Shopping center developer may sell west Pines land

The developer of a shopping center on the northeast corner of Pines Boulevard and Dykes Road plans to sell 24 acres of the property to Minto Builders, the developer of TownGate.

The city's Planning and Zoning Board will review a proposal today to rezone the acreage to allow 72 homes. Part of the plan includes lowering the density of a portion of TownGate from five units per acre to three.

The board will meet at 7:30 p.m. at the Pines Conference Center, 10211 Taft St.

Michael Swerdlow Co. owns the land now zoned for a shopping mall and proposes to build a strip shopping center. Part of the plan included an 18-screen theater.

Swerdlow withdrew the theater from the plans after encountering stiff resistance from residents and city officials.

Resident Jeffrey Mutnik said he would rather have more people than a multiscreen theater.

``I think that's much better. We are not talking about bringing people from outside of the city at night,'' said Mutnik, a resident of Spring Valley. ``The only thing I would rather see is a school or playground.''

Mutnik's objections to the theater mirrored his neighbors' concerns. Homeowners west of Interstate 75 said the theater would attract people from other parts of Broward and even Dade County.

Crime and traffic would bleed onto their neighborhood streets, they said. Residents gathered signatures in opposition to the 18-screen theater and a 24-screen theater once planned for the southeast corner of Pines and 184th Avenue.

Swerdlow still plans to build a shopping center, although not the 1.3-million-square-foot mall originally planned. The center would include a Winn-Dixie supermarket, a bank and restaurants.

But plans for the center are far from being approved. The City Commission last week tabled approval of Swerdlow's decision to build a smaller shopping center.