PLANTATION—There was a groundbreaking this week for Plantation Walk, termed Broward County’s largest and most highly anticipated project at the site of the once-popular Fashion Mall.

“When the Fashion Mall was built in the ’80s, it served a purpose back then,” Art Falcone, CEO and Managing Principal of Encore Capital Management, told Local 10 News. “You know, the world has changed quite a bit.”

Developer Encore Capital Management held the official groundbreaking for the first phase of the $350 million project’s retail and luxury apartments. It’s one of the largest in Broward County at the site of a mall that became what was called an “eyesore” after it closed in 2007.
In total, the new project will feature 700 luxury rental apartments under Encore’s The Rise brand and 180,000 square feet of retail space.
The apartments will be split among three buildings within the master’s development. The Rise brand, which is synonymous with the upscale, urban living will be geared to the region’s growing millennial workforce and will also fill a much-needed void for empty nesters who are ready to downsize and want to live within walking distance to lifestyle amenities.

The retail portion of Plantation Walk, which will include both fine-dining and more casual restaurant options, plus stores and entertainment venues, will serve the Rise residents as well as those working in the development’s Class A office space and the surrounding community.
The project fills a local void “Plantation Walk will fill a huge void that residents of the city have been dealing with for a long time,” said Falcone. “Many Plantation residents, and those who work in the city, have to go east in order to find better dining, shopping and entertainment options. We are about to change that.”

Once completed, Plantation Walk will create a downtown-style destination encompassing the ingredients of a walkable development that will create “Main Street Plantation.”

Entertainment and lifestyle options will include 180,000 square feet of shops and a variety of quick-service and fine dining restaurants
The 177,000-square-foot Class A office building, which is scheduled to be completed in Q1 of this year, is accepting tenants and has already signed one Fortune 50 Company, Aetna.

The 263-room Sheraton Hotel on-site currently offers full conference, ballroom, and catering facilities, as well as a full-service restaurant. The entire property is serviced by an on-site parking garage.