The long-awaited Tamarac Village project just got one step closer last week after the commission voted to approve a lease agreement with a major real estate development company.
Terms of the ground lease agreement with JKM Developers will be 99 years with a $250K deposit following the effective date and a second deposit of $750K on or before the commencement date.
“I think this is a terrific project. I remember ten years ago when the city owned zero land outside the parks,” said Mayor Harry Dressler who thanked the city manager, assistant city manager and staff for buying land during the recession.
“I can’t tell you how delighted we are that we found somebody of your credibility, with your experience and sensitivities who can work with staff and resolve some very difficult issues with public-private partner kinds of deals. They’re the hardest deals on Earth to do, not because JKM is a hard group to deal with – cities are hard to deal with,” Dressler told the development team.
Once called “Tamarac Main Street,” back in 2008, the City started assembling and purchasing 17 properties between 94th Avenue and Pine Island. In 2010, they created the Tamarac Village Land Trust whose purpose was to hold title to the property until its sale or other disposition, or until the separation of the trust agreement.
Part of the conceptual vision on the 23-acre property (photos below) is the creation of one, two and three bedroom rental units, developing approximately 35,000 square feet of commercial space, a new, outdoor public park that the City can use for both programmed community events and passive recreation, and a new “Town Center” that works together with the public park to create a destination location within Tamarac for the community.
“I hope you get a nice mix of restaurants because Lord knows we need restaurants in Tamarac,” said Vice Mayor Pam Bushnell to the development team at JKM who will be responsible for finding tenants once Tamarac Village is completed.
The project could start in as little as two years and total development and construction is projected to take 60 months to complete.
JKM Developers other projects include: Osprey Oaks in Palm Beach, Latitude in Delray Beach, Gable Marquis in Coral Gables, and the Promenade at Doral I and II.
Commissioner Michelle Gomez, who oversees District Two where Tamarac Village will reside said, “The public-private partnership established will provide Tamarac with a community that completely embodies Tamarac’s slogan ‘a community where people can live, work and play.’”
