South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Fort Lauderdale says yes to hotel tower 2 years after saying no
FORT LAUDERDALE — A
17-story hotel rejected by commissioners two years ago got their approval Thursday night despite an outcry from residents who insist the new tower will forever ruin their quiet beach neighborhood.
The 4-1 vote effectively ends litigation brought by developer Pawel Plata after commissioners voted against the project in June
2019, citing traffic concerns. “We have to consider the litigation,” said Commissioner Steve Glassman, who represents the neighborhood. “We have to follow the law. If we don’t follow the law, we will spend a lot of money and still lose. When I look at this project you’d love to find a reason to say no, but there really isn’t [one].”
The late-hour reversal left some angry and bitter.
“Tonight, we witnessed the commission fold like a cheap suit,” Guy Cerullo, a resident in a neighboring condo, said shortly after the vote. “Money and influence are all that count, not the neighborhoods.”
Supporters argued the new Bayshore Hotel will bring jobs, tax dollars and welcome change to a stark corner.
“It will give a lot of pop to that area,” said neighbor Monika Caporale. “I’d love to see something a little bit more alive.”
Elzbieta Gorska, manager of a local hotel, argued the beach needs another spot just like this one.
“The market will improve with a luxury boutique hotel,” she said. “Right now, if you take a walk onto the corner there is not even a sufficient sidewalk for our locals or the tourists. I want our city to be beautiful and not turned into a shabby beach town.”
The hotel will rise next to the W Hotel Fort Lauderdale on a
1.5-acre block that’s now home to three small boutique hotels.
The slightly revised project now calls for 168 hotel rooms and
105 condos, down from 115. The height has been reduced 16 feet, from 190 feet to 174. And in a nod to residents of the nearby Birch Crest Condos who complained the hotel was too close, the tower has moved to the north 7 feet.
“So this hulking tower is now seven feet further from our building,” Cerullo told the commission Thursday night. “That is insulting to the commission and to the residents of Fort Lauderdale. We are not Miami, or even the Galt Ocean Mile. We don’t need buildings butting right up against one another.”
The hotel will perch the 24-story W Hotel and the Birch Crest tower, which stands 156 feet high.
Mayor Dean Trantalis torpedoed arguments that the tower is too tall for the neighborhood.
“It clearly is compatible with what has been built there in the past 25 years,” he said. “That horse has been let out of the barn a long time ago. I don’t think that argument is really going to hold much water.”
Foes of the project questioned whether the beach can handle all the extra traffic and flushing toilets.
City officials say Fort Lauderdale’s
water and sewer plants have the capacity to handle the extra load. Traffic experts say nearby roads won’t be dramatically
impacted by the 827 extra daily trips the tower will bring. Critics were not swayed. “Central Beach is already at
capacity for sewer, water and traffic,” Cerullo argued. “This tiny, precious barrier island can take no more.”
Sandra Goulston, who lives in the nearby Spring Tide condo, groused about the new tower blocking her view of the sunset.
Robert Toxen, another Spring Tide resident also worried about blocked views, griped about the construction noise, the dust, the traffic.
“It will be a disaster to the entire neighborhood,” he said. “Traffic is already intolerable on the weekends. I just can’t fathom why we should have our quality of life destroyed so someone can make money.”
Commissioner Ben Sorensen cast the lone “no” vote after noting concerns about whether the hotel tower was right for the neighborhood.
Glassman appealed to critics, explaining the commission cannot vote based on emotion.
“I understand the passion,” he said. “I understand the frustration. I know there are people who are upset. But I have to follow the letter of the law.”