WMG Volume 7 • Issue 16 August 13, 2020
Wilton Manors Gazette FACEBOOK.COM/GROUPS/WMGAZETTE
COMMUNITY
Sprouts Farmers Market to Replace Proposed Walmart in Oakland Park By Christiana Lilly A Sprouts Farmers Market grocery store could soon be on its way to Oakland Park Boulevard, as well as residential and green space. The first reading of the ordinance proposal for the former Kmart lot at Oakland Park Boulevard and Sixth Avenue was approved unanimously by the commission present. Commissioner Sara Guevrekian was not there to vote. “I am really, really pleased and very excited not only about the project but also that it incorporates the possibilities of the future, the entire Middle River being a public space, it’s great,” Oakland Park Vice Mayor Jane Bolin said during the meeting. The Kmart closed in 2014 and the lot was purchased by Walmart. However, that plan was dropped when the company butted heads with the city. Ram Realty Services applied to purchase the 10 grossacre property as mixed-use land, which was unanimously approved by the city’s Planning and Zoning Board in July. The company presented its plans to the commission Aug. 5 to include a Sprouts grocery store, retail space, apartments, multi-family townhomes, a BBQ area for
residents, dog park, walking path with tree canopy, a boardwalk along the Middle River mangroves, shared-ride service loading area, and a dine-in restaurant. Oakland Park Mayor Matthew Sparks told the Wilton Manors Gazette he was pleased with the updated plans, which included recommendations by the commission such as not having a drive-thru restaurant. “I’m glad that it’s out of the hands of Walmart and now in the hands of Ram [Realty Services],” said Spark, who said he has never been a fan of Walmart. “They’re turning this from a basic big box store with a parking lot to a lot of greenery.” As for traffic, Robert Lochrie of Lochrie & Chakas noted during the meeting that there would be a reduction of 1,000 trips per day compared to a Walmart being on the site. “We’re not only putting less traffic on the roadways, we’re improving the function of the roadways,” he said during the meeting. Spouts is an Arizona-based grocery store that offers an array of natural, organic, and gluten-free foods. Sparks said that hopefully this will fill the void
THE KMART CLOSED IN 2014 AND THE LOT WAS PURCHASED BY WALMART. HOWEVER, THAT PLAN WAS DROPPED WHEN THE COMPANY BUTTED HEADS WITH THE CITY.
A concept for the new location of Sprouts. Photo courtesy of Ram Realty.
that was left in the community when Lucky’s Market closed in February. Aldi, another grocery store, will be moving into that vacant space. “I already signed up for their shopping app,” Sparks said of Sprouts, which also has
a new location in Deerfield Beach. “This is the best possible scenario that could have ever happened and now that they have conditional use, it’s basically a done deal. They can now purchase the property.” WMG
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COMMUNITY
Oakland Park Unveils New Designs for Fire Stations, Community Center By Christiana Lilly Rendering Credit for North Andrews Gardens Community Center: Courtesy of Currie Sowards Aguila Architects.
Oakland Park is getting a new look, with the city presenting designs for its new public works facility, two fire stations, and community center. The projects are a part of the city’s Comprehensive Facilities Plan, which is funded by a $40 million general obligation bond approved by voters in 2018. “We have to get our firefighters into decent fire stations,” Oakland Park Mayor Matthew Sparks told the Wilton Manors Gazette. “All of our community centers are … beyond their expected use.” The unveiled designs were new buildings for Fire Stations 9 and 20, the North Andrews Gardens Community Center, and the Public Works Facility, which will include an emergency operations center and a two-story parking garage. There are also plans to build a new library to replace the Ethel M. Gordon Oakland Park Library, relocating City Hall to Oakland Park Square, and also renovating Fire Station 87. The library and community center will be built in what will be known as City Park. The green space will include a playground and splash pad, a butterfly garden, exercise area,
OAKLAND PARK CITY MANAGER DAVID HEBERT ESTIMATED THAT THE PROJECTS WILL CREATE MORE THAN 3,000 JOBS LOCALLY.
WMG August 13, 2020 • Volume 7 • Issue 16 2520 N. Dixie Highway • Wilton Manors, FL 33305 Phone: 954-530-4970 Fax: 954-530-7943
Publisher • Norm Kent norm.kent@sfgn.com Associate publisher / Executive Editor • Jason Parsley jason.parsley@sfgn.com Copyeditor • Kimberly Swan
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Christiana Lilly• Sal Torre • James Oaksun
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basketball and pickleball courts, and more. The design of the new buildings is being handled by Zyscovich Architects in Miami and the structures will follow the same design scheme, keeping the city buildings cohesive. Sparks said the commission wanted to be fiscally responsible while also keeping the
character of Oakland Park. “We’re trying to get every dime out of this $40 million bond that we can possible,” he said. And it’s that bond that is making the projects possible during the country’s economic recession, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. In a press release from the city, Oakland Park City Manager David Hebert estimated that the projects will create more than 3,000 jobs locally. “Our new buildings will be models of urban civic spaces that are sustainable, reliable, safe, and beautiful,” Hebert said. “While we remain in challenging times, future construction of these buildings offer several opportunities including lower interest rates and costs for building materials, and the creation of more than 3,000 local jobs created by private development projects planned in Oakland Park.” The project is a part of the city’s 10-year redevelopment plan, which is expected to be complete in 2029. This will coincide with the city’s 100th anniversary. “I won’t be seated then, but I certainly will be out there cheering it on,” Sparks said. “We continue to strive to make sure that our 100th birthday is something to truly be celebrated, with the completion of all these buildings.” WMG
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Did you know? There are over 2,500 different species of palm trees found throughout Florida. How many can you name? Photo via Needpix.
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August 13, 2020
WilMa Real Estate: What’s New?
REAL ESTATE
By James Oaksun Until recently, I thought it might be considered to be in bad taste to report or even comment on real estate here in South Florida, given the other realities with which people have been faced. However, since we may have to adapt to a “new normal” – at least in the short run – I thought you might be interested in what’s been happening with the numbers here in Our Fair City. The business of buying and selling homes goes on, after all. This article will concentrate on pricing trends – the dollars and cents of it. In a future column I will discuss sales counts and the all important “inventory” metric. Take a look at Chart One, where I have shown the changes in overall Island City pricing going back to the first quarter of 2013. The solid blue line is the 50th percentile or median – half the sales were above that price level, and half below. In addition, I am showing dashed lines for the core range of pricing – called in statistics the “intraquartile range” – with the green dashed line the 75th percentile and the red dashed line the 25th percentile.
THE BUSINESS OF BUYING AND SELLING HOMES GOES ON, AFTER ALL.
The constant upward trend in valuation is readily apparent. In the first quarter of 2013 the median sale price of a single family home in Wilton Manors was $309,000. In the second quarter of 2020 – the quarter ended on this past June 30th – the median sale price had increased to $523,000. In other words, the median price increased by 69 percent over that seven-year period. That’s 7.5 percent per year on a compound annual basis. Now let’s consider Chart Two, which shows the median prices for the three main Wilton neighborhoods – West (meaning west of Andrews), Center (Andrews to the train tracks), and East (east of the train tracks). Here we can see that pricing in East Wilton consistently tracks above the other two neighborhoods by roughly $100,000. Something to note here is the rather sharp drop in East Wilton pricing in the last year, particularly in the last six months. This is worthy of further investigation. What does this mean for the typical Wilton homeowner? Well, suppose you bought the typical house in Center Wilton in early 2013, and sold it this year. If you put 10 percent down and took a 30-year mortgage, after paying closing costs and real estate commissions you would have made an eye-popping 527 percent on your capital invested – about 30 percent per year, compounded. You can make a lot of money in real estate – IF you buy at the right time and prices go up. James Oaksun, Florida’s Real Estate Geek(SM), is Broker-Owner of New Realty Concepts in Fort Lauderdale. In addition to having degrees from Dartmouth and Cornell, he is a Graduate of the Realtor Institute (GRI).
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