Galleria Fort Lauderdale Owner Lists Mall For Sale

Galleria Fort Lauderdale is hitting the market as a redevelopment opportunity, and the team listing the former luxury shopping mall is targeting a sale price north of $100 million.

A CBRE team led by Robert Given and Brad Capas is marketing the 800,000-square-foot indoor shopping center at 2442 East Sunrise Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale. There is no asking price, but Capas said: “We’re expecting the property to trade above $100 million.”

Galleria owner Keystone-Florida Holding Corporation, led by president William O’Connor, is also advised by O’Connor Capital Partners, a New York-based real estate investment firm, a press release states. 

The listing does not include a Dillard’s department store building, which is separately owned, and a Macy’s store that has a ground lease.

According to a CBRE marketing brochure, Galleria is currently 67 percent occupied. 

Keystone-Florida has twice tried unsuccessfully to redevelop the former luxury mall, most recently last year. The city of Fort Lauderdale did not approve the mall owner’s proposed development agreement to build a project with at least 1,900 apartments on the 31.6-acre site. 

The property is permitted for 1,899 residential units, or 60 units per acre, and buildings with a maximum height of 150 feet, according to a CBRE brochure. However, a new owner could take advantage of Florida’s Live Local Act to develop a larger project as long as 40 percent of new units are workforce housing. 

Opened in 1980, Galleria consists of multiple retail buildings, primarily empty big box stores that were previously occupied by Saks Fifth Avenue, Lord & Taylor and Neiman Marcus.

Keystone-Florida had proposed demolishing most of the shopping center and replacing the mall with buildings that wouldn’t exceed 150 feet in height and would taper down in areas close to nearby residential neighborhoods. 

In 2017, due to opposition from residents, the Fort Lauderdale City Commission tabled a proposed vote that would have allowed Keystone-Florida to move forward with a redevelopment plan to build 1,250 condo units in three buildings taller than 20 stories and four shorter buildings.

Keystone-Florida withdrew its proposal.