Former Church To Be Transformed Into Mixed-Use Retail/Office Venue

A former church site in Fort Lauderdale’s 13th Street neighborhood is set to be transformed into a lush, mixed-use lifestyle destination with shops, restaurants, bars, and creative offices.

Eduardo Pelaez’s Wellmeaning Properties developer has tapped Native Realty to market Canopî – Miami-based Wellmeaning’s first Fort Lauderdale project.

“Our vision for Canopî is to tastefully connect people with nature to enjoy life’s simple pleasures,” Pelaez said. “We believe good curation of businesses is an art, and outdoor experiences are a modern luxury. Communities need space, leisure time and inspiration to thrive. This project is coming at the right time and to the perfect neighborhood.”

Wellmeaning is a family-owned private investment and development firm that assembled four blocks in Wynwood starting in 2009 and introduced new concepts to the neighborhood, including food halls and a theater.

The redevelopment of the Fourth Avenue Church of God at 1237 NE Fourth Ave. Canopî will include a total of 17,775 square feet of leasable space, with individual areas of up to 5,000 square feet and plenty of room for outdoor dining. The project is designed to include mature shade trees and ample green space, with outdoor activations connecting the two buildings on the 1.21-acre site.

“Canopî is going to take 13th Street, which is already one of the city’s hottest emerging neighborhoods, to the next level,” Sturgis said. “It will be an all-encompassing destination for locals and tourists to enjoy their time. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to market this one-of-a-kind project on behalf of Wellmeaning Properties.”

Canopî is set to become an accessible destination when choosing where to eat, drink, work, or gather—featuring a variety of restaurant and entertainment concepts and a mix of retail and creative offices. Each building will be delivered as vanilla shell space, with many spaces receiving new impact windows and doors, polished concrete floors, new HVAC, roofing, and ADA-compliant restrooms.

Known for its many art walks and festivals over the years, 13th Street has seen an influx of popular shops and food and beverage operators come to the neighborhood recently.