A new Italian restaurant moving in along University Drive will evoke a little of the fine Tuscan countryside on its roof.

Carrabba’s Italian Grill has won approval from the city to renovate a 6,400-square-foot building, overhauling its looks inside and outside, including setting up trees, shrubbery and other landscaping on the top of the building.

“It really makes the building stand out,” said Dan Schefer, joint venture partner with Carrabba’s. “It’s totally different.”

The location for the new restaurant, at 1003 S. University Drive, has seen a number of restaurants come and go, including Gardo’s CafM-i and Il Mulino West Restaurant. But Schefer, who said he and other Carrabba’s officials noticed the site when they were scouting locations this year, believed his company would make it work.

Founded in 1986 in Houston, Carrabba’s specializes in Italian dishes. In 1995, Outback Steakhouse, Inc acquired the restaurant chain. It currently has 75 locations across the nation, and according to Carrabba’s Marketing Director Andi Jacobs, the chain will have 30 Florida locations by the end of the year.

The company is still completing permits for the project, which was approved by the City Council on July 26. It is located on the southwest corner of University Drive and Southwest 10th Street, on the east side of the OfficeMax Plaza.

The one-story building will be just south of the Broward Mall and the Fountains shopping center. There is no definite timetable for when it will open.

The rooftop-garden model for the restaurant has been used by the company since 1998, said Jacobs. The buildings are officially one-story, and there is no seating on the roof. A restaurant built with the design opened last year in St. Petersburg.

“The idea is to give the restaurant much more visual appeal, and look different than other restaurants,” Jacobs said.

The concept seemed to intrigue Council members, after they received assurances from company officials in a presentation that the roof would support the weight of the greenery. Soil is placed on the roof, and the plants are irrigated.

“I have heard of it, but I haven’t seen it anywhere in South Florida,” said Jeffrey Siegel, the city’s landscape architect. “It should work, as long as it’s maintained, and the irrigation system works properly.”