Florida East Coast Industries sold two development sites near its Fort Lauderdale Brightline station for $37.2 million.
FLL Andrews Development and FLL Flagler Development sold the assemblages at 130 Northwest First Avenue and 117 Northwest Second Street for $17.6 million and $19.6 million, respectively. The buyers’ entities, N Andrews Ave Development LLC and NW Flagler Ave Development LLC, are managed by Berger Commercial.
Robert Given of Cushman & Wakefield, who was reportedly marketing the Flagler Village sites, declined to comment. The buyer’s identity is unclear.
The Northwest First Avenue assemblage totals nearly 75,000 square feet, or 1.7 acres; and the second assemblage totals 81,800 square feet, or nearly 1.9 acres. They are catty-corner to each other, and less than half a mile from the Brightline station.
Brightline suspended operations at the beginning of the pandemic. The passenger rail service, which operated from downtown Miami to West Palm Beach, with an expansion to Orlando in the works, also nixed its partnership with Virgin Trains nearly a year ago, reverting back to its former name.
Fortress Investment Group owns Florida East Coast Industries, Brightline’s parent company.
Development has sprouted near Brightline’s stations in South Florida, and the train service is expected to open more stations throughout the tri-county region. North of one of the sites that Brightline sold is a new dual-branded Home 2/Tru by Hilton at 315-333 Northwest First Avenue developed by Dev Motwani’s Merrimac Ventures and Driftwood Hospitality.
Also nearby in Fort Lauderdale, Kushner Companies is planning a four-tower, mixed-use development with 1,300 apartments, office and retail, and possibly a hotel, for the more than 4-acre site at 200, 300 and 520 Broward Boulevard.