The following article is taken from the sun-sentinel webpage, address found below:
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sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-1106-plantation-fashion-mal,0,133771.story
South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com
Fashion Mall in Plantation months from being resurrected
By Lisa J. Huriash
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
10:09 AM EST, November 6, 2008
PLANTATION
The Fashion Mall is now months away from being resurrected as a residential and retail project.
The City Council late Wednesday night signed off the site plan approval for the new owners of the mall - now named 321 North because of its address - to build as many as 590 residential units on site. The Council also waived a 12-story height limit to allow construction to go as high as 16 stories for two office buildings.
The project, on the west side of University Drive north of Broward Boulevard, will also feature four free-standing retail buildings. The old Macy's and Lord & Taylor buildings will be demolished to make way for the construction which could begin within months.
"You've got home, you've got work and you've got that third place you just want to be," said attorney Paul D'Arelli, who represents the mall.
The fate of the mall has been in flux for years.
The mall opened in 1988 and many have tried to make it prosperous. Built for more than $100 million by Deutsch-Ireland Properties and Melvin Simon & Associates, the mall was anchored by Macy's and Lord & Taylor. In 2002, Ashkenazy Investment Co. bought the mall from Wells Fargo Bank, which foreclosed on the previous owners, for $21 million.
Its strategy was to build a string of home decor shops. In 2003, Ashkenazy signed a letter of intent with Muvico Inc. to build a large-scale movie theater at the mall, by the beginning of 2004. But the Muvico deal fell through, and then plans for the home furnishing shops fizzled.
China-based US Capital Holdings Group bought the Fashion Mall from Ashkenazy for $41.5 million in 2004. Its selling strategy is to create a mixed-use work and live complex.
In June the mall announced Muvico was coming back. A 14-screen theater is planned and a Muvico spokesman said it plans to lease about 70,000 square feet for 20 years. The theater will have a balcony and reserved seating, restaurants, child-care facilities and valet parking, similar to the Muvico Palace 20 in Boca Raton.
The entire project, estimated in the hundreds of millions of dollars, could take as long as five years to complete. The financial commitment is so strong that Councilman Bob Levy said he was assured that the city would "not going to see a demolition and a stoppage."
