Developers reel in Flagler Village site of iPic-anchored project

Longtime Fort Lauderdale developers Steven Hudson and Charles Ladd just completed an assemblage in Fort Lauderdale with plans to bring a mixed-use project with an iPic movie theater.

Property records show companies managed by Edmund Waterman sold 10 properties between Federal Highway and Northeast Seventh Street near Flagler Village to Hudson and Ladd’s company, Flagler Sixth, for $23.5 million. The developer is planning 150,00 square feet of retail and office space and 180 luxury apartments on the site, according to a previous release.

In March, the luxury theater company iPic announced it planned to expand in Fort Lauderdale at 601 North Federal Highway. The 400-seat theater will include a 4,200 square-foot rooftop bar and lounge. It’s expected to open in the fall of 2020.

Hudson leads the Fort Lauderdale-based investment firm Hudson Capital Group. In 2008, Hudson and a group of partners bought the Bimini Boatyard Bar & Grill in Fort Lauderdale, which is now called Boatyard. Ladd founded Barron Real Estate in 1991 and brought a Fresh Market to Flagler Village.

Ladd and Hudson did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Flagler Village is seeing increasing interest from developers as millennials and working professionals are seeking to live close to downtown Fort Lauderdale.

Boca Raton-based iPic currently has two locations in South Florida, one in Boca Raton and one in North Miami Beach.