Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
High-rise would be second-tallest in Pompano
POMPANO BEACH – A new proposal for two high-rises includes one that would soar more than 30 stories in Pompano Beach.
It’s an oceanside development that would include hotel and condo units, a snack bar and medical spa. The taller building would be 325 feet on a vacant lot, the equivalent of 32 stories, at 1380 S. Ocean Blvd., on the east side of State Road A1A.
The other, about 20 stories, would be on the west side of A1A.
The taller building would be about a story shorter than Pompano Beach’s tallest towers, the Pompano Beach Club buildings South and North, both built in 1975. The new plan, recently approved by a city planning board, still must win City Commission approval to change the zoning of the properties and waive other requirements.
At the Renaissance II, a nearby high-rise condo, board members say the building should be allowed to rise.
“Everyone would like to see palm trees and grass,” said Richard Schmidt, who has lived in Pompano since 2010. “But the man has a legal right to develop his property. We’re of the opinion that we should work toward something we can all be happy with.”
The proposal drew complaints from neighbors at last month’s planning board meeting — nearly 100 people showed up. Dennis Crudele, a resident at the 156-foot Wittington, said, “It looks like you are trying to squeeze 10 pounds into a 5-pound bag.”
Residents of the Wittington and another condo building, the Delphi, have hired David Kerem, a Naples attorney, to oppose the development.
Stephanie Toothaker, a Fort Lauderdale attorney representing the new buildings’ developer, Lionheart Capital, said the plan for a combination condo/hotel and medical spa has been nearly four years in the making.
It took that long because the developer has been trying to address neighbors’ concerns, she said.
The developer’s original application showed the building reaching 360 feet, or about 36 stories. But the developer reduced the height by several stories since that application, and also redesigned the building based on neighbors’ feedback, Tookaker said.
The way the taller building stands was changed, so that “it stands like the Wittington,” she said. “That had the effect of preserving the eastern views of both projects.”
This part of Pompano is zoned so that there are no specific height limitations, other than what the Federal Aviation Administration decrees is an obstruction to the nearby airport. The FAA has already cleared this one. City codes also call for proposed buildings to fit a neighborhood standard.
A city report said the developer hasn’t yet submitted any justification for exceeding the height of nearby buildings. Toothaker said the 251-foot Renaissance II and the 156-foot Wittington also surpassed the heights of other nearby buildings.
Kerem said the project is “going to irreversibly alter the character of Pompano Beach’s coastline.” He said, “It’s really going to be dwarfing structures in the area.”