PLANTATION, FL-Locally based private equity investor US Capital Holdings Group is planning a $350-million mixed-use redevelopment of the former Plantation Mall property. The project, 321 North, will rise in a 33-acre site near the northwest intersection of Broward Boulevard and University Drive.

Existing development on the site include a largely vacant 650,000-sf enclosed retail mall, a 114,000-sf office pavilion and a separately owned Sheraton Suites Hotel, which is undergoing a major renovation. US Capital is owned by Gang Lu, one of China's top 50 steel manufacturers.

The 321 North project will include demolition and reconstruction of significant portions of the enclosed mall with new retail space that will face outward and open up onto a new main street. New open-air retail space and restaurants will also be constructed. When it is completed, 321 North will contain a total of approximately 550,000 sf of retail space, 300,000 sf to 400,000 sf of new class A office space in two buildings and 400 to 600 residential units. Plans for the project have been submit to city officials. Pending approval, the first phase of construction of the project is expected to begin within a year.

321 North will be located adjacent to the Veranda project, the first mixed-use project in the city's master plan. 321 North will help anchor the north end of the Midtown district and serve as a major component of Plantation Midtown. "The transformation and revitalization of the Fashion Mall property is a key component of the visionary plans for Plantation Midtown," says Plantation Mayor Rae Carole Armstrong.

Centered around a new pedestrian and vehicular main street to be known as Plantation Avenue that will cross the property and connect Broward Boulevard and American Expressway, 321 North will contain shops, restaurants, courtyards and public spaces. With access to Interstate 595, the project will serve Plantation and surrounding areas of Davie, Sunrise and Weston.

"There really is no upscale shopping, no definitive social gathering place in Broward County that is convenient to get to or in a concentrated downtown area," says US Capital vice president Brian Liu. "321 North is designed expressively for this underserved market."

Firms working on the project include architecture firm ADD Inc.; San Francisco-based landscape design firm EDAW; Sun Valley, CA-based water feature design firm WET Design; retail design specialists ID & Design International; engineering firm Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc.; and law firm Greenberg Traurig.