Five years after completing its first condo tower, the developer behind Metropica, a large master-planned community in western Broward County, is moving forward with the next phase of the project. Joseph Kavana, CEO of Metropica Development, announced at a ceremonial groundbreaking this week that construction will begin in October. The company has partnered with Poag Development from Memphis for the retail portion and Waypoint Residential from Boca Raton for the residential component.
The entire mixed-use development is valued at over $1.5 billion and will include more than 3,000 condos and apartments, 650,000 square feet of office space, 485,000 square feet of retail space, and two hotels on a 65-acre site. According to Bernard Werner, president of Metropica Development, Poag and Waypoint are responsible for about $300 million in development. Chris Moore, managing director at Waypoint Residential, said his firm is committed to building at least 900 residential units over the next several years.
Kavana has faced multiple delays since he began assembling land for Metropica in the early 1990s. The project received approvals in 2014 but only completed its first tower—Metropica One with 263 units—in 2020. In 2024, Kavana sought joint venture partners and last year secured approval from Sunrise city officials to increase density on the site.
“This is my work, and we are going to keep fighting the same way we fought over the last 15 years to try to make this a reality,” Kavana said during Tuesday’s event.
The new phase is being called the first phase by Kavana and is expected to be operational within three years. It will feature nearly 1,000 luxury apartments and more than 150,000 square feet of retail space. Plans also call for about 50,000 square feet of condo office space above retail areas. Kavana noted that the retail offerings would complement nearby Sawgrass Mills mall with restaurants, specialty shops and entertainment venues.
Metropica Development has sold portions of its property to both Poag and Waypoint but did not disclose purchase prices. The original developer will manage infrastructure work and retains an option to participate in the joint venture.
“All the stars are aligned right now for us to be able to carry forward. We were ready to do this back in 2020 when Covid hit, and we had just finished the first tower,” Kavana said. “We were ready to start with the retail. We had to wait for the right time.”
