note on the University Shoppes at Sunrise, it was a 135,000-square-foot shopping center with a vacant 103,500-square-foot BJ’s Wholesale Club.

Site plan for the mixed-use multifamily project

Aldi will open by the end of next year, Barbara said. The developer will break ground on the rental project in the third or fourth quarter of next year and complete the building within 18 months. Rents are expected to be between $1.70 to $1.80 per square foot, Barbara said.

Andrew Remick of CREC and Peter Mekras, managing director of Aztec Group, represented CPAC in the sale.

Luxcom, based in Coral Gables, has built 10,000 residential units to date and has five commercial and residential projects underway in the tri-county region.

Just last month, Rilea Group announced it planned to tear down part of a Sunrise shopping center and build an apartment complex in its place. The Miami developer would replace part of the Village Shoppes of Pine Plaza at the corner of Pine Island Road and Northwest 44 Street with a 288-unit apartment complex.

Earlier this year, a joint venture between CREC and Lubert Adler Real Estate Funds sold a shopping center in Coral Springs for $48 million to Zurich Alternative Asset Management, a subsidiary of Zurich Insurance Group.