The Corner That Changed Coral Springs

Cornerstone at Downtown Coral Springs: A City's Renaissance, One Block at a Time

A comprehensive look at the origins, delays, construction milestones, retail momentum, and future trajectory of Coral Springs' most ambitious development.

The Vision: Giving Coral Springs Its Downtown

For a city of more than 130,000 residents, Coral Springs had long gone without something most comparable Florida cities take for granted: a true downtown. Incorporated in 1963 as a planned community, Coral Springs was designed with suburban efficiency in mind — wide arterials, strip malls, and single-family neighborhoods. Walkable urban life was never part of the original blueprint.

By the early 2000s, civic leaders recognized that to remain competitive and attract the next generation of residents, the city needed a genuine gathering place. The Coral Springs Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) was established in 2002 specifically to guide downtown redevelopment efforts. For nearly two decades, however, the vision remained largely on paper.

That began to change in a significant way when a Boca Raton-based developer started working with the city on what would become the Cornerstone project — a proposed mixed-use development at what city planners designated the epicenter of a newly identified 136-acre Downtown Coral Springs district: the southwest corner of University Drive and Sample Road.

The Site: From Financial Plaza to Future Downtown

The Cornerstone project is built on the former grounds of the Coral Springs Financial Plaza, a commercial center constructed in 1974 that had grown increasingly dilapidated over the decades. The site — roughly seven acres — sits at what is arguably the most trafficked intersection in the city, directly adjacent to Coral Springs City Hall.

In 2018, developer Rod Sheldon of Predesco Property Investments (operating through his affiliate La Boca Partners) began formal discussions with the city after acquiring the site for approximately $16 million. Sheldon — who had previously developed Pei Wei Asian Diner and Chase Bank on University Drive — described Cornerstone as a personal and professional homecoming. "As a young man, I remember applying for a mortgage on my first home at the financial plaza," he said. The project, he said, would be nothing less than a renaissance for Coral Springs.

The vision he presented was sweeping: twin apartment towers, a movie theater, a hotel, restaurants, an organic grocery store, and retail space — all organized around a pedestrian-friendly main street lined with trees, outdoor seating, and fountains.

Commissioner Dan Daley, who would go on to serve in the Florida Senate, captured the local mood: "After 25 years of talk, downtown Coral Springs with shops, restaurants, entertainment, hotel, and other uses will become a reality."

Years of Delays: Zoning, Office Space, and the COVID Factor

If the early vision seemed straightforward, the road to groundbreaking was anything but. What followed was a years-long series of plan revisions, zoning negotiations, and timeline shifts that would test the city's patience and the developer's resolve.

The original timeline called for demolition of the Financial Plaza to begin in early 2019 and for tenants to occupy new structures by 2020. That schedule collapsed almost immediately. Negotiations with quasi-governmental agencies, new zoning code requirements, and public demand for office space — something the initial live-shop-play model had not fully accommodated — forced Predesco back to the drawing board.

By January 2020, Sheldon announced a significant scope change. The project was pivoting from a live-shop-play model to a live-work-play focus. His company had received calls from prospective office tenants who didn't want to be in a purely residential-and-retail environment. In response, Predesco filed plans for more than 209,000 square feet of office space alongside the original residential and retail components. Demolition, he said at the time, was now targeted for summer 2020, with construction starting by year's end and occupants moving in by mid-2022.

Then came the COVID-19 pandemic, which scrambled timelines and office space demand across the country. The ambitious office component quietly shrank — and by the time serious construction was underway, office space had been reduced substantially, with some square footage converted to additional residential units.

Despite the turbulence, Sheldon consistently maintained that the project was moving forward. The Financial Plaza was ultimately demolished, clearing the seven-acre site and marking the true beginning of Coral Springs' downtown transformation.

Construction Begins: Modera Phase I Takes Shape

The residential component of Cornerstone was handed to Mill Creek Residential, a national developer headquartered in Boca Raton, which branded its apartment buildings "Modera Coral Springs." Modera Phase I — the South Block — rose eight stories at 3210 N. University Drive, just south of Sample Road, and comprises 351 luxury rental apartments with 14,600 square feet of ground-floor retail.

Apartment interiors were positioned at the upper end of the market: nine-foot ceilings, wood plank-style flooring, stainless steel appliances, quartz countertops, in-home washers and dryers, soaking tubs, and private patios or balconies. Community amenities included a resort-style pool, fitness center, and co-working spaces.

By mid-2021, the city's economic development director confirmed that the multifamily section was under construction, with the hotel component expected to begin within months. Construction timelines for the full project were repeatedly updated — a December 2023 completion target gave way to later projections — but the vertical progress was visible and undeniable.

Phase I began welcoming its first residents in July 2023. The South Block quickly gained traction in the market.

Modera Phase II: The North Block

With Phase I leasing underway, Mill Creek Residential broke ground on Modera Coral Springs Phase II — the North Block — in October 2023. Positioned at 3310 N. University Drive, directly east of City Hall and just north of the Downtown ArtWalk, Phase II adds 353 additional homes and 32,280 square feet of retail space to the development.

Phase II mirrors many of the interior finishes of Phase I while offering a distinct amenity package: three landscaped elevated courtyards, a resort-style swimming pool, an elegant multipurpose clubhouse overlooking the pool deck, outdoor barbecue stations, co-working spaces, a club-quality fitness facility, and — notably — a museum-inspired lobby and mailroom.

The groundbreaking brought the total planned residential footprint to more than 700 apartments across the combined phases. By October 2025, Mill Creek announced the start of preleasing at Phase II, with first move-ins anticipated for December 2025. Together, the two Modera phases add 704 homes and nearly 47,000 square feet of retail to the corner that was, not long ago, a crumbling 1970s strip center.

By late 2024, the South Block was reported at 85% occupancy — a strong indicator of demand for urban-style living in a market that had long offered little of it.

The Hotel: Crown Jewel in Progress

One of the most eagerly anticipated components of Cornerstone is the planned Hyatt Place Hotel — an eight-story, 140-to-144-room select-service property with a rooftop bar that city officials and the developer have consistently described as the "crown jewel" of the downtown development.

The hotel brand was announced in May 2021. Developer Rod Sheldon described the rooftop bar concept and said residents and visitors would flock to the heart of the city to experience what it offers. The city's economic development director, Kristi Bartlett, called the hotel a key piece that would make downtown a "true destination."

The hotel's path, however, has been complicated. The CRA at one point terminated a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) rebate for the hotel component after deadlines were missed. The developer subsequently worked to renegotiate terms with the redevelopment agency. In June 2025, the CRA board voted to approve higher tax rebates for the Cornerstone developer following a hotel land deal, restructuring the financial incentive framework to advance the hotel component. However, in an unusual reversal, the CRA board voted 4-3 in a subsequent meeting to rescind that rebate increase, keeping the developer's TIF rebate at 50% and rejecting a request to raise it to 75%, citing concerns that a larger rebate would redirect funds away from other community improvement projects.

As of the most current reporting available, the hotel remains a planned future component of Cornerstone. Its construction timeline continues to be negotiated between the developer, La Boca Partners, and the CRA.

Retail and Restaurants: The District Comes to Life

While the hotel chapter remains unresolved, the retail story at Cornerstone has been gaining momentum. Several dining and retail tenants have signed leases and begun opening, transforming the ground-floor spaces of the Modera buildings into the beginnings of a genuine street-level scene.

Tacocraft Taqueria and Tequila Bar was the first to arrive, opening in August 2024 on the South Block's corner of Main Street and University Drive. The craft taqueria concept brought with it the lively atmosphere Coral Springs had been waiting for.

Additional confirmed tenants include:

• Gary Rack's FarmHouse Kitchen — a popular Florida concept bringing farm-to-table dining to the complex
• Mitch's Downtown Bagel Café — a neighborhood café concept
• Let's Chill Homemade Ice Cream — a family-friendly dessert spot
• Paris Baguette — a café and bakery chain that received a $100,000 CRA grant for property improvements to support its opening
• Rumble Boxing — a boutique fitness studio
• A fitness center and additional retail tenants still being finalized

The CRA approved $300,000 in commercial matching grants to help FarmHouse Kitchen, Mitch's Downtown Bagel Café, and Let's Chill Ice Cream open their doors — part of the agency's broader strategy to use TIF funding to de-risk early-mover retail tenants and accelerate the district's vibrancy.

Developer Rod Sheldon has stated that seven to eight restaurants are planned for the completed complex, covering American, Italian, and other cuisine concepts.

The Museum: A Cultural Anchor

Among the more distinctive planned additions to Cornerstone is the Coral Springs Museum of Art, which is expected to open within the retail spaces of the development. The museum would give the downtown district a cultural anchor beyond dining and fitness — an arts destination that could draw visitors from across Broward County and differentiate Coral Springs from purely commercial downtowns.

As of the CRA's March 2025 board meeting, the museum was among the commercial tenants the city was "looking forward to welcoming" as Phase II neared completion.

The Financial Framework: TIF, CRA, and Public-Private Partnership

The Cornerstone project represents one of the more sophisticated public-private partnerships in Broward County's recent history. The city's CRA — working within a 136-acre district that is, as officials have noted, relatively small by Broward standards — has used Tax Increment Financing as its primary tool to incentivize private development.

Under the TIF structure, as Cornerstone increases the taxable value of the property, a portion of the new tax revenue flows back to the developer as a rebate incentive, while the remainder grows the CRA's capacity to fund additional improvements throughout the district.

In November 2024, the CRA approved a $753,000 TIF rebate payment to La Boca Partners as part of a pre-existing development agreement — a milestone payment tied to Phase I completion. Records indicate that additional TIF payments are structured to follow once Phase II and subsequent components are completed.

The CRA has also funded a time-lapse camera installation to document Cornerstone's construction progress — a small but telling detail about the city's pride in and commitment to the project.

The total project cost is now estimated at approximately $250 million, up from early estimates of $168 million to $200 million as the scope and market conditions evolved over the development period.

The Broader Downtown Picture

Cornerstone does not exist in isolation. The city's CRA master plan has positioned it as the anchor of a broader downtown ecosystem that includes several other developments taking shape simultaneously.

The City Village project — planned for the former City Hall site — represents the next major development chapter. The CRA has tentatively agreed to provide up to $7.5 million in public infrastructure support for City Village's first phase, which calls for a mixed-use development with approximately 300 apartments and retail space across an 11-story building, wrapping around two parking structures over a full city block.

The Key International Property, planned for the northeast corner of Sample Road and University Drive, would add 377 residential units to the downtown quadrant in an eight-story mixed-use format — effectively completing the four-corner transformation of what has historically been Coral Springs' busiest intersection.

Together, these three developments — Cornerstone, City Village, and the Key International property — would add more than 1,300 residential units, tens of thousands of square feet of retail, a hotel, and a museum to the downtown district within the span of a few years.

What's Done, What's In Progress, What's Coming

Completed:

• Demolition of the Coral Springs Financial Plaza (1974–2021)
• Modera Coral Springs Phase I (South Block) — 351 luxury apartments, 14,600 sq ft retail, open since mid-2023
• Tacocraft Taqueria and Tequila Bar — open since August 2024
• Phase I CRA TIF rebate ($753,000) disbursed to La Boca Partners

In Progress (as of early 2026):

• Modera Coral Springs Phase II (North Block) — 353 apartments, 32,280 sq ft retail; preleasing began October 2025, first move-ins anticipated late 2025/early 2026
• Retail buildouts at Phase II ground floor, including Paris Baguette, Gary Rack's FarmHouse Kitchen, Mitch's Downtown Bagel Café, Let's Chill Ice Cream, and Rumble Boxing
• Ongoing CRA TIF negotiations and rebate structure for the hotel component

Still Ahead:

• Hyatt Place Hotel — 140–144 rooms, 8 stories, rooftop bar; financing and TIF terms under active negotiation between La Boca Partners and the CRA
• Coral Springs Museum of Art — planned for ground-floor retail space
• Additional restaurant and retail tenants (7–8 total planned)
• Potential condominium component — plans for 174 condos in a second phase were explored as of 2021; current status of condo component unclear
• Full buildout of Pedestrian Main Street connecting Cornerstone to City Hall

What It Means for Coral Springs

After more than two decades of discussion and nearly a decade of active planning, permitting, and construction, downtown Coral Springs is no longer a concept — it is a place. Imperfect, partially built, still a construction site in some respects, but undeniably, irreversibly real.

The transformation of the University Drive and Sample Road intersection from a decaying 1970s plaza to a seven-acre mixed-use community of 700+ apartments, 47,000 square feet of retail, a hotel, a museum, and a pedestrian main street represents not just a real estate transaction but a civic identity shift. Coral Springs — long defined by what it lacked — is building something to be proud of.

For residents of the city and the surrounding communities of Parkland, Coconut Creek, and Margate, Cornerstone offers the kind of walkable, energetic environment that has historically required a drive to Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, or Delray Beach. For the real estate market, the presence of a genuine downtown fundamentally changes the value proposition of living in Coral Springs — particularly for younger buyers, remote workers, and empty-nesters looking to downsize without sacrificing lifestyle.

The Hyatt Place hotel, when it arrives, will add the critical missing ingredient: overnight visitors and an in-district anchor that activates the plaza at all hours. Until then, the momentum of Tacocraft's opening, the preleasing of Phase II, and the arrival of new restaurant tenants tell the story of a downtown finally finding its footing.

Coral Springs residents who spent decades hearing that a real downtown was coming are, at long last, watching it arrive — one building, one restaurant, and one signed lease at a time.

Sources: Coral Springs Talk, TAPinto Coral Springs, Florida Redevelopment Association, Mill Creek Residential press releases, Dorsky + Yue International, Coral Springs CRA Board Meeting Records, Colliers International, PRNewswire.

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