Five years after completing its first condominium tower, Metropica Development is moving forward with the next phase of its large-scale project in western Broward County. CEO Joseph Kavana announced at a recent groundbreaking ceremony that construction will begin in October, marking a renewed effort for the master-planned community.
The new phase involves partnerships with Poag Development, based in Memphis, Tennessee, for the retail portion and Waypoint Residential from Boca Raton for residential development. The overall plan for Metropica includes more than 3,000 condos and apartments, 650,000 square feet of office space, 485,000 square feet of retail space, and two hotels across 65 acres.
Bernard Werner, president of Metropica Development, said Poag and Waypoint are responsible for about $300 million in development. Chris Moore, managing director at Waypoint Residential, stated that his company plans to build at least 900 residential units over the coming years.
Kavana began assembling land for Metropica in the early 1990s and received approvals for the mixed-use project in 2014. Only one tower—Metropica One with 263 units—was completed by 2020. In recent years Kavana sought joint venture partners and last year received approval from Sunrise officials to increase density on the site.
“This is my work, and we are going to keep fighting the same way we fought over the last 15 years to try to make this a reality,” Kavana said during Tuesday’s event.
The upcoming phase will include nearly 1,000 luxury apartments and more than 150,000 square feet of retail space. About 50,000 square feet of condo office space will be built above retail areas designed primarily as restaurants, specialty shops and entertainment venues intended to complement nearby Sawgrass Mills mall.
Kavana confirmed that portions of property were sold to Poag and Waypoint but did not disclose purchase prices. Metropica Development will manage infrastructure work while retaining rights to participate in the joint venture.
“All the stars are aligned right now for us to be able to carry forward. We were ready to do this back in 2020 when Covid hit, and we had just finished the first tower,” Kavana said. “We were ready to start with the retail. We had to wait for the right time.”
