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CRA approves Brookfield Market City Center agreement after tense hearing, adds 600-unit cap
Summary
After hours of public comment and a failed procedural dismissal, Margate’s CRA approved a development agreement with Brookfield but amended the document to cap total units at 600 (motion passed 3–2). Brookfield stressed the DA starts an 18‑month design process with community input.
The Margate Community Redevelopment Agency voted 3–2 to approve a development agreement (DA) with Brookfield for the Market City Center project after adopting an amendment limiting the overall project to no more than 600 units.
The agreement as presented included an upper limit figure of 950 units across three phases; Brookfield and staff repeatedly characterized that number as a cap and a starting point for an 18‑month design and entitlement process rather than a firm commitment for phase 1. Commissioner debate and extensive public comment focused on whether the CRA should approve a DA with a high cap before design and before formal allocation of available units. One commissioner said, “I have never voted for 900 units,” underscoring local skepticism about high unit counts.
Brookfield representatives said residential units are necessary to support retail, parking and the project’s economics, and offered flexibility on phasing and caps to reach compromise. “Residential has to be part of this, in order for it to be economically viable,” Frank Felichert, a Brookfield representative, told the board. After a motion to amend the agreement to a 600‑unit cap was moved and seconded, the board approved the amended resolution 3–2. Voting records reflect three yes votes and two no votes on the amended developer agreement.
