Pompano Beach Is Building Two New Downtowns at Once. Here's What It Means for Real Estate

Updated September 2026 with the latest from the City of Pompano Beach and local news coverage.

One City, Two New Downtowns

Pompano Beach is doing something no other city in north Broward is doing right now. It's building two big new districts at the same time, about three miles apart. The New Downtown alone carries a roughly $2 billion development plan; The Pomp is a separate large private project. If you own a home in Pompano, or you're thinking about buying there, this is worth understanding.

Project One: The New Downtown and Innovation District

For about 30 years, the city and its Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) have been buying up land between Dixie Highway and I-95 to create a real downtown. The result is roughly 75 acres of public land along the I-95 corridor.

The master developer is Atlanta-based RocaPoint Partners, which signed a master development agreement with the city in June 2024. The plan calls for about 4 million square feet of homes, shops, restaurants, offices, a hotel, and civic space, at roughly $2 billion, built out over a decade or more. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard becomes the main street of the Innovation District.

Where Things Stand Now

• A builder is picked for City Hall. On July 30, 2026, the city announced that Suffolk, a national construction firm, will build the new City Hall and parking garage at Atlantic Boulevard and Dixie Highway. The plan is a four-story City Hall bringing 19 departments together, plus a garage with about 600 spaces.
• Local hiring is starting. Suffolk and the city held job fairs in August for local contractors and workers.
• The money fight isn't over. The big question has never been whether to build. It's how to pay for it. In 2025, city staff estimated that public financing could save roughly $100 million over 30 years compared to the developer financing the civic buildings. A key bond vote tied 3-3 in October 2025. Commissioners were still split on redevelopment spending in September 2026, when a vote on the East CRA's budget also deadlocked.
• The E. Pat Larkins Community Center, named for the city's first Black mayor, is still a point of tension. City officials say a new center will be built. Many Northwest residents want to make sure the community that has lived there for generations shares in what comes next.

Commuter rail comes up a lot in the renderings. Pompano already has a Tri-Rail station out west, but the downtown stop depends on the Tri-Rail Coastal Link, which is still unfunded. I'd treat it as a someday, not a sure thing.

Project Two: The Pomp

Three miles west, at Powerline Road and Racetrack Road, is The Pomp. It's a 223-acre private project on the old Pompano Park harness track, from Cordish Companies and Caesars Entertainment.

Harrah's Pompano Beach and Topgolf are already open. Coming next is Live! at The Pomp, an entertainment and dining area with a central plaza for live music and events. An earlier plan included a Publix plaza, but the proposed Costco site has complicated that plan. Long term, the developers describe about 1.3 million square feet of retail and entertainment, more than a million square feet of office space, up to 4,000 homes, and two hotels. Lennar has bought land inside The Pomp for condos and townhomes.

The Costco Fight

Not everything is going smoothly. In June 2026 the city's Planning and Zoning Board voted 4-3 to reject a proposed 163,000-square-foot Costco at The Pomp, citing traffic and neighborhood impacts. News reports disagree about the commission outcome on the appeal. The precise approval status needs confirmation from the city before treating Costco as a done deal. If you live in Palm Aire or Cypress Bend, this one's worth following.

What This Means for Pompano Homeowners and Buyers

Projects like these may affect nearby property values, but they also bring construction, traffic, and years of uncertainty. Here's how I'd think about it:

• Homeowners near the new downtown (Northwest Pompano, Old Town, Dixie Highway) may see changes in demand if City Hall and the first private buildings are completed. Timelines have already slipped, so be patient.
• Homeowners near The Pomp (Palm Aire, Cypress Bend, and the neighborhoods off Powerline) already have new amenities, and more are coming. Traffic is the tradeoff.
• Buyers should compare current listings and recent sales in Pompano with Fort Lauderdale and Boca, while weighing the beach, the pier district, and these two growing districts.
• Investors should watch the financing votes and the Costco case closely. Those decisions will shape how fast each area fills in.

Pompano has also drawn more than $2 billion in private investment on the beach side, like the Ritz-Carlton Residences, the Waldorf Astoria Residences, and Related Group's Casamar. The city that people used to drive through between Fort Lauderdale and Boca is turning into a place people drive to.

Thinking About Buying or Selling in Pompano Beach?

I'm happy to walk you through what's being built near a home you own or one you're eyeing, and what it could mean for value. Call or text me at (561) 289-9305 or email chris@homesbycusi.com.

Sources: City of Pompano Beach press releases (July 30, 2026 Suffolk selection; August 31, 2026 special meeting notice); CBS Miami (July 30, 2026 Costco coverage); Villij News (September 2026 coverage of the job fair and the CRA budget vote); Pompano Beach CRA and RocaPoint project materials; The Friendly Scoop, "Pompano Beach Is Building Two Downtowns at Once" (thefriendlyscoop.com/news/pompano-beach-downtown-innovation-district-the-pomp-2026).