Dania Pointe gets OK for 350 hotel rooms

DANIA BEACH – The developer of Dania Pointe, the mammoth shopping and entertainment complex coming to Dania Beach, wants to build 350 hotel rooms instead of the 300 already approved.

Dania Beach commissioners gave unanimous approval to the request Tuesday night.

Construction is underway on the first phase of the $800 million project, a sprawling open-air mall with nearly 1 million square feet of retail, twin condo towers, two hotels, office towers, restaurants and a supersized bowling center.

The entire project, just east of Interstate 95 and north of Stirling Road, will be built over the next few years.

Once built, the Dania Pointe project will be one of the region’s largest open-air shopping villages, with a walkable main street connecting the hotels, apartments and shops.

Under the latest plan, one hotel will be 10 stories with 150 rooms and the second will be 12 stories with 200 rooms, said Robert Shapiro, president of Master Development Inc. and one of the project’s developers.

“It will be a major brand hotel,” Shapiro said. “It’s currently under contract but still subject to conditions, so we are not releasing it yet.”

The project’s first phase is expected to open in fall 2018, a year later than originally planned.

Changes to the mix of tenants was one reason for the delay, said Paul Puma, president of the southern region for Kimco Realty Corp. The other was an agreement by the developer to make improvements to Stirling Road and the I-95 exit ramp.

Dania Pointe’s second phase will break ground next year and should be complete by the end of 2019, Shapiro said.

Kimco is partnering with South Florida-based Master Development and Salzman Real Estate Advisors on the 102-acre project.

The developer’s request for more hotel rooms will also need approval from Broward County commissioners.