Rooms boom
Another hotel for downtown Lauderdale.
Under sunny skies and thehumof construction equipment earlyWednesday, workers toiled on the site of the newTribute Portfolio-Element hotel project in downtownFort Lauderdale.
Nearby, on an adjacent lot, invited guests fromthe community and city officials joined executives from developer W ur zak Hotel Group of Philadelphia in ground-breaking festivities to officially mark the start of construction, thoughwork on the hotel had quietly kicked off last month.
“This is a very exciting venture forme personally, because I live in Fort Lauderdale, and this iswhat I love to do,” JakeWurzak, company president, told those in attendance. “I promise you thatwewill deliver something spectacular here thatwill help to elevate the positioning of Fort Lauderdale on theworld stage for life, business and travel.”
Construction of the 323-room, 24-story dual project at 299N. Federal Highway is expected to take18 months to complete, said JakeWurzak, who is spearheading the project. WurzakHotel Group chose Starwood Hotels& ResortsWorldwide as its brand partner for the project.
TheTribute Portfolio hotel, called The Dalmar, and theElement are expected to open during the second quarter of 2018, the developer has previously announced.
“Every great city has a hotel that iswoven into the fabric of its identity and cultural experience. Our goal is to create that here for you in TheDalmar,” JakeWurzak said.
While JakeWurzakwould not specify the total investment cost for the project, he described itWednesday as “a lot of money,” with a “big investment in the design.”
The developer received a $56million loan to help build the hotel, he said, and it has more than $20 million of equity in the project. The landwas purchased for $12 million in July 2015, according to BrowardCounty property records.
TheDalmar will offer 209 rooms and feature design elements similar to Starwood’s trendyWbrand, aswell as several “cool spaces,” including a rooftop lounge and coffee bar on the ground floor, JakeWurzak said. It is also expected to have an infinity pool with landscaped deck and a garden relaxation area; more than12,000 square feet of indoor meeting space; a 6,800-square-foot restaurant on the ground floor; and a 4,000-square-foot area of retail shops along Northeast Third Street.
Meanwhile, the114-unit Element— Fort Lauderdale’ s first property for the West in inspired, eco-friendly brand—is designed to offer travelers an upscale extended-stay experience with rooms filled with natural light, modular furniture, full kitchens and spa-inspired bathrooms, according to the developer. Element guests also will get free breakfast and evening receptionwith food and beverage pairings, aswell as free access to bicycles.
Selection of partners for the dual hotels’ restaurant and retail space and in-room amenities is expected to be finalized in coming months, JakeWurzak said.
In a gesture of community support, WurzakHotel Group onWednesday also presented a check for $100,000 to the Joe DiMaggio Children’ s Hospital Foundation to support thework of the pediatric health care facility inHollywood.
TheWurzak dual-branded property is one of about seven new hotel projects in various stages in the development pipeline for downtown Fort Lauderdale.
“This is a great opportunity for the city of Fort Lauderdale, a great opportunity for us to continue to change the image of our downtown,” Mayor Jack Seiler said. “For so many years, the thoughtwas, if you’re putting a hotel in Fort Lauderdale, you had to put it on the Fort Lauderdale beach. What we’re seeing here and whatwe’re seeing with a few other projects in downtown is that Fort Lauderdale has sort of come of age.
“We’ve matured as a community; we’ve matured as a city. We’re no longer just a spring break mecca and a playground, but we’re actually a 24/7 live, work, play community.”
The other hotel projects include a137roomCourtyard byMarriott being developed as part of a mixed-use real estate project along the 700 block ofNorth Federal Highway; a108-roomFairfield Inn& Suites farther south at 30 S. Federal Highway now under construction, and a condo-hotel project set for 100 E. Las Olas Blvd.
If all these new hotel projects in the pipeline are built, theywould add more than 1,400 hotel rooms to the downtown area, which nowoffers fewer than 400 rooms, city officials have said.
“This is a great opportunity for the city of Fort Lauderdale ... to continue to change the image of our downtown.” — Mayor Jack Seiler