Terra, Lennar’s Pembroke Pines townhome project advances

Developers want 165 townhomes

Terra CEO David Martin and 16000 Pines Boulevard, Pembroke Pines
Terra CEO David Martin and 16000 Pines Boulevard, Pembroke Pines

Pembroke Pines commissioners gave initial approval to a zoning change that would allow Terra and Lennar Homes to build a townhome project of at least 125 units.

The rezoning for Pines Village Market at 16000 Pines Boulevard passed 3 to 2 on first reading last week. A final reading is expected in early December.

The exact number of units was the focus of complaints from local residents. Coconut Grove-based Terra and Miami-based Lennar Homes want to build 165 townhomes at the development. The city’s planning and zoning Board recommends 140 townhomes, while commissioner Iris Siple and multiple residents said the developer should be held to 125 units.

The extra units would provide a strain on traffic in the area, opponents of the zoning change argued during the commission meeting. Yet, some residents called into the virtual meeting to express approval of the project, saying they would be interested in living in the development once it is completed.

The developers are willing to help with traffic improvements, including paying for another traffic light, and moved some units around to avoid obscuring views from the neighboring residential areas, said Dennis Mele, an attorney with Greenspoon Marder representing the applicant.

Mele said the commercial portion of the project is still under construction. He said a grocery chain has leased 25,000 square feet of space at the development, but declined to name it.

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Tenants signed for the commercial part of the development include Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen restaurant and a Regions Bank, according to records.

Commissioners Siple and Angelo Castillo voted against the measure. Mayor Frank C. Otis, xommissioner Thomas Good Jr. and Vice Mayor Jay D. Schwartz voted in favor of the measure.

Terra bought the land in a $23.5 million deal with the city in 2016. The property formerly housed a 24-hour, 347,000-square-foot U.S. Post Office distribution center.

In 2017, Terra scored $48.8 million in financing to begin construction on the mixed-use development.

Nearby, the Publix-anchored Village Square Shopping Center in Pembroke Pines scored a $14M refinancing loan in August.