Broward County is pushing a sweeping development plan that could remake the land around Amerant Bank Arena, turning much of the current parking area into a massive mixed-use district.
The county, which owns the Panthers’ home arena in Sunrise, has filed an application with the city for a project that will come before the city commission on Tuesday evening. The proposal covers 154 acres and would change the area in a big way if it gets the necessary approvals.
At the center of the plan are roughly 1,400 multifamily residences, with 15% set aside as affordable housing. The documents also call for 300,000 square feet of commercial space, 1.6 million square feet devoted to office or educational use, 600 hotel rooms, up to 60,000 square feet of meeting and function space, and about 10 acres of green or public space.
The land is currently used largely as the arena’s parking lot, so the project would mean a major shift in how the site functions on game nights and beyond.
Before anything can move forward, Sunrise city commissioners have to approve the application, which asks for a change to the land use designation. The site is now listed on the city’s Future Land Use Map for industrial, commercial low residential and low-medium residential uses. Broward County is seeking to reclassify it as Transit Oriented Development, or TOD, citing its recent purchase of land for a nearby transit hub that would offer express service into Miami-Dade County.
If the commission approves the ordinance and the Broward County Land Use Plan is amended, the Sunrise city commission would likely hold an adoption hearing within the next six months, according to the documents.
The renderings included parking garages, but those structures were labeled for residential, office, urban flex and hotel use. The documents do not say how event parking would work if the project is approved, leaving an obvious question mark for Panthers games and concerts at Amerant Bank Arena.
For now, it’s a proposal to watch closely. If it moves ahead, it could reshape how fans get in and out of Panthers games for years to come.
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