Tim Petrillo & Alan Hooper, Co-Founders - Urban Street Development & The Restaurant People

The Built World Podcast

In this inspiring episode, we sip cocktails with Tim and Alan, whose 30-year partnership has left a transformative mark on Ft. Lauderdale and Tallahasse. It all began in the early '90s when they started acquiring properties in the quiet Las Olas area, breathing new life into the neighborhood by operating restaurants and bars. From there, they pioneered micro-unit loft apartments in downtown Fort Lauderdale.
But they didn't stop there. In 2009, they returned to their alma mater, Florida State University, to help develop College Town—a wildly successful mixed-use project featuring restaurants, bars, student housing, a hotel, and retail space. At the same time they began acquiring and assembling land in downtown Ft. Lauderdale.
Now, Tim and Allan are breaking ground on their biggest venture yet: FAT Village, a 5.6-acre, 835,000-square-foot mixed-use urban destination in Fort Lauderdale’s Flagler Village, just north of the Brightline Station. Partnering with Hines, they're crafting a space that includes 600 multifamily units spread across two residential towers, 73,000 square feet of curated food, beverage, and entertainment offerings, art studios, galleries, and a state-of-the-art office space in Hines' signature heavy timber T3 (Timber, Transit, Technology) building. And that's just Phase I. Phase II promises even more, with an additional 250-unit multifamily tower, street-level retail, and expanded parking.
This is the story of two visionary developers and entrepreneurs who started small and have quietly reshaped Fort Lauderdale. Today they own and operate 13 restaurants in South Florida and 1 one in Tallahassee. So grab a cocktail, kick back, and enjoy this incredible journey!
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Ben Hoffman's bio & LinkedIn ( linkedin.com/in/ben-hoffman-818a0949/ )
Felipe Azenha's bio & LinkedIn ( linkedin.com/in/felipeazenha/ )
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