AND NOW WE WAIT...
November 2018
Photo by Kayla Florenco
January 2020
Photo by Sydney Katz
Shopping plaza across the street from CCHS soon to be finished After over a year of moved their focus onto construction, the “Cooper leasing terms. There has been Square” Plaza is nearing its a growing curiosity among completion in the next few Cooper City residents about months. The the type of boutique “HOPEFULLY THEY stores that shopping be seen HAVE A CHICK-FIL-A will c e n t e r in this plaza. e s t a b l i s h e d THERE BECAUSE THE However, the by Boulton NEAREST ONE RIGHT d e v e l o p e r s Commercial claim that Real Estate NOW IS USUALLY A they cannot 10-MINUTE DRIVE release any s t a r t e d construction names of the FROM MY HOUSE.” c o m p a n i e s in summer 2018 and -RASHAD CORNELIUS i n v o l v e d is expected until just JUNIOR b e f o r e to open it’s 35 stores completion sometime this year. of the plaza. At first, the plaza was “As much as we would forecasted to be completed like to put out the names of in November 2019. However, the companies working with, the amount of work needed we cannot right now because was underestimated, causing most contracts for leases this date to be pushed back. are still in the negotiating Now, Boulton aims for the stage right now, so nothing complete establishment is official yet,” Boulton of the shopping center Commercial Real Estate to take place in the Sales Director Marcela coming months of 2020. Parra said. “You can expect By mid-August 2019, to know the names of the Boulton successfully sold all stores around the opening 35 spots for stores and swiftly day of [Cooper Square].”
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Over the months, H&M Development has been carrying out construction for the plaza at a regular pace. Construction first started in September 2018 with just the foundations of the buildings, plenty of dirt and a long canal built behind. Now, buildings with glass doors and pavement for parking are being settled, furthering the progress of the plaza. “I’m just ready to see what kind of stores the plaza has, it seems like there is going to be a lot to do there with all those buildings,” junior Rashad Cornelius said. “Hopefully they [will] have a Chick-fil-A there because the nearest one right now is usually a 10-minute drive from my house.” With the plaza being right across the street from the CCHS, some students— specifically incoming juniors and seniors—may see the plaza as a place to park their vehicles during the school day for free. School administrators have warned students not to do this as
their cars will likely be towed. For the most part, the major work visible on the project’s construction site is unfinished paving and buildings for all of the restaurants and businesses. Soon, this continual construction work will turn into charming architectural details such as pastel stucco exteriors, decorative lighting accents and pedestrian walkways enhanced by trees and seasonal landscaping. A quality shopping center for Cooper City residents is the ultimate goal for the developers. “[It’s] crazy how a few years ago there used to be just an open field of grass [across from] the school and now a whole plaza is about to be in that exact same place,” junior Julian Smallcombe said. “Usually people go to [Stirling Town Center] but in a few months everybody [is going to] go right across the street after school because it's closer and probably bigger.”
BY RYAN MERARD
