"What we are doing here in West Boca is to create a cultural center rather than just retail strip malls and suburbia, so Shadowood can be the shining star to start that." Palm Beach County Commissioner Maria Sachs said this to MediaLab@FAU in September 2025, as fencing was about to go up around the center at Glades Road and U.S. 441.
A year later, the shape of that center is getting clearer. Its old anchor was a 16-screen movie theater that families drove to on weekends. The tenants replacing it sell morning coffee, juice, strength classes, prepared meals, blowouts and eyeglasses. For the Lotus communities along Lyons Road, Shadowood is becoming a stop on an ordinary Tuesday. GL Homes' own directions to Lotus Edge begin on Glades Road, so for those homes the rebuilt plaza sits on the drive in and out.
The Building That Left First
Shadowood Square opened in the 1980s with tenants such as Bed Bath & Beyond, Best Buy and a supermarket. The Shadowood 12 theater followed in 1987 and grew into the Shadowood 16 after Regal Cinemas bought it. In its MediaLab@FAU report, the center is described as a place families visited for "groceries, movies and weekly outings." It lost stores in the late 2010s as newer shopping centers drew customers away.
EDENS, a real estate investment group, bought the center in 2023 for $88.4 million. The Palm Beach County Commission approved its redevelopment plan in early 2025. The theater was the first piece to go. The Sun Sentinel reported in August 2025 that the VIP Shadowood 16 would show its last films that weekend. By late October 2025, the Sun Sentinel's follow-up found demolition underway on the site.
Clearing the theater freed about 50,000 square feet for new construction. The new space is going to restaurants with outdoor seating, a fitness center, a car wash and a tire store. Those are all businesses people visit often and briefly. A first-run movie theater draws people on a weekend night and a few times a month.
What Has Already Opened
The first wave arrived in fall 2025. EDENS' October 29, 2025 announcement said Blo Blow Dry Bar and Dave's Hot Chicken were open and Nomu Sushi & Pub would follow later that month. A week later, Shopping Center Business described all three as recently opened.
The opening most likely to become a habit came last week. Maman, the French-inspired café and bakery, opened on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, at 9959 Glades Road, Suite 120, according to the Boca Raton Tribune. Founders Benjamin Sormonte and Elisa Marshall serve artisanal coffee and baked goods in a room with farm tables and blue-and-white china. The café also has a kids' play area built with Te Como A Besos. EDENS used the opening as an all-day event, with totes and cookies for the first 100 customers.
Palm Beach Illustrated reported that Maman plans more Palm Beach County locations, at Sundy Village in Delray Beach in November and at Boca Center in early 2027. Both are plans, not openings.
Open, Signed and Named
The rest of the lineup follows the same pattern of short, frequent visits. The local news site MyWestBoca, last updated October 6, separates tenants with leases EDENS has confirmed from names that came out of an EDENS leasing update. The table keeps that distinction.
| Business | Category | Status as of October 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Maman | Café and bakery | Open since October 6, 2026 |
| Dave's Hot Chicken | Fast-casual | Open since fall 2025 |
| Nomu Sushi & Pub | Restaurant | Open since fall 2025 |
| Blo Blow Dry Bar | Salon | Open since fall 2025 |
| J.Crew Factory | Apparel | Lease confirmed by EDENS, no date |
| Joe & The Juice | Juice and coffee | Lease confirmed by EDENS, no date |
| MINISO | Lifestyle retail | Expected later in 2026 |
| Garden Butcher | Prepared-food market and café | Lease reported, no date |
| solidcore | Boutique strength training | Named in EDENS leasing update |
| Woodhouse Spa | Spa | Named in EDENS leasing update |
| Little Hen | Restaurant | Named in EDENS leasing update |
| Go Greek | Food | Named in EDENS leasing update |
| Ideal Nutrition | Prepared meals | Named in EDENS leasing update |
| Shadowood Optical | Optical | Named in EDENS leasing update |
Of the 14 names, J.Crew Factory and MINISO are the only shops people browse in. MyWestBoca notes that Garden Butcher is a prepared-food market with meat and seafood alongside vegetable dishes, not a plant-based restaurant. Together with Ideal Nutrition, that gives the plaza two places to pick up dinner on the way home. MyWestBoca treats every opening date beyond Maman's as unconfirmed, and so does this post.
Two Timelines for One Project
Shadowood's finish date depends on which EDENS document you read. The current Shadowood Square page says new retailers will open "beginning this winter and continuing through Spring 2027." The October 2025 press release projected 18 to 24 months of construction, with the last phase of new retail opening in late 2027.
The two may describe different phases. MyWestBoca reads the spring 2027 language as a window for retail openings, not a promise that the whole redevelopment will be done by then. So the coming year is likely to bring openings one at a time:
- This winter: EDENS' stated start of the next round of retailer openings, with MINISO targeted for later in 2026.
- Through spring 2027: the retail-opening window on EDENS' current property page.
- Late 2027: the last retail phase in EDENS' 2025 projection.
That means some construction fencing along Glades Road for at least another season. In 2025, a resident told MediaLab@FAU they were concerned about added traffic during construction and at rush hour.
What the Renovation Adds Besides Stores
MyWestBoca's summary of the project lists five new retail buildings totaling about 49,330 square feet and three renovated buildings totaling about 60,557 square feet. It also lists a 25-foot-wide pedestrian promenade, public green space with outdoor seating, public art, and more walkways connecting the property. EDENS describes the green space as shade trees and seating meant to make the center easier to walk.
A 1980s strip center was laid out for parking in front of each store and leaving. Adding a promenade and shaded seating gives people a reason to walk between stops, such as from a solidcore class to Joe & The Juice to Garden Butcher, without moving the car.
The everyday basics stayed through the rebuild. The Sun Sentinel's October 2025 report confirmed that Sprouts and Walgreens remain at the center. Once the new tenants open, the same lot will cover groceries, a pharmacy, coffee and a workout.
Across Glades at Uptown Boca
Shadowood's change follows Uptown Boca, the mixed-use center just south of Glades Road that opened its first stores in 2021, as the Sun Sentinel noted in May. Uptown also added a daily-use anchor this year. The Boca Raton Tribune reported in February 2026 that Life Time West Boca had opened at 9698 Glades Road.
Uptown's restaurants are also changing. TAPinto reported in August that Zen Sushi + Robata Grill had closed at 9690 Glades Road and that Nana's Dim Sum & Dumplings is expected to take the space. As of the Boca Raton Observer's October 6 update, no opening date had been announced.
With two gyms, two coffee-and-juice options, a bakery and a prepared-food market coming to one intersection, the corner of Glades and 441 is filling up with places Lotus households can use on weekday mornings and evenings. The next milestone on Shadowood's calendar is the start of EDENS' winter openings, and MINISO is expected later in 2026.
For Lotus homeowners weighing how the Glades and 441 rebuild affects their own property, Boca Palm Estates offers discreet, one-on-one conversations about the changes along the corridor. Request a Private Preview.
