An aging shopping center in Sunrise will be torn down to build a handful of apartment buildings.
Pine Plaza Shopping Center, at the southwest corner of North Pine Island Road and Northwest 41st Street, was built in 1987.
Anchored by a former Winn-Dixie, almost half of the plaza will be demolished this summer to build Vista Verde at Sunrise, a 288-unit rental apartment project being developed by Rilea Group.
Some of the best-known tenants, including an AMC Sunrise 8 movie theater and Pediatric Associates branch office, will remain.
Vista Verde at Sunrise will have eight, three-story buildings and one-, two- and three-bedroom rental units. The project will include a gym, pool and dog park, and there will be a boardwalk to connect it to Oak Hammock Park.
Construction could begin by Sept. 1.
Records show about 135,000 square feet of retail space will be torn down to build the project.
“In today’s world there is no need for so much retail,” said Doron Valero, a project investor. “Owners need to find a different use and the best use of the land.”
He said the $40 million project will take two years to complete. Valero envisions residents who live there parking their car and then walking to a plaza’s restaurant or store.
“It becomes a neighborhood,” he said.
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lhuriash@sunsentinel.com, 954-572-2008 or Twitter @LisaHuriash