A popular banquet hall has shut down in Broward. What’s next for the property?
Maybe you were there for a wedding, a company banquet or a political fundraiser. Signature Grand, the sprawling event space off State Road 84 in Davie, has been home to countless parties and celebrations over three decades.
Now, the kitchens are empty, the chandeliers dark and the meeting halls silent.
The 100,000-square-foot Signature Grand closed for good on July 1 after the property was sold to BBX Logistics Properties and FRP Development Corp., according to a statement from the two buyers.
The new owners plan to replace the landmark event space with a new industrial warehouse.
“We are excited to partner with FRP Development Corp on another joint venture,” said Seth Wise, chairman of BBX Logistics Properties.
The owners didn’t disclose the sale price. According to the Broward County Property Appraiser’s Office, the property at 6900 State Road 84 has a 2024 market value of $9.4 million and an assessed value of $7.2 million.
Arlene Pecora, the former owner of Signature Grand, could not be reached for comment.
The history of Signature Grand
Signature Grand was opened in 1996 by caterer Michael Pecora, Arlene’s husband, and political fundraiser Jerry Berlin. The pair also had opened Signature Gardens, a smaller event space, in Kendall 10 years before.
The partners had hoped that the two banquet halls would be the beginning of a nationwide chain of Signature event spaces. But the partnership came to a disastrous end in 2003 when Michael Pecora, after an argument in Berlin’s office in Signature Grand, shot and killed Berlin before turning the gun on himself.
A protracted legal battle followed, between Michael’s widow, Arlene Pecora, and Berlin’s son Brett Berlin, over the ownership of the Signature banquet hall properties. In 2010, Signature Gardens in Kendall was sold, ending the legal dispute and leaving Arlene Pecora as the sole owner of Signature Grand in Davie.
The future of the Davie property
Pecora had been “actively considering selling the property,” said Mark Levy, president of the Fort Lauderdale-based BBX Logistics Properties. Pecora was “ talking to a number of potential buyers,” Levy said, “and ultimately decided to proceed with” the BBX deal.
The new owners plan to demolish the Signature Grand and hope to begin construction of a new 182,000-square-foot “logistics space” in the fall of 2024.
Levy said the new warehouse, in a pocket with other warehouses to the north of Broward College’s main campus and Nova Southeastern University, will help meet “regional consumer demand for speedier delivery.”
