"It's a mistake to say it's fully approved," Mayor Dean Trantalis told the Sun Sentinel last Thursday, Oct. 22, the day the paper reported that the eight-tower Galleria redevelopment had received its required administrative approval from the city. "It's technically approved subject to those requirements," he added.
For anyone in Coral Ridge who runs errands at the mall on the neighborhood's southern edge along Sunrise Boulevard, the headline number is 3,144 homes in eight towers. The plan's own order of work matters more right now. The developer intends to remodel the existing mall as part of the first phase, according to Commissioner Steve Glassman. The towers come after a list of conditions that city records tie to building permits. So the next change residents will see at the Galleria is a renovated mall, and the mall stays open while that work happens.
What the Oct. 22 approval covers
The plan is large by any local measure. It calls for eight towers, each 30 stories and 300 feet tall, split across two parts of the 31.5-acre site:
| Section | Towers | Residences | Other uses in the plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Galleria East | 5 | 1,981 | 61,200 sq. ft. of commercial fitness space, 32,596 sq. ft. of commercial space, 1,360 sq. ft. of restaurant space |
| Galleria West | 3 | 1,163 | 170 hotel rooms, 9,140 sq. ft. of office, 5,001 sq. ft. of restaurant space, 4,806 sq. ft. of commercial space |
A joint venture of GFO Investments, InSite Group, Prime Finance and Atlas Hill Real Estate bought the property for $73 million in September 2025. The plans went through the state's Live Local Act, which covers projects that add to the affordable housing supply. Because of that, the project did not need a vote from the City Commission or the planning board, the Sun Sentinel reported. The plan mixes market-rate units with workforce housing units: 800 workforce units in Galleria East and 473 in Galleria West.
Stephanie Toothaker, the developer's attorney, described the city's document to the Sun Sentinel as a "Certificate of Completeness." She said the approval "includes extensive requirements for transportation mitigation, utility coordination and phased permitting milestones that will be satisfied throughout the redevelopment process."
The conditions that come before a building permit
City records obtained by the Sun Sentinel set out what the developer has to deliver, and when.
- Traffic. Before the first building permit, revised civil and site plans must match the approved traffic study dated Sept. 28, 2026. If the city's Engineering Permitting division determines that a change to access, circulation or traffic operations materially affects the study's findings, an updated traffic impact study is required.
- Stormwater. Before a building permit, an early start or any phased construction approval, the developer must hold a Broward County Surface Water Management License.
- Sewer. A city letter dated Dec. 18, 2025, found enough water capacity for the project. It also found that the existing sewer distribution system needs improvements to handle the added flow.
- School capacity. A final school capacity determination letter, or mitigation if capacity is short, is required before a building permit.
- Park impact fee. This is due when building permits are issued.
- Sunrise Boulevard. All required Florida Department of Transportation permits for improvements affecting Sunrise Boulevard must be in hand before the first certificate of occupancy.
Elected officials responded to the list in different ways. Trantalis told the paper the requirements "are not going to be easily surmounted" and questioned whether meeting them would be cost-effective for the developer. Vice Mayor Ben Sorensen said Live Local "gives us very little opportunity to deny it" and pointed to traffic, water, sewer and stormwater as already stretched. Glassman said he looks forward "to seeing the mall redone" and was not sure when work would begin. The reported conditions apply to permits for the residential project. The remodel is the part the developer has already started preparing.
The remodel is already moving tenants
The Sun Sentinel's Sept. 5 report gave the earliest physical sign. In mid-August, a Chico's sales clerk told a reporter the store would close in about two weeks to make way for a planned remodel of that section of the mall. By early September, the sign was gone and brown paper covered the storefront.
Toothaker told the paper that "the mall remains in full operation during all of the planned improvements, many of which are already in permitting." She said there will be "some tenant relocations and changes" and "significant upgrades proposed to the mall itself, including facade improvements and at significant mall entrances." No start date for the facade and entrance work has been made public, and the developer has not said which tenants will move.
That means the most likely near-term change for a regular visitor is a familiar store showing up in a different spot, or a section of corridor behind construction walls.
What is open at the Galleria this fall
The core of the mall is the same as it has been. The Sun Sentinel's September visit described Apple as the main draw for foot traffic and Dillard's and Macy's as the two remaining department-store anchors. The mall has lost department stores before. Lord & Taylor left in 2002, Saks Fifth Avenue in 2009 and Neiman Marcus in 2020. The two anchors still in place are also on the mall's current calendar.
The Galleria's events page lists these through the end of the year:
- Today at Apple sessions through Dec. 31
- Macy's personal stylist program through Dec. 31
- Dillard's Coach and Peter Millar pop-up through Oct. 31, which leaves this weekend
- Seasons 52 and The Capital Grille promotions through Nov. 15
- Share the Warmth, a seasonal campaign running through Nov. 27
The mall's directory lists Artesano Bakehouse as "now open" on Level 2 near Pandora, serving coffee, pastries, quiche and other light bites. That makes it one of the newer additions while the developer works on the tenant mix.
The holiday calendar runs on its usual track
Nothing in the approval changes the season at Palm Court. The mall has posted its Santa schedule, and reservations are recommended but not required.
| Date | Event | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Friday, Nov. 27 | Santa's Arrival Celebration | 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. |
| Monday, Nov. 30 | Pet Photo Night | 4 to 7 p.m. |
| Sunday, Dec. 6 | Sensory-Friendly Santa | 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. |
| Monday, Dec. 7 | Pet Photo Night | 4 to 7 p.m. |
| Monday, Dec. 14 | Pet Photo Night | 4 to 7 p.m. |
| Nov. 27 to Dec. 24 | Photos with Santa, Palm Court | Event window |
The arrival celebration falls on the day after Thanksgiving. The three Monday pet nights are the easiest dates to plan around if the family photo includes a dog.
Getting there from the east side of the Intracoastal takes a little more planning this year. Since Sept. 3, the Florida Department of Transportation has run all Sunrise Boulevard bridge traffic on the north bridge, with two lanes in each direction, and westbound left turns onto southbound NE 26th Avenue are prohibited. The traffic shift is planned through early 2027. The FDOT project page lists completion of the wider Sunrise Boulevard rehabilitation in fall 2027. The traffic-shift notice says early 2028.
The next confirmed arrival is Wayfair, in late 2027
The clearest sign of where the mall is headed is retail. In April, Wayfair announced its first Florida large-format store for the Galleria, about 94,000 square feet on two levels, scheduled to open in late 2027. The announcement came about six months before the city's Oct. 22 approval.
For Coral Ridge, the near-term order of events at the Galleria is set. The remodel and tenant moves are on the developer's plan, and the Wayfair store has a late-2027 target. The towers depend on traffic plans, a county stormwater license, sewer upgrades and FDOT permits, and no construction start date has been set.
If you're weighing what the Galleria redevelopment could mean for a home nearby, Tim Singer and the team have worked in Fort Lauderdale since 1987 and can walk you through the details for your street.