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Developer sues Margate CRA over rejected proposal to build new downtown
New Urban Communities had a conditional deal to buy the land for $10M
The city of Margate is being sued for pulling the plug on a development project that would have brought new apartments and retail shops to the city.
The developer, New Urban Communities, filed a lawsuit in Broward Circuit Court against the Margate Community Redevelopment Agency, the Sun Sentinel reported.
The suit alleges that city commissioners reversed their decision to have the Delray Beach-based developers build Margate City Center, which originally called for 968 apartments, a hotel, an amphitheater, a parking garage, retail stores and restaurants.
In 2016, the city’s CRA picked New Urban Communities to develop the project on city-owned land, and agreed the firm would pay $10 million for the 36-acre site. A year later, newly elected members of the city commission rejected New Urban Communities’ proposals, saying that the plans called for too many apartments.
City commissioners wanted to reduce the number of apartments to 750, but New Urban Communities cut the number to 922. After its last proposal was rejected by city commissioners, Michael Moskowitz, an attorney for New Urban Communities, threatened to sue. [Sun Sentinel] – Amanda Rabines