A major redevelopment is planned for the Pan American Estates Mobile Home Park in Fort Lauderdale’s Cypress Creek neighborhood, where a proposal to replace the 22.8-acre community with a 973-unit apartment complex is moving forward. Located at 150 NW 68th Street, the project will head to the City Commission on September 3rd after securing approval from Fort Lauderdale’s Development Review Committee last year. The redevelopment is being led by Saulo Perez of Cypress Development LLC, who acquired the property in October 2023.
The project has gone through several revisions, with the most recent submission making slight adjustments to what was previously shown to the Development Review Committee. Current plans call for 973 units overall, consisting of 20 rowhomes, 57 three-bedroom units, 369 two-bedroom units, 512 one-bedroom units, and 15 studios, with an average size of 987 SF. Of the total, 75 units will be designated as affordable housing.
The development will include 9 five-story apartment buildings with varying designs, an eight-story building positioned in the northwest corner of the site, and 5 three-story rowhome structures, mostly along NW 66th Street. Construction is planned in three phases, beginning with 328 units in the first phase, followed by 290 units in the second, and 355 units in the third.
Future residents will have access to a variety of amenities, including communal spaces, plazas/gathering areas, pocket parks, swimming pools, and pedestrian pathways. To accommodate the anticipated influx of residents, the development will provide 1,572 parking spaces and 312 bicycle parking spaces.
Designed by MSA Architects, buildings will feature grey and white accents with abundant greenery. The facade will be finished with siding, Bahama shutters, elevated porches, black aluminum railing, and other architectural elements. According to the elevations, the average building will rise around 60 FT with exception to the rowhomes (33 FT) and the 8-story building (88 FT).
While the project now moves into the final stages before construction, the property has been marked by controversy. After the sale of Pan American Estates Mobile Home Park, more than 200 families were given six months to vacate the area. Residents were offered up to $14,000 for relocating early, though many told NBC6 they felt the compensation was insufficient. In response, the developer noted that all households were provided the required six- month notice under Florida regulations and ‘ownership is offering a generous incentive package, far exceeding the statutory minimums, to assist residents in their relocation efforts.’
While this is one example, multiple mobile home parks across South Florida are experiencing a similar fate, as limited land and rising demand for housing push developers to pursue large-scale multifamily projects. These efforts are a recurring tension in development, where concerns over resident displacement clash with the region’s growing need to expand housing supply.
Recent imagery shows that the site has already been cleared. Permitting activity has also been ongoing for some time, with the latest application requesting a site work master permit to begin phase 1 of construction.