Sun Sentinel
Fort Lauderdale has the beach, two airports, an art museum and performing arts center, but it doesn't have it all.
There's no Walmart.
That's going to change. Developers are moving ahead with plans to build a Walmart supercenter near one of the county's busiest interchanges, Broward Boulevard and Interstate 95, heading into downtown.
Morning and evening rush hours already can back up traffic on Broward, so the project's developer has committed to paying for improved traffic light synchronization and additional turn lanes into the property to minimize any new congestion. The state also is planning interchange improvements to help traffic flow from I-95.
"It's a real shot in the arm for the Broward Boulevard corridor," said Robert Lochrie, an attorney representing the developer, Gatlin Development Company. "This will be extremely convenient for people who are coming from out west and are coming into the downtown, and [for them] on their way home."
The project, on the south side of Broward just west of I-95, is also within walking distance of the Tri-Rail station.
Developers last week received needed approvals from the city and go before the County Commission on Tuesday.
The discount retailer will be the main draw at the Riverbend Marketplace project. Walmart will have its own building, but there will also be buildings for 25 to 35 other businesses, including space along the street for a bank, gas station and two fast-food restaurants. The $100 million project covers several city blocks between Southwest 24th and 27th avenues.
Mayor Jack Seiler said Riverbend Marketplace "should upgrade that whole area."
Gatlin plans to have the property ready for construction by the end of the year, Lochrie said, so late 2015 would be the earliest for the 180,000-square-foot supercenter to open. Supercenters combine Walmart's typical merchandise with a full-service supermarket and other services, such as pharmacies and optical centers.
The closest supercenters are now in Lauderdale Lakes, Pompano Beach, Davie and Hallandale Beach. Plans have fallen through for a smaller Walmart supermarket near Sunrise Boulevard and Andrews Avenue.
The project will transform the city's western gateway. Past uses of the 33-acre property, which sits across from the Broward Sheriff's Office public safety building, have included used-car lots, mobile homes and adult-oriented strip shops.The land has been vacant for seven years.
It hasn't quite been the "Welcome to Fort Lauderdale" city officials want for downtown commuters. Besides the vacant property, many of the commercial buildings east of State Road 7 are rundown with empty storefronts.
"It's embarassing," said Dan Lindblade, executive director of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce. "That's our gateway into the city and it's not the prettiest thoroughfare in the world."
Copyright © 2014, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
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