The City of Fort Lauderdale celebrated the groundbreaking of Thrive Progresso this past week. This is a CRA project that will place Progresso Village in the company of arts districts like Wynwood in Miami. It consists of 60,000 square feet of warehouses on 5.3 acres of property in the industrial portion of the CRA in the Progresso area. The properties, many of which were being used for auto repair, paint and body and rag shops, are being rehabbed to a change of use for office, flex, retail, and other similar uses that will eliminate the existing blighting conditions and have a positive long-term impact on this area. Hardscape improvements in the right of way such as sidewalks, curbing, landscaping, rain gardens and bioswales along with other roadway improvements will also be installed.
The first renovated warehouse space is expected to be ready by June, and the goal is to have eight of the ten industrial properties, encompassing around 80,000 square feet of space, ready for 40 to 60 tenants by the end of the year. There will also be outdoor event space that can accommodate around 12,000 people.
The Northwest Progresso Flagler Heights CRA has already contributed $2.8 million toward the success of this project back in 2019, and the Fish brothers, Jonathan and Abraham, have invested about $15 million so far. Moreover, 25% of the leasable area will have rent limits in place to remain affordable to small businesses as a community benefit while the remaining space will rent at market rate to support the project.
