JV Plans 356-Unit Apartment Complex on 12-Acre Parcel

Morgan Group and Carlyle Group are moving forward with their plans to bring a new garden-style apartment complex to Pompano Beach after purchasing a key redevelopment site for $18.8 million. The site, which includes a former Macy’s store, marks a significant investment in the area’s growing multifamily market.

The New York-based department store chain sold its 150,353-square-foot retail building located at 1200 Northeast 12th Street within the Pompano Beach Citi Centre to a joint venture between Morgan and Carlyle, according to property records and real estate database Vizzda. The acquisition of the former Macy’s site came at a price of $10 million.

In a separate deal, the joint venture also purchased the surrounding parking lot from the mall’s owner, West Palm Beach-based Sterling Organization, for $8.8 million.

Houston-based Morgan Group, known for its multifamily developments, and Washington D.C.-based Carlyle, a global investment firm, are set to build eight four-story buildings with 356 apartments and 545 parking spaces on the nearly 12-acre parcel. Pompano Beach City Commission gave the green light to the project back in 2021.

Led by CEO Harvey Schwartz, Carlyle manages a staggering $425 billion in assets. The firm made waves in 2021 when it sold Fort Lauderdale’s iconic B Ocean Resort (formerly the Yankee Clipper) for $126.9 million. That same year, Carlyle also completed a $340 million sale of a 60-acre superyacht facility in Fort Lauderdale.

Meanwhile, Morgan, led by CEO Philip Morgan, is actively working on another multifamily project in Sunrise. The Caroline at Sunrise development, approved last year, will feature 412 apartments and 40 townhomes on a 21-acre site at 3363 North Pine Island Road. As part of an agreement with the city, Morgan will dedicate 68 units as affordable housing with below-market rents.

South Florida is experiencing an unprecedented surge in multifamily development, with a record 23,863 apartments expected to be completed by the end of this year, according to a recent Berkadia report. Even as the pace of rent growth has moderated, developers are still pushing ahead with new projects to meet the demand from the region's expanding population.

"The Citi Centre is in need of revitalization, particularly for its vacant spaces," states a report by the planning and zoning board staff. "The proposed development will support sustainable infill redevelopment and attract more patrons to the surrounding businesses."

Originally built as an enclosed mall in 1970, Pompano Citi Centre underwent a redesign that left the former Macy’s store somewhat disconnected from the rest of the shopping center. This lack of visibility, combined with the rise of online shopping, contributed to Macy’s eventual closure, according to the staff report.

Since 2006, the center has been operating as an open-air shopping plaza, but it currently faces about 150,000 square feet of vacancies, accounting for 31 percent of its leasable space, according to LoopNet. Current tenants include JCPenney, Lowe’s, and T.J. Maxx. Sterling Organization purchased the property in 2012 for roughly $15 million.

For more information or assistance with selling, buying or leasing commercial property please contact me.

Hansel Duran

954-231-4916

www.hanselduran.com

1500 E. Atlantic Blvd, Pompano Beach, FL 33060