The three-tower plan, called Terrasse, would replace a shuttered Winn-Dixie near the 17th Street Causeway and skip the usual rezoning and public hearings. For now, it is only a filed application with no approval and no construction date set.
Key Takeaways
- A developer has filed plans for Terrasse, a three-tower project with 765 apartments on a former Winn-Dixie site on Cordova Road in Fort Lauderdale.
- By setting aside 306 units (40%) as workforce housing, it qualifies for the Live Local Act, letting it skip rezoning, exceed height limits, and avoid public hearings.
- The application is new, with no city approval yet and no construction timeline announced.
Fort Lauderdale's Live Local pipeline just got a giant new entry, at least on paper. According to Florida YIMBY, a developer has filed plans for Terrasse, a three-tower project that would drop 765 apartments onto a former Winn-Dixie site near the 17th Street Causeway, with 306 of them set aside as workforce housing. It is still just an application with no approval or construction plans yet, but it's worth watching.
What is being proposed at the old Winn-Dixie?
Terrasse would put 765 residential units on a roughly 3-acre former Winn-Dixie site at 1625 and 1645 Cordova Road, near the 17th Street Causeway in Fort Lauderdale. The plan calls for two 36-story towers that share a pool deck and a 19-story tower with its own pool, plus about 1,230 parking spaces.
The unit mix is 306 workforce apartments for households earning up to 120% of area median income, and 459 market-rate apartments ranging from studios to four-bedroom units. The workforce units are limited to studios and one-bedrooms.
The trade on the ground floor is steep: about 47,965 square feet of existing retail would be demolished and replaced with only around 3,220 square feet of new commercial space. The site is owned by W D Cordova LLC, the developer entity is Beach Causeway LLC, and Dorsky and Yue International is the architect. Again, this is a fresh filing, with no city approval and no construction start announced. As Larry Mastropieri noted on the Discover South Florida Podcast: "This is definitely a project that's going to add a fair amount of inventory to the market when it delivers 765 residential units."
How does the Live Local Act let it skip the rules?
Here is the part that makes Terrasse move differently from a normal project. By reserving 40% of its units, 306 of the 765, as workforce housing, it qualifies for Florida's Live Local Act. That law lets a qualifying project bypass rezoning, exceed the area's maximum allowable height, and skip public hearings entirely, while also tapping tax and zoning incentives.
That is the same by-right mechanism reshaping projects across the region, and it is why a 36-story tower can be proposed on a suburban-scale grocery lot with no rezoning battle and no public hearing. As Larry put it: "This is part of a statewide pattern that we already know about. We've talked a hundred times about developers using the Live Local for outsized projects. It's meant to incentivize developers to do this."
Buying or investing near Fort Lauderdale's 17th Street corridor as Live Local reshapes it? Talk to a real estate agent in Fort Lauderdale who tracks the development pipeline closely. Reach out to The Mastropieri Group, Realtors® or call (954) 833-1468.
How does Terrasse compare to other Fort Lauderdale projects?
By Live Local standards, Terrasse is actually mid-sized. Right on 17th Street, essentially next door, The Quay is a city-approved 521-unit, 33-story development with about 217 workforce units, and The Cove on Federal Highway is another Live Local eight-story building with 376 units already under construction. So the scale Terrasse proposes is not an outlier for this corridor.
The extreme case sits a few miles away. The Galleria Mall redevelopment would bring roughly 3,144 apartments, 1,273 of them workforce, across eight towers, and it has drawn fierce backlash precisely because Live Local lets it bypass the City Commission. Fort Lauderdale is filling up with these projects, from 26-story workforce towers to mall-sized megaprojects.
Why does this matter for Fort Lauderdale?
The case for it is straightforward. South Florida has a real housing shortage, and Live Local is built to unlock attainable units quickly, turning a dead grocery store into hundreds of homes, 306 of them workforce, in a spot near the beach, the marinas, and the 17th Street dining corridor where younger renters want to live. On paper, that is exactly the kind of infill the law was designed to encourage.
The case against it is just as real. Because Live Local removes the public hearing, neighbors get little formal say, and worries about traffic and density on an already-busy causeway do not run through the usual review. That tension, fast housing against local control, is what makes projects like this a flashpoint, and it is a big part of why some cities are fighting the law. For now, Terrasse still has to clear city review, and no timeline has been set.
Watch More on This Topic: Watch this segment | Full Episode | Last week's recap
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Terrasse project in Fort Lauderdale?
Terrasse is a proposed three-tower residential project with 765 apartments on the former Winn-Dixie site at 1625 and 1645 Cordova Road, near the 17th Street Causeway. It would include two 36-story towers and a 19-story tower, with 306 units reserved as workforce housing. The application is newly filed and not yet approved.
What is the Live Local Act?
The Live Local Act is a Florida law that gives developers zoning and tax incentives, plus a streamlined approval path, in exchange for setting aside a share of units as workforce or affordable housing. Qualifying projects can bypass local rezoning, exceed normal height limits, and skip public hearings.
How many workforce housing units would Terrasse have?
The plan sets aside 306 of the 765 units, about 40%, as workforce housing for households earning up to 120% of the area median income. Those workforce units would be limited to studios and one-bedrooms, while the market-rate units range from studios to four-bedrooms.
Has Terrasse been approved?
No. As of now, Terrasse is a newly filed application that still has to go through city review, and no construction timeline has been announced. Filing under the Live Local Act streamlines the path, but the project is not final until the city completes its process.
Why can a 36-story tower be built without public hearings?
Because the Live Local Act grants a by-right approval path when a project reserves enough workforce housing. That means qualifying developments do not need rezoning approval or public hearings, which is how a high-rise can be proposed on a low-scale commercial site without the usual community review.
Local help for Fort Lauderdale buyers, sellers, and investors
Whether you own near the 17th Street corridor, are eyeing a rental investment, or just want to understand how Live Local is reshaping values, it helps to work with a team that follows Fort Lauderdale's development closely. Reach out to The Mastropieri Group, Realtors® in Fort Lauderdale, or call (954) 833-1468 for practical, hands-on guidance across South Florida.
Posted by Larry Mastropieri
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