NOT IN MIAMI...BUT FT LAUDERDALE
FORT LAUDERDALE -- Some buildings last centuries; the Las Olas Riverfront complex might not last a decade. After months of speculation, Riverfront's proposed replacement has been put on paper and officially submitted to the city for approval.
The small booklet of drawings recently given to City Hall brings to life what previously was relegated to rumor: a gigantic eating-drinking-living destination with 750 condos in three towers rising 34, 39 and 41 stories tall, plus 100,000 square feet of commercial space on the ground floor for stores, restaurant-bars, a small theater and an independent film cinema.
Where the complex fronts the New River, Boca Developers Inc. proposes a dancing fountain. On Brickell Avenue, the street that runs into the complex running north-south, fiber optic lights would project a "virtual river" onto the asphalt, for the illusion of one river running into another.
"Downtown began there. Brickell is where it began. And this is the 21st century center of the emerging Fort Lauderdale," said attorney Don Hall, representing the developers. Hall said Fort Lauderdale has "matured" and the thousands of residents filling up the new condos downtown will want a more sophisticated, urban destination than what's there now.
Approval of the site plan would spell the end to the 8-year-old Las Olas Riverfront, a two-story, $55 million entertainment zone with movie theaters, stores, restaurants and bars that takes up much of the block at Las Olas Boulevard, Andrews Avenue and the New River. The project was built on former public land in deals that cost taxpayers more than $3 million.
Riverfront was never as successful as planned, and former owner Michael Swerdlow sold it a year ago to Boca Developers for $31.9 million, according to county records. He is no longer involved, Hall said.
In recent months, major restaurants there have closed, leaving vacancies, and the remaining small-business owners say they're having tough times making money as Riverfront declines.
Hall said there's more value in its destruction and the building of "New River at Las Olas."
"The fact of the matter is there is no there there," said Hall. "... This is a significant piece of property. It requires significant public amenities and significant buildings."
Vice Mayor Cindi Hutchinson, who represents downtown's business district, said she hasn't seen the plan and can't comment on it, but she isn't opposed to demolition.
"What's there doesn't work. That sums it up. It doesn't work," Hutchinson said.
The project could face a struggle getting approvals.
A lack of parking on the property was always an issue at Riverfront, and the new proposal still relies in part on off-site, nearby parking, though it includes 1,058 spots on New River property.
Another issue: Only 253 residential units can be built there now. The remainder couldn't be built unless city commissioners amend land-use rules to allow more residences to be built downtown. That debate for another 3,000 residences is expected to renew in the fall, as well as possible new affordable housing requirements.
Height could also be an issue. The 39-story tower would rise 426 feet, said attorney Heidi Davis Knapik, also representing Boca Developers.
That rivals the city's tallest building, River House condo, which is 452 feet. Icon, to be built next to the Stranahan House on Las Olas Boulevard, is to be 455 feet.
"How are they going to get a height that big next to a historic district?" asked Mayor Jim Naugle, who has previously said he thought Riverfront could be fixed without demolition.
Directly west of Riverfront, across the FEC railroad tracks, is a historic village, home of the Fort Lauderdale Historical Society. A proposal to tear down Riverfront's movie theaters and build two condos -- one 36 stories, the other 25 -- died last year in the face of opposition.
Hall said the flattening of the real estate market is not a deterrent. "Markets change," said Hall. "No matter what the market is at this moment, Fort Lauderdale is an exciting city where people want to live.
"That isn't going to change."
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