Urban Outfitters Joins $1.5B Metropica in Florida

By Barbra Murray

Rendering of Metropica in Sunrise, Fla.

Metropica, Metropica Holdings LLC’s $1.5 billion master-planned community in Sunrise, Fla., just outside Fort Lauderdale, has signed Urban Outfitters to its sparkling retail lineup. The clothing and home furnishings store will set up shop in 8,000 square feet at the initial 280,000-square-foot segment of Metropica’s retail and entertainment center.

“Having significant retailers like Urban Outfitters join our growing roster of signed tenants speaks to the viability of this transformative project,” Bernard Werner, president & COO of Metropica Development LLC, said in a prepared statement. “Metropica’s carefully curated retail mix fills an existing void in the area and will help transform the community for generations to come.” The 65-acre Metropica will also be home to Urban Outfitters’ sister company, Anthropologie, a women’s apparel and home décor brand.

Rendering of Metropica, Sunrise, Fla.

By staking a claim to space at Metropica, one of the largest mixed-use community currently under construction in the U.S., Urban Outfitters will be at the center of a bit of a revolution in South Florida’s Western Corridor. Designed by an architectural team that includes Oppenheim Architecture + Design, the sprawling 4 million-square-foot project will ultimately feature roughly 2, 250 residential units; 650,000 square feet of office space; approximately 400,000 square feet of retail accommodations; a boutique hotel; and public spaces.

Urban Outfitters will open its doors with the debut of Metropica’s retail and entertainment segment in the fourth quarter of 2019.

Sign of the times

There’s a big audience waiting in the wings for Metropica. Among the most prominent trends impacting the South Florida retail landscape is the proliferation of the 24/7 destination, according to a report by commercial real estate services firm Avison Young. E-commerce has taken center stage in the retail arena, but consumers still crave an authentic experience and, as noted in the report, “one of the most apparent ways the real estate market has adapted to this need for an ‘authentic experience’ is through the seamless integration of residential, office and retail space into a single live/work/play environment.”

Rendering of Metropica, Sunrise, Fla.

The list of major mixed-use projects making an imprint on the South Florida scene includes downtown Miami’s six-block MiamiCentral transit-oriented development, as well as the $2 billion Miami Worldcenter, a 27-acre master-planned development in Miami’s central business district. And in Broward County, construction is underway on the first phase of Dania Pointe, a comprehensive open-air lifestyle community in Dania Beach that will span more than 100 acres. 

Images courtesy of Metropica Holdings