Dive Brief:

• Construction on the $1.5 billion, urban-styled Metropica complex in the Ft. Lauderdale suburb of Sunrise, Florida, is underway, representing one of the largest under-construction, mixed-use projects in the country, Curbed Miami reported.
• The 65-acre project will feature eight residential towers with a total of 2,250 units; a central park; 650,000 square feet of office space; two 240-room boutique hotels; a beach club; tennis courts; a fitness center and spa; and 485,000 square feet of retail. The first residential tower topped out in January; it will include a saltwater pool – a feature of all residential buildings in the complex – as well as a theater, clubroom, play room and tennis courts. Tower One will offer one-bedroom, two-bedroom, three-bedroom and penthouse units ranging from $460,000 to more than $1 million.
• The first tower should be complete in 2018, while construction on the entire Metropica complex is scheduled to wrap up in 2021.

Dive Insight:

Even though there is often a robust urban development market within the city limits of many major metro areas, there are also developers that want to bring cities' walkability and other features to the suburbs.

Texas has more than a few of these projects underway in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, but the standout is actually a collection of mixed-use projects in Frisco, Texas. The Dallas Cowboys headquarters and training facility anchors one of the developments – the Star in Frisco – and holds a key spot along what is known as the "$5 billion mile," named for the number of major, mixed-use developments in various stages of completion. The Star and other developments in Frisco, many of which include both residential and commercial features, have transformed the town, once famous only for dove hunting, into a thriving city with urban features.

In the northern suburbs of Dallas is Allen, Texas, and Houston-based developer Hines announced last year that it was going to give the town a major facelift. At the heart of Hines' plan to give Allen a city-like hub is the 3.5-million-square-foot, 135-acre, mixed-use development called The Strand, which will include more than 1.5 million square feet of office space, 380,000 square feet of retail and 300,000 square feet of residential. The development will have seven distinct districts and will be built in four phases.